Programme Specialist, Rohingya Refugee Response, Cox’s Bazar (Only Bangladeshi Nationals are eligible to apply)

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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. UN Women provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. 

UN Women in Bangladesh supports the government to implement commitments to international normative standards on gender equality and women’s human rights. In line with the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) the UN Women Bangladesh Strategic Note (2022-2026), defines UN Women’s strategic engagement in Bangladesh. The country strategy focuses on strengthening the national structures and mechanisms for gender mainstreaming in policies, plans and budgets; supporting efforts to prevent and eliminate violence against women; promoting women’s access to decent and safe work; promoting policies and government investment in women’s empowerment and resilience building in the context of climate change, humanitarian crisis as well as other threats to peace and security. UN Women works with a range of stakeholders in Bangladesh including the government, civil society and women’s organisations, youth, UN agencies and donors, to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. 

UN Women in Bangladesh is supporting the Government of Bangladesh with the Rohingya humanitarian crisis response. UN Women has developed a humanitarian response programme in partnership with the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs to meet the specific needs of the most vulnerable and marginalized Rohingya Refugee Women and Girls and the women and girls in the host communities affected by the refugee influx in Cox’s Bazar. The objective of the programme is to ensure protection, as well as equitable and safe access to and benefit from life-saving humanitarian assistance and information to the most vulnerable, and marginalized Rohingya and host community women while assisting them to live with dignity, regain resilience and overcome restrictive gender norms. The programme promotes women’s participation and leadership in the camps and host community, peace and social cohesion building activities, and gender-responsive policing. Under this programming portfolio, UN Women is leading a Joint Programme focused on protection, which will be launched in September 2024. UN Women is an active member of the Protection Sector and the Gender-Based Violence Sub-Sector (GBV-SS) and chairs the Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group (GiHA WG) for the Rohingya Refugee Response to promote gender-responsive humanitarian action across humanitarian agencies in Cox’s Bazar. 

The Programme Specialist supervises and leads the Sub-Office programme team. They work in close collaboration with the operations team and under the direct supervision of the Head of Sub-Office, and in close coordination with the thematic leads in Dhaka office, the Operations Manager and Deputy Country Representative, as well as UN Women regional and headquarters staff. They provide technical support to budget planning and management, partnerships building, and resource mobilization strategies and knowledge building efforts for the programme team, ensuring close collaboration with Government officials, multi- and bi-lateral donors and civil society for successful UN Women programme implementation under the Rohingya refugee response outcome of the UN Women Bangladesh Strategic Note.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Design and develop programme strategies for UN Women response to the Rohingya refugee crisis 

• Design, formulate programme/project proposals and initiatives, consolidating technical inputs from Programme Analysts;
• Draft inputs to country strategy documents, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to the Rohingya refugee response.

2. Manage the implementation and management of UN Women programming related to the Rohingya refugee response

• Finalize the annual workplan and budget and manage their implementation;
• Manage the technical implementation of programmes/projects; ensure synergies across teams in the Sub-Office and linkages with UN Women Country Office programmes;
• Manage the timely submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports;
• Provide guidance to personnel and partners on Results Based Management tools and performance indicators;
• Manage the organization of donor meetings and visits, project review and/or evaluation meetings, as needed.

3. Coordinate monitoring and reporting on the UN Joint Programme supported by the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation

• Coordinate relationships with Participating UN Organizations (PUNOs) under the JP to support implementation, knowledge sharing and achievement of objectives, and raise potential problems and provide solutions;
• Provide technical advice to ensure all information necessary for monitoring and reporting on the JP is gathered and compiled from PUNOs from the planning to the evaluation stages;
• Support preparation of Steering Committee meetings and facilitate technical meetings among PUNOs;
• Consolidate joint annual reports; review and coordinate the submission of joint financial and narrative reports.

4. Manage technical assistance and capacity development to project/programme partners

• Manage the implementation of technical advice and guidance;
• Develop and implement technical tools, and initiatives;
• Build and manage relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the Sub-Office programming and respond to any potential problems;
• Identify capacity building needs of partners and lead the coordination of technical assistance, mentoring, training and capacity development initiatives to partners, including areas identified in the risk based capacity assessment for RPs.

5. Manage the monitoring and reporting of the Sub-Office programmes/projects

• Manage the monitoring of programme/ project implementation and finances using results-based management tools;
• Oversee field missions and review reports on monitoring missions;
• Write annual and biannual reports and donor reports, focusing on results, output and outcomes;
• Contribute to office donor and UN Women reports.

6. Manage the people and financial resources of the Sub-Office programmes/projects 

• Manage the programme/project budgets, monitoring the financial situation of the programmes/projects to ensure adherence to delivery rates and utilization of resources to meet agreed upon targets and results, and draft financial reports;
• Supervise the Programme Team, including Programme Analysts and Technical Specialists, and mentor and coach personnel and conduct performance assessments of supervisees;
• Oversee recruitment processes, as necessary;
• Ensure effective information flow, communication and coordination across the Sub-Office, between programmes, projects and operations, and with UN Women country office in Dhaka and its units.

7. Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies 

• Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
• Finalize relevant documentation on donors and potential opportunities for resource mobilization;
• Analyze and research information on donors, prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, and identify opportunities for cost sharing.

8. Contribute to inter-agency coordination on the Rohingya refugee response to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes with other partners in the country

• Provide technical support to the Head of Sub-Office on inter-agency coordination related activities by attending meetings, events, and participating in groups and committees as needed;
• Coordinate with other UN agencies, government departments, donors and NGOs to ensure the projects’ capacity development programme is harmonized and aligned with other efforts in Cox’s Bazar.

9. Manage advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts 

• Develop and review background documents, briefs and presentations related to the programming in Cox’s Bazar;
• Represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to the Rohingya refugee response as necessary;
• Develop advocacy strategies and oversee their implementation;
• Identify best practices and lessons learned to guide programme improvement and strategy planning;
• Develop knowledge management strategies, products and methodologies on the Rohingya refugee response.

10. The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Sub-Office and the Organisation.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: 

The incumbent leads a team of seventeen, which includes five direct reports (one national FTA; two Programme Analysts; one Monitoring and Planning Analyst; and one Communications Associate) as well as twelve affiliate personnel (six Gender Field Officers; two Programme Associates; three international volunteers; one Monitoring and Planning Analyst; one Communications Associate; and one Knowledge and Information Management Consultant). 

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.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:

https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values 

Functional Competencies:

• Strong skills in gender equality principles and gender analysis;
• Strong understanding of the Human Rights-Based Approach;
• Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation 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 humanitarian crisis contexts;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising and develop strategies.

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 (such as PMP®, PRINCE2®, or MSP®) would be an added advantage.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in programme management, including programme design, programme coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting and capacity building is required;
• Experience in working in a gender related area is desirable;
• Experience in setting priorities, budgets, work plans, participating in programme development and programme writing is required;
• Experience in leading teams effectively is required;
• Knowledge of the Rohingya humanitarian crisis is desirable.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English, and Bengali is required;
• Working knowledge of Chittagonian or Rohingya is desirable;
• Knowledge of other UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

UN Women Statement on 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.)

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from ;

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.