I. Organizational Context

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.

Rooted in UN Women’s mandate on ending violence against women, UN Women has been working since 2011 to implement a Global Flagship Initiative “Safe Cities and Safe Public places” including a Safe Cities Free of Violence against Women and Girls Global Programme, in over 50 cities. The Initiative is the first ever global effort to develop model approaches to prevent and respond to sexual violence against women and girls in public spaces

Prior to the launch of the global flagship initiative, in 2010 UN Women, in partnership with UN Habitat and other global and local partners, launched the pilot programme of safe cities and safe public spaces to make cities safe for women and girls in the City of Kigali selected as one of the sites for piloting the programme along with four other citie.

Effective from  2020, UN Women Rwanda entered into partnership  with Unilever Tea Rwanda (UTR) and other stakeholders in scaling up the programme in rural area of Nyaruguru district building on the lessons learned in Kigali City toward promoting women and girls’ rights by eliminating violence against women and girls in public places. The project of Safe City and Safe Public Spaces in Rural Areas is being implemented in three sectors (Mata, Munini and Kibeho) of Nyaruguru District, Southern Province of Rwanda as catchment area of Unilever Tea Rwanda.

Safe rural public places is part of UN Women’s Safe Cities and Safe Public Places for Women and Girls Global Flagship Initiative. Through the Programme, each participating city or selected rural public place commits to create safe and empowering public spaces for women and girls free from sexual harassment (SH) and other forms of sexual violence against women and girls (SVAWG). Through a comprehensive.

human rights and evidence-based approach, cities develop practical solutions in four main action areas: ensuring that locally relevant and owned solutions are identified, strengthening laws and policies, investing in the safety and economic viability of public spaces, and fostering transformative social norms that promote women and girls’ rights to use public spaces free from Sexual Harassment and other forms of sexual violence (SV).  In Collaboration with UNILEVER, the programme is in the phase of being scaled up to secondary Cities including in semi-urban settings.

The role of the Project coordinator in the Safe City Programme is to provide advice and assist all relevant stakeholders in the process of scoping study assessment, development and formulation of the safe city programme in Nyaruguru district, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of the programme results achievements. The Project coordinator for the Safe City and safe public places will work in close collaboration with National Programme Specialist, Safe City programme staff at Region and Headquarter Offices, the programme staff in the UN Women Country Office particularly the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls ( EVAWG)  and Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) portfolios, other UN agencies, and programme partners to exchange information, ensure harmonization of UN messages and ensure consistent service delivery.

About the Position

Reporting to the National Programme Specialist, the Project Coordinator contributes to the effective management of UN Women programmes of safe cities and safer rural public spaces in Rwanda by providing substantive inputs to programme scoping assessment, programme design, formulation, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting.  S/he guides and facilitates the delivery of UN Women programmes by monitoring results achieved during implementation and ensuring appropriate application of systems and procedures and develops enhancements if necessary.  She/he works in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, UN Women Regional Office for East and Southern Africa (ESARO)  and HQ staff, Unilever staff, relevant Government officials at national and local levels, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful UN Women programme implementation under portfolio.    Particularly, the incumbent will work with Regional Office and HQ based Colleagues on safer rural public places and Economic Empowerment in accordance with the projects’ results frameworks.

II. Functions

Summary of key functions:

• Project implementation and management
• Partnership building and coordination
• Monitoring, evaluation and reporting
• Advocacy, Knowledge and communication

1.  Project management and implementation

• Coordinate with Unilever the scoping study to inform the development of a safe cities and safer public places programme in rural cities aimed at eliminating violence against women, girls and boys in the Unilever tea catchment sectors of Mata, Kibeho and Munini in Nyaruguru District, Southern Province of Rwanda
• Coordinate the implementation of the Safe Cities community engagement programmes and report on progress in accordance with the programme design and log-frame.
• Lead the implementation of project’s activities including but not limited to scoping study assessment, project design, monitoring the implementation, evaluation and reporting, etc.
• Provide programme and administrative support in the preparation of project annual work plans, budgets, and proposals on project implementation arrangements.
• Provide management and oversight to the supporting implementing partners and responsible parties for the project and ensure timely delivery of progress reports, adequate implementation of project activities and sharing of experiences between global safe cities initiatives and implementing partners on the ground.
• Work with implementing partners and responsible parties to ensure reports and assigned resources are used in accordance with quality and transparent standards;
• Lead the coordination for submission and verification of FACE forms and timely report submission to acquit for cash advances provided to implementing partners.
• Assist in developing ToRs for research and procurement of services in support of Safe Cities Programme.
• Provide facilitation of project workshop for validation of the research conducted, project design, capacity building, etc.
• Any other duties as directed by UN Women management and programme supervisor.

2. Partnership building and coordination.

• Effective coordination and enhancement of partnership of the Safe Cities Programme stakeholders including but not limited to grassroots groups, government leaders, stakeholders, women’s associations, EVAW committees, police, supporting NGOs, donors, etc.
• Create and maintain partnerships with the relevant implementing partners, UN Agencies, government institutions, bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors, private sector, civil society etc.
• Network with other stakeholders and identify strategic avenues for more partnerships to upscale the project’s activities and results
• Identify opportunities for capacity building of partners and facilitate technical/ programming support and trainings to partners, as needed
• Lead the coordination of the call/request for proposals, including the organization of technical review committees, and capacity assessment of partners and subsequently manage implementation and reporting relations with partners and responsible Parties
• Provide substantive inputs to resource mobilization strategies; analyze and maintain information and databases;
• Prepare relevant documentation such as project summaries, conference papers, briefing notes, speeches, and donor profiles;
• Represent the Safe City Programme and liaise with donors, partners and relevant counterparts in all matters relating to the programme;
• Participate in donor meetings and public information events, as delegated

  3. Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting.

• Manage the portfolio of on-going project through technical monitoring and administrative and financial supervision ensuring the proper application of a monitoring system to track progress on program results and indicators.
• Monitor progress of implementation of activities and finances using results -based management tools
• Assist with project appraisal and evaluation according to results-based management requirements
• Train partners on Results Based Management and monitor implementation
• Conduct field visits to supervise, coordinate and monitor field level activities of programme
• Monitor budget implementation and make budget re-alignments/ revisions, as necessary
• Coordinate, Review and monitor the submission of implementing partner and responsible parties financial and narrative report
• In close collaboration with the country office Monitoring and Reporting focal person, maintain and update UN Women Corporate monitoring and evaluation and reporting platforms;
• Draft reports on monitoring missions, programme results, outputs and outcomes;
• Participate in all relevant Results Groups meetings as delegated by the Country Representative or immediate supervisor
• Provide substantive inputs to the preparation of donor and UN Women reports
• Support in the development of reports, proposals, case studies and other relevant documentation.

4. Advocacy, Knowledge and communication.

• Develop background documents, briefs and presentations related to the thematic areas under her/his responsibilities
• Coordinate and organize advocacy campaigns, events, trainings, workshops and knowledge products;
• Coordinate the development of knowledge management methodologies, and products on both thematic areas.
• Assemble briefing materials and prepare power-point and other presentations for the programme unit.
• Identify sources and gather and compile data and information for the preparation of documents, guidelines, speeches and position papers.
• Advocate for enhanced women’s economic empowerment opportunities with partners, media and other stakeholders.
• Work with UN Women Communication staff to ensure results, success stories and best practices from the programme are captured and widely shared

111. Key Performance Indicators

• Timely and quality substantive inputs programme strategies and activities;
• Timely and quality substantive inputs to workplans and budgets;
• Adherence to UN Women standards and rules;
• Timely monitoring and tracking of programme results and finances;
• Relationship with partners and stakeholders;
• Timely organization of events;
• Quality of knowledge and advocacy products;

IV. 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

• Good programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
• Good knowledge of Results Based Management
• Ability to gather and interpret data, reach logical conclusions and present findings and recommendations
• Good analytical skills
• Good knowledge of women’s rights and women’s economic empowerment as a technical area as well as familiarity with the national development agendas and gender equality
• Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising

V. Recruitment Qualifications

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Social sciences, law, political science, gender/women studies, Human rights, international development, rural development, economics, or in other related fields

Experience:

• At least 5 years of relevant experience in development, programme/project implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, partners’ capacity building and donor reporting of field-based projects;

• Proven experience on cross-cutting issues, including field experience on gender equality, women empowerment and gender-based violence as well as women’s rights issues;

• Proven Experience in the area of Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) especially in the context of Women’s Economic Empowerment and access to finance;

• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is an asset;
• Experience in handling web-based monitoring and reporting platforms is an added advantage;

• Ability and willingness to travel in rural area for project implementation and monitoring of activities;

• Demonstrated ability to build strong relationships with partners, focusing on impact and result for the beneficiaries and ability to respond positively to feedback;

• Experience working in the UN System is an asset;
• Excellent computer skills including MS Office including Excel, Access, PowerPoint and Word.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Kinyarwanda is required;
• Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset;

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