Head Of Office, Freetown, SIERRA LEONE, P-4, FTA Sierra Leone Posting Date05/15/2026

Organizational Context

UN Women is dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women globally. In Sierra Leone, the organization supports the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework and the national development plan, focusing on gender-responsive policies, accountable institutions, and empowered women and girls. UN Women works to integrate gender equality into national planning, UN joint programming, and strengthen the influence of women's rights organizations.

Job Purpose

The Head of Office is responsible for leading and managing the UN Women Sierra Leone Country Office. This role translates the UN Women Strategic Plan into development initiatives by developing, implementing, and managing programmes and projects. The position involves building effective partnerships with government, UN agencies, civil society, and donors to advance gender equality and women's empowerment. The Head of Office ensures gender equality priorities are reflected in national planning and UN joint programming, and strengthens the influence of women's rights organizations in decision-making spaces.

Responsibilities

The Head of Office will manage strategic programme development and planning, assessing national trends and identifying opportunities to advance UN Women goals. This includes overseeing programme appraisal and approval. The role involves managing country programme implementation, ensuring high-quality, results-based projects, and conducting regular monitoring and evaluation. Budget preparation, country report submission, and audit management are key functions. The Head of Office will also manage finance and human resources within the office, supervising staff and ensuring compliance with financial policies. Active participation in the UN Country Team (UNCT) is required to integrate gender equality into UN programming. Additionally, the role involves contributing to advocacy strategies, developing partnerships, mobilizing resources, and managing knowledge management initiatives.

Work Experience

Requires at least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in designing, planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating development projects. Experience in establishing inter-relationships between international organizations and national governments is needed. Experience in gender and women's human rights, administrative systems, UN system norms, and team leadership is considered an asset.

Skills

Programme formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation; operational planning and budgeting; Results-Based Management; synthesis of program performance data; gender equality and women's empowerment; country/regional knowledge; strategy formulation and implementation; fundraising analysis.

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