Programme Consultant – Governance, Women’s Leadership and Political Participation (Home Based)

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, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world.

In Zimbabwe UN Women is implementing a Programme on Governance and Participation in Public Life. The Programme focuses on strengthening capacities of women to participate in politics, leadership and decision making and supporting interventions to implement the National Action Plan (NAP) for Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) 1325.

Under the direct supervision of the Programme Specialist for Women’s Political Participation the Consultant will provide the technical support and oversight required for the implementation of the political participation and women peace and security  thematic portfolio in the Country Office ; support capacity and skills-enhancement of staff and partners in country; establish and strengthen partnerships; and develop relevant knowledge products on political participation and women peace security . The scope of work of the Consultant to support Women’s Political Participation, Peace and Security  requires experience in and in-depth understanding of gender equality and women’s political empowerment and leadership  to translate UN-Women Strategic Note  into effective programmes and results in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region.

Duties and Responsibilities

Support in the formulation of Programme Strategy:

• Thorough situational analysis and research on the country context  and preparation of substantive inputs to Strategic Plan, Annual Work Plans, budgets, and proposals on programme implementation arrangements.
• Identification of areas for support and interventions within the thematic/sectoral areas assigned.
• Ensure implementation of components of the programme to align with the Annual/Biannual Work Plan;
• Prepare briefing materials, power-points and talking points to support Policy Specialist for Governance, Women’s Political Participation.
• Identify sources and gather and compile data and information for the preparation of documents, guidelines, speeches, and position papers.

Programme Management Support:

• Support organization and implementation of the programmatic and policy advice; schedule partner meetings, partner grant  management , record of minutes :
• Support efforts for resource mobilization, including programme development as well as associated communication material.
• Support donor reporting, monitoring, and reporting.
• Provide support to the  country office on routine implementation of projects, tracking use of financial resources.
• Provide necessary information for the audit of programmes/projects and support implementation of audit recommendations.
• Support the Country Office mid -term review process including compilation of inputs and feedback.

Provide technical assistance and capacity development support to project/programme partners:

• Provide technical support to country offices and other partners in the implementation of programme activities.
• Identify opportunities for capacity building of country offices and partners in the thematic areas and coordinate and facilitate technical/ programming support and trainings as needed.
• Monitor progress on programme activity, results, and indicators.
• Provide inputs to quarterly reports, donor reports and other reports on outputs, results outputs, and outcomes.

Provide inputs to advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts:

• Provide technical inputs to background documents, briefs and presentations related to Governance & Women’s Political Participation and Leadership.
• Coordinate and support the organization of advocacy activities and campaigns events, trainings, workshops, and knowledge products.
• Provide inputs to the development of knowledge management products in the thematic area.
• Ensure information and updates are shared with relevant thematic networks, communities of practice and reference groups.
• Provide quality assurance of COs’ knowledge products in line with corporate strategies.
• Support management of the Projects, including through codifying lessons learned and good practices from the partners.

Manage the resource mobilization strategy in the area of women’s political participation in the region:

• Develop a regional strategy/proposal on WPP and undertake targeted resource mobilization in this thematic area.
• Develop tailored concept notes, provide technical support to offices with resource mobilization efforts in this area.
• Prepare and/or deliver presentations to the development partners on this topic.

Results/Expected Outputs:

• Timely and quality inputs to programme development.
• Timely and quality implementation of Programme/Portfolio/ activities against set workplans, timelines, and budgets, in line with the Strategic Note and Bi-Annual Work Plan.
• Timely and quality technical assistance.
• Quality and timely inputs to reporting.
• Strong relations with partners and stakeholders.
• Enhanced best practices and lessons learned documented and circulated.
• ESARO regional strategy and proposal finalised

Competencies

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:

• 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.
• Good analytical skills.
• Good knowledge of technical area.
• Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities, and threats to resource mobilisation.

Required Skills and Experience

Position Requirements:

Education

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Law, Human Rights, International Development, Gender Studies, Political Science, International Relations, or other related fields.

Work Experience:

• At least seven years of relevant work experience in the development of programme/project implementation, and capacity building; preferably in governance and political participation.
•  Experience and understanding of implementing human rights, gender equality and women's empowerment projects and initiatives.
• Knowledge of and previous experience working on governance and women’s political participation and leadership in Zimbabwe or Southern Africa .
• Technical experience in Women’s political participation, preferably with field experience in managing and/or overseeing related programmes, including policy development.
• Experience in research and documentation of women’s political participation issues such as violence against women in elections.
• Experience working in the UN System at regional or national level.
• Experience working with government and CSOs on Women Peace and Security ,  on governance and women’s political participation.

Language:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of any other UN official working language is an asset.

How to Apply:

Personal CV or P11 (P11 can be downloaded from:

A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)