UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.

Background

N 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 supports United Nations Member States in setting international standards for achieving gender equality and works with governments and civil society to formulate and enforce the laws, policies, programs and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and that they truly benefit women and girls around the world.

UN Women through its Liaison 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), as per the entity’s mandate.

UN Women contributes to the implementation of this strategy, among others, through its continental flagship program, the African Girls Can Code Initiative (AGCCI). The African Girls Can CODE Initiative (AGCCI), a partnership between UN Women, Africa Union Commission (AUC) and International Telecommunications Union (ITU) aims to train and empower a young girls aged between 17-20, across Africa to become computer programmers, creators and designers, placing them on track to take up studies and careers in the information, communication and technology (ICT) sector. Moreover, it promotes the implementation of national media campaigns involving role models (e.g. women in ICT, female teachers in schools) and utilizes an on-line platform to enhance networking among the girls, trainers and mentors. The program aims to close the gender gap in the tech world, and overall the gender digital divide.

African Union’s Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA-2024) declares “an enabling environment for STI development on the African continent” as one of the pillars for achieving the vision for Agenda 2063.AU through STISA aspires to raise Africa’s role in global research, technology development and transfer, innovation and knowledge production.

STISA Prioritizes For Action By AU Member States

Improving Science, Technology & Innovation readiness in Africa in terms of infrastructure, professional and technical competence, and entrepreneurial capacity. This will aid in sustaining the interest of the participants by having electricity and internet access to continue working on their projects.

Implementing specific policies and programmes in science, technology and innovation that address societal needs in a holistic and sustainable way. This will ease getting support from governments in implementation of AGCCI

UN Women contributes to the implementation of this strategy, among others, through its continental flagship program, the African Girls Can Code Initiative (AGCCI). The African Girls Can CODE Initiative (AGCCI), a partnership between UN Women, Africa Union Commission (AUC) and International Telecommunications Union (ITU) aims to train and empower a young girls aged between 17-20, across Africa to become computer programmers, creators and designers, placing them on track to take up studies and careers in the information, communication and technology (ICT) sector. Moreover, it promotes the implementation of national media campaigns involving role models (e.g. women in ICT, female teachers in schools) and utilizes an on-line platform to enhance networking among the girls, trainers and mentors. The program aims to close the gender gap in the tech world, and overall the gender digital divide.

In the context of the AGCCI, through a biennial project, UN Women in partnership with the African Union Commission and the Government of Belgium aims to support the coordination of the project activities in five selected countries including 3 French speaking countries (Burundi, Niger and mali), on English speaking country (Tanzania) and one Portuguese speaking country (Mozambique). More concretely, the partnership will support the organization of 10 coding camps in the five countries (2 camps per country) bringing together young girls of 17-25 years for two weeks of training. The partnership will further support the revitalization of the AGCCI online platform which will help girl coders to continuously update their skills and connect with a supportive online community to share ideas and opportunities. Moreover, they will have skills, confidence, and the resolve to tackle barriers, overcome gender stereotypes and challenge institutional cultural practices and social norms that keep them away from jobs and from pursuing higher education. Through the partnership, UN Women aims to strengthen advocacy with African Union Member States to accelerate mainstreaming of gender, coding and ICT in national curricula for sustainable and inclusive development.

It is against this background that UN Women Liaison to AU and UNECA is seeking to engage a national ‘Programme Coordinator’ to lead the overall implementation, monitoring and knowledge management tasks inconsistent with UN Women rules and regulations and oversight of the project. The ‘Programme Coordinator’ is expected to work closely with the UN Women, AUC and selected country project teams; and perform other duties as needed under the direct supervision of UN Women Representative to AU and UNECA.

Duties And Responsibilities

Lead the overall coordination and implementation of the AGCCI

• Coordinate the overall programme work plan development and implementation according to AGCCI programme documents
• Liaise with the programme partners, to provide support to the African Union Commission, the relevant African Union Member States, ITU, ECA and other partners including the Belgium Embassy in Addis Ababa and other stakeholders to ensure the programme results are achieved in a timely manner and resources are properly managed
• Prepare and present work plans, periodic narrative progress reports and expenditures status reports to UN Women, donors and other relevant partners
• Establish systems for project planning, implementation, and monitoring, in collaboration with programme partners.
• Record and maintain documents on relevant programme activities, issues, and risks.

Lead coordination with AGCCI target countries, regional partners and other stakeholders

• Coordinate relationships with country level and regional partners to support implementation and expansion of the AGCCI programme portfolio.
• Identify potential problems/risks and provide solutions and risk mitigation strategies for the effective programme implementation in line with programme documents
• Provide guidance to partners on establishment of performance indicators, and monitoring achievement of results.
• Identify capacity-building needs and support partners through technical assistance, mentoring, training, cross-partner learning, and capacity development initiatives
• Maintain close collaboration with UN Women Country Offices in the selected 5 countries

Coordinate the monitoring and reporting on the programme

• Gather and compile all information necessary for monitoring and reporting on programme from the planning to the evaluation stage
• Coordinate systematic monitoring of activities and the expenditure of funds at all levels and take corrective actions where required
• Write annual and quarterly reports; review and coordinate the timely submission of reports to donors.
• Provide inputs from programme activities and results to Country Offices in the selected implementation countries, in close coordination with the UN Women and AUC

Manage financial resources and supervise staff

• Coordinate development and preparation of financial resources of the Programme including budgeting and budget revisions, and expenditure tracking and reporting in line with UN Women and donor’s rules
• Oversee and monitor the allocation and disbursement of funds to participating partners and UN Women Offices
• Ensure appropriate actions are taken to optimize use of programme funds
• Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies
• Supervise and manage project staff and consultants, including to review performance and mentor/coach staff

Advocate and facilitate knowledge building, and management and communication

• Ensure documentation of the programme implementation process and products produced are in accordance with UN Women, AUC and donor guidelines
• Contribute to the exchange of information and knowledge products internally and externally, working with AGCCI and Liaison teams to identify and disseminate lessons learnt and good practices
• Together with partners, design communications strategy and oversee its implementation, including usage of digital platforms and giving visibility to results through creative multimedia products, including human interest stories
• Organize advocacy campaigns, events, trainings, workshops, and development of knowledge products
• Perform other related duties as requested by the supervisor

REQUIREMENTS

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 understanding of and commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment and its policy implications
• Ability to build and sustain effective partnerships with African Union Commission, the relevant African union Member States, ITU, ECA and other partners.
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment and in a team.
• Personal commitment, ability to work without constant supervision, and capacity to work effectively and harmoniously with partners, beneficiaries and other stakeholders.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and organizational skills.
• Outgoing individual who is comfortable working in a team-oriented setting and possess the ability to work with a diverse group of people.
• Excellent writing, analytical, research and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent in coordinating events, developing reports and assessing project performance.
• Extensive experience of managing in a multidisciplinary team and sustaining various aspects of project activities.

Education

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Business Administration, Gender and Development, Information Technology, Computer Sciences, Development Studies, Social Work or related social sciences or development fields
• 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 6 years of progressively responsible experience working on similar or comparable assignments, with demonstrated knowledge and skills of project management, policy advocacy, UN interagency coordination, knowledge management and coordination of capacity building initiatives.
• Experience working with youth and coordinating, implementing, monitoring and evaluating development programmes and projects is an asset.
• Full command of Microsoft applications, particularly Word, and other relevant software.

Language

• Fluency in English is required
• Knowledge of French language is an asset