UN Women through its Liaison Office to the African Union (AU) and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) engages with the AU and its various organs, the UNECA and civil society organizations, as well as the diplomatic community. Through the office, UN Women provides technical support to Member States and the AU in the adoption, implementation and monitoring of commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE), in accordance with its mandate. Furthermore, the UN Women Liaison Office represents UN Women in the UN Liaison Team and facilitates the participation of relevant UN Women Offices including regional offices for East and Southern Africa (ESAR), West and Central Africa (WCAR) and North Africa (ROAS) in the Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) for Africa to advance the GEWE agenda on the continent.

UN Women, through its Liaison Office to the AU and ECA, aims at providing technical assistance to the African Union Commission (AUC) through the Women, Gender, and Youth Directorate (WGYD) to effectively mainstream gender issues in AU and its programs and policy processes. UN Women Liaison Office also collaborates with relevant departments of the AUC for gender responsive development and implementation of regional initiatives. In addition, the Liaison Office continues to establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with relevant UN agencies, INGOs and CSOs to implement catalytic initiatives in supporting the continental GEWE agenda. In this regard, the Liaison Office carries out knowledge management activities by tracking the implementation of policies as well as identifying and disseminating advocacy messages and good practices to inform decisions and priorities of the AU and its organs. The Liaison Office accordingly endeavors to catalyze the adoption and implementation of gender responsive regional policies which inform programming, policy and partnerships at different levels in Africa.

In 2022, with the establishment of the Liaison Office as a full-fledged presence, its Strategic Note (2022-2025) which defines its key development results and management/operational results was developed. The Strategic Note is aligned with the global UN Women Strategic Plan (2022-2025), the AU GEWE Strategy (2018-2028), Agenda 2063 and other key GEWE frameworks of Africa as well as global normative frameworks including Agenda 2030. To support this process and ongoing collaborations with AU and other regional stakeholders, the Liaison Office proposes to engage the services of a “Program Associate” who will support the implementation of the SN and other priorities as a core member of the Liaison Office team.

Under the overall guidance of the Special Representative to the AU & ECA and reporting to the Liaison Specialist, the Program Associate contributes to the effective management of UN Women Liaison Office programmes and initiatives by providing substantive inputs to programme design, formulation, implementation, and evaluation.  The Program Associate facilitates the delivery of UN Women Liaison priorities by monitoring results achieved during implementation by ensuring the appropriate application of systems and procedures as well as developing enhancements if necessary. The Program Associate works in close collaboration with the Liaison Office colleagues, UN Women at country, Regional, and HQ level, as well as officials in regional organizations, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society organizations to ensure the successful implementation of UN Women relevant initiatives and programmes

Duties and Responsibilities:

Contribute technically to the development and implementation of programmes and initiatives of the Liaison Office:

• Provide substantive inputs to the design and formulation of programme/ project proposals and initiatives;
• Provide technical and logistical support to the implementation of the UN Women Liaison Strategic Note 2022-2025
• Provide technical inputs to the development of Liaison Office annual workplan and budget;
• Lead the implementation of programme, normative and coordination activities;
• Lead the coordination of the call/request for proposals, including the organization of technical review committees, and capacity assessment of  regional partners;

Provide technical assistance and capacity development to regional project/programme partners:

• Coordinate and provide technical support to AU, UN System and regional CSOs in the implementation of continental GEWE programs and initiatives;
• Maintain relationships with regional partners to support implementation and expansion of UN Women Liaison portfolio;
• Identify opportunities for capacity building of partners and facilitate technical/ programming support and trainings to partners, as needed.

Provide technical inputs to the monitoring and reporting of Liaison programmes/ projects and initiatives:

• Monitor progress of implementation of activities and finances using results-based management tools;
• Draft results, outputs and outcomes reports on Liaison programmes/projects and initiatives
• Provide substantive inputs to the preparation of donor and UN Women Liaison Office reports.

Provide substantive technical inputs to the management of finances of the Liaison Office:

• Monitor budget implementation and make budget re-alignments/ revisions, as necessary;
• Provide substantive inputs to financial reports;
• Monitor and ensure the timely submission donor reports.

 Provide substantive inputs to building partnerships and resource mobilization strategies:

•  Provide substantive inputs to resource mobilization strategies; analyze and maintain information and databases;
• Prepare relevant documentation such as project summaries, conference papers, briefing notes, speeches, and donor profiles;
• Contribute to development and strengthening of networks and broad-based partnerships at regional level to ensure collective knowledge of gender equality, advocacy and lobby for GEWE and documentation on good practices;
• Prepare relevant documentation such as project summaries, conference papers, briefing notes, speeches, and donor profiles;
• Participate in donor meetings and public information events, as delegated.

Provide technical support to inter-agency coordination for gender mainstreaming through coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes and initatives with other regional partners:

• Provide substantive technical support to the Special Representative on inter-agency coordination related activities by drafting background reports and briefs;
• Participate and provide technical inputs and coordination support to UN’s Regional Coordination Mechanism
• Clusters and UN Liaison Team;
• Prepare analytical and regular progress reports on UN Women’s regional level inter-agency coordination role.

Provide substantive inputs to advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts:

• Develop background documents, briefs and presentations related to Liaison thematic priority areas;
• Coordinate and organize advocacy campaigns, events, trainings, workshops and knowledge products ;
• Coordinate the development of knowledge management methodologies, and products to inform regional policy development, monitoring and implementation;
• Coordinate and organize advocacy campaigns, events, trainings, workshops and knowledge products;
• Provide support to the documentation and sharing of good practices and dissemination of lessons learned in the implementation of AU led initiatives;
• Proactively contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice.

Required Skills and Experience:

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, human rights, gender/women's studies, international development, or a related field is required
•  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

Expercise:

• At least 2 years of progressive work experience in programme/project development and implementation, policy advocacy, coordination, knowledge management, donor reporting and capacity building at global/regional/national levels;
• Experience coordinating and liaising with intergovernmental entities and regional organizations such as AU and RECs as well as donors

Language:

•   Fluency in oral and written English is required;
•  Knowledge of French language is an asset.

Source: https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=112455