Programme Associate

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.

From 2005-2015, disasters caused US$1.4 trillion, killed 0.7 million and affected 1.7 billion people.  In 2017 alone, 318 disasters killed over 9,500, affected 96 million and displaced 18.8 million internally, causing US$314 billion in economic damage.  

Natural hazards and climate change severely affect the ability of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Caribbean to achieve sustainable development. The Caribbean SIDS are located in some of the most disaster-prone regions in the world, while several of them are among the 25 most vulnerable nations in terms of disasters per capita or land area. Since 1950, 324 disasters hit the Caribbean, killed 250,000 people and affected more than 24 million people. The economic loss caused by these disasters for the Caribbean exceeds $22 billion between 1950 and 2016. Economic damage incurred goes beyond the GDP of certain countries: it is estimated that Hurricane Maria caused 225 percent of Dominica’s GDP in economic loss to the island, and the economic damage caused by the hurricane for Grenada in 2004 was 200 percent of its GDP. This seriously hampers the region’s sustainable development pathway, especially given the heavily indebted status of Caribbean SIDS. 

Disasters affect women, girls, boys and men differently. Research shows that women and girls are disproportionally affected by disasters, are more likely to die in disasters, and have different and uneven levels of resilience and capacity to recover (see figure 1). In addition, other groups of vulnerable population in the region, particularly young unattached men without employment, face difficulty to recover from the effect of disasters which can contribute to increased citizen insecurity due to high crime rates amongst this particular population group. 

Gender inequality heightens exposure to risk, increases vulnerability and restrains capacity. It shapes the uneven capacity of impoverished and marginalized populations, such as women, girls and unemployed youth to anticipate, adapt, and recover from disasters and to contribute effectively to resilience building. Gender-specific barriers in prevention, preparedness and response prevent vulnerable groups from acquiring and accessing the means and capacities needed for resilience, which causes their higher loss of lives and livelihoods in disasters and often results in a gendered downward spiral of vulnerability and poverty following disasters. This leaves women, girls and unemployed, unattached young men disproportionately vulnerable to future natural hazards. In addition, these vulnerable groups remain largely ignored and their potential and capacities unleveraged in conventional resilience building processes. To build the resilience of vulnerable groups, a comprehensive approach is needed that specifically targets the resilience of women, girls and unemployed, unattached young men while ensuring in parallel a gender-responsive systems approach across the prevention, preparedness and response spectrum.

Resilience is “the ability of individuals, households, communities, cities, institutions, systems and societies to prevent, resist, absorb, adapt, respond and recover positively, efficiently and effectively when faced with a wide range of risks, while maintaining an acceptable level of functioning and without compromising long-term prospects for sustainable development, peace and security, human rights and well-being for all”.   UN Women’s focus on strengthening gender-responsive disaster resilience across the prevention, preparedness and response spectrum stems from the recognition that natural hazards will continue to turn into disasters for vulnerable populations, including women, as long as the resilience of these populations is not sufficiently built. Since resilience is a structural issue, which is closely linked to governance, gender equality, and inclusiveness, resilience cannot be resolved solely through targeted action to build resilience of the impoverished and marginalized but requires in parallel a transition to gender-responsiveness of prevention, preparedness and response tools, systems and plans.

While an increasingly stronger focus on gender-responsive prevention is a programmatic key objective and an evident business case in terms of return on investment, preparedness and response efforts need to be rendered gender-responsive so that vulnerable groups’ resilience to disasters can be strengthened in a comprehensive manner before, during and after disasters. This will reverse the downward spiral of disaster vulnerability and exposure into an upward spiral of resilience, which will protect the lives and livelihoods of women, marginalized youth, their families and their communities. 

The UN Women programme on Strengthening Gender-responsive Disaster Resilience in the Caribbean provides a comprehensive package for gender-responsive resilience, which focuses on rendering prevention, preparedness and response systems, plans and tools gender-responsive. The programme also supports targeted action to enable women, girls and unemployed unattached young men to withstand natural hazards, recover fully from disasters and increase their resilience to future natural hazards.

The programme’s principles are localization and ownership. In line with these principles, governments, women’s organizations, youth groups and DRR and resilience stakeholders will be key partners in programme design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation. The programme will benefit from UN Women’s global expertise on gender-responsive resilience building, women’s empowerment and leadership as well as its vast network of women’s organizations and youth groups.

The programme will contribute to key international and regional processes and frameworks, including Agenda 2030, the Sendai Framework for DRR, the WHS outcomes, and the Humanitarian-Development- Peace Nexus, SAMOA Pathway and Regional Action Plan for the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 in the Americas. The programme is also aligned and resonates with the CDB’s policy on gender equality, including its Gender Equality Policy and Operational Strategy.

Reporting to the Programme Officer – Humanitarian, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Resilience, the Programme Associate works with and provides support to the Programme Team in the development and implementation of effective programmes consistent with UN Women rules and regulations.  The Programme Associate contributes to research, financial management, and programme implementation including providing necessary operational, administrative, and programmatic support. The Programme Associate works in close collaboration with the operations, programme, and projects’ staff in the MCO and UN Women HQs as required for resolving complex finance-related issues and exchange of information.

Duties and Responsibilities

1.     Provide administrative and logistical support to the formulation and management of programmes.

• Provide administrative support in the preparation of programme work plans, budgets, and proposals on programme implementation arrangements.
• Provide technical guidance to the MCO and executing agencies on routine delivery and reporting of programme supported activities and finances.
• Prepare information for the audit of programmes/ projects and support implementation of audit recommendations. 
• Review programme data from programmes/ projects for the MCO website.
• Identify sources and gather and compile data and information for the preparation of documents, guidelines, speeches and position papers.

2.     Provide administrative support to the financial management of the Programme Unit

• Create projects in Atlas, prepare budget revisions, revise project awards and status; and determine unutilized funds and the operational and financial close of a project.
• Provide administrative support in monitoring budget preparation and the finances of programmes/projects, including the finalization of FACE forms.
• Process payment for consultants.
• Maintain internal expenditures control system.
• Create requisitions in Atlas for development projects.

3.     Provide administrative support to the Programme Unit

• Undertake all logistical, administrative and financial arrangements for organization for meetings, workshops, events, and missions.
• Make travel arrangements for the Programme Team, including travel requisitions and claims. 
• Prepare public information materials and briefing packets.
• Assemble briefing materials and prepare power-point and other presentations.

4.     Provide administrative support to Resource Mobilization

• Prepare cost-sharing and other agreements.
• Follow up on contributions within the MCO resource mobilization efforts.
• Organize, compile and process information from donors, MCO, and programme team, as inputs to various databases and documents.

5.     Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing in Gender Responsive CC DRR and Humanitarian Response.

• Provide administrative support synthesis of lessons learnt and best practices related to programme management and finance.
• Provide administrative support to training for the office staff and partners on programme and operations related issues.
• Support the development of presentations and papers on Gender Responsive CC DRR and Humanitarian Response.
• Provide technical and administrative support to training for office staff and partners on Gender Responsive CC DRR and Humanitarian Response.

Key Performance Indicators

• Timely and accurate support to events, workshops, and missions.
• Full compliance of administrative activities with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures.
• Timely recording of overall programme unit finances.
• Timely and accurate tracking of data for CO management and donor purposes.
• Quality maintenance of internal systems.

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 knowledge of programme management.
• Ability to administer and execute administrative processes and transactions.
• Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats.
• Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow.
• Strong financial and budgeting skills.
• Strong IT skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Completion of secondary education required.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business or Public Administration is an asset.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in administrative or programme management/support.
• Experience in working in a computer environment using multiple office software packages.
• Experience in the use of ATLAS is an asset.
• Experience in supporting a team is an asset.

Language Requirements:

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

Applications:

• This position is subject to service contract conditions for Barbados.
• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment; Please group all documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows one document to be uploaded.

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.

UN Women is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.