Project Coordinator

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality, enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination and violence 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. Ending violence against women is one of the priority areas that UN Women focuses on, globally and in Kosovo. UN Women possesses the global and local expertise to address and combat GBV in Kosovo. In addition, as part of UN Women’s comprehensive approach, they work with local partners to enhance data collection and analysis to provide a better understanding of the nature, magnitude, and consequences of violence against women and girls: data collection and analysis helps UN Women and other stakeholders understand what works and doesn’t work to address this GBV.

Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), Gender-Based Violence (GBV), and Domestic Violence (DV) remain the most pervasive human rights violations globally, affecting approximately 1 in 3 women worldwide. In Kosovo, VAWG and DV persist as prevalent forms of violence, predominantly impacting women and girls.

Through this project “Addressing effects of gender based violence in Kosovo, and empowering survivors to fight stigma and speak out” funded by the Government of the United Kingdom/ British Embassy in Prishtina. UN Women will work in partnership with four local NGO’s working on women’s rights and gender equality. This project will address stigma-based myths and prejudices amongst the general public and those working in services that support survivors, including health-workers, police, prosecutors and judges through campaigns (with media coverage) and other educational activities, using gender transformative approach tools. Furthermore, will empower survivors of GBV to actively claim their rights through knowledge and access to available services which will ultimately facilitate their reintegration into the society. This will be done through capacity building of service providers and awareness raising activities for survivors addressing the lack of information survivors have on what services are available to them. Through the multi-stakeholder engagement to deliver this project, this will bring societal changes which in turn will have an impact on legal, political and cultural approaches to GBV.

Although there has been some progress in applying some areas of the Istanbul Convention, very little work has been done to address the stigma that GBV survivors face, nor to raise awareness of the services available to survivors, including on access to justice. Instead, the focus has been on encouraging survivors to report cases to the police, and then with little attention to follow-up support.

Therefore, the project objectives are:

• Educate and change societal perceptions of GBV to remove its stigma and advocate for an end to violence against women and girls;
• Support women and girls survivors, including to ensure they are aware of of their rights, and what services, including judicial, are available to them.

To support implementation of the project, the UN Women Office in Kosovo seeks to recruit a national Project Coordinator who will work under the direct supervision of the UN Women Head of Office. The Project Coordinator will oversee the work of the team, coordinate activities, and monitor and report on the implementation of project activities, while promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women under existing partnerships and in close collaboration with and in synergy with UN agencies, national actors, civil society, and strategic partners.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

Under the supervision of the UN Women Head of Office in Kosovo, the Project Coordinator will be responsible for:

• Management of project implementation and supervision of the Project team;
• Collaborate with relevant authorities and embassy officials;
• Managing the provision of technical assistance and capacity development to project partners;
• Strategic partnerships and advocacy support;
• Managing the monitoring and reporting of the project;
• Managing the human and financial resources of the project;
• Drafting Letters of Agreement, project plans, budgets; prepare Terms of Reference for national and international consultants, experts/ institutions, and CSOs; and supervising and evaluating their performance in delivering required outputs;
• Undertaking close supervision of consultancies that are commissioned by the project, and troubleshoot as needed;
• Engaging in quality control of visibility and communication materials prepared under the project, such as training materials, manuals, studies, analyses, reports, visuals, and similar, in line with corporate and donor visibility guidelines;
• Preparation of periodic project progress updates, and analytical, progress and other reports, in line with corporate and donor requirements;
• Developing and updating quarterly work plans and expenditure plans based on the agreed annual work-plan;
• Contributing to coordination on gender equality to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes with partners in the country;
• Managing advocacy, knowledge building, and communication efforts;
• Proper identification of and follow-up with all relevant counterparts;
• Ensuring that project documentation/communication is accurate, a tracking system is in place for effective project monitoring and closure, and human resources changes on the project are anticipated;
• Providing programmatic and technical support to the UN Women office, as assigned.
• The Project Coordinator reports to the Head of Office.

1. Manage the day-to-day implementation of the project

• Develop detailed implementation plan and for the project and be responsible for the day-to-day implementation of activities.
• Review programme annual work plans to assure compliance with the project goals and results-based indicators.
• Ensure coordination and linkages of the project across activities and other ongoing initiatives by other actors at the country level and in the region.
• Build and manage relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the programme;
• Assess and coordinate appropriate implementation strategy in the execution of activities; 
• Provide technical support to UN Women and implementing partners as well as consultants and collaborators, towards the achievement of intended results;
• Flag in a timely way issues of strategic concern and seek advice from office management in finding appropriate solutions;
• Provide programmatic and technical support to UN Women including for the office annual workplan, strategy documents, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to gender equality, as deemed necessary.

2. Manage the human and financial resources of the project

• Manage the project’s financial resources in full compliance with UN Women rules and regulations;
• Monitor the project budget regularly and engage in budget revisions, as well as in expenditure tracking and reporting in accordance with UN Women rules and regulations and donor requirements and make budget re-alignments/revisions, as necessary;
• Supervise and coordinate with the project team;
• Mobilize qualified national and international experts that are needed for the project activities; draft Terms of Reference for consultants and supervise and evaluate their performance in delivering required deliverables at the expected quality;
• Monitor the allocation and disbursement of funds to implementing partners, if relevant;
• Provide inputs and clarifications related to preparation of financial reports to the donor;
• Manage programme files and support information collection and dissemination: ensure project documentation (filing) and communication is properly done, and tracking system is in place for effective project closure;
• Ensure effective information flow, communication, and coordination across the office, between programmes, projects, and operations.

3. Manage the results-based monitoring and reporting of the project

• Apply results-based management (RBM) tools in establishing management targets and monitoring achievement of results;
• Manage the monitoring of mutually agreed results frameworks and performance indicators;
• Financial and substantive monitoring of project activities, identification of operational and financial problems, development of solutions;
• Undertake monitoring missions to ensure timely delivery and quality of results and prepare reports on monitoring missions;
• Provide inputs to the office Quarterly Monitoring Reports (progress against planned activities and outputs) as well as annual reporting;
• Prepare and coordinate inputs for the mid-term review;
• Manage the submission of implementing partners’ financial and narrative reports as needed; ensure that progress reports from responsible parties are properly monitored in line with project outputs and timeline before approving;
• Identify capacity building needs of partners and lead the coordination of technical assistance, mentoring, training, and capacity development initiatives to partners;
• Prepare programme team for audits and monitor implementation of audit recommendations, as necessary.

4. Provide substantive inputs to advocacy, knowledge building, and communication efforts for the project

• Manage the implementation of the communication and visibility plan of the project in line with visibility guidelines and standards of the donor (UK) and UN Women;
• Contribute to developing advocacy strategies and oversee their implementation;
• Develop background documents, project summaries, conference papers, briefing notes, and presentations related to the project;
• Coordinate and organize advocacy campaigns, events, trainings, workshops, and knowledge products in cooperation with Communications, Programme and Operations Units of participating partners;
• Finalize relevant documentation on donors and potential opportunities for resource mobilization;
• Provide inputs to project-related products, including updates to various stakeholders and the donor, as requested.

5. Build partnerships and contribute to coordination on Gender Equality

• Develop and implement partnership strategies to contribute to the overall goal and results of the project;
• Coordinate with other UN agencies, government departments, donors, and CSOs to ensure the project’s capacity development component is harmonized and aligned with other in-country efforts;
• Foster close collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, Kosovo Police, Kosovo Institute for Public Administration, Line Ministries, Agency for Gender Equality, Social Workers, Health Workers, Women Civil Society organizations, youth networks and media;
• Contribute to donor coordination with relevant development and integration actors, as requested;
• On a continuous basis, communicate progress and coordinate with the embassy of UK in Kosovo as well as with other UN Women offices implementing similar interventions;
• Represent UN Women in national and international fora, as requested by the UN Women Head of Office.

Any other tasks and responsibilities as assigned.

Impact of Results

The change that the project expects to see is that GBV stigma for women survivors in Kosovo is removed and that women GBV survivors have the knowledge to understand their rights and be able to access services. 

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving and Decision Making
• Effective communication and Inclusive collaboration
• Actively promotes gender equality during Project Activities
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies -

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Gender/Women’s Studies, Development Studies, Human Rights, Public Policy, Law, Public Administration, Social Studies, or closely related fields.
• A first-level university degree (BA) in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree (MA).

Experience:

• At least two (2) years’ experience with Masters degree or 4 years of progressive experience with Bachelor’s Degree in programme management, including programme design, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, and donor reporting of internationally funded projects with a focus on gender equality and women’s empowerment. 
• Experience in providing technical assistance and capacity building on gender equality and women’s empowerment at the central and local level is required;
• In-depth knowledge of the legal and policy framework on gender equality and international instruments and mechanisms, and thorough understanding of gender inequalities and the status of women in the country;
• A solid track record of leading teams effectively;
• Proven ability to coordinate, work, and build and maintain strategic partnerships with public institutions, development and integration actors, donors, and civil society organizations;
• Previous work experience with the UN System, and embassies is considered an asset;

Language Requirements:

• Excellent proficiency in Albanian and English, is required.
• Knowledge of Serbian is considered an asset.

Other skills

• Excellent computer skills, computer literacy: Microsoft Windows, proficient use of processing tools such as Microsoft Office package (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)

Application Instructions:

All interested candidates must complete a PERSONAL HISTORY FORM (P-11). Failure to disclose prior employment or making false representations on this form will be grounds for withdrawal of further consideration of his/her application or termination, where the appointment or contract has been issued.

• P11 including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at:  
• Click on the "Apply now" button.
• Input your information in the appropriate Sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, resume and motivation. You can type in, or paste your short Resume into the last box.
• Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. On the next page, you will be asked to upload your Resume. Instead of uploading your Resume, please submit a fully completed and signed  Personal History Form (P-11).
• System will only allow one attachment. All docs (P11, academic qualifications/diploma) should be included as one attachment.