Programme Manager for Promoting Gender Responsive Policies, Planning and Budgeting Portfolio, Tirana, Albania (SB-4) United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Closing date: Sunday, 20 August 2017

Programme Manager for Promoting Gender Responsive Policies, Planning and Budgeting Portfolio, 
Tirana, Albania (SB-4)  
UNWOMEN
Closing date: Sunday, 20 August 2017

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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. Placing women's rights at the center of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world.  Through its programmes and projects, UN Women is providing technical assistance to national partners (governmental and non-governmental) in the implementation of existing international and national commitments to women’s rights and gender equality, it facilitates networking and exchange of good practices and advocates for women’s rights and gender equality in all areas of life. According to its mandate, UN Women works in five thematic areas, such as leadership and participation, women’s economic empowerment, ending violence against women, women peace and security and governance and national planning fully reflect accountability for gender equality commitments. UN Women is also the lead Agency in coordinating the UN Country Team on gender equality and is chairing the UN Group on gender equality. Since 2010, UN Women has been implementing the regional project “Promoting Gender Responsive Polices in South-East Europe and the Republic of Moldova” covering Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYR Macedonia) and the Republic of Moldova. The project is financially supported by the Austrian Development Agency and the Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development. Its overall goal is to support the advancement of implementation of national and international commitments to gender equality and women’s empowerment in line with national Sustainable Development Goals priority targets. The project is structured around two outcomes: Governments in targeted countries promote gender responsive fiscal laws, policies and national action plans to enable specific budgetary allocations for gender equality. Gender advocates and MPs demand accountability from national and local governments on policies and budgetary allocations for GEWE. The programme’s country component implemented in Albania includes activities focused on enhancing the institutionalization of GRB at central level and an extensive component for introducing gender responsive budgeting at local level. The UN Women Country Office Albania is seeking to hire a Programme Coordinator to support the implementation of the activities within the Regional Project “Promoting Gender Responsive Policies in South East Europe" at country level. The Programme coordinator will support broader interventions related to gender-responsive planning and budgeting and Country Office efforts in resource mobilization.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Programme Coordinator will work under the direct supervision of the UN Women CO Albania Programme Specialist and GRB Regional Project Manager (based in Skopje). Summary of Key Functions: Design and implementation of assigned programme strategies Programme implementation: GRB regional project in Albania Planning and Budgeting Portfolio Technical support and Financial Management Strategic Partnerships and External Communication Designing and Implementation of Programme strategies Implementation of GRB and Planning and Budgeting Portfolio in collaboration with main partners, other UN Agencies, donors and development actors; Analysis and synthesis of proposals on the areas for support and interventions within the practice area specialization assigned, and identification of opportunities for cooperation; Contribution to formulation of Annual Work Plans within the area of responsibility, translating UN Women, GRB and Planning and Budgeting Portfolio, and GoA priorities into national and local interventions; Planning, implementing, monitoring GRB and Planning and Budgeting Portfolio at CO level, in accordance with UN Women rules and regulations; Provide technical support to UN Women implementing partners (government and NGOs) as well as consultants and collaborators, towards the achievement of intended results; Application of RBM tool in establishing management targets and monitoring achievement of results; Flags in a timely way issues of strategic concern and seeks advice from Programme Specialist and GRB Regional Project manager  in finding appropriate solutions; Contribution to the regular preparation of aggregate reports on activities, outputs and outcomes including preparation of donor reports. Implementation of GRB and Planning and Budgeting Portfolio activities Design, oversee, and coordinate the implementation of relevant project activities with partners, UN Women local and regional programme team; Provision of technical advice and guidance to GRB and Planning and Budgeting Portfolio  working groups and decision-making bodies on conforming to gender equality obligations according to national legislation and international obligations; Financial and substantive monitoring and evaluation of project activities, identification of operational and financial problems, development of solutions; Prepare the Project and portfolio Quarterly Progress Report (progress against planned activities and expenditures) and submit the report to the Programme Specialist and GRB Regional Project Manager; Preparation of inputs for reporting, including donor and audit reporting. Prepare the Annual Report as per donors’ requirements (Austrian Development Agency and Swiss Development Cooperation, UN Coherence Fund and other donors), and submit the report to the Programme Specialist and GRB Regional Project Manager; Ensure that progress reports from responsible parties are properly monitored in line with project outputs and timeline before approving; Undertake regular monitoring missions to ensure timely delivery and quality of results; Provide inputs on GRB and Planning and Budgeting Portfolio to UN Women quarterly and annual reports and UNCT/UNDAF mid-year and annual reviews and reports; Preparation of topic-specific gender inputs, recommendations, briefs and briefings provided to decision makers in priority reform areas. Technical Support and Financial Management Manage the projects’ financial resources in accordance with UN Women rules and regulations; Draft concept notes and follow-up on resource mobilization efforts at the country level in coordination with the Programme Specialist, Regional Project Manager and the Country Representative; Report on a regular basis to the Programme Specialist and UN Women Regional Programme Manager in order to ensure coordination, linkages, and synergies between all areas of work carried out by UN Women Albania Country Office as well as within the regional GRB project; Contribute to annual work planning and budgeting processes of the Regional Programme and the UN Women Contry Office in Albania; Contribute to the development of technical documents for projects, including those needed to initiate and generate momentum, such as project proposals, and clear action plans for each programme activity; prepare project cooperation agreements with implementing partners, and letters of agreement with government and non-governmental partners; Draft Terms of reference for consultants as needed and supervise and evaluate their performance in delivering required outputs; Mobilize competent national and international experts that are needed by the beneficiaries of the project following the agenda and activities that are supported by the project; Provide support on project related procurement/administration procedures; Manage programme files and support information collection and dissemination: ensure project documentation (filing) & communication is properly done, tracking system is in place for effective project closure; Draft programme progress reports and provide inputs to programme related products, including updates to various stakeholders and donor as requested; Provide programmatic and technical support to UN Women in Albania as deemed necessary;  Strategic Partnerships and External Communication Creates strategic partnerships with stakeholders on national and local level and other partner’s programmes in Gender Responsive Budgeting and Planning and Budgeting Portfolio; Liaises with governmental officials, civil society, academia, media, UN Agencies and the donors to meet their information needs, to enhance collaboration, resource mobilization and policy agenda setting in support for the project; Seeks and incorporates synergies with similar initiatives on country level; Make linkages between the SDG priority targets and the implementation of GRB and Planning and Budgeting Portfolio; Support communication specialist with information on project implementation; Coordinate with other UN Agencies and participate in UN results groups, other working groups as well as in meetings and activities on behalf of UN Women, as needed; Participate at meetings with stakeholders and project partners, at different events and initiatives; Promote and advocate for the project in the media as agreed with the National Programme Specialist and GRB Regional Manager, in relevant national seminars, meetings of work groups and panels, and project periodic evaluation and review meetings; Provide other team members with updated information and knowledge on GRB and Planning and Budgeting Portfolio. Any other tasks and responsibilities as assigned.

Competencies

Core Values/ Guiding Principles Integrity: Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct. Professionalism: Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work. Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity: Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity. Core competencies: Ethics and Values: Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment Development and Innovation: Take charge of self-development and take initiative Work in teams: Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds. Communicating and Information Sharing: Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication Self-management and Emotional Intelligence: Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others Conflict Management: Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution. Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making Functional Competencies: Demonstrated development/programming skills particularly those that are pertinent to UN Women strategic priorities on gender issues and women’s rights; Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects; Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them for development results; Ability to lead of Results Based Management and reporting; Ability to establish and maintain broad strategic networks and partnerships with UN agencies and other international partners to promote partnership and build alliances to advance organizational interests and competencies; Ability to advocate and provide policy and technical advice; Demonstrated good oral and written communication skills; Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; Strong organizational and time management skills; Strong analytical skills and team building skills; Ability to handle conflict and sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner; and  Capacity to work under pressure and to meet strict deadlines;

Required Skills and Experience

Education/Academic requirements: Master’s Degree or equivalent in gender, development, public policy, social studies or related fields preferred; Work Experience: Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience at the national or international level in coordinating and developing projects in the field of gender equality (A minimum of 7 years’ experience if education is Bachelor’s degree); Sound experience in project management, implementation and in working with Gender Responsive Budgeting and Gender mainstreaming; Experience working with gender indicators and disaggregated data would be an asset; Experience in the use of computers and office software packages and handling of web based management systems. Language Requirements: Fluency in English and Albanian. Application Procedure: Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via the UNDP Albania Jobs website: http://www.al.undp.org/content/albania/en/home/operations/jobs.html  Applications should contain: Cover letter stating your interest in and qualifications for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the online application. Completed and signed UN Personal History Form - http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment Please make sure you have provided all requested documents. How to Submit the Application: To submit your application online, please follow the following steps: Download and complete the UN Personal History Form (P11); Merge your UN Personal History Form (P11) and cover letter into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded; Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement); Click “Apply Now” button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click “Submit Application;” Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system