Project Management Support - Officer for Social Cohesion and Gender Equality

The European Union for Local Development Programme - EU PRO Plus is designed to contribute to reduction of socio-economic disparities in Serbia. It will support Šumadija and Western Serbia and South and Eastern Serbia, the two less developed regions, to tackle persistent underutilisation of development potentials and reduce social exclusion. While building on the momentum created by its three predecessors, this Programme will enhance territorial development management, support economic growth, and improve social infrastructure and cohesion. The European Union (EU) has allocated 30 million Euros for the implementation of the Programme during 36 months. The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) was selected for indirect management.

The EU PRO Plus Programme will enhance national, regional, and local capacities for management of integrated and sustainable territorial development (ISTD) while considering the European Union (EU) territorial instruments and contributing to the fulfilment of the requirements of Chapter 22 of the EU Acquis related to the Regional Policy and the Coordination of Structural Instruments. These instruments are supporting local communities to take more responsibilities for planning their development and tackling socio-economic challenges, thus the approach is effective in terms of addressing regional disparities.

There are three results that the Programme will achieve:

• Result 1: Improved development planning in targeted municipalities and introduction of the ITI concept

• Result 2: Enhanced economic growth in targeted municipalities

• Result 3 Improved social infrastructure and social cohesion in targeted municipalities

The direct beneficiaries of the EU PRO Plus are the Ministry of European Integration, local self-governments, regional administration structures, SMEs, civil society organisations (CSOs) and business support organisations (BSOs). The final beneficiaries are the inhabitants of 99 municipalities.

Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager, the Project Management Support - Officer for Social Cohesion and Gender Equality will be responsible for identification, design and implementation of the social inclusion activities, including delivery of projects for enhancing social services, and integrating inclusion and gender equality aspects in other Programme activities.  S/he will ensure the social inclusion and gender equality concepts are considered in a way which will maximise effects of the Programme at the local level.

The Officer will undertake the following activities/responsibilities:

• Under the guidance of the Project Manager, lead the design process and implementation of the Calls for Proposals (CFPs) for enhancing  social services at the local level

• Provide technical assistance to the beneficiaries of the grant schemes for enhancing social services in order to ensure fulfillment of Programme quality criteria,enhance outcomes and address sustainability 

• Contribute to development of other CFPs by ensuring embedding of social inclusion considerations 

• Manage the evaluation process for the advertised CFPs relating to social cohesion, including coordination of the grant evaluation committee, organisation of meetings and participation in evaluation of the received applications

• In close cooperation with Programme Senior Officers develop approaches and guidelines for complementary social inclusion and gender equality based interventions and measures into the Programme activities and CFPs and participate in evaluation of other CFPs launched by the Programme as per request of the Project Manager 

• Organise efficient and effective implementation and monitoring of the social inclusion projects 

• Contribute to the coordination of implementation of social cohesion activities with the Support Services team and with guidelines from the Support Services team and the Project Manager, contribute to development of documentation needed for procurement and recruitment processes and provision of inputs needed for implementation of the social cohesion activities 

• Provide recommendations for embedding social aspects into activities and ensure quality delivery of outputs related to the complementary social inclusion and gender equality measures pertaining to economic empowerment of vulnerable groups, promotion of social corporate responsibility, inclusive local infrastructure projects and capacity building activities and enhancement of impact on the local communities

• Establish and cultivate professional relationship with the line ministries, national-level institutions with mandate in social cohesion and inclusion affairs, and with regional and local counterparts within the Programme Area of Responsibility

• Support dialogue and cooperation between Local Self-Governments (LSGs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other private and public sector stakeholders aiming at identification of opportunities for partnership and joint socio-economic development initiatives 

• Provide regular updates and qualitative and quantitative analysis on developments influencing social inclusion and gender equality including the relevant policy as well as subject matter inputs on issues relevant for coordinating activities with other Programme results

• Contribute to development of Programme reports, internal researches and analysis related to social cohesion and inclusion

• Contribute to presentation of the Programme’s direct and indirect support to social inclusion  and gender equality to the Programme Steering Committee and other internal and external stakeholders 

• Ensure respect of UNOPS project management requirements, financial rules and regulations and UNOPS procurement and grants management procedures

• Contribute to development and update of the Programme’s plans and strategies including identification and assessment of risks and implement mitigation measures in accordance with the Risk Management Strategy 

• Ensure respect of UNOPS and EU PRO Plus configuration management requirements

• Contribute to identification and sharing of the Programme’s lessons learned and the best practices 

• Contribute to establishment and maintenance of archive related to the social cohesion activities 

• Contribute to high visibility of the EU PRO Plus, its donor, UNOPS and the other stakeholders involved in the Programme and support other Programme’s communication activities

Perform other duties as may be reasonably required and in line with the incumbent’s scope of services above.

Education 

• Bachelor’s degree preferably in social sciences, or development studies is required

Work Experience 

• Two years of experience in the  development, implementation, monitoring and coordination of projects in the field of  social inclusion in Serbia is required

• Experience in embedding strategies and/or approaches for social inclusion and/or gender equality in project design and implementation is considered an asset

• Experience in working with local self-governments and civil society organisations on development and implementation of social inclusion and/or gender equality based interventions and projects is considered an asset

Language Requirements

•  Fluency in Serbian and English is required

Certification

• PRINCE2 Foundation Certification will be considered as an asset

Driving License 

• Driving license and ability to travel independently is required

This is a local position, it is therefore open to nationals of the Republic of Serbia and to individuals who have a valid residence/work permit.

Contract type: Ongoing ICA
Contract level: Local ICA 8
Contract duration: Open-ended subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and/or to satisfactory performance

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:
https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.

The UNOPS Republic of Serbia Multi Country Office (RSMCO) is implementing 15 projects in Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Ukraine. 

In Serbia, where UNOPS has been active since 2000, and North Macedonia and Montenegro where UNOPS works since 2017, the organisation provides support in demanding socio-economic reforms and facilitating accession to the European Union. The projects focus on sustainable socio-economic development, good governance, social cohesion, environment and emergency response. The projects are implemented with the funding from the European Union (EU), Kingdom of Norway, Governments of Switzerland, Sweden and North Macedonia.

In Ukraine, UNOPS support to the partners in their reform agenda since 2017 spans the rule of law, social protection, demining, emergency response and security. The projects are funded by the EU, UNHCR, the Governments of Japan and Canada.

All projects have gender equality as a transversal theme, and have been contextualised within the broader Sustainable Development Goals frameworks and objectives.