National Committees and Governance Consultant

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.

The UN Women Strategic Partnerships Division is responsible for proactively driving the strategic positioning of UN Women and ensuring that the size, sources and predictability of its resources help the organization achieve its strategic goals. 

The National Committees for UN Women are independent non-profit, non-governmental organizations established to generate greater political and financial support for UN Women. National Committees are present in 12 countries? and work to support UN Women through advocacy campaigns to increase political support for gender equality and women’s empowerment issues; public awareness activities to mobilize individual supporters who can amplify UN Women advocacy messaging on priority issues affecting women; and dynamic fundraising initiatives, including face-to-face, telemarketing, direct mail and digital fundraising. Over the years, the partnership with National Committees has developed from generating political and financial support from Member States to active fundraising from individuals and the private sector, and media outreach to increase visibility of gender equality issues and UN Women. 

Individual Giving is recognized as a fundraising channel that has been successfully used by other UN agencies for whom it generates the bulk of their private sector income. This has been an area on which UN Women has focused less than partnerships with the corporate sector and foundations in the past. UN Women is committed to growing private sector fundraising with a focus on Individual Giving.

Under the leadership and guidance of the Head of Individual, Public and Digital Giving, the National Committees and Governance Consultant contributes to the systematic approach to improved National Committee governance, accountability, transparency and enhanced compliance with processes and agreements, including within UN Women.

Ongoing specialist support in the area of governance will significantly strengthen National Committees’ overall performance and protect the UN Women brand and image. It will help strengthen UN Women Strategic Partnerships Division’s internal review and monitoring processes with respect to managing the relationship between UN Women and National Committees.

Duties and Responsibilities

• From January to June 2020
  1. Working with the Senior Fundraising Consultant, support the planning process, by developing a timeline for the 2021-2022 planning process, the development of the 2021-2022 Biennial Partner Plans templates, and the review of the current governance documents, as needed.
  2. Support the process of development of the National Committees’ 2020-2021 Biennial Partner Plans and Revenue and Costs Report projections under UN Women’s Recognition Agreement and Biennial Partner Agreement governance and planning modality.
  3. Manage the reporting done by National Committees, including on the Partner Funding (investment funds) they receive so that compliance with their Recognition and Biennial Partner Agreements is maintained. This includes meeting the reporting deadlines as outlined in the Biennial Partnership Agreement and Biennial Partnership Plans.
  4. Support the development of policy documents and guidelines related to UN Women National Committees, including guidelines for the formation of new UN Women National Committees, on their roles, etc.
  5. Perform qualitative and quantitative analysis on a range of financial and non- financial data and information related to reporting done by National Committees.
  6. Develop, maintain and update a web-based resource pool on governance and related issues, i.e. Extranet for National Committees, and manage all areas of technical troubleshoot.

• From June to December 2020
  1. In support of the Senior Fundraising Consultant, track National Committee fundraising efforts and performance, including: Gross private sector fundraising revenue subject to remittance; remittance rates; reinvestment of funds retained into fundraising; leveraging of revenue not subject to remittance for fundraising capacity building; the size of reserve funds; and execution of Biennial Partner Plans.
  2. Ensure timely monitoring and evaluation review of National Committees’ accounts and financial transactions and related document (i.e. contribution forms and contributions transfer reports), as well as reporting to UN Women Division for Management and Administration and Senior Management of the Strategic Partnerships Division.
  3. Provide technical support in audit-related functions of the National Committees. Coordinate and respond to audit observations made on National Committees activities and ensure follow-up actions are taken according to agreed recommendations.
  4. Support the organization of the 2020 Annual Meeting of National Committees.
  5. Produce a summary of National Committees’ 2020 activities and results, highlighting best practices and case studies.
  6.  Manage the development and dissemination of good practices and lessons learned.

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

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf  

 Functional competencies:

• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Ability to work under pressure, to follow deadlines and handle numerous tasks simultaneously.
• Strong multi-tasking skills and managing shifting priorities.
• Ability to organize and complete multiple tasks by establishing priorities.
• Timely and quality coordination and monitoring of tasks to achieve results.
• Ability to establish, build and sustain effective relationships with clients, demonstrating understanding of client’s perspective; anticipates client needs and addresses them promptly.
• Ability to make effective timely decisions, sound judgment and decision-making skills.
• Ability to recognize and respond appropriately to the ideas, interests, and concerns of others.
• Ability to consistently work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.
• Demonstrated excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Strong analytical skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree in law, business, corporate governance or audit, or related field.

 Experience:

• Minimum of two years of progressively responsible professional experience at the international level in law, audit, not-for-profit or corporate governance.
• Experience in risk management, knowledge management and sharing an asset.
• Experience in supporting National Committees and knowledge of the unique National Committee structure is an asset.
• Experience in designing web-based information systems. 
• Other experience in developing customized information systems and applications is an asset. 

Language:

• Fluency in oral and written English is required.
• Intermediate knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) is desirable.