UN Women: Programme Management Specialist, Bonn, Germany, P3 FTA

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.

The UN Women Programme Support Management Unit (PSMU) is established to provide corporate advisory services and direct support for project and programme development and implementation under the Strategy, Planning, Results and Effectiveness Division (SPRED). The PSMU guides the organization – HQ, Regional and Country offices - in following the best practices to ensure that all projects and programmes maintain a level of standardization, planning, knowledge sharing, and work collectively towards UN Women’s strategic goals. PSMU offers Regional Offices (ROs) and Country Offices (COs) a range of services, trainings and toolkits that increase their implementation capacity to deliver programmes on time, within scope and on budget. It also supports the implementation of global projects managed by HQs.

Within PSMU, the head of the Programme Management Office (PMO) supports the Chief PSMU in leading the organization’s work on project and programme lifecycle management. Under the overall supervision of the Chief of PSMU, and under the direct supervision of the Head of PMO, the Programme Management Specialist is responsible for supporting organizational efforts in the professionalization of project and programme management standards, practices, and capacities, specifically related to the 1) Implementation/monitoring of policies and procedures related to the Project Lifecycle 2) Management of project submissions in PRISM (Performance and Results Integrated System for Management) to appraise and approve new projects and keep track of the organization’s maturity, 3) Support Donor Reporting, 4) Support to Joint Programming and 5) Support to Strategic Note Direct Funding (SDNF) work.

Key Functions and Accountabilities:

Provide technical support in the implementation of UN Women’s programming policies and procedures related to the Project Lifecycle

• Develop guidance documents and tools to support the implementation of policies and procedures.
• Monitor the implementation of programming policies and procedures including the social and environmental standards and generate reports to inform the progress of UN Women’s maturity.
• Coordinate and lead capacity building efforts on programming policies and procedures including the social and environmental standards.
• Support revisions and updates to relevant programming policies, procedures, and guidance documents.

Manage project concept notes and project submissions in PRISM for appraisal and approval

• Provide technical support to offices in relation to Project Management capabilities in PRISM for effective control and use of the Project Appraisal Process, in line with corporate Delegation of Authority thresholds.
• Act as main GPAC Secretariat focal point; review submissions of concept notes for new projects, project documents, project amendments, and project extensions, and coordinate appraisal processes.

Provide coordination support to Joint Programming Lifecycle

• Provide coordinated technical support on demand to offices, with the support of relevant business units (including Legal, Finance and PSMU).
• Lead the global monitoring on the implementation of joint programmes
• Stay abreast of inter-agency policy developments related to joint programming.
• Lead capacity building efforts on joint programming.

Provide Technical Support and coordination to UNW Donor Reporting

• Provide technical support to ROs and HQ Programmes and Projects in relation to donor reporting.
• Lead the global coordination and monitoring of Donor Reporting, in close coordination with regional donor focal points.
• Support the review and update on internal systems, procedures and guidance documents relating to Donor Reporting.
• Lead capacity building efforts on Donor Reporting.

Provide technical Support and coordination of the Strategic Note Direct Financing (SNDF) Implementation

• Monitor the implementation of the SNDF guidance and support development of relevant procedures and guidance.
• Lead capacity building efforts on the SNDF implementation.
• Support targeted support and guidance regarding SNDF.

Facilitate and contribute to knowledge management:

• Identify and document best practices and lessons learned while ensuring appropriate dissemination.
• Provide technical inputs to knowledge networks and relevant communities of practice.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

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 coordination and analytical skills
• Strong organizational skills and communication skills both written and verbal.
• Ability to design, implement, monitor, and report on projects and programmes.
• Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them.
• Ability to synthesize project, program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making.
• Strong knowledge of UN project and programme lifecycle Policies, Procedures and Guidance, as it relates to Social and Environmental Standards, Joint Programming, Donor Reporting and Direct Funding to Country Programmes/Strategic Notes management.
• Ability to lead formulation of strategies and their implementation.

Recruitment Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• Master's degree (or equivalent) in Business Administration, Public Administration, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political/Development Studies, or other relevant discipline 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.

• PRINCE2® Practitioner and/or Project Management Professional (PMP®) and Managing Successful Programmes (MSP®) Practitioner certification is an asset.

Experience:

• A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in project and programme development, strategic planning, and coordination support is required.

• International development experience preferably focused on or strongly involved in programme and project management and gender equality is required.

• Technical experience in Donor Reporting, UN Joint Programmes Management, Social and Environmental Standards knowledge and management of Direct and Flexible Funding to Country Programmes/ Strategic Notes is an asset.

• Experience in Project/Programme oversight and coordination is required.

• Experience in the utilization of ERP systems for Project and Programme Management is required.

• Prior experience in the UN System is an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.

• Knowledge of the other UN official working language 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 .