Governance and Planning 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 Partnership Division (SPD) is responsible for proactively driving the strategic positioning of UN Women and ensure that the size, sources and predictability of its resources help the organization achieve its strategic goals. The division is organized into three functional clusters: Resource Mobilization; Multi-stakeholder and Partnerships Engagement Section; and Communications & Advocacy.

The Individual, Digital and Public Giving Team sits in the Multi-stakeholder and Partnerships Engagement Section. At the global level, the team coordinates and provides technical support and strategic advice to Regional and Country offices on all individual and digital giving activities. The team also oversees the work of UN Women National Committees. UN Women has currently 12 National Committees in the world (Australia, Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Iceland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, UK, USA), each established as an independent local non-governmental organization. Serving as the public face and dedicated voice of UN Women, the National Committees work tirelessly to raise awareness on women’s rights; secure worldwide visibility for women and girls threatened by poverty, disasters, armed conflict, abuse and exploitation; as well as raise funds from the private sector.

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.

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.

Duties and Responsibilities

• From March to September 2021
  1. Support the implementation of the National Committees’ 2021=2022 Joint Partner Plans and Revenue and Costs Report projections under UN Women’s Recognition Agreement and Joint Partner Agreement governance and planning modality.
  2. Manage the reporting done by National Committees, including on the Partner Funding (investment funds) they receive so that compliance with their Recognition and Joint Partner Agreements is maintained. This includes meeting the reporting deadlines as outlined in the Joint Partnership Agreement and Joint Partnership Plans.
  3. Support the development of policy documents and guidelines related to UN Women National Committees, including the development of an Operations Manual for National Committees.
  4. Perform qualitative and quantitative analysis on a range of financial and non- financial data and information related to reporting done by National Committees.
  5. 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 October 2021 to March 2022
  1. 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 Joint 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.

• Throughout the year
  1. Act as Focal Point for assigned National Committees.
  2. Support UN Women National Committees with the reporting of their 2021-2022 Joint Partner Plans.
  3. 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: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637  

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:

• Master’s Degree in law, business, corporate governance or audit, or related fields.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of 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.