Programme and Partnerships Specialist Consultant

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.

UN Women in Lebanon supports the government to implement commitments to international normative standards on gender equality and women’s human rights. The Lebanon country office is working across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, in alignment with the three development/ humanitarian frameworks in Lebanon 1) , 2) the Lebanon Response Plan (LRP) 2024, which is a two-year humanitarian-stabilization framework (2024-2025), with annual planning, and 3)

UN Women Lebanon’s Strategic Note for 2023-2025 is based on the 2022 Common County Analysis (CCA) and closely aligned with the UNSDCF for Lebanon and focuses on three of the UNSDCF priority areas (People, Prosperity and Peace and Governance) and three of thematic UN Women’s global Strategic Plan (SP) impact areas:

• Governance and Participation in Public Life
• Women’s Economic Empowerment
• Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action

UN Women’s SP 2022-2025 impact area three on Ending Violence against Women and Girls, is mainstreamed through UN Women Lebanon’s work in the three impact areas. In addition, the Women Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF), provides an important opportunity to address structural funding gaps for women’s participation in peacebuilding and decision-making and to complement the ongoing work and streams of funding in Lebanon. It focuses on small and newly emerging independent CSOs targeting women and girls who are working on issues of peace, security and representation.

The estimated population in Lebanon is 5.4 million among which 51% are women. Women are more likely to be food insecure and less likely to have legal residency (if they are refugees), savings, a bank account, extensive social networks beyond their family or access to social protection. Lebanon’s laws largely discriminate against women who face more barriers than men in accessing justice. Female labour force participation in Lebanon stood at only 22 per cent in 2022. Combined, such vulnerabilities make women less resilient to shocks – all things that are critical to enabling individuals and families to respond to disasters. Lebanon was reclassified as a lower middle-income country in July 2022, the first time in 25 years. Economic challenges include exchange rate fluctuations, inflation, unemployment, low household incomes, and limited capacity of municipal authorities to deliver basic services. Following the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza in early October 2023, hostilities along the Blue Line in the Lebanese southern region have led to the displacement of tens of thousands of people. Integrating peace and security initiatives with humanitarian aid is key to creating a stable environment for aid delivery. Effective coordination between local and international actors, as well as between civil and military entities such as UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces, is crucial for ensuring that aid reaches those in need and that civilian protection is prioritized.

UN Women, with support from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) of the Republic of Korea, will be implementing a project aiming to advance the Women, Peace and Security agenda in the context of escalation of hostilities in South Lebanon since October 2023. The project aims to work closely with UNIFIL and local authorities and strengthening their capacities in conflict management and mediation and strengthening the resilience of women who have been internally displaced. The project will empower women affected by conflict, addressing their relief needs (i.e., through livelihood and mental health) as well as enhancing and highlighting women and women-led organizations’ roles as peacebuilders in their communities, contributing to women’s full, equal and meaningful participation and contribution to consolidating humanitarian and security actions.

Under the overall guidance of the Country Representative and direct supervision of the Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme Management Specialist, UN Women seeks to recruit a Programme and Partnership Specialist to support with project implementation, including donor visibility, in close collaboration with UN Women Communication Specialist, and monitoring and reporting. Additionally, the consultant will be responsible for liaising with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and other Korean government stakeholders, including the UNIFIL ROKBATT and the Embassy of Korea in Lebanon to enhance accountability, visibility, and communication of the project.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Develop and Maintain Stakeholder Engagement

• Manage strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, including the donor, and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Gender Focal Point and Battalion deployed by the Republic of Korea.
• Facilitate regular meetings and exchanges to ensure alignment on project objectives and engagement in community activities in coordination with UN Women Lebanon Country Office Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) teams.

 2. Manage Effective Partnerships with Donors

• Act as the primary project liaison with MOGEF and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Lebanon, providing regular project updates.
• Stay informed about donor priorities and funding opportunities from the Republic of Korea, including KOICA through regular communications with the HQ Public Partnerships Section and others.
• Advise the management on potential resource mobilization opportunities and addressing donor queries.

3. Coordinate Communications and Donor Visibility

• Support development and implementation of a Communication Action Plan to enhance donor visibility on the project throughout the project period.
• Organize donor visibility events and field visits and produce impact and results-based communication materials in English and Korean, in coordination with UN Women Lebanon Country Office Communications team.

4. Support Management of Donor Agreement and Reporting

• Draft interim and final narrative reports for donors.
• Ensure timely submission of reports and compliance with donor requirements.
• Develop and review project annual work plans.
• Manage programme quality control and identification of potential challenges.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is an office-based consultancy, based in Beirut, Lebanon, with travel to project site (south Governorate).

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

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Substantive experience in the area of gender equality and women’s empowerment
• Strong monitoring and evaluation skills
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making.
• Strong analytical skills
• Strong knowledge of Results Based Management
• Good knowledge of UN programme management systems
• Familiarity with the region and women’s rights organizations and networks in the region is desirable.
• Familiarity with the Government of the Republic of Korea aid policies and procedure is desirable

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in economics, business management, social sciences, public administration, international relations, communications, women’s studies, 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.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in partnerships, resource mobilization, communications/advocacy, business development and/or relationship management is required.
• Experience in gender equality and women’s empowerment is required.
• Experience working with civil society organizations, international institutions and/or donors is required.
• Experience working in the UN system is an asset.
• Experience working in the Arab region is an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Korean is required.
• Knowledge of Arabic is an asset.

Application:

• Personal CV or P11 (P11 can be downloaded from: )
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)
• Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns, or other materials.

The above-mentioned documents should be merged in a standalone file including all them, since the online application submission does only permit to upload one file per application. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification.

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.)