Country Programme Manager

UN Women

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 the 2030 Agenda and through the Decade of Action, member states recognized that Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women/girls would make a crucial contribution to progress across all the SDGs and that the systematic mainstreaming of a gender perspective into the implementation of the Agenda is crucial for success. 

Women in Uzbekistan face a number of challenges in accessing education, employment, and health care. Gender inequality is particularly pronounced in rural areas, where traditional gender roles are stronger and women have less access to resources. Women are also disproportionately affected by poverty and the lack of economic opportunities in the country. In response to these challenges, the Government of Uzbekistan has taken a number of steps to improve the situation of women in an accelerated manner. The state has enacted laws to protect women's rights, including the Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Law on Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women. In 2021, it adopted its Strategy for achieving gender equality in Uzbekistan until 2030 aimed at ensuring equal participation of men and women in the management of public and state affairs, provision of social and legal support to women, and protection of women from oppression and violence by promoting of legitimacy, democracy, openness, and transparency as the basic principles of gender equality. It has also launched number of practical and strategic initiatives to increase women's access to education, health care, and economic opportunities, which also includes gender-sensitive budgeting approach, which allocates funds to projects that promote the economic and social empowerment of women. The Senate and Government took commitments to continue to invest in policies and programs that promote gender equality, such as increased access to education and employment opportunities and other areas. In addition, they prioritize increasing focus on ensuring that the legal framework is effective in protecting women and girls from violence and harassment. Finally, a special effort is placed on addressing the social and cultural barriers that prevent women from fully participating in society. 

UN Women is working in partnership with the Government of Uzbekistan and the United Nations Country Team in Uzbekistan to support efforts to improve the situation of women in the country. The United Nations is providing technical assistance and support to the government on issues such as the protection of women's rights, access to education and economic opportunities, access to health care and reproductive rights, and the elimination of gender-based violence. The United Nations is also working with civil society organizations to raise awareness about women's rights and to provide support for the implementation of policies and programs to promote gender equality. These are provided in line with the nationally owned UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2021-2025 which articulates the strategic programmatic collaboration between the UN System and the Government of Uzbekistan through five Outcomes under three Strategic Priority Areas: Effective Governance and Justice for all; Inclusive Human Capital development Leading to Health, Well-being and Resilient Prosperity; and Sustainable, Climate Responsible and Resilient Development. The UNCT of Uzbekistan was entrusted to implement the Uzbekistan Vision 2030 Fund aimed at accelerating the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan's (the Government) national reform agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in principled, transparent, and effective manner. The Fund will primarily target transformative interventions focusing on the strategic priorities identified and agreed between the Government and the UN within the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2021-2025 (UNSDCF) and its subsequent iterations, thus serving as an important vehicle for the UN and the Government to accelerate on the progress towards GEWE goals and commitments of Uzbekistan. UN Women will aim to replicate its programmatic approach being used in the region in the form of the Gender Equality Facility to ensure adequate gender mainstreaming of the Fund.

For increasing the effectiveness of the UN's support in Uzbekistan, in 2022, the UNCT conducted the comprehensive UN System Wide Gender Equality Scorecard (UNCT-SWAP) assessment and identified the critical areas for urgent actions through systemic approach to GEWE mainstreaming, capacity building and tracking of results, including through using corporate tools and platforms as well as through more integrated systems approaches targeting behavior change among staff and partners towards GEWE. This will directly contribute to the fulfillment of the GA Resolution A/RES/72/279 which aims at changes in the way the UN Development System works as well as it will directly respond to the 2020 QCPR call to enhance and accelerate for GEWE, enable innovative partnership and investment for the SDGs. 

UN Women will support the effective implementation of national and international legal frameworks on GEWE, mainstreaming gender equality into national and sectoral policies and UN-led processes and programmes and strengthening the national institutional mechanism for gender equality in line with international standards and best practices.  It will provide support for enhancing coordination and monitoring of gender equality policies and measures in the short to longer-term, and securing implementation/application of gender equality legislation, policies and standards through policy dialogue, technical expertise and guidance, development and sharing of good practice, and strategic partnerships and cooperation. A recent example is the Asian Women's Forum in May 2023 organized by the Government of Uzbekistan with technical support from UN Women, counting with the attendance of the Executive Director. UN Women will develop key programmatic interventions on WEE, GRB, GBV, gender stats and other key areas for GEWE based on availability of donor funding, which will determine the future modality of presence in country.

Reporting to the UN Women Deputy Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, with strategic oversight from the Regional Director, the GEWE Country Programme Manager in Uzbekistan will be responsible for the strategic positioning of UN Women as a leader in Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (GEWE) in Uzbekistan, development of innovative initiatives and programs; and strengthening  effective partnerships with government counterparts, UN system agencies and organizations, civil society organizations, including media, communication, cultural and private sectors and with bilateral and non-traditional donors in order to promote inter-agency partnerships, support for national GEWE priorities, mobilization of visibility and resources to advance GEWE.

Functions:

Manage UN Women programme in the country

- Manage the development, implementation, and monitoring of the country programme annual workplan, including
- budget and results framework;
- Manage delivery of the day-to-day programme activities to ensure prompt and adequate delivery of results;
- Ensure effective use of resources and compliance with UN Women rules, policies, and procedures as well as
- donor/fund requirements;
- Manage the preparation for programme audits and implementation of its recommendations.
- Work with the Regional Office and HQ in the formal establishment of UN Women presence in country
- Manage personnel (SCs, consultants, UNVs, interns, etc) based on HR rules and procedures for performance management, learning, staff well being and career development. 
Provide advisory and technical support on the UN Women strategic direction for Uzbekistan;

- Lead the design, planning, formulation, and implementation of UN Women's country programming, in close consultation and collaboration with the government, civil society, donors, UN system partners and other national development stakeholders and partners, taking into account national priorities, the UNSDCF as well as UN Women mandate and expertise; 
- Guide the UN Women Regional Director (RD) on strategic areas for GEWE related programmatic work in Uzbekistan and contribution for UN Women sub-regional strategy for Central Asia;
- Develop and implement the annual work plan;
- Provide specialized technical and strategic support in managing all aspects of the programme design and related activities ensuring compliance and accountability in programme monitoring, reporting and evaluation;
- Develop thematic initiatives, including sub-regional ones, in line with UN Women Strategic Note 2022 -2026 and subsequent ones, policy documents, briefs and other strategic papers/materials for use in the development and presentation of innovative and coherent policy and programmatic positions;
- Support UN Women RO to finalize its strategy for the engagement in Uzbekistan and programmatic work by finalizing consultations on GEWE Center of Excellence and other possible modalities for the engagement. 
Represent UN Women in the UNCT and UN Gender Theme Group (GTG) and participate in other inter-agency and country coordination mechanisms 

- Represent UN women in the UNCT, and other inter-agency and country level coordination mechanisms; 
- Co-chair the UNGTG and extended GTG jointly with the other co-chair; 
- Co-lead and co-manage the UNGTG Workplan, its implementation and regular reporting; 
- Provide thought leadership and guidance to the United Nations Country Team (UNCT), UNSDCF Results Groups, GTG and other thematic groups in supporting enhanced response to national partners in advancing gender equality and women's empowerment in line with the normative agenda;
- Provide thought leadership and support to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and national authorities to promote gender equality and women empowerment activities in Uzbekistan;
- Contribute to the Common Country Assessment (CCA)/UNSDCF processes;
- Ensure that UN Women is strategically placed with the UN planning processes, joint programs and other inter-agency initiatives;
- Lead regular briefing for the international development partners/donors on GEWE priorities and opportunities for the joint work;
- Identify and support the development of UN joint programming opportunities and programmes, including specifically on GEWE; 
- Provide progress reports on UN Women's programme experiences in support of UN women inter-agency coordination role.
Lead the capacity development of the UN and Partners on GEWE 

- Co-lead the elaboration, implementation, and monitoring of UNCT Gender Strategy and its action plans in collaboration with Results Groups, UNGTG and other Thematic Groups;
- Lead the development and implementation of UN capacity building strategy on GEWE; 
- Provide substantive technical advice and capacity building support to the partners; develop policies, products and other technical documents as required;
- Oversee relationship building with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the work of UN Women in the country, and respond to any potential problems;
- Oversee and manage capacity building opportunities and initiatives of key institutions and mechanisms; 
- Provide timely advice on programmatic areas;
Create and maintain strategic partnerships and manage resource mobilization strategies 

- Establish and maintain partnerships with other UN agencies, governments, donors, civil society organizations and stakeholders;
- Build further cooperation with existing and new civil society platforms and networks in organizing joint efforts;
- Conceptualize, design and implement resource mobilization strategies;
- Plan and oversee the implementation of advocacy and awareness campaigns and fund raising events, as required.
Facilitate knowledge development and dissemination, communications and advocacy on GEWE national priorities

- Develop and facilitate a knowledge management strategy/plan 
- Support to develop and implement communications/advocacy initiatives;
- Manage the process of identifying and synthesizing of best practices and lessons learned that are directly linked to the implementation of the programme and contribute to their global dissemination;
- Introduce innovation and best practices to enhance programme performance.
Performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation. 

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: The position direct supervises all affiliate personnel which currently includes 1 NUNV, 3 consultants and 1 intern. With the office anticipated growth following resource mobilization, it is expected that the office personnel will grow gradually in the next years. 

Competencies :

Core Values:

- Integrity;
- Professionalism;
- Respect for Diversity.
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 Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

- Excellent programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
- Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them 
- Excellent knowledge of Results Based Management
- Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
- Excellent knowledge of gender equality and women's empowerment
- Strong knowledge of country and/or region
- Ability to lead formulation of strategies and their implementation
- Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising 
- Strong people management and leadership skills, ability to create a productive working environment

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.
- A project/programme management certification (such as PMP, PRINCE2, or MSP) would be an added advantage
- Leading change, and innovation certification will be is desirable  
Experience:

- At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience at the national and/or international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of GEWE development projects is required
- Experience in establishing inter-relationships among international organization and national governments is required
- Experience in the in the field of gender and human rights of women is required
- Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required. 
- Experience in leading transformative and innovative development work is desirable 
- Experience in administrative systems and UN system norms is desirable 
- Experience in Uzbekistan and/or region is desirable.
- Experience in leading a team is desirable.
Language Requirements:

- Fluency in English is required
- Fluency in Russian is desirable
- Knowledge of the other UN official working language is desirable.

Statements :

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.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women's policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.

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Sector:

Role:

Working hours (%): 80-100% / 100%

Job type: Staff (Permanent and Fixed Term)

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