Project Officer, Women's Political Empowerment (WPE) at UN Women

Post Level: SB-5
Type of Contract: Service Contract
Additional Category: Gender Equality
Duration of Initial Contract: 1 year.

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. In Nigeria, UN Women works to support the Government’s national development agenda, which prioritizes the empowerment of women and girls and their contribution to all areas of economic, political, and social development.
• Women’s leadership and political participation is one of UN Women’s primary areas of work as mandated in its inception, recognizing the integral role of women in strong and stable democratic processes.
• Through its Leadership and Governance pillar, UN Women’s programmes are guided by a history of international commitments to women’s representation. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women upholds women’s right to participate in public life, while the Beijing Platform for Action calls for removing barriers to equal participation.
• The Millennium Development Goals measure progress towards gender equality in part by the proportion of women in parliamentary seats.
• In the area of Women’s Political Empowerment, Nigeria has ratified most of the international and regional instruments on women’s rights. However, critical challenges remain in the application and domestication of these frameworks, causing Nigerian women to be underrepresented and marginalised from political decision-making processes.
• Currently, women’s political representation in Nigeria is abysmally low in the legislative, executive, and judicial powers due to different gendered social norms. Young women in particular experience a double jeopardy because of gender and because young people are equally marginalized in politics. 
• Under the funding of the Government of Canada, UN Women will implement a programme to the women’s political leadership and participation, as well as gender-sensitive reforms to ensure that affected communities, especially marginalized women and persons with disabilities are fully engaged to advocate and participate in the development of policies/legislations, in elections and other political processes affecting them. Priority areas of the programme include:
  • Legal Frameworks/Policies and Institutional Reform with a view to influence gender-responsive legislations that will create an enabling environment for women aspiring for political offices.
  • Women’s Participation and Leadership through supporting capacity-building trainings for women candidates to boost their campaign strategies, including training and mentoring young women
  • Coordination among partners and engagement with key stakeholders by building on the Working Group on Women’s Political Empowerment and engaging communities on advocacy for gender transformation as well as preventing violence among women in politics.
• To implement this programme, UN Women seeks a recruit Project Officer to facilitate the field implementation of the project (to serve as a focal point for states in the states in the South of Nigeria).
• Under the overall supervision of UN Women Deputy Representative, and direct supervision of the Programme Manager, the incumbent exercises responsibility for supporting the planning, implementation, and management of the UN Women’s programme on Women’s Political Participation in Nigeria.
• She/he works in close collaboration with the WPE team, other programme and operations teams, UN Women staff and substantively and technically support state-level implementation of the programme, including providing guidance to implementing partners in respective states.
• The Programme Officer will be expected to spend a lot of time in the target states under their respective supervision and provide first-hand information necessary to draw and collate lessons learning and sharing.

Duties and Responsibilities
Implementation support:

• Ensure timely and effective implementation of the UN Women’s project on Women’s Leadership and Political Participation
• Ensure that all partners work together to deliver concrete results in compliance with the work plan and the Results Framework
• Facilitate the delivery of the project by leading and promoting a coordinated approach to delivery across different outcomes/outputs
• Support all partners in the implementation of the project through direct assistance and technical/operational advice
• Assist in the systematic monitoring and reporting on project implementation and results
• Participate in the project mid-term review and evaluation in collaboration with relevant stakeholders
• Assist in managing financial resources for achieving results in line with the outputs and activities outlined in the project document and the Annual Work Plan (AWP)
• Support the delivery of results and ensure efficient and effective use of resources
• Prepare annual and quarterly progress reports and organize technical meetings for the project
• Actively participate at the regular Technical Working Group (TWG) meetings and assist in organizing meetings of the TWG of the project
• Support the preparation of inputs for different fora, as required
• Identify and support partners engaged in governance and democratization with a view to increase the participation and leadership of women
• Assist in the provision of support to women political candidates and help them build their capacities
• Share lessons learned from different Country Offices (COs) of UN Women on election, political participation and leadership of women
• Identify and support entities that provide voter and civic education and sensitization campaigns on gender equality
• Provide support to gender equality advocates that make calls for political parties, governments and others to do their part in empowering women in politics and leadership
• Encourage young men and women to engage in advocacy around making gender equality measures central to public policy making
• Support advocacy efforts and undertake initiatives for legislative reforms to ensure women’s fair access to political spheres—as voters, candidates, elected officials and civil service members
• Collaborate and liaise with other UN Country teams and CSOs in undertaking tasks related to women’s leadership and political participation
• Support the project team in facilitating knowledge building and information sharing under the different outcome areas of the project.

Reporting:

• Maintain the quality of reports, particularly ensuring that progress reports are based on RBM principle
• Promote the substantive quality of all knowledge products, reports and services, and ensure effective integration and compatibility with other result areas
• Contribute to the production of reports and publications, and serve as peer reviewer
• Forge links with other initiatives to identify good practices and share lessons
• Provide technical support and guidance to implementing partners on timely and quality narrative and financial reporting

Monitoring and follow up:
In collaboration with the WPE team and the M&E Specialist:

• Prepare results frameworks for each output and establish performance and impact assessment indicators and systems
• Draft the project monitoring plan with detailed activities and ensure implementation in conformity with the plan
• Ensure the implementation of the monitoring and evaluation plan is carried out in a participatory manner
• Support partners in preparing contributions to, and compile narrative and financial reports for UN Women and submit to the TWG for inputs, before submission
• Play the lead role in the preparation of project’s reviews and monitoring visits
• Ensure that the activities are implemented in conformity with UN Women and donor requirements, and that support and advice from partners are fully utilized
• Support the WPE Communications Officer in identifying good practices and lessons learned and documenting this knowledge
• Promote the substantive quality of all knowledge products, reports and services, and ensures effective integration and compatibility with other results areas
• Contribute to the production of reports and publications, and serve as peer reviewer
• Forge links with other initiatives to identify good practices and share lessons
• Follow up and provide technical support to ensure quality service provision to identified target groups
• Support the WPE team and partners in ensuring the delivery of the expected results of the project and ensure cascading of the standard accountability tools developed over the years by different Implementing partners.

Key Performance Indicators

• Timely and quality programme design and inputs to Strategic Note;
• Timely and quality of programme delivery in line with budget and workplans, and in line with all UN Women operational rules and regulations, including security;
• Timely and quality monitoring and evaluation of programmes; 
• Relations with partners and stakeholders;
• Quality reports and timely submission.
• Regular communication with other agencies and partners;
• Quality of advocacy and communication initiatives.

Required Skills and Experience
Education and certification:

• Master’s Degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Human Rights, Gender/Women's Studies, International Development, or a related field is required.
• A First-Level University Degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Management certification would be an added advantage.

Experience:

• A minimum 5  years of relevant work experience or 7 years with B.A / B.Sc. Degree, in the area of Human Rights, Governance, Development or a related field of which at least two years of professional experience in program/project implementation
• Experience in the implementing programmes for women’s political empowerment is a strong advantage
• Experience in implementing multi-partner programmes, and proven experience in partnership building and networking
• Strong facilitation, training, and interpersonal skills
• Knowledge of M & E of programmes, proven advocacy, analytical and writing skills.

Language Requirements:

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

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:

• Substantial previous experience in working with government organs, donors, civil societies, and women’s rights organizations.
• Demonstrated strong co-ordination and facilitation skills.
• Strong communication skills (oral and written).
• Results oriented, flexible, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrates substantive knowledge and understanding of women’s political empowerment issues.
• Demonstrates substantive knowledge and experience in the provision of coordinated support and management of rights-based programmes aiming to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Demonstrate ability to think conceptually and analytically
• Ability to assess knowledge needs, prepare learning plan and guide application of newly acquired skills
• Commitment and skills in promoting national ownership of programming
• Ability to guide partners in planning, results-based management and reporting.