National Programme Coordinator Consultant - Full time

Background:

UN Women (UNW), 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 centre 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. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women’s triple mandate, along with its global network and deep policy and programming expertise, continues to endow the Entity with a unique capacity to: (i) support Member States to strengthen global norms and standards for gender equality and women’s empowerment, and mainstream gender perspectives in other thematic areas; (ii) promote coordination and coherence across the UN system to enhance accountability and results for gender equality and women’s empowerment; and (iii) undertake operational activities to support Member States, upon their request, in translating global norms and standards into legislation, policies and strategies at country level.

UN Women plays an innovative and catalytic role in the State of Palestine since its inception in 1997 (as UNIFEM). In line with the national priorities, the work of UN Women for the period 2023-2025 is aligned with three of the Palestine United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework’s (UNSDCF) outcomes:

• Palestinians have greater access to economic opportunities that are inclusive, resilient, and sustainable, including decent employment and livelihoods opportunities in an empowered private sector.

• Palestinians, including the most vulnerable, have equal access to sustainable, inclusive, gender responsive and quality social services, social protection, and affordable utilities.

• Palestinian governance institutions, processes, and mechanisms at all levels are more democratic, rights-based, inclusive, and accountable.

Its three-year Strategic Note supports the efforts to achieve measurable results in country in terms of four UN Women global Strategic Plan impacts (2022-2025): (SP Impact 1). Governance and participation in public life; (SP Impact 2). Women’s Economic Empowerment; (SP Impact 3). Ending Violence Against Women and Girls; SP Impact 4. Women peace and security, Humanitarian & Disaster Risk Reduction.

The consultant will support UN Women’s Gaza portfolio and will focus on coordinating, strategically engaging and programme implementation support for UN Women’s Gaza portfolio including coordination with UN sister agencies, humanitarian actors, partners including women-led organizations, and within the UN Women team. The consultant will work closely on UN Women’s economic empowerment portfolio focusing on the Gaza humanitarian response and early recovery.

The consultant will be reporting to Deputy Special Representative and will be supported by Gaza Operations Clerk who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues. The consultant will work closely with the UN Women Gaza team and will supervise 1-2 UN Women personnel.

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work:

1. Provide substantive support to coordination and strategic engagement related to the Gaza portfolio

• Participate and engage on behalf of UN Women in technical and coordination forums, working groups and meetings with government institutions, UN entities, development partners and civil society organizations, as delegated.
• Provide substantive inputs to policy dialogue, strategic discussions and inter-agency processes to ensure the integration of gender equality and women's empowerment priorities within the Gaza portfolio.
• Prepare briefing notes, talking points, presentations and background documents for senior management participation in external engagements.

2. Provide technical support to humanitarian coordination of the UN Women Gaza portfolio

• Support the Deputy Representative in coordinating UN Women's engagement in humanitarian coordination mechanisms and inter-agency forums related to the Gaza portfolio.
• Facilitate collaboration and information sharing with UN agencies, clusters, humanitarian partners and other stakeholders to promote coherent and gender-responsive humanitarian action.
• Monitor progress against workplans and results frameworks and contribute to programme reporting and results-based management processes.

3. Coordinate the implementation of the Gaza portfolio programmes

• Coordinate the planning and implementation of the Gaza portfolio under the supervision of the Deputy Representative, ensuring alignment with humanitarian priorities, the Strategic Note and corporate requirements.
• Support the Gaza team in effective management of the Gaza programmes by coordinating workplans, monitoring implementation milestones and following up on key actions.
• Ensure timely preparation and quality assurance of reports, briefing materials and other corporate documentation related to the Gaza portfolio.
• Coordinate administrative and operational processes related to programme implementation, including budget monitoring, procurement planning and partner reporting.
• Maintain effective communication and facilitate information flow across the Gaza team and with external stakeholders inside Gaza.
• Provide day-to-day technical guidance and oversight to 1–2 personnel supporting the Gaza portfolio.

4. Provide substantive technical inputs to Women's Economic Empowerment programming, focusing on Gaza humanitarian response and early recovery

• Provide technical inputs to the design, implementation and monitoring of Women's Economic Empowerment initiatives within the Gaza portfolio, including joint programmes.
• Contribute to the development of programme strategies, knowledge products and partnerships related to Women's Economic Empowerment, including joint programmes.

5. Performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is an office-based consultancy.

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:

• Good programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills.
• Good knowledge of Results Based Management.
• Ability to gather and interpret data, reach logical conclusions and present findings and recommendations.
• Strong analytical and coordination skills.
• Good knowledge of humanitarian programming, coordination mechanisms and gender equality and women's empowerment issues.
• Good knowledge and practical experience in employment and/or livelihoods.
• Ability to build and maintain effective partnerships with government institutions, UN entities, donors and civil society organizations.
• Ability to coordinate multiple stakeholders and facilitate collaboration in complex operating environments.
• Ability to prepare high-quality reports, briefing notes and presentations.
• Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and risks related to programme implementation and resource mobilization.

Required Qualifications:

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 2 years of progressively responsible experience in development and/or humanitarian programme implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting and capacity building is required.
• Experience in humanitarian coordination and engagement with inter-agency mechanisms is desirable.
• Experience in livelihoods and/or employment initiatives is required.
• Experience related to gender equality and women's empowerment, including Women's Economic Empowerment programming, is desirable.
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government institutions, UN agencies, development partners and/or donors is desirable.
• Experience representing an organization and facilitating partnerships with multiple stakeholders is desirable.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required.
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Arabic is required.

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.