Programme Manager, Africa Portfolio at UN Women

• Under the overall guidance of the UN Trust Fund Chief (EVAW HQ), and in close collaboration with the Policy and Programme Management Specialist(EVAW HQ) and ESARO Regional Policy Specialist (EVAW), the Senior Programme Manager will be responsible for (1) the overall management of the UN Trust Fund’s Africa grants portfolio and (2) the oversight, coordination and implementation of UN Trust Fund’s components of the A.C.T programme (Advocacy, Coalition Building and Transformative Feminist Action to End Violence against Women), developed by the EU and UN Women.

Duties And Responsibilities

• Manage the development and implementation of UN Trust Fund programmes in the Africa region (with a special focus on the A.C.T. programme)
• Guide the development of programmes and ensure coordination and harmonization of UN Trust Fund’s component under the A.C.T. programme with UN Women’s regional programmes.
• Provide strategic and specialized technical advice on the development of systems, processes and mechanisms to support programme planning, implementation, monitoring and progress reporting.
• Develop, review and evaluate proposals and lead the preparation of internal and external updates and reports.
• Review and provide feedback on related strategies and documents and ensure alignment of project budgets with logical framework matrices and work plans.
• Oversee programme quality control, including through assessing annual work plans and provision of recommendations to ensure compliance with programme goals, risk management and results-based indicators.
• Lead partnership engagement, knowledge building and sharing efforts across the UN Trust Fund Africa portfolio.
• Establish, nurture and manage partnerships with regional women’s rights and feminist coalitions, UN Trust Fund grantees, and other development actors and multistakeholder partners to advance a shared advocacy and implementation agenda on ending violence against women and girl, in close collaboration with the EVAW Regional Policy Advisors.
• Coordinate and convene advocacy spaces/events and coalition building efforts for UN Trust Fund grantees (including large scale regional and cross-regional convenings under the A.C.T. programme), and leverage opportunities to elevate and amplify advocacy priorities at the regional and global levels.
• Create spaces for programmatic connection and collaboration between UN Women offices and UN Trust Fund grantees, including through implementation of Country Office engagements.
• Co-lead the process of identifying, synthesizing and presentation of research initiatives, including best practices and lessons learned that are directly linked to the implementation of the A.C.T. programme, in close collaboration with the UN Trust Fund ME & KM Manager.
• Identify promising practices, technical expertise, and strategic opportunities in ending violence against women and strengthening women’s rights and feminist movements in the region based on the practice-based knowledge and experiences of UN Trust Fund grantees.
• Provide high-level technical advice in the Monitoring and Grant-management processes of the Africa portfolio.
• Oversee all operational and project management processes related to the grants life-cycle, including, processing of project modifications and no-cost extensions, budget revisions and disbursements and processing grant closure in close collaboration with the Africa Programme Specialist, Operations Manager and Finance colleagues.
• Provide technical guidance and support to partner civil society organizations (CSOs) and women’s rights organizations (WROs), including through supporting grantees in the design and implementation of their projects, and end-to-end project management of a small sub-set of grants, based on demand and need.
• Provide technical oversight and follow up on the implementation of audit recommendations, in close collaboration with the Africa Programme Specialist and Operations team.
• Monitor and assess grantees’ progress towards overall results based on approved project documents and monitoring schedules, including through monitoring missions.
• Manage the UN Trust Fund grants portfolio and team across the Africa region
• Lead monitoring and reporting for UN Trust Fund and A.C.T. programmes, including through review of programme monitoring standards, criteria, and other indicators for measuring and assessing progress/results.
• Gather information and prepare technical reports on progress of programme implementation.
• Oversee the management of UNTF inter-agency relations and convening of Regional Programme Advisory committees (RPACs) and promote – in collaboration with the Grants and Operations team - engagement and coordination with UN Women Regional and Country Offices on the UN Trust Fund’s grant-giving and grants-management processes.
• Maintain a centralized portfolio of all active and closed grants in the region and oversee grants performance assessment and portfolio updates on a regular basis.
• Supervise UN Trust Fund staff based in the region, perform staff performance reviews, and ensure capacity development of staff members.
• Monitor UN Trust Fund and ACT programme finances to ensure adherence to delivery rates and utilization of resources to meet agreed upon targets and results in close collaboration with the Operations team.
• Ensure effective information flow, communication and coordination between UN Trust Fund grantees, Programme and Finance staff and UN Women Offices.
• The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation. 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

• Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
• Strong budget and finance skills
• Strong knowledge of Results Based Management
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports in order to inform management and strategic decision-making
• Strong analytical and writing skills
• Good knowledge of UN programme management systems

Required Skills and Experience
Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Political Science, Development, Public Administration, Gender 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 would be an added advantage

Experience:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in programme management, including programme design, programme coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting and capacity building in the area of ending violence against women programming.
• Experience in setting priorities, budgets, work plans, participating in programme development and programme writing;
• Proven experience in leading teams effectively.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Fluency in French and/or Spanish is desirable.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (Arabic, Chinese, or Russian).