UN Women: Project Manager, Yangon, Myanmar, NOC, Fixed-Term Appointment

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.

UN Women Myanmar REACH Office is implementing the Project “Women’s Resilience, Empowerment, Access, Capacities and Human rights (Women’s R.E.A.C.H. Project).” The project overall goal is to address immediate and long-term needs of GBV survivors and other at-risk women by increasing their resilience capacities through an evidence-based delivery of integrated livelihoods and GBV prevention interventions. This combined approach aims to mitigate the harmful and gendered effects of the multiple crises at-risk women face and avert the widening conflict-driven gender inequality. The project focuses on achieving the following outcomes: (1) Vulnerable women, GBV survivors and other at-risk women and their families in crisis areas have increased resilience capacities through improved access to livelihood and income generating opportunities (2) Community support for women’s socio-economic participation, GBV prevention and response services is increased through gender transformative social norms change and strengthened leadership of women’s CSOs. The key outputs of the project include efforts to equip GBV survivors and other vulnerable women with the skills, confidence, and resources they need to re-enter the labour market or start their own livelihoods; bridging the gap between learning and actual economic participation; and creating locally owned, survivor-sensitive pathways for women’s economic reintegration. The Project will also work to strengthen the leadership and operational capacity of women’s rights organisations and networks to act as key change agents in advancing gender equality, preventing GBV, and promoting women’s socio-economic empowerment and participation. The Project aims to transform discriminatory social norms and behaviours that limit women’s economic roles and perpetuate GBV as well as strengthen the availability and use of gender data and evidence to inform gender-responsive programming and policy dialogue.

Reporting to the Programme Specialist, the Project Manager, manages the REACH project and is responsible for planning, implementing, and managing the UN Women interventions of the Project. The Project Manager works together with the project and operations team at Country Office, and collaborates with the Regional Office, UN Women HQ, multi and bi-lateral donors, civil society and other stakeholders ensuring successful UN Women Project implementation.

Functions:

1. Lead the UN Women Women’s R.E.A.C.H (Women’s Resilience, Empowerment, Access, Capacities and Human Rights) Project

• Plan, develop, implement, and monitor the REACH Project annual workplan and individual partner workplans, including budget and results framework.

• Manage the delivery of the day-to-day Project activities to ensure prompt and adequate achievement of results.

• Ensure effective use of resources and compliance with UN Women rules, policies, and procedures as well as donor/fund requirements.

• Prepare for audits and implement their recommendations.

• Support the Project Governance mechanisms, primarily through a multi-stakeholder Project Steering Committee

• Establish an effective project management tool with monitoring system for the delivery of Project results.

• Prepare quarterly and annual progress reports and donor reports as well as regular progress updates and reviews.

• Lead field mission planning and implementation and write mission reports.

2. Lead technical design and support implementation of Project activities

• Design and manage women’s economic empowerment activities within the scope of the Project (e.g TVET, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, digital inclusion).

• Explore and understand market context, relevance and opportunities of training and employment pathways, linking women to decent work and income opportunities in Myanmar, and particularly in key target regions of the Project.

• Seek opportunities for linking and integrating key livelihood support opportunities with efforts to address gender-based violence (GBV), particularly aimed at women and girls.

• Determine positive and productive community structures and approaches that can support women and girls in their growth, participation and achievement of resilience, empowerment, access, capacity and rights.

• Identify and support processes for implementing appropriate modalities of granting and provision of financial support to a variety of partner and beneficiary types as proposed by the Project

• Provide substantive technical support to responsible parties and other stakeholders

• Build relationships with responsible parties to support implementation and expansion of the REACH Project; respond to any potential problems.

• Provide timely inputs and suggestions on programmatic areas.

• Support project documentation and learning.

3. Manage people and financial resources of the Project

• Manage the Project’s budget and financial resources and write financial reports in accordance with Donor requirements and UN Women procedures, facilitate review and submit the reports to the Regional Office and Donor.

• Supervise, coach and mentor Project staff and manage performance.

• Manage capacity building needs and opportunities to support the Project team in implementing the Project and collaborate on initiatives of key institutions and mechanisms. Write terms of reference of personnel, consultants and contractors required for project implementation and oversee the recruitment process.

• Support resource mobilization activities that seek to identify and acquire additional and complementary funding for further scope, scaling and extension of the objectives, outcomes and outputs of the Project.

4. Build partnerships and support partner engagement in project modalities and activities

• Support the identification of appropriate partners, development of effective partnership modalities and implementation of partnership arrangements and agreements in accordance with UN Women policies and procedures.

• Manage Project partnerships through regular monitoring, communication and support to their implementation, as well as the required narrative and financial reporting in fulfillment of partnership agreements.

• Analyze and research information on potential collaborators (donors, partners, other agencies) on an ongoing basis, prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, and identification of opportunities for cost sharing.

5. Manage knowledge building and sharing, communications and advocacy

• Develop knowledge management strategies and methodologies for effective internal capture, storage, access and sharing of project information and knowledge assets

• Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learned to disseminate information and communicate impactfully from the Project

• Provide the CO, RO or HQ with updates and relevant information for publication and advocacy campaigns.

• Provide inputs to Country Office communication plan.

6. 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:

• 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:

• Strong Project 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 to inform management and strategic decision-making

• Strong knowledge of gender equality and women's empowerment

• Strong knowledge of country and/or region

• Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising and develop strategies

• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision

Minimum Qualifications:

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 Programme/Project management certification (such as PMP®, PRINCE2®, or MSP®) would be an added advantage.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience at the national and/or international level in project management including on project design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation and donor reporting, is required.

• Work experience in the technical areas of gender, women’s economic empowerment, vulnerable women and girls and integrated livelihoods approach is required.

• Experience in establishing strong collaboration and partnership modalities among international and local organization is required.

• Experience in leading a team or having supervisory role is required.

• Experience in the fields of TVET/training, Gender-based Violence (GBV), and human rights of women is desirable.

• Experience in administrative systems and UN system norms is desirable.

• Experience in country and/or region is desirable.

• Experience in leading and coaching staff in international settings is desirable.

• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required.

• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.

• Fluency in written and spoken Myanmar language is required.

• Knowledge of another official UN language (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

ONLY SHORTLISTED CANDIDATES WILL BE NOTIFIED.

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.