UN Women: Programme Associate, Colombo, Sri Lanka, N-PPSA6, National Partner Personnel Service Agreement

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.

Globally, UN Women focuses on six priority areas. These include increasing women’s leadership and participation in political spaces, ending violence against women, enhancing women’s economic empowerment, supporting women's participation in achieving and sustaining peace, making gender equality central to national planning and budgeting and advancing gender in intergovernmental processes.

In Sri Lanka, UN Women has extensive experience and leads on implementing the WPS Agenda in Sri Lanka by building capacities of government officials to implement policies in relation to women’s rights, with a broader aim of adopting and implementing Sri Lanka’s first ever National Action Plan on WPS. UN Women has been implementing a number of programmes and projects on conflict prevention, the promotion of social cohesion, and the prevention of violent extremism in Sri Lanka.

To ensure that women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems, UN Women’s programmes on leadership and participation are designed to train women leaders to help build their capacities and promote women's leadership at all levels of decision-making. It advocate for legislative, policy, budgetary, and constitutional reforms to end discriminatory laws that prevent women from meaningfully participating in all spheres of life. To ensure that women have income security, decent work and economic autonomy, UN Women promotes women’s ability to secure decent jobs, accumulate assets, and influence institutions and public policies determining growth and development. To ensure that women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence, UN Women focuses on women's economic empowerment, early education, respectful relationships, and working with men and boys, recognizing that prevention is still the most cost-effective, long-term way to stop violence.

UN Women in Sri Lanka coordinates eff¬orts within the wider UN system to advance gender equality. The office coordinates advocacy eff¬orts, generate knowledge, build networks, and monitor system-wide action and progress to position gender equality as fundamental to the Sustainable Development Goals in Sri Lanka, and a more inclusive world.

Reporting to the Head of Office, the Programme Associate works with and provides support to the members of the Programme Team in the development and implementation of effective programmes consistent with UN Women rules and regulations.  The Programme Associate contributes to research, financial management, and programme implementation including providing necessary operational, administrative and programmatic support. The Programme Associate works in close collaboration with the operations, programme and projects’ staff in the RO and UN Women HQs as required for resolving complex finance-related issues and exchange of information.

Score of Work:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

• 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 Values and Competencies Framework: 

•    Strong knowledge of programme management;   
•    Knowledge of procurement processes, systems, administrative rules and regulation
•    Ability to create, edit, synthesize and present information in clear and presentable formats; 
•    Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow
•    Excellent financial and budgeting skills;
•    Excellent IT skills.

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

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.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.