Job: NATIONAL PROGRAMME OFFICER (NOC)

Location :

Bogotá, COLOMBIA

Application Deadline :

18-Oct-13

Additional Category

Women's Empowerment

Type of Contract :

FTA Local

Post Level :

NO-C

Languages Required :

English   Spanish  

Starting Date :
(date when the selected candidate is expected to start)

25-Nov-2013

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 will lead and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

In Colombia, the 45-year persistent internal armed conflict have greatly impacted women. From 1995 to 2011, violence associated to this conflict has generated over 3,700,000 internally displaced persons (nearly 8% of the country’s total population), 49% or which are women. According to "The Global Gender Gap Report" published by the World Economic Forum each year, gender inequality in Colombia is increasingly high, or many other countries move at faster speeds. The country went from level 22 in 2006, to 60 in 2012 -38 positions below in just six years- The main gap according to this report has been at the political and economic spaces for women. Women constitute 52% of the population in Colombia, however, only 12% of women hold elected positions, even though since 2002 women are more likely than men to graduate from higher education. Although Colombian women spend 10.8 hours more than men in paid and unpaid work, the gap in the rate of female participation in the labor market is 20.4%, the gap in the unemployment rate is 6.6%, and the same position, earn 20% less than men. According to the World Economic Forum Colombia.

In recent years there has been significant development in Colombia legislation and jurisprudence to recognize and define the scope of the rights of women. These developments allow for a comprehensive policy framework and generally progressive, aimed at overcoming discrimination and violence faced by women in different areas of their lives. The Colombian government has ratified all international treaties on women's human rights and gender equity, 17 of which are part of the Constitutional block. It has also developed an important regulatory framework to guarantee the rights of women, including the Comprehensive Plan for a life free of violence against women and the Law of Victims and Land Restitution, and has recently approved the Public Policy Guidelines on gender equity for women in 2012, with a budget for implementation. In addition, some local governments have developed public policies for women's rights, and have established institutional mechanisms in charge.

However, there is a considerable gap between policy and practice developments that need to be deepened.

UN Women-Colombia has implemented a bidirectional intervention strategy, working both with public institutions at national and state level and with women’s organizations in the territories. This has allowed them to activate policy and law making processes, and at the same time has facilitated local collective action processes that enable putting pro women rights governmental provisions into practice.

UN WOMEN’s goals in Colombia are to promote the rights of women and ensure their inclusion in peace and reconstruction processes in Colombia; To promote the political and economic empowerment of women; and to end violence against women and girls. UN Women Colombia supports the efforts of the State to develop and implement gender responsive policies to advance women´s rights, and civil society efforts to advocate for women’s rights. It also coordinates and collaborates withthe UN System for greater impact to advance gender equality.

In order to achieve these goals, UN Women Colombia works mainly deploying the following functions:

• Support national efforts to promote and enhance gender equality and women’s empowerment by providing policy advice and institutional support to Member States in policy and programme development that is supportive of progress towards gender equality in all areas.
• Provide technical and financial support to projects and initiatives linked to its mandate.
• Undertake advocacy on issues critical to gender equality.
• Support Member States in implementing and monitoring intergovernmental agreements
• Contribute to generating knowledge on gender equality and disseminating good practices on the subject.
• Contribute to strengthening the coordination and accountability of the United Nations System on gender equality, incorporating gender mainstreaming.Provide capacity development and training

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Representative in Colombia, and in close coordination and articulation with the other existing National Programme Officer, the main role of the NOC is to exercise overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing UN Women interventions in Colombia under her/his portfolio.

The NPO works in close collaboration with the programme team, the operations team, with UN WOMEN / Regional and HQ staff, with UN System colleagues, as well as with Government officials, technical advisors and experts, and civil society and multi and bi-lateral partners, ensuring the successful UN WOMEN policy and programme implementation

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

• Provision of top quality advisory and programme development services in all areas of UN Women Colombia, and specifically on Violence against Women, access to Justice and gender responsive Governance
• Management of CO Programmes and supervision of respective Programme team, including robust monitoring and evaluation
• Inter-agency UN System coordination support
• Strategic partnerships and resource mobilization support
• Advocacy support and knowledge generation and management

Provision of top quality advisory and programme development services in all areas of UN Women Colombia, and specifically on Gender Based Violence, Access to Justice, and Gender Responsive Governance

• Thorough analysis and research of the political, social and economic situation in the country related to the thematic/sectorial areas assigned and preparation of substantive inputs to the UN Women country office programme planning in those areas.
• Provide technical advice defining strategic actions from a gender perspective in the (GBV) area within the National Policy for Gender Equity (care, prevention, communication and information)
• Constant monitoring and analysis of the data on the respective areas, programme environment, design of programmes, timely readjustment of programme interventions. Strategic advice to the UN Women Representative regarding national level integration of UN WOMEN programme into socio economic development process, preparing situational analysis reports that serve as the basis for the programme formulation of UN WOMEN on the respective thematic areas in the country.
• Identification of areas for support and interventions within the thematic/sectoral areas assigned in alignment with UN Women Strategic Plan.
• Design and formulation of programme initiatives within the area of responsibility, translating UN Women’s priorities into local interventions.
• Provision of programme advisory support to the Office Management within the thematic area/portfolio assigned.
• Act as Officer in Charge as designated in the absence of UN Women Country Representative, providing overall management of the Office and programmes including day to day supervision of project offices throughout the region, exercise delegation of authority, and representational functions.

Management of Office Programmes and supervision of respective Programme team, including on the design and implementation of robust monitoring and evaluation systems

• Under the overall guidance and oversight of the Country Representative, exercise overall responsibility for planning, implementation, management, evaluation and coordination aspects of the programmes/projects under his/her responsibility.
• Ensure effective application of RBM tools, monitoring and evaluation of achievement of results.
• Manage the portfolio of on-going programmes/projects through technical monitoring and administrative and financial supervision ensuring the proper application of a monitoring system to track progress on program results and indicators.
• Lead programmes/projects appraisal according to results-based management requirements.
• Coordinate and supervise the activities of programme staff, project staff, experts and consultants working as part of the technical assistance team.
• Responsible for the timely preparation and quality control of all substantive technical reports, briefs and required documents.
• Ensure timely production and submission of all partial and/or progress reports by all members of the project team, contractors and project partners.
• Conduct field visits to supervise, coordinate and monitor field level activities of portfolio.

Inter-agency UN System coordination support

• Provide substantive support to the Country Representative on inter-agency coordination related activities.
• Take part in country level Comprehensive Country Assessment (CCA)/UNDAF processes and similar exercises related to the RC system ensuring that gender concerns are clearly reflected and mainstreamed in process.
• Prepare substantive inputs to CCA/ UNDAF and other documents thoroughly analyzing and researching the political, social and economic situation in the region.
• Prepare analytical and regular progress reports on UN Women’s program experiences in support of UN women inter-agency coordination role.
• Identify opportunities for joint programming and coordinate the implementation of joint interventions under the area of responsibility.

Strategic partnerships and resource mobilization support

• Implement the Office partnerships and resource mobilization strategies to achieve programme outcomes within the areas assigned.
• Create and coordinate partnerships with the relevant UN Agencies, government institutions, bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors, private sector, civil society etc in the areas under his/her responsibility.
• Determine programmatic areas of cooperation, based on strategic goals of UN Women, country needs and donors’ priorities.
• Analysis and research of information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost-sharing.
• Follow up on resource mobilization activities for fund raising for new projects in coordination with the UN Women Representative.

Advocacy support and knowledge generation and management

• Support the establishment of advocacy networks at national level and linkages to international networks related to the sectorial/thematic areas assigned (i.e. VAW, access to justice, gender responsive Governance).
• Proactively and substantively support and implement relevant, high-impact advocacy and communication activities and campaigns with key partners.
• Identify and synthesis best practices and lessons learnt directly linked to programme country policy goals in the sectorial/thematic areas assigned and contribute to their systematization within the Office.
• Proactively contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice

Impact of Results

The post has an impact on the overall effectiveness and success of UN Women interventions and activities in the working sectorial/thematic areas, which impacts in turn on the overall effectiveness of UN Women in Colombia. By helping ensure effective design, planning, implementation, and M&E of the working sectorial/thematic areas, and building networks and helping mobilize resources for these areas, the incumbent enhances the organization’s capacity and credibility in implementation of highly effective programmes with strong impact on women´s human rights

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:

• Knowledge Management and Learning
• Promotes knowledge management in UN WOMEN and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example.
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.
• Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects, mobilize resources.
• Knowledge and experience in gender-based violence area.
• Knowledge in design and implementation of information and monitoring systems.

Development and Operational Effectiveness

• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting.
• Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects, mobilize resources.
• Ability to formulate and manage budgets, manage contributions and investments, manage transactions, conduct financial analysis, reporting and cost-recovery.
• Ability to implement new systems and affect staff behavioral/ attitudinal change.
• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting.

Management and Leadership

• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback.
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills.
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.
• Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in the office.
• Ability to advocate and provide policy advice.
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.
• Leads teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills.
• Builds strong relationships with partners and external actors.
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills.
• Focuses on impact and result for the partners and responds positively to feedback.
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.

Skills

• Professionalism: Knowledge of organizations rules and regulations as they pertain to the incumbent´s area of responsibility.
• Teamwork – Good interpersonal skills; ability in multi- cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
• Communication- Ability to speak and write clearly and effectively.
• Planning and Organizing – Uses time efficiently. Ability to prioritize assignments and allocate appropriate time for completing work . Strictly observes deadlines . Work well under pressure. Ability to handle a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner.
• Programme management: Strong skills in the use of programmatic tools to plan, monitor and evaluate programmes and projects.
• Commitment to Continuous Learning- Initiative and willingness to learn new skills.
• Technological Awareness – Possesses excellent computer skills to facilitate daily work.
• Trust: Reputation for dealing honestly and openly with staff. Respected by peers, partners and staff

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s Degree (or equivalent) in Economics, Human Rights, Political Sciences, Social Sciences or related field

Experience:

• 5 years of progressively relevant experience at the national or international level in development projects, preferably in Latin America, providing management advisory services, hands-on experience in planning and design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development policies and programmes and establishing inter-relationships among international organizations and national governments specifically in the field of gender equality and human rights of women and/or 5 years experience international humanitarian law, and women´s human rights.
• At least 2 years of experience in gender based violence and in monitoring and evaluation areas.
• Prior experience in the UN System and the Region will be an asset

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Spanish

IMPORTANT

Only on-line applications which contain a signed UNDP P11 form and introduction letter will be considered. You can find P-11 form at http://sas.undp.org/Documents/P11_Personal_history_form-es.docx

International with Colombian Nationality can apply also.

UN System internal candidates may be applying for this position.

We strongly encourage qualified women and men to apply

UNWOMEN is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

More Info and Application