UN Women: Programme Specialist, Women’s Economic Empowerment and Sustainable Livelihoods, Islamabad, Pakistan, P-3, Fixed Term Appointment

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.

Attention is given to issues of excluded groups and their capacity to lobby so that they become part of mainstream in the decision making and planning. UN Women provides technical advisory and services on women’s economic empowerment, ending violence against women and girls, women’s leadership, and participation, including in disaster risk reduction and management and gender integration in planning and budgeting. UN Women works towards ensuring an effective UN response by strengthening the effectiveness, coordination, and quality of outputs on gender equality amongst  various stakeholders. The agency’s work in Pakistan is guided by the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) and the UN Women Strategic Note, which focuses on normative frameworks and gender disaggregated data systems; innovative gender financing; protection against harmful practices; awareness, voice, agency and leadership; and women economic empowerment.  

Gender equality and women’s development hinges very strongly on an ecosystem that promotes women’s economic empowerment and their access to supporting resources, goods and services. In this context, the role of digital technologies remains key to catalyze the economic empowerment of women. However, women and girls often have less access to technology and the internet compared to boys and men. Particularly in developing countries, women struggle to afford technology and internet access. As Pakistan emerges as one of the IT hubs in the world, it is unfortunate that only 14% of women are engaged in the tech sector. Pakistan’s will to embrace digitalization offers an opportunity to boost women economic empowerment, bridge the digital divide and in the long-term address gender inequalities. 

Towards the purpose of accelerating economic engagement of young women through digital enablement and innovation, UN Women – with support from KOICA – will be embarking on a four-year project in selected districts across the country. The project will aim for the following two objectives: Increase capacities on digital literacy so that young women in the 18 to 35-year-old age bracket have wider participating opportunity in the technology sector, through capacity building programs and mentorships with experts; Create a conducive environment for young women to enter the technology sector - including IT enabled services (ITeS), software development, and data analytics - through engagement with private sector and government stakeholders.

Through project outputs, the project will aim to economically empower youth and women by building their skills and capacity to partake in the fourth industrial revolution and bridging industry-academia linkages for increased employability. The skills will be identified based on a mapping study to be conducted in the inception phase and will provide different sets of skills from digital marketing to advanced skills like robotics, coding and/or data analytics.

 

Functions: 

1. Lead Programme Management, Implementation, and Reporting:
•    Oversee and manage the operationalization of KOICA funded project with clearly defined milestones, deliverables, and responsible parties, ensuring implementation is on track, on time, and in full accordance with the signed project document and donor requirements;
•    Ensure timely and high-quality delivery of project results against agreed targets and indicators, proactively identifying bottlenecks, tracking progress, and taking corrective action within the approved budget envelope;
•    Provide day-to-day programme management direction and coaching to project staff and responsible parties, including guidance on RBM principles, compliance with UN Women programme policies, KOICA requirements, and the use of programme management tools and systems (AWPs, procurement plans, risk registers, M&E frameworks);
•    Lead monitoring and evaluation of programme implementation, conducting structured and timely quarterly and annual progress reviews with implementing partners and counterparts; ensure findings are translated into concrete corrective actions escalated to the appropriate level of programme management;
•    Lead the preparation and quality review of Responsible Partner (RP) selection documents, including micro and risk assessments and capacity development plans; ensure LPAC processes are conducted on time and in compliance with UN Women’s programme and operations policies and procedures;
•    Manage operational, administrative, and financial aspects of the programme, including maintenance of procurement and recruitment plans, budget utilization tracking, and timely processing of payments and requests in line with UN Women financial rules and regulations;
•    Prepare and oversee the timely submission of high-quality donor narrative and financial reports, project documents, AWPs, budgets, and programme briefs for UN Women Women’s Economic Empowerment & Sustainable Livelihoods programme; ensure all reporting complies with KOICA and UN Women reporting standards and schedules.
Guide and support programme and project staff on the application of UN Women programme management standards, tools, and systems, including Quantum, Programme Results Management systems, and KOICA reporting platforms, ensuring consistent and accurate use across the team.

2. Coordinate and promote women’s economic empowerment and women’s access to technological resources and expertise: 
•    Lead the coordination with Korean industry leaders, government departments, and public and private sector organizations involved in the technology industry for experience-sharing and mentorship of project beneficiaries;
•    Liaise with Korean authorities and guide operational processes for the exchange visits of project beneficiaries to Korea;
•    Provide support to enhance coordination between UN agencies, public and private sector organizations at the Federal and Provincial levels to improve women’s access to economic opportunities and technological resources
•    Network and build synergies with other UN agencies parties of the project interventions at policy and programme levels, liaise with KOICA, and ensure wide dissemination of tools and good practices;
•    Manage and monitor project risks, making recommendations for possible actions as required;
•    Monitor and report on the use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets), ensuring compliance with approved allocations, goals, organizational rules, regulations/procedures, donor commitments, standards of accountability, and integrity;
•    Participate in project implementation by providing strategic advice and technical inputs to partner-led interventions and processes, including substantive input to policy development, planning and monitoring processes and products.

3. Build strategic partnerships and mobilize resources: 
•    Build and maintain strategic partnerships with key stakeholders and implementing partners, including those from the technology industry, private sector, relevant government departments, academia and civil society organizations;
•    Mobilize strategic partnerships and resource mobilization for upscaling and sustainability of the project;
•    Foster strong partnerships with project stakeholders including UN Agencies, government institutions, bilateral and multilateral donors, the private sector, civil society and others.

4. Advocate and promote knowledge building and management: 
•    Identify capacity-building needs and provide technical support to implementing partners through mentoring, learning exchange, training, and capacity development initiatives, as needed;  
•    Under the guidance of the supervisor, support the establishment of advocacy networks and campaigns with key partners at the national level;
•    Ensure documentation of the project learnings and development of evidence-based products in accordance with UN Women and KOICA guidelines.
 

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.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

•    Strong analytical and managerial skills of integrating gender lens in economic policy and women’s economic empowerment programme 
•    Strong writing skills to produce a variety of knowledge products for different audiences and purposes;
•    Experience using and applying socioeconomic recovery strategies;
•    Ability to produce impactful communications materials and knowledge products;  
•    Strong commitment to knowledge-sharing within a multicultural environment; and
•    Ability to design and deliver training and other capacity-building strategies in the area of programme management, gender to a variety of audiences. 
 

Recruitment Qualifications

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Development Economics, Management Sciences, Gender Studies, International Development, Social Sciences, or relevant field. 
• A first-level university degree in combination with 2 additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the master’s degree

Experience:

• 5 years of progressively responsible experience in programme management, with a strong track record in AWP development and monitoring, timely donor reporting, implementation follow-up, budget management, and guiding programme/project teams on RBM and compliance requirements; 
• Experience in following would be considered asset: 
  -    PRINCE2
  -    PMP (Project Management Professional, PMI)
  UN/Development-Sector Specific Tools & Frameworks
  -    RBM (Results-Based Management)
  -    Logical Framework (LogFrame) / Theory of Change
• Experience working with KOICA or in the management of KOICA-supported projects is desirable. 
• Familiarity with UN Women or broader UN programme management systems (Quantum), corporate reporting frameworks, and HACT compliance is desirable.

Language Requirements:

•    Fluency in English is required. 
•    Working knowledge of another official UN language (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.
 

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

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.)

 

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.