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 women, peace and security (WPS).

UN Women has engaged 23 implementing partners to implement UNAMID transition project activities on Rule of Law, Human Rights and Livelihoods under SLF 11. UN Women’s engagement places specific focus on women’s meaningful and equitable participation to ensure their voices are heard, they are proportionately represented in decision-making fora and negotiation processes and their concerns and needs are adequately addressed, in particular to enhance their access to resources and opportunities. The projects enhancing women's capacity to perform oversight and coordination role at the state levels, by focusing on, dialogue at the regional level in the state governance processes. The projects linked protection to participation while worked to widen opportunities for young women and girls to access to services and resources and towards economic empowerment. In early 2022, the CO has partnered with the University of Nyala to engage 120 young women and men to enhance their capacity to defend Human Rights and participate in the peacebuilding process.

The Programme Specialist will be based in UN Women’s office in Al-fashir, North Darfur state, and supervise the overall management of the CO’s programme in the five Darfur states. The withdrawal of UNAMID from the area in June 2021 has given way to the launch of peacebuilding efforts, however, the area is still critically affected by conflict. The humanitarian crisis is further exacerbated by the effects of climate change, which increase the competition for natural resources and the number of displaced people. The impact of conflict and environmental disaster is particularly dire on women, who not only experience a heavier burden of household responsibilities, being responsible for both the caretaking tasks and the provision of livelihood for the family; but are also disproportionately exposed to harassment and sexual violence both within their communities, the IDP camps and whenever collecting natural resources.

Under the supervision of the WPS Specialist, the Programme Specialist is responsible for managing the development, implementation, monitoring and reporting of programmes for the North Darfur State office and all five Darfur states. This includes design and develop program, providing technical support to the implementation of the state programme, managing the monitoring and reporting for the 5 Darfur states, overseeing and guiding people and budget management for the programme team, building partnerships and providing support in developing resource mobilization strategies, and managing knowledge building efforts.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Design and develop programme strategies in the area of GEEW:

• Design and formulate programme/ project proposals and initiatives;
• Draft inputs to country strategy documents, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to Women, Peace and Security
• Guide the development of the other 4 Darfur state programms, and provide technical support to the design and formulation of programme/ project initiatives;

Provide technical support to the implementation of the programmes,  including WPS and WPP programmes:

• Review programme annual work plans to assure compliance with UN Women programme goals and results-based indicators;
• Analyze and ensure alignment of project budgets with logical framework matrices and work plans;
• Draft reports on activities, outputs and outcomes; and compile information in preparations of country office donor and UN Women reports;
• Analyze and ensure alignment of project budgets with logical framework matrices and work plans;
• Manage programme quality control and identification of potential challenges;
• Align programme activities with operations team in close liaison with Operations Managers;
• Build and manage relationships with national partners, as necessary.

Manage the implementation and management of the GEEW programme:

• Finalize the annual workplan and budget and manage their implementation;
• Manage the technical implementation of the programme/project; ensure synergies with other teams;
• Manage the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports;
• Provide guidance to personnel and partners on Results Based Management tools and performance indicators;
• Organize Project Steering Committee, project review and/or evaluation meetings, as needed.
• Draft policy documents, briefs and other strategic papers/ materials for the use in the development and presentation of policy and programmatic positions.

Manage the monitoring and reporting for the programmes:

• Contribute to inter-agency coordination on Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian action  to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes with other partners
• Represent UN Women in interagency coordination mechanisms
• Provide technical support to the WPS specialist  on inter-agency coordination related activities by attending meetings, events, and participating in groups and committees as needed;
• Coordinate with other UN agencies, government departments, donors and NGOs to ensure the projects’ capacity development programme is harmonized and aligned with other in-country efforts.

 Oversee and guide people and budget management for the programme team in all Darfur states:

• Lead a team, perform staff performance reviews, ensure capacity development of staff members by suggesting development opportunities;
• Monitor and analyze financial situation on the portfolios and programmes 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 office, between programmes, projects and operations, and with other UN Women offices and units.

Build partnerships and provide support in developing resource mobilization strategies:

• Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
• Analyze and research information on donors, finalize substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for resource mobilization and cost sharing;
• Determine programmatic areas of cooperation, based on strategic goals of UN Women, country needs and donors’ priorities and develop the relevant partnerships.

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 programme and contribute to their global dissemination.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Programme team workplans and budgets are developed and implemented in line with Strategic Note   Office work plans
• Programme team adhere to UN Women’s Rules, Regulations, policies and procedures, using a results based management approach
• Programmes are implemented according to workplan and budget
• Regular monitoring of programmes, issues/deviations are raised in a timely manner
• Timely and quality reporting and regular dissemination and sharing of information, including best practices/ lessons learned.

Required Skills and Experience:

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Political Science, Development, Public Administration, 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 (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;
• Experience in working in conflict affected area specifically in Darfur  on gender equality programing.
• Experience in working with women movement and/or women’s groups is an asset.
• Experience in setting priorities, budgets, work plans, participating in programme development and programme writing;
• Experience in leading teams effectively is an asset.