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UN WOMEN: DEPUTY FUND MANAGER (FGE)

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women will work 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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.
UN Women’s Fund for Gender Equality (FGE) was launched in 2009 as a global grant-making fund and an instrument for aid effectiveness, dedicated to the advancement of women’s economic and political empowerment. Grants are awarded directly to government agencies and civil society organizations so that they can turn their gender equality commitments into real gains in the lives of women and girls at local, national or regional levels.
Launched with an initial contribution of US$65 million (EUR 50 million) from the Government of Spain, followed by US$3 million from the Government of Norway and US$800,000 from the Government of Mexico, the Fund ultimately helps the world make progress towards attaining gender equality goals enshrined in crucial international agreements, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the Beijing Platform for Action, among others.
The FGE is managed by UN Women as the Technical/Programmatic and Administrative Secretariat of the Fund on behalf of the UN system, donors and the grantees of the fund. As a Secretariat, UN Women is responsible for supporting the Steering Committee (consisting of donors, UN and other multilateral agencies and civil society organizations’ representatives). In determining the priorities and policies of the Fund, the FGE Unit in UN Women will provide the operational, administrative and technical/programmatic services to make and monitor grants. A Technical Committee, composed of experts in women’s economic and political empowerment from every region of the world, reviews proposals and makes recommendations for funding to the Steering Committee. Knowledge management, communication, monitoring and evaluation aspects of the Fund are central to its operations.
The Deputy Fund Manager reports to the Chief, FGE and will be responsible for: a) assisting in the overall program management and oversight of the Fund’s operations, including operational guidance to HQ staff on grant-making processes in the UN and to Sub-Regional and Country offices where FGE grants have been awarded; b) providing technical direction, guidance and oversight of monitoring and evaluation of the Fund; c) contributing to the introduction of knowledge and innovation in the management and monitoring of the funds and; d) supervision of field-based Programme Monitoring and Reporting Specialists as well as technical staff in HQ, when required.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions:
  • Support to strategic planning and management
  • Management and oversight of the Fund’s operation
  • Oversight of Monitoring and evaluation of the Fund
  • Support to managing the transition and decentralization process
  • Knowledge management and innovation
Support to Chief on strategic planning and management
  • Assist the Chief to determine work plans and set FGE Unit operational objectives, priorities and benchmarks for assessing performance and progress in support of the Fund’s management, operations and monitoring.
  • Work collaboratively with the Chiefs of other HQ Based Units including Program Division, Policy Division, Evaluation Unit and Strategic Partnerships, Advocacy, Civil Society, Communications, and Resource Mobilization Division to ensure synergy and collaboration with other programs and corporate initiatives.
  • Represent FGE Unit in international and national forums as appropriate/delegated to speak/discuss/collaborate on relevant FGE issues.
  • Undertake monitoring and evaluation missions.
  • Follow up on the Fund’s timely reports to donors and other stakeholders. Follow up with other internal FGE and UN Women colleagues in HQ and the field office to ensure the timely submission/dissemination of reports and to verify actions taken according to approved commitments and established requirements related to Fund management and operations.
  • Perform as Officer-in-Charge in the absence of the Chief.
Management and oversight of the Fund’s operations
  • Contribute to the launch for proposals for grants by preparing the package for the launch for grant making, including the development of templates and other tools to facilitate the submission and review of proposals for grants.
  • Draft the TORs for the all participants to the process, prepare briefing notes and other background reports to guide the review and approval process.
  • Review, consolidate and organize proposals. Confirm relevancy, accuracy and completeness for easy review and approval by the Steering/Technical Committee. Provide technical guidance to clients and stakeholders throughout the preparation and submission process.
  • Manage the machinery of the review and award process including the establishment of timelines for the grant process, oversight of systems and procedures as grant are reviewed, approved and disbursed. Take action as necessary and/or informed the Chief and stakeholders of issues for decision/action.
  • Take timely action to issue documentations and contracts according to conditions, rules, regulations and accountability framework for the grant of the awards.
  • Assess reports on the management, disbursements and expenditures to verify overall compliance with rules, regulations and objectives for the Fund.
  • Review, recommend and/or select technical experts and consultants to support grantees’ application and program implementation. Coordinate and/or follow up on their hiring to ensure timely availability for grant making review and approval process.
  • Plan /develop information and other documentary materials for UN Women to communicate the Fund’s programming and impact on gender equality.
Oversight of monitoring and evaluation of the Fund and reporting
  • Periodically review, update and/or enhance monitoring and evaluation tools and methodologies to ensure efficacy, relevancy and compliance with UNW rules and regulations, goals and objectives for tracking progress and impact of FGE Funds/Grantees on gender equality.
  • Guide and oversee the planning, preparation and implementation of Monitoring and Evaluations (M & E) with the Regional Program Directors and Regional/Field Monitoring, Reporting and Finance Specialists to ensure the alignment of the Logical Framework with UN Women Strategic Plan and evaluation procedures.
  • Guide and monitor the work of Independent Evaluation Team/s conducting thematic evaluations (from grantees) to ensure their compliance with UN Women corporate evaluation procedures and to provide timely/proactive operational support to ensure their successful assessment of grantees progress in advancing gender equality.
  • Review M & E and other required grantee reports and submit to the Chief and/or management. Synthesize analyses and observations highlighting critical issues for use in strategic discussions, work planning, learning and to facilitate proactive action to support progress and achievement of results according to objectives and accountability frameworks.
  • Provide technical support throughout the M & E process to the Programme Monitoring and Reporting Specialists in the field. Monitor progress in close coordination and consultation with the Regional Program Directors (RPD). Take action and/or alert stakeholders for timely intervention to ensure the delivery of timely and quality reports.
  • Finalize and consolidate regional grantee reports on results. Work with the Communications Specialist to produce the FGE Annual Report and other reports to ensure the quality and delivery of the Report as an effective communication and information tool.
Support management of transition and decentralization processes
  • Contribute to the transition and decentralization initiatives by identifying/recommending areas for maximizing efficiency and efficacy through delegation and decentralization.
  • Contribute to refining work processes in HQ and the field in the area of Fund operations, management, monitoring and evaluation. Recommend clear delineation of responsibilities and roles for each step of the process between HQ and field offices ensuring value added for each process.
  • Monitor and evaluate the performance of regional and field offices, relevant specialists (finance, human resources, program, others) and other clients and stakeholders in the management and monitoring of funds to determine areas for building capacity to improve and sustain performance.
  • Recommend and/or take actions to ensure clients and stakeholders have the competency for optimum performance and accountability.
  • Plan strategic capacity training events, materials and guidelines. Organize and lead training and other learning events.
Knowledge management and innovation
  • Keep abreast of the latest technology and practices on M & E and work closely with experts to maximize the use of technology to enhance efficiency and efficacy for documenting, analyzing and processing applications (for Funds), management of grants and information sharing.
  • Capture, institutionalize and disseminate best practices and lessons learned to build the capacity of clients and stakeholders.
  • Develop and design guidelines and tools for grant making and programs including improving and/or refining the whole work processes and operations for grant making and awards to ensure organization wide quality, consistency and coherence in the Fund’s operations and communications.
Impact of Results:
The successful contribution of the Deputy Fund Manager in the management, oversight and monitoring of the FGE impact on the services provided to the work of the Steering/Technical Committee in reviewing and granting awards, possibilities for greater resource mobilization, the image and the credibility of the FGE Unit and UNW as Secretariat to the FGE and ultimately in advancing the goals and objectives for gender equality and women’s rights.

Competencies

CORE VALUES / GUIDING PRINCIPLES:
Integrity:
Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity:
Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.
CORE COMPETENCIES:
  • Ethics and Values: Demonstrating / Safeguarding Ethics and Integrity
  • Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment
  • Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring: Self-development, initiative-taking
  • Working in Teams: Acting as a team player and facilitating team work
  • Communicating Information and Ideas: Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively
  • Self-management and Emotional intelligence: Creating synergies through self-control
  • Conflict Management / Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements: Managing conflict
  • Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning: Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others
  • Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Informed and transparent decision making
Functional competencies
  • Ability to think conceptually, strategically and analytically.
  • Strong planning, goal setting and organizational skills.
  • Good knowledge and application of Results based management and quality delivery of outputs.
  • Good interpersonal and diplomacy skills.
  • Capacity to write clearly and concisely
  • Ability to make decisions under pressure and to deal with matters that are politically and cultural sensitive.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:
  • Advanced university degree (or equivalent) in gender/ women's studies, political science, international development studies, sociology, economics or other social science fields.
Experience:
  • A minimum of 7 years of development experience that combines a demonstrated track record in managerial leadership of development programs and grant making/funding, particularly managing gender equality and women’s rights programmes at the international level, preferably in developing countries within the UN system or multilateral donor organizations and grant making foundations.
Language Requirements:
  • Written and oral proficiency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN language is highly desirable.
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.

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
Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
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UNDP 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.