Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme Specialist

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

In the last ten years, the Plurinational State of Bolivia has made significant progress in guaranteeing women's rights and compliance with international agreements. However, in the area of economic rights, Bolivia has not made the same progress. Women's economic and productive roles continue to be highly ignored and underestimated in the national context, where four out of ten women live in poverty and the majority come from rural and indigenous populations.

UN Women Bolivia supports women's economic empowerment based on international commitments such as the Beijing Platform for Action, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the 2030 Agenda, particularly Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 8. UN Women also builds on the growing evidence that gender equality contributes significantly to boosting economies and sustainable development.

The Ministry of Productive Development and Plural Economy (MDPyEP), through PRO-BOLIVIA and UN Women are initiating the implementation of the Project, "Strengthening of Productive Units led by Women with a Gender approach in Bolivia”, funded by KOICA, and whose objectives are: 1) Improve the entrepreneurial capacities of productive units led by women, developing and applying a gender approach to financial, productive and commercial support processes; and 2) Promote the exercise of women's social and economic rights through the implementation of measures and actions within the framework of the unpaid care economy.

Under the supervision of the UN Women Bolivia Country Office’s Representative, the Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme Specialist is responsible for managing the development, implementation, monitoring and reporting of the KOICA-funded Project, including providing technical support to the implementation of the Country Office programme, building partnerships and providing support in developing resource mobilization strategies, and managing knowledge building efforts. The Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme Specialist coordinates with MDPyEP - PRO-BOLIVIA, national partners and stakeholders.

Duties and Responsibilities

Manage the programmatic development for the Project “Strengthening of Productive Units led by Women with a Gender approach in Bolivia”

Develop and implement the strategy to follow up and supervise the project implementation;
Monitor and analyze the project financial situation to ensure adherence to delivery rates and utilization of resources to meet agreed upon targets and results;
Ensure effective information flow, communication and coordination across the project members, and with other UN Women offices, MDPyEP and units;
Draft follow up reports on the project outputs and outcomes;
Analyze and ensure alignment of the project budgets with logical framework matrices and work plans;
Manage Project quality control and identification of potential challenges/risks and opportunities;
Align Project activities with operations team in close liaison with Operations Managers;
Build and manage relationships with national and local partners.

 Provide technical support to the Women Economic Empowerment area of the UN Women Country Office and PRO-BOLIVIA

Review and provide feedback to project/ programme strategies and documents, workplans, case studies;
Provide technical advice on the development of systems, processes and mechanisms to support programme planning, implementation, monitoring and progress reporting;
Review and evaluate proposals and oversee the preparation of donor proposals and reports;
Draft policy documents, briefs and other strategic papers/ materials for the use in the development and presentation of policy and programmatic positions;
Review programme annual work plans to assure that all strategic documents, including narrative and financial reports, meet the standards of the Korean cooperation, PRO- BOLIVIA and UN Women, in coordination with the economic empowerment area of the office;
Draft reports on activities, outputs and outcomes; and compile information in preparations of country office donor and UN Women reports;

Build partnerships and provide support in developing strategies alliances for the Project "Strengthening of Productive Units let by Women with a Gender approach in Bolivia"

Analysis and mapping of potential partners and strategic allies to articulate the Project's actions, enhancing its impact and ensuring its sustainability and scalability.

Manage knowledge building efforts

Manage the process of identifying and synthesizing of best practices and lessons learned that are directly linked to the implementation of the Project and contribute to their national and global dissemination.

Key Performance Indicators

Project workplans and budgets are developed and implemented in line with the Project “Strengthening of Productive Units led by Women with a Gender approach in Bolivia”.
Project reports and follow ups are developed and delivered according to donor´s time schedule and quality standards.
Regular monitoring of project, issues/deviations are raised in a timely manner.
Policy documents on women's economic empowerment are developed and delivered on time according to the requests of the UN Women representative.
Knowledge management products are developed under high quality standards.

Competencies

Core Values:

Respect for Diversity
Integrity
Professionalism

Core Competencies:

Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
Accountability
Creative Problem Solving
Effective Communication
Inclusive Collaboration
Stakeholder Engagement
Leading by Example

Functional Competencies

Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them
Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
Strong analytical skills
Strong knowledge of Results Based Management
Good knowledge of UN programme management systems

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

Master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Economics, Political Science, Development, Public Administration,
Studies on gender are required.
A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
A project/programme management certification (such as PMP®, PRINCE2®, or MSP®) would be an added advantage.

Experience:

At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in programme management, including programme design, programme coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting and capacity building.
At least 3 years of experience working in women´s economic empowerment programmes; in areas related with productive development of microenterprises, handicrafts, or community economy.
Experience in private sector with innovation tools will be an asset.
Experience in setting priorities, budgets, work plans, participating in programme development and programme writing.
Experience in leading teams effectively is an asset.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English is required
Fluency in Spanish is required