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. UN Women also provides strategic and technical support to government, CSOs and women’s organizations for the joint effort to ensure gender equality and the empowerment of women (GEWE).

UN Women Ethiopia Country Office (ECO) Strategic Notes (SN) 2021-2025 and 2022 Annual Work Plan (AWP) are aligned to and contribute towards the effective implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF 2020-2025) which outlines the vision and strategic focus of the United Nations in Ethiopia and its support to the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) in the implementation of the Ten-Year Perspective Development Plan - Ethiopia 2030: The Pathways to Prosperity (2020 – 2030). The SN is also grounded in UN Women global Strategic Plan (2021-2025) and aligned to major international, regional, and national commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment. The SN is organized along 4 pillar outcomes namely (1) All people in Ethiopia enjoy the rights and capabilities to realize their potential in equality and with dignity; (2) All people in Ethiopia live in a cohesive, just, inclusive and democratic society; (3)All people in Ethiopia benefit from an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable economy and (4) All people in Ethiopia live in a society resilient to environmental risks and adapted to climate change under which it addresses thematic issues such as women’s participation in leadership and decision-making, women’s economic empowerment, addressing violence against women and girls (VAWG), gender responsive budgeting, gender in humanitarian action and coordination and normative support.

A critical area of engagement for UN Women ECO has been providing institutional support to national gender machineries including the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs (formerly Ministry of Women and Social Affairs (MoWSA), sectoral ministries and regional counterparts. UN Women ECO will continue providing advisory support to increase capacities and advocacy for gender mainstreaming; coordination and oversight of gender related law and policy development and implementation; harmonization and collaboration among partners involved in combating discrimination against women; monitoring and accountability systems for implementation

of Ethiopia’s CEDAW commitments; and mechanisms for consistent responses to women and girls’ needs and priorities.

In this context, UN Women Ethiopia is seeking a Programme Specialist - Gender to ensure the mainstreaming of Gender issues across the National priorities of Government of Ethiopia and the SDGs with particular focus on SDG5 and other gender related indicators . As team member of the Coordination team, the gender specialist is expected to provide an oversight role and technical support on identified gaps for the different coordination structures (UNCT Gender and Inclusion working group, the Donor Group on GEWE, CSO-AG, think tanks , established by MoWSA and UN Women to provide oversight role on the gender policy, Gender equality riad map gender equality profile in addition to preparation and implementation of the UNCT SWAP GSC and the corresponding Action plan in collaboration with UNCT Gender focal persons among others dialogue platforms .

Further to coordinating the Interagency team in the country, the incumbent will lead on joint programming, joint missions, and joint reporting on the agreed integrated Resource results framework, which requires a high caliber specialist on GEWE, in consultation with the UNCT gender focal persons and key stakeholders .

Finally, the program specialist will represent UN Women at high level platforms upon the delegation of the immediate supervisor, the National Program Coordinator and the senior management .The role will encompass travel requirements to different regional states and outside the country . . Under the overall contract supervision of UN Women’s National Programme Coordinator and the overall guidance of UN Women Senior management , the Programme Specialist is responsible for providing strategic technical guidance and support including for the development of the Ethiopia National Gender Policy, and gender equality roadmap, gender equality profile , implementation of the gender focused targets and indicators under the 10 Years Development plan in alignment to the SDGs with focus on SDG 5 . The program specialist will also be responsible to closely work with MOWSA in the preparation and implementation of period reports ( SDG VNR, CEDAW, Maputo protocol, Beijing PFA and the declaration that the government of Ethiopia is a party to. Moreover, the program Specialist- gender will ensure key partners have the necessary skills to mainstream GEWE perspectives into National and Regional initiatives .

Duties and Responsibilities

Functions

Provide technical support on the development, implementation, monitoring and reporting of UN Women’s Strategic note, programmes, and projects
Develop institutional capacity for policy and strategy development on gender equality and women’s empowerment Provide technical guidance to the revision of the National Women’s Policy and the design of a gender equality policy for Ethiopia,
Provide technical support in the preparation of the Gender Equality Roadmap for Ethiopia
Provide leadership and technical support on the development of the gender equality profile among others .
Review policies and strategies on GEWE and their alignment to international, regional, and national instruments and recommend their revision where necessary
Ensure that inclusive and participatory processes are adhered to in the policy and strategy development process, including women in vulnerable situations

Provide technical support to the Implementation of the 10 Years Development Plan and the Sector Plan of the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs

Align support to the MoWSA with the plans and goals of UN Women
Facilitate coordination and communication between UN Women and the office of the minister
Provide technical support for effective implementation of UN Women’s thematic priorities
Provide strategic support to strengthen UN Women’s credibility and visibility among international organizations, UN Agencies, donors, inter-governmental organizations to enhance collaboration and resource mobilization
Coordinate the regularization of partnership platforms
Provide recommendations on forging and strengthening partnerships with the private sector to enhance the participation and benefit of women
Coordinate the activities of the Ethiopian Chapter of the African Women Leaders’ Network (AWLN)
Oversee the drafting and submission of a periodic report on the joint programme between UN Women and the MoWSA

Strengthen Partnership between MoWSA, DGGE, CSO-AG , emerging WROs and UN Women

Provide technical advice to the minister on signing, acceding to and ratifying international treaties and commitments (e.g., UNSCR 1325 on the Women Peace and Security Agenda, the Violence and Harassment Convention) considering the interest of women and values and principles of the country
Provide technical support to the minister by preparing briefs, presentations, talking points and agendas for participation in high level international and regional meetings on gender equality and women’s empowerment
Coordinate the preparation of periodic reports on international and regional commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment (including periodic reports on CEDAW, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Maputo Protocol etc.)
Provide technical support to the implementation and monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Goal 5 and other gender equality indicators

Coordinate the implementation and reporting on for international and regional human rights frameworks, SDGs, and other commitments

Provide technical advice on the mainstreaming of gender into laws, polices and strategies developed in the country
Review and give feedback on project proposals, international and national agreements, and the corresponding periodic reports
Provide technical assistance to support the mainstreaming of gender and accountability mechanisms through the revision of the Performance Levelling tool and systems as well as putting in place capacity building initiatives both internally and externally
Provide technical assistance in the development of a Joint program that governs engagement with MoWSA

Provide technical advice to the Minister on gender equality and women’s empowerment and the mainstreaming gender into laws, policies, and strategies in the Country

Provide strategic guidance in the design of implementation mechanisms for new initiatives identified in the 10 Years Development Plan
Identify partners and key stakeholders for the implementation of the initiatives and devise mechanisms for collaboration
Design resource mobilization strategies for the implementation of the initiatives
Provide technical assistance on systems to track progress on the implementation of the plan and strengthen monitoring and evaluation process

Competencies

Core Values:

Integrity
Professionalism
Respect for Diversity

Core Competencies

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

Functional Competencies

Technical capability on women’s rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment
Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them
Strong analytical skills and knowledge of Results Based Management
Good knowledge of UN programme management systems
Knowledge in gender and development/normative and institutional aspects
A proven ability to liaise with a variety of stakeholders and partners, including government, legislative bodies, media, civil society, international organizations;
An excellent understanding of the legal, social, cultural, and political context of Ethiopia and its relation to gender.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

Master’s degree in Law, Human Rights, Social Sciences, Political Science, Development, Public Administration, Social work, Sociology Gender is 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 would be an added advantage

Experience

A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in programme management, programmatic and technical support(including programme design, programme coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting and capacity building); international development work preferably focused on, or strongly involving gender equality and women’s empowerment
Previous experience in providing capacity building support to government institutions
Experience in result-based management.

Language

Fluency in written and spoken English and Amharic is required
Working knowledge of another official UN language is an asset

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) a completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment.

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If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)