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.

The United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund, UNTwas established through the UN General Assembly Resolution 50/166 in 1996 with UN Women as its Administrator on behalf of the UN system. The UN Trust Fund is a global multilateral grant making mechanism supporting national efforts to prevent and end violence against women and girls, one of the most widespread human rights violations in the world. It provides technical assistance and funding to advance the development of innovative models and strategic interventions in the area of ending violence against women and girls. To date, the UN Trust Fund has awarded US $225 million to 670 initiatives in 140 countries and territories.

Reporting to Deputy Chief, a.i., the Programme Specialist will be responsible for (1) strategic thinking around grantgiving and funding approaches; (2) managing the UNTFEVAW’s overall Grantmaking Programme; ( and (3) supporting grantmaking related knowledge management (activities in addition to supporting other activities at the UNTFEVAW and UN Women corporate level as requested.

Functions:

  Lead strategic thinking around grantgiving and funding approaches 

• Draft a grantgiving strategy focused on awarding grants to CSOs/WROs that aligns with the UN Trust Fund’s new Strategic Plan 2026
• Coordinate the development of specific programmatic capacity development tools and resources for the 2025 cohort of grantees during their project inception phase, in collaboration with the Grants Programme and Operations Teams.
• Contribute to the Fund’s internal grantmaking systematization, including compilation of procedures and policies.
• Support the organization of major events, trainings, workshops and knowledge products related to grantgiving and grantsmanagement.
• Conduct an annual assessment of the Fund’s processes as related to its 20242025 Grantmaking Programme and compile lessons learned, best practices and results to increase the Fund’s efficiency and efficacy.
• Provide substantive input into the UN Trust Fund’s operational guideline and procedures related to grantgiving and grants management.
• Provide technical analysis including through substantive trends reporting of applications on ending violence against women and girls submitted to the UN Trust Fund under its most recent Call for Proposals.

  Manage endto end technical aspects the UNTFEVAW 2025 Grantmaking Programme 

• Lead the implementation of the overall grantmaking programme, in alignment with the UN Trust Fund’s strategy.
• Develop the 2025 grantmaking work plan and coordinate finalization of the 2025 grantee cohort according to UNTFEVAW’s Call for Proposals timelines and Annual Work Plan document.
• Liaise with the UN Trust Fund staff, Global and Regional Programme Advisory Committees (PA, UN Women Offices and partners to ensure the Programme results are achieved and resources are managed.
• Develop external/public programmatic guidance, including the 2025 Call for Proposals and all related grantgiving and reporting documents, including application documents, appraisal guidance and criteria, feedback letters and grantee summaries.
• Record and maintain documents on relevant 2025 Programme activities, issues, and risks.

  Coordinate knowledge management functions related to the Grantmaking Programme 

• Gather and compile all information necessary for reporting on the grantmaking programmes from the planning to the grant selection stages for the 2025 Grantgiving Programme.
• Coordinate the internal tracking of financial resources of the GrantMaking Programme including budgeting, and expenditure tracking and reporting.
• Prepare and present the 2025 periodic narrative progress reports and expenditures status reports to the Grants Manager and UN Trust Fund Deputy Chief ai.
• Act as Portfolio Manager for a subset of new grants, undertaking all related monitoring, reporting and oversight responsibilities.

  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 coordination and programme implementation skills
• Strong budget and finance skills
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports in order to inform management and strategic decisionmaking
• Strong analytical skills
• Good knowledge of UN programme management systems

Recruitment Qualifications:

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in public administration, law, human rights, gender equality, management, social sciences or other related areas is required.
• A firstlevel university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in managing complex and multicomponent programme interventions with national partners is required.
• Experience in coordinating, implementing and administering grantmaking programmes and projects is required
• Experience in grants management is required.
• Experience with databases and data management is required.
• Experience leading and coaching staff in international settings is required.
• Previous experience working in the UN system is desirable.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of French and/or Spanish highly desirable.

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 UNIFE, 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 zerotolerance 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(and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)