Gender and Governance Analyst

Background

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN) is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and was established to coordinate and accelerate the attainment of the rights of women globally.   UN Women stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life and supports the formulation and implementation of policies, global standards and norms at both regional and national levels that seek to enhance gender equality and inclusive governance.

The Constitution of Kenya has clearly articulated Kenya’s constitutional commitments to gender equality and empowerment of women. Achieving gender parity in all spheres of life and the actualization of gender responsive laws, policies and planning is expected to empower women on their economic, social, and political rights and make progress towards achieving gender equality.  The progressive rights-based Kenya Constitution 2010 provides the legal framework for the Government to fulfill basic rights, and for marginalized and vulnerable groups, especially women and children, to claim their rights. The promulgation of the 2010 Constitution in Kenya ushered in a new dispensation for women’s representation. However, political participation of women in decision making remains a major challenge, which compounds gender inequality in all spheres of life. There is a wide range of factors that contribute to the continuing underrepresentation of women in political leadership as well as the limited substantive influence for those in office. These factors include a failure to fully implement affirmative action provisions in the Constitution, the Political Parties Act 2011, and other legal frameworks; engrained patriarchy and socio-cultural bias against women; insufficient funding for women candidates; and low levels of preparedness by women candidates. Inadequate or complete lack of adequate training and knowledge building remains the most critical challenge that face women seeking for political office. More structured training efforts are therefore needed to address the bottlenecks to women participation in political leadership, especially in capacity development to compete effectively and successfully in national and county political elections. 

In response, UN Women is implementing a project on Enhancing Women’s Participation in Political leadership and Decision-Making grounded on 3 impact areas, i) Women in decision making, ii) Ending Violence against Women and Girls (EVAWG), and iii) Women Peace and Security (WPS), premised on electoral cycle.

The Programme seek to increase participation and representation of women in political leadership and decision making in Kenya, enhanced capacity of targeted women to participate in politics and decision-making processes, strengthened capacities of women right organizations and key stakeholders to prevent and respond to Violence against women in politics (VAWP). Further, the project seeks to   improve environment, reduced social norms, and gender barriers that exclude women from political participation and decision making.

The Democratic Governance (DG) Unit, under the supervision of the Team Leader DG, is seeking to recruit a gender and governance Programme Analyst to support implementation of the programme in the 3 impact areas, i) Women in leadership and decision making, ii) Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAW), and iii) Women Peace and Security. in close collaboration with project communication analyst, monitoring and evaluation analyst, and Kenya Country Office programmes team

Under the overall guidance and direction of Team Leader DG, the Gender and Governance Programme Analyst will manage the Enhancing Women’s Participation in Political leadership and Decision-Making project.   The Programme Analyst will ensure high-quality and timely implementation of the project, which includes supporting effective programme management; implementation, monitoring and reporting of the programme activities; as well as liaising with relevant stakeholders and partners.

Duties and Responsibilities

Manage the implementation and management of the gender and governance project.

• Guide, facilitate and manage the inception phase of the project
• Coordinate and ensure high-quality implementation of the UN Women project Annual Workplans, ensuring a feminist approach in providing technical support and overseeing implementing Partners annual workplan implementation. 
• Manage the technical implementation of the programme and ensure synergies with other teams.
• Review, coordinate and monitor submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports.
• Support the coordination and organization of technical review committees, capacity assessment of partners, project review and/or evaluation meetings, as needed.

  Support to manage technical assistance and capacity development to project/programme partners

• Provide technical and policy support to country office in developing and strengthening projects/ programmes on gender and governance.
• Contribute the development and implementation of technical tools, and initiatives that contribute to the realization of gender and governance Annual Work Plans.
• Build and manage relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the gender and governance programme.
• Provide strategic direction and technical advice on any potential emerging needs.
• Identify capacity building needs of partners and lead the coordination of technical assistance, mentoring, training, and capacity development initiatives to partners.
• Provide guidance to stakeholders on project sustainability and phase out strategy

Policy review, design and develop programme strategies around Gender and governance projects.

• Provide technical inputs and policy support to the design and formulation of Programme/ project proposals and initiatives on gender and governance.
• Draft inputs to country strategy documents, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to gender and governance.
• Contribute to review of bills, laws and policies on gender and governance to ensure conformity with global norms and standards.

Manage the monitoring and reporting of the programme/ project.

• Manage the monitoring of programmer/ project implementation and finances using results-based management tools, and feminist approach, working closely with M&E colleagues.
• Conduct field missions, spot checks and review reports on monitoring missions to ensure recommendations and feedback are fully implemented.
• Substantively contribute to drafting of internal and external reports that are results based and of high quality.   

Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies.

• Support to develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies.
• Support to 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, identification of opportunities for cost sharing.
• Prepare relevant documentation such as project summaries, conference papers, briefing notes, speeches, and donor profiles.

Contribute to inter-agency coordination on governance to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes with other partners in Kenya.  

• Provide technical support to the Programme Team Leader 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 in-country efforts.
• Advocate for the engagement and participation of women’s organizations and civil society networks in gender and governance coordination mechanisms.

Manage advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts.

• Develop and review background documents, briefs and presentations related to the gender and governance projects/programme.
• In the absence of DG Programme Team Leader, represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to gender and governance as necessary.
• Support to develop advocacy strategies and oversee their implementation.
• Identify best practices and lessons learned to guide Programme improvement and strategy planning.
• Contribute to develop knowledge management strategies, products and methodologies on gender and governance.

Key Performance Indicators

•    Timely and quality Programme design and inputs to the UN Women Kenya Strategic Note

•    Timely and quality of programme delivery in line with budget and workplans, and in line with all UN Women operational rules and regulations, including security.

•    Timely and quality monitoring and evaluation of programmes

•    Relations with partners and stakeholders

•    Quality reports and timely submission

•    Regular communication with other agencies and partners

• Quality of advocacy and communication initiatives

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 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 women political leadership, Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWP), Women’s security, and access to justice.  
• 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 science, human rights, gender/women's studies, project management, 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 would be an added advantage.

 

Experience:

•  At least 6 years of progressively responsible work experience at the national or international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring especially using feminist approach, results-based reporting, and evaluation of development projects.
• Technical experience in women political leadership, Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWP), Women’s security, and access to justice. 
•  Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is an asset.
•  Experience working in the UN System is an asset.
•  Experience in leading/managing a team is an asset.

 Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English required.
•  Working knowledge of another official UN language is an asset.