UN Women: WCSO Programme Support Consultant, Home-Based, International Consultant

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.

Afghanistan is one of the world’s most complex emergencies, and the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Afghan people are grappling with the impact of chronic, poverty, climate change, economic decline, and natural disasters. Afghan women and girls face unique and amplified vulnerabilities particularly the series of restrictions and bans that restrict their access to education, health, workplaces and public spaces. In this context, it remains urgent that Afghan women and girls are provided targeted support and that they can continue to shape the development of their country, and that their gains are protected. UN Women remains fully committed to supporting Afghan women and girls and to putting them at the center of the global response to the poly-crises crisis in Afghanistan. 

UN Women has been in Afghanistan for two decades. UN Women’s programming approach is informed by analysis of the political, economic and humanitarian situation, risks to and capacities of partner organizations, and needs of Afghan women and girls. UN Women Afghanistan currently has five key programme priorities: (1) Integrated Programming and Localization, (2) Women’s movement building through core grant making; 3) Policy and Research; 4) Economic Resilience and Private Sector and 5) Coordination, Access and Humanitarian Response. UN Women Afghanistan operates through its main office in Kabul and five sub-offices located in the provinces of Balkh, Bamyan, Herat, Kandahar and Nangarhar.

To respond to the urgent need of support for women’s civil society in Afghanistan, UN Women is launching a project to support and capacitate civil society organizations. Amongst other features, the project offers:

• Core grants and project grants that aim to strengthen the institutional and adaptive capacity of women-led civil society organizations (WCSOs) within the context of a humanitarian crisis.
• Technical and capacity-building support to WCSOs to strengthen their work and experience on direct implementation in local communities.
• Build and strengthen coalitions and peer support spaces for WCSO partners.

The goal of the project is to contribute to the strengthening of women civil society organizations to advance their work in Afghanistan. The consultant will be reporting to the Programme Manager of the WCSO Unit. The consultant will work to support the WCSO Unit on grantmaking, programme support, and knowledge management/ communications support for analyzing trends, challenges, and opportunities. 

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

1. Programme Support to Grantmaking and Partner Management

• Provide technical and operational support to the planning, processing and implementation of grantmaking and programme partner management processes, in line with UN Women rules, policies and procedures.
• Support review and drafting of key grantmaking documents including assessment criteria, application templates, overview documents for management approval, and more.
• Support the preparation, review and follow-up of partner documentation and grant management tools, including partner onboarding materials, FACE forms, programme partner agreements, workplans, budgets, risk management tools, RBCA/RP capacity assessment documentation, and other relevant compliance requirements in coordination with relevant colleagues.
• Coordinate with programme, operations, finance, procurement and sub-national teams to facilitate timely partner onboarding, agreement processing, amendments, and project closure processes.
• Support the review and tracking of partner submissions, including FACE forms, progress and financial reports, audit/compliance requirements, capacity building plans and related follow-up actions.
• Maintain organized records of grantmaking and partner management processes including master matrix, ensuring documentation is complete, up to date and accessible for monitoring and decision-making purposes.
• Support capacity development and accompaniment of programme partners on UN Women grant management, reporting, documentation and compliance requirements, as needed.     
• Track active and closed projects and assist with programmatic processes including reviewing final project documents, reviewing all extension and amendment requests and provide feedback as part of quality assurance.
• Lead in organizing partner orientation sessions and induction trainings.

2. Facilitate Coalition Building and Knowledge Sharing of CSO

• Coordinate the planning of peer-to-peer exchange activities, learning events, and knowledge-sharing sessions among WCSOs partnered with UNW ACO.
• Identify learning needs, capacity gaps, and areas of mutual interest among partner organizations to inform the design of peer exchange opportunities.
• Facilitate consultations with WCSOs and programme teams to develop learning agendas and thematic priorities for peer-to-peer engagement.
• Lead and moderate virtual peer learning sessions, workshops and knowledge-sharing platforms, ensuring inclusive and meaningful participation.
• Develop knowledge products, summaries, and learning briefs to capture and disseminate experiences and practical insights generated through peer-to-peer learning.
• Foster collaboration, networking, and relationship-building among WCSOs to strengthen collective learning and mutual support.
• Coordinate with programme colleagues, subnational teams, and external stakeholders to ensure effective planning and delivery of learning activities.

3. Provide Communications support to the WCSO Programme Unit

• Develop/ contribute to the development of customized position papers for internal and external engagement purposes.
• Regularly monitor developments on working with WCSOs in Afghanistan at both the capital and province levels, analyze trends, challenges and opportunities across ACO’s WCSO partners and produce key knowledge products for internal and external stakeholders.
• Contribute to policy documents, briefs and other strategic papers/materials for use in the development and presentation of innovative and coherent policy and programmatic positions in WCSO engagement.
• Produce briefs analyzing results of overall programme in communications-oriented manner as well as partner spotlight briefs.
• Draft talking points, briefing notes, and PPT presentations as requested for CSO engagements for internal/external purposes.
• Draft public information materials and briefing packets based on provided data and analysis in coordination with ACO Communications team.

4. Administrative Support

• Provide administrative support as necessary.
• Mentor and support national staff on programme, coordination, grantmaking areas.

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:

• Good knowledge of operation, finance, procurement, human resources, ICT, and security systems and processes, particularly in the UN system is an asset;
• Ability to provide advice and support;
• Ability to contribute to the formulation and monitoring of management projects;
• Ability to handle confidential information;
• Negotiating skills;
• Good IT skills

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.

Experience:

• At least two years of relevant work experience in international development, programme implementation including coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting and capacity building;
• Experience in civil society, and with women’s issues, is desirable;
• Experience in United Nations System is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency of English are required.
• Fluency of both Dari and Pashto will be considered an asset.

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.