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, and in line with the ongoing UN Reform, UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Eswatini to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Country office priorities and efforts including building effective partnerships all relevant actors both governments, the private sectors, CSOs and others for the attainment of women empowerment and rights.

The key objective of this role is to support the Government and stakeholders of the countries within the purview of SACO, to ensure (i) the economic inclusion of women in the informal sector. In particular, under the framework of the Accelerating Women Micro-Enterprises (AWOME) Programme, the goal is to ensure that low-income women entrepreneurs better manage their enterprises for decent jobs and income security; and to develop and implement a context-responsive capacity building model that can be adapted and scaled up across Southern Africa and lastly to provide technical support to the management of UN Women’s partnerships and relationship, and resource mobilization strategy for the Country Office (CO)

SACO Country Office is recruiting for an Project Manager Consultant. He/She will work in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, UN Women HQ staff, Government officials, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful UN Women programme implementation under portfolio. 

Key Programme Objectives:

  1. Increase capacity in business and life skills of programme participants to successfully manage their enterprises and improve the quality of their livelihoods.
  2. Advocate for and apply policies and strategies that advance the economic empowerment of women micro-enterprises.
  3. Leverage innovation and technologies to improve access to markets for micro women enterprises and introduce digital literacy as part of the programme
  4. Increase communication and advocacy for visibility and replication of AWOME programme model
  5. Technical and institutional support will be provided to the Implementing Partners to enhance the efficiency in the implementation and operationalization of the AWOME model.
  6. Expose women farmers to adopt Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) technologies that will enhance productivity and increase resilience among the women farmers

This programme is in line with the SDGs  1-No poverty; Goal 5- Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment; Goal 8-Decent work and economic growth and Goal 10- reduced inequality. https://sdgs.un.org 

UN Women South Africa Country Office is recruiting a Project Manager Consultant.  He/She will work in close collaboration with the Donor, programme and operations team, Government officials and key partners for the programme across the three countries (South Africa, Namibia and Botswana). The consultant will focus on the following deliverables within the duration of the programme.

Duties and Responsibilities 

  • Manage the development and implementation of differentiated, donor fund-raising strategies, aligned and coordinated with country-level activities initiatives and outreach activities.
  •  Set and monitor priorities, goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) for MCO partnerships and Resource mobilization.
  • Develop targeted initiatives to mobilize programmatic resources and attract additional donors’ funding including gathering information on project/programmes pipelines and corresponding resource needs.
  • Provide technical support the drafting and review of partner-specific Framework Arrangements and Cost Sharing Agreements and the preparation of brief funding proposals and concept notes, where appropriate.
  • Provide guidance to staff and partners on Results Based Management tools and performance indicators.
  • Identify capacity building needs of partners and lead the coordination of technical assistance, mentoring, training and capacity development initiatives to partners. 
  • Manage the monitoring of programme/ project implementation and finances using results-based management tools.
  • Oversight of the EntreprenHER programme team based in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia for successful implementation of the programme. 
  • Engage with government counterparts Implementing Partners for the EntreprenHER project in Namibia, South Africa and Botswana.
  • Support inputs into UN Results Groups for Botswana, Namibia and South Africa to reflect EntreprenHER results.
  • Engage strategic partnerships for scaling/replication of EntreprenHER.
  • Oversee the high visibility of the programme as key milestone for the Donor through working with the Communication Lead.

Deliverables (A clear and unequivocal definition of the final product)

  1. Organize the year end Steering Committee with the donor due end November 2026;
  2. Coordinate finalization of Phase IV proposal negotiations with the donor via bi-weekly meetings with Donor lead person;
  3. Support the organization of the high-level South-South Learning EntreprenHER South-South Learning Exchange and Market Access Expo scheduled for 17-19 November;
  4. Produce end Phase III Project Final Donor Report in collaboration with the Monitoring and Reporting Analyst;
  5. Contribute to the UN Women South Africa Country Annual Report and incorporate results from the EntreprenHER Programme;

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 Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

  • Strong knowledge of Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) 
  • Strong knowledge of gender equality and women’s rights issues
  • Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with government representatives and donors
  • 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
  • Proven networking skills and ability to mobilize support on behalf of UN Women for Gender Equality and Women Empowerment
  • Ability to identify and analyse trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising and develop strategies

Education:

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, human rights, business management, economics, gender/women's studies, international development, or a related field is required
  • A first-level university degree in combination with 5 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 5 years of progressively responsible work experience at the national or international level in project design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects including resource mobilization, communication, advocacy and business development. 
  • Experience in gender equality and women's empowerment. 
  • Experience working with civil society organizations, international institutions and donors; 
  • Technical experience in Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) particularly the Informal Sector across South Africa, Namibia and Botswana
  • Experience working in the UN System is an asset;
  • Experience in leading/managing a project team is an asset.

Language Requirements: 

  • Written and Oral Fluency in English is required;
  • Working knowledge of another official UN language 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.)

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.


 

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