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 UN Women Pacific Multi-Country Office (MCO) is based in Suva, Fiji and works alongside the nineteen other UN agencies in the region and in fourteen countries: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Under its Strategic Note 2018-2022, UN Women Fiji MCO focuses on delivering on four interlinked programme areas underpinned by support for intergovernmental and normative processes:

• Women’s Political Empowerment and Leadership
• Women’s Economic Empowerment
• Ending Violence against Women
• Gender and Protection in Humanitarian Action and Disaster Risk Reduction

Markets for Change / M4C

The Markets for Change (M4C) project brings together governments, market vendors and market vendor associations, civil society organizations and UN agencies to promote gender equality through economic empowerment of women market vendors in Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. M4C is implemented by UN Women in partnership with UNDP and the Governments of Australia.

The role of the M4C Project Officer is to support the National Project Coordinator and the Market for Change Team in the implementation of activities and monitoring of project activities. This includes supporting actions in the field the office setting including support for training, monitoring and evaluation, data collection as well as undertaking necessary research and reporting.

Reporting to National Project Coordinator, Country Lead, M4C, Samoa, the Project Officer provides programme support to the effective management of UN Women Market for Change Project in the CO/MCO/RO by contributing to the program design, formulation, implementation, and evaluation of the M4C Project.

The Project Officer supports the delivery of the Market for Change Project activities, reporting/analyzing results achieved during implementation and supporting appropriate application of systems and procedures. When needed the Project Officer will also assist with procurement activities.

The Project Officer works in close collaboration with the M4C project in Samoa and M4C Regional Team and to some extent the operations team at UN Women Fiji MCO.

Key Functions and Accountabilities:

Contribute technically to the development of program strategies for Market for Change in support of Women’s Economic Power Empowerment. 

• Provide technical inputs to the design and formulation of program/project proposals and initiatives for Market for Change Project.
• Assist and support with the development of activities to support the objectives of the M4C project and in line with its design, including identification of options for delivering activities and possible partners.
• Support the logistical arrangements for activities, including procurement, event management and partnerships.
• Attend activities and events as required, to support with their delivery.
• Provide secretariat support to Project Working Committee and Project Management Committee meetings in Samoa as and when needed.
• Undertake administrative and financial tasks to facilitate timely delivery and implementation of program areas, including onboarding of selected consultants.

Provide technical support to the implementation and management of the Market for Change in support of Women’s Economic Power Empowerment. 

• Provide inputs to the annual workplan and budget as required by the National Project Coordinator.
• Assist/Coordinate and monitor the implementation of program activities.
• Support monitoring of activities against the Annual Work Plan, to ensure the timely delivery of project activities.
• Support the monitoring of partner agreements, including financial and narrative reporting.
• Assist with project monitoring as input to internal reporting (RMS) and reporting to donors.
• Support surveying of beneficiaries, through face-to-face interviews as part of project monitoring.
• Contribute to data collection in line with the project’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework.
• When needed assist the Project Associate and Senior Project Officer with the call/request for proposals, including the organization of technical review committees, and capacity assessment of partners.
• Review and coordinate the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports.

Provide technical assistance and capacity development support to the Market for Change project.

• Identify opportunities for capacity building of partners and coordinate and facilitate technical/ programming support and trainings to partners as needed.

Provide technical inputs to the monitoring and reporting of the Market for Change project.

• Monitor progress on program activity, results, and indicators.
• Assist in monitoring of the implementation of proposals by responsible partners.
• Provide inputs to quarterly reports, donor reports and other reports on outputs, results outputs, and outcomes.

Provide technical inputs to the management of the Market for Change project activities.

• When needed assist with budget implementation and program activity expenditures and perform budget revisions when required.
• Assist and provide inputs to financial reports.

Provide technical inputs to inter-agency coordination on Market for Change to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programs with other partners in Samoa. 

• Provide technical support to the M4C Team on inter-agency coordination related activities by providing inputs to background reports and briefs.
• Provide technical inputs to background documents, briefs and presentations related to Market for Change Project.

Provide inputs to advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts.

• Coordinate and support the organization of advocacy activities and campaigns events, trainings, workshops, and knowledge products.
• Provide inputs to the development of knowledge management products when needed.
• Assist where practicable, with the development of publications, merchandise, advocacy materials and media outreach.

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

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:

N/A.

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:

• Program implementation, monitoring, and evaluation skills.
• Knowledge of Results Based Management.
• Ability to gather and interpret data, reach logical conclusions, and present findings.
• Good analytical skills
• Good coordinating skills
• Good knowledge of the Market for Change Project.

Recruitment Qualifications:

Education and Certifications:

• 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:

• A minimum of two (2) years (with Masters’ Degree), or minimum of four (4) years (with Bachelor’s Degree) of progressively responsible experience at the national and/or international level in development programme/project implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting, and capacity building is required.
• Experience in the Women Economic Empowerment space is desirable.
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is desirable.
• Previous experience working in the UN system is an asset.
• Experience in the usage of a modern web-based systems e.g. ERP preferably Oracle Cloud; including usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, is an advantage.
• Familiarity with Pacific countries and cultures, especially in Samoa.

Languages:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.
• Knowledge and fluency in the local language(s) of the duty station (Samoa) is 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.)

Application:

• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process
• 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.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements