UN Women: Programme Management Specialist, New York, P-3 (Temporary Appointment)

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.

The UN Women Programme Support & Management Unit (PSMU) provides corporate advisory services and direct support for project and programme development and implementation including for the Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division (PPID). PSMU guides PPID, regions and countries in following best practice to ensure that all projects and programmes maintain a level of standardization, planning, share knowledge, and work collectively towards UN Women’s strategic goals. PSMU offers the organization’s Regional Offices and Country Offices a range of services, training and toolkits that increase their implementation capacity to deliver programmes on time, on scope and on budget. It also supports the implementation of global projects managed by Headquarters.

Within PSMU, the Head of PMO supports the Chief PSMU in leading the organization’s work on project and programme management capacities and strengthening, which includes:

• Capacity building and training for project and programme staff;
• Professionalization of project and programme management standards, practices, and capacities;
• Knowledge Management – leading the Community of Practice and Center of Excellence for Project and Programme Management; and
• Targeted project and programme planning and initiation support.

Under the overall supervision of the Chief of PSMU, and under the direct supervision of the Head of PMO, the Programme Management Specialist will be responsible for supporting organizational efforts in the professionalization of project and programme management standards, practices, and capacities, specifically related to the organization’s Programme and Project Life Cycle (PPLC) Maturity Project.

In particular, the Programme Management Specialist will: 1) provide coordination and technical/analytical support in the promulgation and socialization of Policies and Procedures related to the PPLC, 2) support the PPLC project team to ensure successful implementation/monitoring of Policies and Procedures as well as recording progress on the maturity of the organization, 3) develop presentations, guidance documents and tools to support the implementation of Policies and Procedures, 4) coordinate and lead webinars on capacity development of staff on Policies and Procedures and use of platforms to manage project design and planning, and 5) perform other official duties and special assignments as requested.

Key Functions and Accountabilities

1.Provide technical support in the promulgation and implementation of Policies and Procedures related to the PPLC

• Lead the global monitoring of Policies and Procedures around the PPLC implementation and generate reports to inform the progress of UN Women’s maturity.
• Support the revision and updates to relevant programming policies, procedures, and guidance documents.
• Lead capacity building efforts on the PPLC and provide technical support on demand.

2. Manage the Project Quality Assurance Platform 

• Lead the task team in place for the creation of the infrastructure environment of the Project and Quality Assurance Platform; maintain and update the platform as needed, to ensure seamless user experience.
• Develop guidance documents and lead webinars, to support the introduction and use of the Project Quality Assurance Platform among users in the organization. 
• Provide technical support to ROs and HQ in relation to the management of the Project Quality Assurance Platform for effective control and use of the new project appraisal process.

3. Coordinate and manage the Global Project Oversight Committee Secretariat

• Support the launch of the Project Quality Assurance Platform among functional leads that are part of the Project Oversight Committee at Global, Regional and Country level and review roles and responsibilities. 
• Conduct annual meetings with the Global Project Oversight Committee members to keep them abreast of the project design and planning process, and the use of the Project Quality Assurance Platform. 
• Monitor the implementation of the new project appraisal process mechanism and develop reports to improve gaps and lessons learned. 
• Coordinate the quality assurance process of new projects using the Project Quality Assurance Platform and serve as the Secretary of the Global Project Oversight Committee. 
• Lead capacity building efforts on demand.