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.

UN Women is committed to the achievement of equality between women, men, boys and girls as partners and beneficiaries of humanitarian action and resilience. In May 2015, UN Women engaged in Gender in Humanitarian Action and in 2017 created the Humanitarian Action and crisis Response Office to consolidate its advocacy, coordination and capacity development role for the integration of gender equality across humanitarian action. UN Women Humanitarian response includes three areas of work, namely disaster risk reduction and mitigation, humanitarian response and early recovery dealing with Women’s Leadership, Empowerment, Access and Participation (LEAP) and Resilience. The impact of conflict is often measured by casualties: Women and girls face heightened risks due to displacement and the breakdown of normal protection structures and support, gender-based violence.

As part of its Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience work(DRR), the UN Women Regional Office for West and Central Africa, focusses on prevention and resilience building by ensuring that new and existing disaster risks are mitigated by putting women’s agency and voice at the center of disaster risk reduction efforts. UN Women facilitates and promotes the integration of gender equality and women's empowerment through Coordination and Leadership; Capacity Development; Mainstreaming Gender into Data, Analysis, and Advocacy and Targeted programming.

UNWOMEN collaborates closely with UN system partners, national institutions and civil society organisations to ensure accountability and coherence in addressing gender equality in humanitarian action and DRR. UN Women works with gender equality institutions and organizations, from grassroots to intergovernmental bodies, to strengthen their position and capacity as champions for gender equality in humanitarian action, resilience and beyond.

About the portfolio/ thematic area

In the world, the number of people affected by humanitarian situations increased from 52 million in 2014 to nearly 132 million in 2019[1]. A large part (at least 22 million) of this population is in West and Central Africa with various humanitarian priority: Food insecurity caused by climate shocks, arm conflicts, terrorism, epidemics, and natural disasters. The increased action of terrorism with Boko Haram in the Sahel  has generated new and complex situation in the region. 

West and Central Africa is faced with many conflict situations (Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Mali, DRC) with more than 10.7 million refugees and internal displaced persons requiring life-saving assistance and protection. Women, girls and children represent a large part of this population.

Governmental and non-governmental civilian infrastructures and services were systematically destroyed or closed after conflict. The lack of access to life-saving, medical care and insecurity caused by displacement has exacerbated women’s security and safety. The violence, especially rape/violence against women and instability have accentuated existing gender inequalities and exposed women to the risk of heightened violence at the home and in the community. Regarding terrorism orientation in West and central Africa, women in many countries are afraid to send their daughters to school, in public places, in markets, for fear to having them kidnapped, and the latter live in an advanced state of trauma. This escalation of violence raises the issue of protection for IDPs, host vulnerable populations, refugees as women, girls and children have been frequently targeted by Boko Haram in its new conflict strategy. Communities and individuals in the affected regions are resilient to shocks and have already withstood numerous crisis of different nature in the past decades. Life-saving humanitarian assistance has been critical to help them absorb the impact of these socks and it must continue.

Countries in the Sahel have been dealing with successive political and humanitarian crises for years. The situation has left the Sahelian countries increasingly vulnerable to disasters, with a weak ability of households to withstand repeated and increasingly frequent shocks. In this situation, due to the gendered dimensions of disaster risk, women and girls face greater vulnerability and exposure to disasters. Yet they remain poorly involved in conventional disaster risk reduction processes.

Under the direct supervision of, the Programme Specialist Humanitarian and DRR will contribute to the effective implementation of the UN Women Humanitarian strategy and the DRR program in West and Central Africa. The scope of tasks to be undertaken with regards to gender equality, humanitarian action and DRR will be agreed with the incumbent as the need arises

Reporting to Regional Policy Adviser on Peace, Security and Humanitarian Action, the Project Coordination Specialist is responsible for coordinating the Humanitarian and DRR portfolio which includes coordinating relationships with national partners and stakeholders, and the monitoring and reporting, and the finances and personnel of the portfolio

[1] https://www.unocha.org/es/node/951883

Coordinate the Humanitarian and DRR Programme

• Coordinate the overall Programme/Portfolio work plan development and implementation according to Strategic Note/ programme document;
• Liaise with the Programme Board, national counterparts, donors, UN Women and partners to ensure the Programme results are achieved and resources are managed;
• Prepare and present work-plans, periodic narrative progress reports and expenditures status reports to the Programme Board and UN Women;
• Establish systems for project planning, implementation and monitoring, in collaboration with partners;
• Record and maintain documents on relevant Programme activities, issues, and risks.

Guide coordination with national partners and other stakeholders

• Coordinate relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the humanitarian and DRR Programme, raise potential problems and provide solutions;
• Provide 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, cross-partner learning, and capacity development initiatives.

Coordinate the monitoring and reporting on the Humanitarian and DRR Programme

• Gather and compile all information necessary for monitoring and reporting on programmes and projects from the planning to the evaluation stages;
• Monitor the implementation of activities and the expenditure of funds by partners; conduct regular monitoring visits;
• Write annual and quarterly reports; review and coordinate the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports;
• Provide inputs from humanitarian and DRR programme activities and results to Regional Office reporting.

Manage financial resources and supervise staff

• Supervise and manage a team of professional and administrative staff, review performance and mentor/ coach staff;
• Coordinate development and preparation of financial resources of the Programme including budgeting and budget revisions, and expenditure tracking and reporting;
• Oversee and monitor the allocation and disbursement of funds to participating partners.

Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies

• Provide technical support to the development of partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
• Identify potential programmatic areas of cooperation, based on strategic goals of UN Women, country needs and donors’ priorities and develop the relevant partnerships.

Advocate and facilitate knowledge building and management and communication

• Ensure documentation of the programme implementation process and products produced are in accordance with UN Women guidelines;
• Contribute to the exchange of information and knowledge products internally and externally of the programme;
• Organize major advocacy campaigns, events, trainings, workshops and knowledge products

Key performance indicators

• Timely and quality implementation of Programme/Portfolio activities against set workplans, timelines and budgets, in line with the Strategic Note
• Quality and timely reporting
• Strong relations with partners and stakeholders
• Regular and timely monitoring of activities 
• Timely and quality implementation of advocacy events in line with work plan
• Enhanced best practices and lessons learned documented and circulated

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

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

Functional Competencies

• Strong 
• Strong budget and finance skills
• Strong knowledge of Results Based Management
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports in order to inform management and strategic decision-making
• Strong analytical skills
• Good knowledge of UN programme management systems

Education

• Master’s degree or equivalent in public administration, law, human rights, gender equality, management, social sciences or other related areas 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 (such as PMP®, PRINCE2®, or MSP®) would be an added advantage.

Experience

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in managing complex and multi-component programme interventions with national partners, preferably related to Humanitarian and DRR;
• Experience in coordinating, implementing, monitoring and evaluating development programmes and projects;
• Previous experience working in the UN system is an asset.

Language requirements

• Fluency in English and French is required;
• Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset;

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc. Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Note:

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.)