Project Management Specialist - P3 EU4GE

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, the UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. 

Albania has made important improvements in advancing the normative and policy framework for gender equality in recent years. Yet inequalities still exist, and currently, capacities, processes and procedures for EU-aligned and consistent gender mainstreaming are not in place, adding to the complexity of the EU accession process and posing a significant challenge to absorbing the EU Gender Equality acquis.[1] In parallel, the country faces well-documented challenges in implementing gender equality legislation and policy, including the most recent CEDAW Concluding Observations for Albania (2023).[2] Poverty is reportedly the highest in the Western Balkans[3], increasingly jeopardizing the livelihoods of a significant share of the population. Women and girls are particularly impacted due to structural discrimination and the intersection of poverty, marginalization, and vulnerability. The economic situation of women residing in rural and disadvantaged areas is further challenged by the impact of climate change.

Prohibition of gender-based discrimination is one of the principles of the Albanian Constitution. International treaties – including those in the area of gender equality (e.g., CEDAW[4], Istanbul Convention[5]) – ratified by the Parliament are part of the national legal system and have priority over internal legislation that is not compatible with their provisions.[6] The specific legal and policy framework for gender equality, the institutional mechanisms, political participation, and non-discrimination on the basis of gender include: the Law on Gender Equality in Society (LGE), the Law on Anti-Discrimination[7], and the National Strategy on Gender Equality and its Action Plan (2021-2030)[8]. Equality legislation has contributed to some progress, primarily in women’s representation in decision-making.[9] Beyond women’s representation, weak implementation of gender legislation and policy and insufficient gender mainstreaming significantly impact on the country’s development outcomes, including limited alignment between laws and policies in key thematic areas including GBV with international standards. For example, the most recent CEDAW Committee Concluding Observations (2023) request the Government of Albania to prioritize the revisions of the Criminal Code to align it with the definitions of rape in the Istanbul Convention, which was adopted by Albania in 2011. Gender inequalities remain prominent in all spheres of public and private life, with women and girls representing the numerically largest systemically disadvantaged group, and disproportional negative effects on women’s socio-economic situation and their well-being.

To address these challenges, UN Women Albania is implementing the second phase of the intervention “EU for Gender Equality” funded by the European Union. The project aims to ensure that Albanian institutions more consistently apply gender responsive governance to strengthen equality and non-discrimination, promote women’s empowerment and human rights in line with the EU Gender Equality acquis.

About the Position and/or Portfolio

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Head of Programmes and in day-to-day coordination with the National Programme Officer/Analyst and Research and Data Analyst, the Project Management Specialist is responsible for managing the project, including relationships with national partners and stakeholders, donor, the monitoring and reporting the activities, the finances and personnel of the portfolio. Further, the Project Management Specialist works in close collaboration with Head of Programmes (NOC) and the rest of the programme and operations team to ensure successful implementation of UN Women programme implementation.

[1] ‘Gender Equality acquis’ refers collectively to the body of EU laws, rules, resolutions, declarations, regulations, directives and treaties, which explicitly refer to gender equality and make up a subset within the ‘acquis communautaire’. The EU explicitly expects candidate countries and potential candidates, “to progressively align with [the] EU gender equality acquis and have the institutional framework to enforce it”. See: EU Gender Action Plan 2021-2025 (GAP III).

[2] See, among others: List of issues and questions in relation to the fifth periodic report on Albania, UN CEDAW Committee, March 2022, available at: https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CEDAW%2fC%2fALB%2fQ%2f5&Lang=en; Albanian Parliament and Westminster Foundation for Democracy (2020), Parliamentary Oversight of the Implementation of the Law on Gender Equality in Albania/ Kontrolli post-legjislativ i ligjit për barazinë gjinore në shoqëri, available at: https://www.parlament.al/Files/Lajme/Dokument/raportbarazie.pdf and latest Concluding Observations: https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CEDAW%2FC%2FALB%2FCO%2F5&Lang=en

[3] World Bank (2022). Global Economic Prospects, June 2022. Global Economic Prospects; Washington, DC: World Bank, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/37224 

[4] United Nations General Assembly (1979). Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). See: https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-elimination-all-forms-discrimination-against-women

[5] Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. Available at: https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/rms/090000168008482e 

[6] Article 122 of the Albanian Constitution.

[7] Law No. 10 221/.2010 “On Protection from Discrimination” as amended by Law No. 124/2020.

[8] Council of Ministers of Albania (2021), Decision Nr. 400, datë 30.6.2021 “On the approval of the National Strategy for Gender Equality 2021-2030 and its Action Plan”.

[9] Following the 2021 general elections, 34.3 percent of members of parliament are women, and Albania has a women-dominated cabinet of ministers - 70.6 percent of ministers. However, at the local level, in the latest local elections of May 2023, only eight out of the 15 women mayoral candidates won their electoral races, which represent 13 percent of total mayors. While this share is above the averages in Southern and South-Eastern Europe, it represents no progress compared to the previous local elections. Source: City Mayors Foundation (2022). The Women Mayors Project. “Europe lacks women mayors”. See: http://www.citymayors.com/women_mayors/women-mayors-europe.html 

Key Functions and Accountabilities

Manage and lead overall implementation of the implementation of the EU for Gender Equality II project

Manage relations with national partners and other stakeholders engaged in the project

Manage and lead the monitoring and reporting on the Project/Portfolio 

Manage financial resources and supervise staff

Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies

Advocate and facilitate knowledge building and management and communication

Other support

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation. 

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: The incumbent leads a team of 3, which includes 3 direct reports (2 SB4 and 1 SB3 as well as local and international consultants. 

Competencies :

Core Values:

Core Competencies:

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Functional Competencies:

Recruitment Qualifications