South Sudan: Programme Assistant

Background

South Sudan achieved independence from the Republic of Sudan on July 9, 2011 after a referendum in January 2011. The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Khartoum based Administration and the Sudan’s People Liberation Movement (SPLM) bore its fruit and ended Africa's longest-running civil war. After independence, South Sudan embarked on nation building and post-conflict recovery including the establishment of governance systems and institutions, installation of basic infrastructure, establishment of social services including schools and health facilities where they were non-existent; and initiation of programmes to reform the security sector, particularly the South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS); and revitalization of the economy.

The crisis that broke out in December 2013 reversed many the gains the country had made during the first few post-independence years, disrupted the development process and caused massive population displacement. Women and children were the hardest hit and represent the largest proportion of the displaced population in South Sudan. In late 2015, with support from IGAD, a Peace Agreement was signed by all warring parties. Amongst other provisions, the agreement calls for an immediate cessation of hostillities, formation of an interim government as well as Constitutional and Legal Reforms. Successful implementation of the Peace Agreement is key to the programming environment in South Sudan.

Organizational Context:

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the UN, UN Women 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 lead and coordinate United Nations System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women in South Sudan has developed a Strategic Note for 2014/2016 that targets four (4) key results areas: (1); Women's leadership and participation in gender responsive governance enhanced; (2) Women in South Sudan, especially the poorest and most excluded are economically empowered and benefit from development; (3) Women and girls live a life free from violence; (4) Peace and security and humanitarian actions in South Sudan are shaped by women leadership and participation Increased women’s access to education opportunities is cross cutting and supports all 4 result areas. The Programme is aligned to the UN Women Global Strategy, 2014-2017; The South Sudan Development Plan, 2014 – 2016 and the Interim Cooperation Framework 2016 – 2017 which replaces United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), 2014-2016.

The Programme’s intended outcomes**,** as contained in the Strategic Note 2014 to 2016, are:

• Legal frameworks and policies to advance women's rights to participate in decision making at national and sub national levels reviewed, formulated and implemented;
• Gender-responsive measures (mechanisms, processes and services) promote women's leadership and participation;
• National and sectoral policies, strategies, Programme and budgets adapted and implemented to enhance women's sustainable livelihoods
• Women and girls, especially the poor and most excluded including those displaced by crisis, have engaged in sustainable livelihood activities to enhance their resilience and economic empowerment;
• Civil Society Organizations have influenced policies, strategies and Programmes to promote women's economic empowerment and rights;
• Laws, policies and strategies reviewed, adopted and implemented to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls in South Sudan;
• Women and girls, including those in the IDP camps access and use existing multi-sectoral Violence Against Women Services;
• Women, peace and security commitments and accountability frameworks are adopted and implemented in the conflict and post-conflict situation in South Sudan;
• Women participate in peace talks, conflict resolution and peace building initiatives
• Gender responsive policies and Programmes adopted and implemented in Humanitarian Action;

Duties and Responsibilities

Duties and responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Deputy Representative, the Programme Assistant will perform the following functions in South Sudan:

• Provides administrative support to the Deputy Country Representative and Programme Team.

• Manages the automated (shared drive) and manual filing system for the Programme Team

• Provides support to evaluations and audits

• Develops, maintains and updates a database of partners (Government, Donors, NGOs) including telephone numbers, email addresses and physical addressed for ease of reference

• Tracks key deadlines for submission of documents and keep the Deputy Country Representative updated about same including planned meetings

• Tracks concept notes and field monitoring reports prepared by the Programme team

• Provides support to field missions undertaken by members of the Programme Team and partners to include following up on Security Clearances and post mission reports

• Provides support to the Programme Team including participation and assistance to preparation and conducting of Programme meetings, annual reviews and other relevant Programme events.

• Prepares minutes of meetings, briefing materials as necessary for Programme staff to use on official trips, monitoring visits and in meetings, etc.

• Drafts correspondence, takes dictation and instructions on a variety of Programme related subject-matters.

• Participates in Programme monitoring visits

• Performs other duties as required.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Integrity/Commitment to mandate:

Acts in accordance with UN WOMEN values and holds himself/herself accountable for actions taken. Demonstrates personal commitment to UN Women’s mandate and to the organizational vision.

Knowledge sharing/Continuous learning:

Takes responsibility for personal learning and career development and actively seeks opportunities to learn through formal and informal means. Learns from others inside and outside the organization adopting best practices created by others. Actively produces and disseminates new knowledge.

Respects diversity:

Appreciates differences in values and learns from cultural diversity. Takes actions appropriate to the religious and cultural context and shows respect, tact and consideration for cultural differences. Observes and inquires to understand the perspectives of others and continually examines his/her own biases and behaviors.

Manages Relationships:

Working in teams:

Works collaboratively with colleagues inside and outside of UN Women to allow the achievement of common goals and shared objectives. Actively seeks resolution of disagreements and supports the decisions of the team.

Communicates Clearly:

Delivers oral and written information in a timely, effective and easily understood manner.

Participates in meetings and group discussions actively listening and sharing information.

Frankly expresses ideas with the intent to resolve issues, considers what others have to say and responds appropriately to criticism.

Conflict Resolution and self-management:

Manages personal reactions by remaining calm, composed and patient even when under stress or during a crisis and avoids engaging in unproductive conflict. Expresses disagreement in constructive ways that focus on the issue not the person. Tolerates conditions of uncertainty or ambiguity and continues to work productively.

Working with people/Personal Professional Development:

Integrates himself/herself into the work unit seeking opportunities to originate action and actively contributing to achieving results with other members of the team. Knows his/her limitations and strength, welcomes constructive criticism and feedback and gives honest and contractive feedback to colleagues and supervisors.

Seeks new challenges and assignments and exhibits a desire to learn. Accepts responsibility for personal performance participating in individual work planning and objective setting seeking feedback and acting to continuously improve performance.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Minimum Qualification, Skills and Experience Required:

• Completion of secondary Education is with very strong knowledge and experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS World, Excel, and Access.) is the minimal requirement. A University level qualification or training in the relevant of field of work will be an added advantage.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience with International organizations and the Knowledge of UN system and/or international organization procedures will be an asset.
• Knowledge of gender and Women Empowerment issues.
• Good knowledge of humanitarian and development issues in South Sudan.
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural setting, initiative, sound judgement, good organizational skills and ability to work under pressure to meet deadlines;
• Excellent communication skills both written and spoken.
• Fluency in both spoken and written English and knowledge of local language (Arabic at the duty station)

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in designing, managing and implementing Programmes/projects in conflict and/ post-conflict environment;
• Excellent communication skills, including strong drafting ability in English
• Professional experience in addressing gender equality issues and women’s empowerment

Language requirements

• Fluency in English (written and spoken) and Local Arabic.

Interested applicants should apply online through the below link:

https://jobs.partneragencies.net/erecruitjobs.html?JobOpeningId=4045

Cut and paste the link to your browser if you are not able to click on it.

Note:

• Interested and qualified FEMALE applicants are encouraged to apply;
• This advertisement is open to SOUTH SUDANESE nationals only;
• NO PHYSICAL APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED.