Programme Specialist, Spotlight Initiative Africa Regional Programme (SIARP) 2.0, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, P-3

The Position:

The Programme Specialist provides high-level technical expertise and strategic coordination to the African Union Commission (AUC), ensuring the seamless alignment of regional policies with international standards to accelerate the elimination of violence against women and girls (VAWG), the eradication of harmful practices, and the advancement of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) across the continent under the SIARP 2.0 framework
How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead United Nations agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is intended, every childbirth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled. The UNFPA Strategic Plan for 2026-2029 articulates the organization’s response to a complex global environment, providing a roadmap for resilience and renewal. It is designed to accelerate the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This mandate is pursued through a focus on four interconnected outcomes: ending the unmet need for family planning; ending preventable maternal deaths; ending gender-based violence and harmful practices; and adapting to demographic change through evidence and rights-based policies.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates who transform, inspire, and deliver high-impact and sustained results and ensure effective external relations, communications, and partnership-building and resource mobilization in a rapidly changing development and funding landscape. We need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them, and who commit to delivering excellence in programme results.

Background/Context
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) persists in every country in the world and is one of the most systematic and widespread human rights violations. One in three women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence, mostly by an intimate partner. The immediate and long-term physical, sexual, and mental consequences for women and girls can be devastating, including death.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development places gender equality at its core to achieve the SDGs. In Africa particularly, Agenda 2063 clarifies the continent’s priorities, on unlocking the potential of its population by addressing underlying challenges including gender inequality, violence against women and girls in its different formulations. Across this shared international agenda, the elimination of VAWG remains crucial. To this end, the Spotlight Initiative was launched in 2017 with funding of more than $500 million from the European Union, which constituted the largest global, multilateral effort aimed at ending all forms of violence against women and girls. Through its whole-of-society approach, the Spotlight Initiative Africa Regional Programme (SIARP) has achieved transformative results in ending VAWG, accelerating progress against Agenda 2063’s Priority 6 and across the SDGs.

SIARP 1.0 contributed to progress in eliminating violence against women and girls, addressing harmful practices, and promoting gender equality across Africa. It strengthened regional legal and policy frameworks, including the development of Africa’s first Regional Action Plan (RAP) on EVAWG, the establishment of the African Union’s Gender and Youth Observatory and securing commitments from 22 Member States to ratify and domesticate the Maputo Protocol. The programme supported legislative reforms on child marriage in Burkina Faso, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe while enhancing National Action Plans to combat harmful practices like Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). It improved data systems through capacity building and tools such as the Gender-Based Violence Information Management System (GBVIMS) and the AU Gender Scorecard, enabling evidence-based policymaking. SIARP 1.0 also empowered civil society by funding grassroots initiatives and establishing the Civil Society Regional Reference Group (CSRRG) to enhance advocacy and accountability of the initiative to civil society. Social norm change was driven through engagement with religious and traditional leaders and regional campaigns promoting gender equality and positive masculinities. Multisectoral partnerships aligned efforts among UN agencies, the African Union Commission (AUC), and Regional Economic Communities (RECs), ensuring long-term sustainability by embedding initiatives into regional policies. These achievements laid a strong foundation for SIARP 2.0 to build upon and further accelerate progress.

SIARP 2.0 represents a dynamic partnership among AUC, RECs, United Nations agencies, civil society, and the European Union. Building on the foundation of SIARP 1.0 (2020–2023), this second phase aims to address violence against women and girls, including to eliminate harmful practices, and strengthen sexual and reproductive health and rights outcomes across Africa. With a comprehensive, rights-based, and survivor-centered approach, SIARP 2.0 tackles the root causes of violence and promotes systemic change through continental and regional actions. SIARP 2.0’s strategy aims to enhance legal reforms, prevention strategies, service delivery for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV), and institutional capacity development, resourcing and strengthening networks among civil society to ensure a comprehensive and sustainable approach, and is structured around four interconnected outcomes:
1. Strengthening legal, policy, and institutional frameworks and data systems to address violence against women and girls and harmful practices.
2. Promoting prevention strategies to address discriminatory gender norms and empowering women, girls, and youth-led movements.
3. Enhancing access to quality, survivor-centered, and multi-sectoral services for survivors of violence.
4. Strengthen women’s rights organizations and youth-led movements to advocate for change and hold governments accountable.
Against this background, the Spotlight Initiative Africa Regional Programme 2.0 through UNFPA as the Technical Lead is looking for a Programme Specialist to be embedded with the Africa Union Commission (AUC) for technical support, thereby closely engaging with the key policy and technical leads on harmonization of regional policies and strengthening the continental leadership required to effectively implement and monitor EVAWG efforts, engage with stakeholders and ensure effective delivery and technical coherence. She/He will work in close collaboration with participating UN Agencies, RECs, CSRRG and other regional partners under the overall guidance of the African Union's Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development (HHSD) and Regional Gender and Human Rights Advisor of the UNFPA.

Job Purpose:

1. Strengthened Coordination and Strategic Alignment: Contribute to a unified strategic direction established among the four implementing agencies (UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women), the African Union Commission, Regional Economic Communities, and Civil Society Organizations, ensuring quality planning, implementation, monitoring, and achievement of programme objectives and results.
2. Enhanced Technical support: SIARP 2.0 UNFPA engagements are effectively managed and reported in a coherent manner, fostering collaboration with key stakeholders.
3. Improved Advocacy, Knowledge Management, and Communication: Coordinated efforts from the AUC and CSRRG enhance visibility, strengthen knowledge-sharing, and promote strategic advocacy for the programme’s impact and sustainability.

You would be responsible for:

The Programme Specialist will work under the overall authority and direct guidance of the AUC and in close collaboration with UNFPA. S/He will ensure solid work relations and information sharing with key stakeholders of the SIARP 2.0.

Ensuring coordination with the AUC, the regional partners and other stakeholders:

● Ensure programme coordination, provide common strategic guidance and planning, and oversee a coherent and effective implementation of the UNFPA SIARP 2.0 components, identify potential challenges and contribute to solutions.
● Provide substantial guidance to partners on establishment of performance indicators, and monitoring achievement of results;
● Identify capacity building needs and support partners through technical assistance, mentoring, training, and cross partner learning and sharing, and capacity development initiatives; develop training materials and workshops, as necessary.
● Reinforce partnerships with key stakeholders including youth groups, religious, traditional leaders, and other civil society across the region to ensure inclusion of perspectives and collaboration with the programme.
● Oversee programme liaison with the Civil Society Regional Reference Group (CSRRG) ensuring timely communication of programme developments are shared and recommendations from the reference group are reflected in programme implementation.
● Coordinate the operationalization of women and youth-led accountability frameworks to monitor regional commitments on EVAWG and SRHR
● Engage in seamless alignment of regional policies with international standards to accelerate the elimination of violence against women and girls (VAWG), harmful practices, and to advance SRHR.
● Ensures long-term sustainability by embedding initiatives into regional policies through multisectoral partnerships that align the efforts of UN agencies, the African Union Commission (AUC), and Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
● Identify capacity building needs and support partners through technical assistance, mentoring, training, and cross-partner learning.
● Coordinate the operationalization of women and youth-led accountability frameworks so communities can independently monitor regional commitments on EVAWG and SRHR.
● Reinforce partnerships with key stakeholders including youth groups, religious, traditional leaders, and other civil society across the region to ensure broad societal inclusion and collaborations

Effective management of advocacy, knowledge building and communications efforts, in close collaboration with participating agencies, focusing on achievement of the following results:
● Support the design of accurate monitoring and communication tools: a communication strategy and plan, terms of reference for evaluations (including baseline, mid-term assessment and end of programme), and a reporting system.
● In close collaboration with the AUC and the PCU Communication team, review background documents, briefs and presentations related to the elimination of VAWG produced by SIA, and facilitate the co-creation of common communication and advocacy materials, ensuring coherence and visibility of the programme.
● In collaboration with the PCU and stakeholders, support the knowledge management practices through the use of digital innovation and smart advocacy strategies to amplify the SIARP 2.0 results.
● In close collaboration with the AU Communication Team coordinate information on the programme in communication channels – including website, social media and networks, and email newsletters.
● Closely engage with stakeholders and technical leads to synthesize joint programme learnings and best practices and disseminate these in collaboration with the Advocacy, Communication and Knowledge Management Officer.
● Provide specialized technical oversight for countries of programme implementation in strategic advocacy, data analytics, policy landscape analysis and partnership with stakeholders
● Coordinate efforts between the AUC and the Civil Society Regional Reference Group (CSRRG) to enhance visibility, strengthen knowledge-sharing, and promote strategic advocacy for the programme’s impact and sustainability.
Qualifications and Experience:

Education:
● A master’s degree in international relations/development, management, public administration, public health, monitoring and evaluation, gender, communication, economics, sociology, demography, statistics, and public policy or equivalent development-related areas
Knowledge and Experience:

Experience
● At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in designing and managing complex multi-stakeholder and multi-year programmes and doing policy research and advocacy for the elimination of violence against women and girls, ideally with some experience in the African region.
● Demonstrated experience in strategic planning and project management.
● Experience coordinating joint programmes, working with and building partnerships with governments, donors and civil society organizations internationally and as well as other multilateral platforms.
● Proven ability to draft, edit and produce written results-focused reports.
● Excellent analytical, communication and negotiation skills.
● Experience in leading/managing communications product development and dissemination.
● Ability to build and motivate / lead cross-cutting teams to produce client-oriented results.
● Thorough understanding of violence against women and girls and gender equality.
● Experience working with and understanding of the African Union Commission and the UN is an asset.

● Excellent oral and written expression
● Excellent planning and organizational skills
● Leadership and Stakeholder Engagement
● Teamwork and Inclusive Collaboration
● Managing Performance
● Creative Problem-Solving
● Feminist and human-rights based principles

Languages
● Fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of French is desirable.

Required Competencies:

Values:

• Exemplifying integrity,
• Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system,
• Embracing cultural diversity,
• Embracing change

Core Competencies:

• Achieving results,
• Being accountable,
• Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen,
• Thinking analytically and strategically,
• Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships,

Functional Competencies:

• Advocacy/ Advancing a policy-oriented agenda
• Leveraging the resources of national governments and partners/ building strategic alliances and partnerships
• Delivering results-based programme
• Internal and external communication and advocacy for results mobilization

Compensation and Benefits:

This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus health insurance and other benefits as applicable.

UNFPA Work Environment:

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click here to learn more.

Disclaimer:

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements.

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts.

Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.