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 center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality are translated into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts while building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women in Tanzania is implementing its Strategic Note (2017-2021), under which one of the priority areas is to strengthen Women’s Access to Justice. The Strategic Note is in line with the two United Nations Development Assistance Programme (UNDAP) II Outcomes: “Women and girls increasingly participate in political and public life and are elected to leadership positions” and “Governance is more effective, transparent, accountable and inclusive”; particularly the Output that aims at ensuring “Citizens have improved access to and are better served by the justice system”. The program interventions are also guided by UN Women’s Global Flagship Programme Initiative on Women’s Access to Justice as well as, the SDGs (in particular, Global Goal 16 dedicated to “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions” indicator 16.3 “Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all”. The Strategic Note is also aligned to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and other international and regional commitments, such as the African Union Agenda 2063 and the Tanzania Women and Gender Development Policy,  2000.                                                                                                                                                                                            

UN Women’s interventions on Women’s Access to Justice supports women to have access to fair justice mechanisms and redress, based on relevant gender equality standards by ensuring that legislative and policy formulations, reforms as well as social norms, practices and attitudes do not restrict women’s access to justice and are in line with the international and regional women’s rights principles and commitments. It underpins the importance of justice for women through a range of examples of innovative programming, grounded in a human rights approach and builds on three mutually reinforcing programmatic entry points: (i) reforming formal and informal legal norms, policies and budgets that discriminate against women; (ii) reforming justice institutions with a view to making them effective, accountable and gender-responsive; and (iii) women are empowered to access & participate in formal and informal justice delivery. This three-pronged approach guarantee women access to fair justice mechanisms and redress based on relevant gender equality standards.

Reporting to Programme Manager, Leadership Political Participation and Governance (LPPG), the Programme Specialist exercises overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing UN Women interventions under his/her portfolio. She/he works in close collaboration with the Programme and Operations team in Tanzania, UN Women HQ and Regional Staff, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, women caucuses of Parliament in Mainland and Zanzibar, Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Zanzibar Ministry of Labour, Empowerment, Elderly, Women and Children, Zanzibar Ministry of State Presidents Office Constitution, Legal Affairs, Public Service and Good Governance,  Government officials, multi and bi-lateral donors, UN, academia and civil society organizations, ensuring successful UN Women Programme implementation and achievement of planned results under portfolio.

Duties and Responsibilities

1.     Design and develop Programme strategies in relation to Women’s Access to Justice and Parliament

• Design and formulate Programme/ project proposals and initiatives;
• Draft inputs to country strategy documents, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to Parliament and Access to Justice

2.     Manage the implementation and management of the Women’s Access to Justice and Parliament portfolio

• Finalize the annual workplan and budget and manage their implementation;
• Manage the technical implementation of the Programme/project; ensure synergies with other teams;
• Manage the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports;
• Provide guidance to staff and partners on Results Based Management tools and performance indicators;
• Organize Project Steering Committee as appropriate, project review and/or evaluation meetings, as needed.

3.     Manage technical assistance and capacity development to project/Programme partners

• Build and manage relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the Women’s Access to Justice and Parliament Portfolio; respond to any potential problems;
• Identify capacity building needs of partners and lead the coordination of technical assistance, mentoring, training and capacity development initiatives to partners.

4.     Manage the monitoring and reporting of the programmes/project related to Women’s Access to Justice and Parliament

• Manage the monitoring of programme/project implementation and finances using results-based management tools;
• Oversee field missions and review reports on monitoring missions;
• Write quarterly reports and donor reports, focusing on results, output and outcomes;
• Contribute to office donor and UN Women reports.

5.     Manage the people and financial resources in the Women’s Access to Justice and Parliament Portfolio

• Manage the Programme budget and draft financial reports;
• Supervise Programme and technical staff; Mentor and coach staff and conduct performance assessments, as necessary;
• Oversee recruitment processes, as necessary.

6.     Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies

• Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
• 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.

7.       Contribute to inter-agency coordination to achieve coherence and alignment for Women’s Access to Justice and Parliament  in   Tanzania  

• As requested by senior management, represent UN Women in UN inter-agency and government coordination mechanisms through provision of timely and high quality technical advice and support;
• Participate in United Nations Development Assistance Programme (UNDAP) II WLPP Outcome Group as well as Democratic Governance, Human Rights and Gender Equality Thematic Results Group discussions and provide substantive/technical content on gender equality and women’s rights including high quality inputs the development of the UNDAP Joint processes, Annual Work Plans, reporting, reviews and monitoring evaluations;
• Take part in UNDAP processes and other similar UN exercises related to the RC system, including providing substantive inputs;
• 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.

8.       Manage advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts

• Develop and review background documents, briefs and presentations related to Women’s Access to Justice and Parliament;
• Represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to Women’s Access to Justice and Parliament as necessary;
• Develop advocacy strategies and oversee their implementation;
• Identify best practices and lessons learned to guide Programme improvement and strategy planning;
• Develop knowledge management strategies, products and methodologies on Women’s Access to Justice and Parliament

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 technical knowledge on legislation, constitutional review/reforms and legal aid;
• Good knowledge on rule of law and access to justice issues;
• Ability to gather and interpret data, reach logical conclusions and present findings and recommendations;
• Good knowledge of gender equality and governance;
• Ability to advocate and provide high quality policy advice to government and other stakeholders.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Law, Human Rights, Political or Social Science, International Development Studies, Gender/Women’s Studies or a related field is required.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible work experience in development Programme/projects implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting and capacity building;
• Experience on Governance and Gender Equality, Women’s Empowerment or Women’s Human Right issues with focus on legislation, constitutional review/reforms and access to justice;
• Experience in working with justice actors and advocates including coordinating and liaising with government agencies, UN agencies, donors, academia, CSOs especially in the area of Governance and Gender Equality, Women’s Empowerment or Women’s Human Right issue;
• Experience in establishing strategic partnerships among international organizations, national governments, academia, CSOs in the field of gender and human rights preferably in promoting gender justice and Parliament work, is an asset;
• Experience working in the UN System is an asset.

Language Requirements:

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