Programme Specialist, Gender & Community Security at UN Women

UN Women – 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.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Programme Specialist, Gender & Community Security (Re-advertised)

Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Type of Contract: Service Contract
Post Level: SB-5
Duration of Initial Contract: 1 year

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. In the humanitarian context of North-East Nigeria, UN Women’s mandate is to ensure that women’s self-reliance, livelihoods and protection are considered in humanitarian action and crisis response, including early recovery processes.
• In 2018, UN Women Nigeria established a presence in the North East through an operational field office in Maiduguri, Borno State. In addition to targeted programming, the field office is engaged in coordination and technical support across the sectoral responses; capacity building for humanitarian workers; and undertaking various assessments and related initiatives to allow for evidence-based, gender-responsive response to the evolving crisis in the North East.
• Increased displacement of populations, disruption to economic activities, and increased protection concerns-in particular sexual and gender-based violence as a result of the conflict in the North East and attendant security responses are disproportionally affecting women and girls. Despite several ongoing measures by security sector institutions and partners amidst increasing commitment to gender responsive operations and security institutions, gaps and challenges remain.
• Consultations with various security actors highlight continued needs with regards to tailored training and operational guidelines for the nature of contexts and operations being undertaken. UN Women has in its previous and current programming undertaken baseline studies in various states of the North East, Middle Belt, and at a federal level which have assessed the representation of women within the various security services, knowledge of gender and related issues amongst security personnel, and community-security relations.
• These studies indicate that more needs to be done with regards to addressing issues of women’s representation across the security services; strengthening knowledge and capacity with regards to gender responsive security; and developing mechanisms and guidelines to support security personnel in-mission. In particular, the situation in the North East provides an opportunity to test and support efforts to make operations more gender-responsive.
• The lack of deployment of women in operations in the North East, a long-standing operation which is currently shifting to a focus on major population hubs, coupled with anecdotal evidence of not only high levels of sexual and gender-based violence, but also sexual exploitation and abuse from security personnel, indicate a need to strengthen community engagement and dialogue as well as preventative measures for security personnel currently deployed or deploying in these contexts.
• In response to this UN Women Nigeria, as part of its gender and security sector portfolio, is implementing specific interventions on women’s meaningful and equitable participation in civil-military engagement to ensure their voices are heard and security concerns addressed, that they are proportionately represented in decision-making fora and that their concerns and needs are adequately addressed, in particular to enhance their access to resources and safety as the crisis transitions to recovery and development.
• With a view to ensure that affected women and women’s organizations meaningfully engage and collaborate with security sector institutions and personnel in community security, UN Women will recruit a Programme Specialist. Reporting to UN Women Deputy Country Representative, and with day to day management by the North East Head of Office, the technical support of the Policy Specialist (Gender and Security Sector), the Program Specialist is responsible for the leadership, substantive coordination and overall management of the field level implementation of the project for results, working together with the program and operations units of UN Women Country Office in Nigeria, and in partnership with other humanitarian agencies and national partners, especially those present in Borno and Yobe States.

Duties and Responsibilities
Oversee the implementation and management of gender and community security project:

• Finalize the annual workplan and budget and manage implementation of planned activities
• Manage the technical implementation of the project; ensure synergies with other UN Women projects in the North East, and the wider Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action (WPSHA) programme
• Manage the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports, as relevant
• Organize project review and/or evaluation meetings, as needed.

Lead on technical assistance and capacity development to project partners:

• Manage the implementation of technical advice and guidance; develop and implement technical tools, and initiatives
• Build and manage relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the gender and community security project
• Identify capacity building needs of partners and lead the coordination of technical assistance, mentoring, training and capacity development initiatives to partners.

Manage the monitoring and reporting of the project:

• Manage the monitoring of project implementation and finances using results-based management tools
• Oversee field missions and produce reports on monitoring missions
• Write quarterly reports and donor reports
• Contribute to donor and UN Women reports.

Build partnerships and contribute to inter-agency coordination to achieve coherence and synergy with other partners:

• Foster a working partnership with the relevant security institutions and government counterparts to facilitate implementation of the project
• Contribute to inter-agency coordination activities by attending relevant 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
• Build and maintain close liaison with relevant donors and other actors with similar or complementary initiatives

Support advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts:

• Develop and review background documents, briefs and presentations
• Represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to gender and community security as necessary
• Develop advocacy strategies and oversee their implementation
• Identify best practices and lessons learned to guide programme improvement and strategy planning
• Develop knowledge management strategies, products and methodologies on gender and community security.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Timely and quality programme delivery in line with budget and workplans, and in line with all UN Women operational rules and regulations, including security
• Regular communication with other agencies and partners
• Quality of advocacy and communication initiatives.
• Timely and quality monitoring and evaluation of programmes
• Strong relations with partners and stakeholders
• Quality reports and timely submission

Required Skills and Experience
Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Human Rights, Gender / Women’s Studies, International Development, or a related field 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:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible work experience at the national or international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian/stabilization projects
• Substantial technical expertise of mainstreaming a gender perspective in humanitarian/stabilization programmes; experience with community security projects desirable
• Familiarity with engaging with security actors in humanitarian contexts
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is an asset
• Experience working in the UN System is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required
• Knowledge of Hausa is an asset.

Competencies
Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism.

Core Competencies:

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

Functional Competencies:

• Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
• Familiarity with reporting and RBM, ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
• Expertise in gender
• Knowledge of community security approaches
• Strong analytical skills
• Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising and develop strategies.

Deadline: 13th November, 2020.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online