Deputy Country Representative
Organizational Context
UN Women is dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, working to eliminate discrimination and achieve equality between men and women. In South Africa, UN Women supports national partners in implementing commitments to women's rights and gender equality, aligning with the UN-South Africa Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework and the UN Women Global Strategic Plan. The Deputy Country Representative plays a key role in managing the Country Office and contributing to programme design and implementation.
Job Purpose
The Deputy Country Representative is responsible for the day-to-day management of the UN Women South Africa Country Office, reporting to the Country Representative. This role significantly contributes to the design, implementation, management, and oversight of the country programme and its supporting operations, ensuring effective and efficient delivery of results aligned with UN Women's Strategic Plan and country-level plans. The incumbent provides strategic guidance, technical support, and leadership to the programme team, contributes to policy development, and represents UN Women in UN system coordination and external partnerships to advance gender equality and women's empowerment.
Responsibilities
The Deputy Country Representative manages the programme team, overseeing daily work, annual work plans, and programme conceptualization, planning, implementation, and monitoring. This includes managing material and financial resources and preparing progress reports. The role provides advisory and specialized technical support on strategic direction, assists in programme design, and ensures compliance and accountability in monitoring and evaluation. The incumbent develops policy documents and serves as a senior member of the management team. They represent UN Women in UN system coordination, including the UN Country Team, and collaborate on interagency coherence and resource mobilization. Additionally, the role supports strategic partnerships and resource mobilization, represents UN Women in advocacy events, and facilitates knowledge management, innovation, and capacity building. Personnel management, including performance management and creating an enabling work environment, is also a key responsibility.
Work Experience
A minimum of 7 years of progressive professional experience is required, combining strategic and managerial leadership in development programmes with a focus on gender equality and women's empowerment at the international level, preferably in developing countries within the UN system. Experience working with multicultural teams in a field-based setting, leading and coaching staff internationally, and proficiency in computer software (MS Word, Excel) and web-based management systems are essential. Experience with an ERP system like Oracle Cloud is desirable.
Skills
Programme formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation; Operational planning and budgeting; Policy advice; Analytical reporting; Leadership; Results-Based Management; UN system knowledge; Local country context knowledge; Negotiation skills.