Program Officer

Considering the social and geo-political positioning of Pakistan, it is very important for Pakistan to engage in strategic partnership towards regional peace, stability, and sustainable development. Pakistan plays an active role in the peace process of its immediate neighbour Afghanistan and plans to grow trade with five landlocked Central Asian countries – Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. UN Women Pakistan leads on implementing the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda through research initiatives, data collection, learning exchanges, and documentation of good practices to inform policy and programming. It has supported the track II diplomacy through its mandate and comparative advantage in informed advocacy on cross border collaborative initiatives on women, peace and security and foster regional human connectivity. UN Women Pakistan intends to improve action on peace and security through:

• Supporting women and girls to have a stronger voice and greater influence on decision-making related to conflict and disaster prevention and humanitarian response and recovery efforts so that they benefit equally.
• Enhancing the integration of gender perspectives and increasing the number of gender equality advocates influencing peace and security, humanitarian, and disaster risk reduction processes.
• Pursuing implementation of commitments made by the State and UN System in Pakistan on WPS.
• Supporting multi-stakeholder coordination, monitoring and accountability frameworks on WPS, and providing upstream policy support and model programmes on gender mainstreaming and advocates for WPS.
• To support the smooth implementation of these programmes, UN Women is seeking the services of an experienced professional who has a sound understanding of women, peace and security agenda as well as youth, peace and security.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will undertake the following tasks:

• Develop concept notes, and support in developing appropriate strategies/approaches under the WPS portfolio, as directed by the supervisor.
• Identify stakeholders, facilitate in partnership initiation, and subsequent resource mobilization.
• Coordinate with implementing partners/responsible parties/ government and CSO stakeholders to ensure smooth implementation of on-going activities relating to Afghan refugees, preventing violent extremism, gendered peacekeeping, and supporting the development of a National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325.
• Lead knowledge management initiatives, including knowledge products based on WPS and WPHF related material by UN Women and other partners.
• Support in organizing and facilitating UN Women-events, trainings and other initiatives on peace, security, and stability as per the need.
• Develop concept notes, reviews and reports based on WPS and youth, peace and security (YPS) workplans in PCO and Gilgit-Baltistan.
• Coordinate with implementing partners/responsible parties/ government and CSO stakeholders to ensure smooth implementation of WPHF and WPS activities relating to supporting vulnerable youth and women, including displaced populations, and supporting other initiatives that contribute to the goals of UNSCR 1325.
• Identify stakeholders, facilitate in partnership initiation, and subsequent resource mobilization.
• Provide logistical support to different ongoing activities, including but not limited to collecting, processing, and filing the required documentation in line with UN Women policies and procedures;
• Liaise with Operations Team internally, as well as with external vendors/ service providers as needed to ensure that procurement processes are completed smoothly and efficiently;
• Maintain an up-to-date database of relevant stakeholders including government departments, CSOs, donors and UN agencies working on thematic areas of UN Women and keep informed of their work;
• Provide technical (gender/peace and security) review of knowledge products by UN Women.
• Support in organizing and facilitating UN Women-events, trainings and other initiatives on peace, security, and stability as per the need.
• Support development of communication products relating to WPS.
• Any other task assigned by supervisor.

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in social sciences or international relations
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• At least 3 years (with MA) or 5 years (with BA) of progressively responsible work experience in programme design and implementation, reporting, and monitoring.
• Experience of working on PVE/ CVE, peacebuilding, and/ or community resilience with a focus on gender will be an asset.
• Experience of grant management/ working with local NGOs and supervising implementation.
• Proven expertise in project designing, concept note development, proposal drafting and resources mobilization.

Source:https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=117106