Country Representative

The Country Representative leads and manages the Nepal Country Office portfolio, translating UN Women's Strategic Plan into development initiatives and results. The role involves strategic planning, partnership development, resource mobilization, risk management, and representing UN Women in national and international forums to advance gender equality and women's empowerment.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement strategic direction of the country programme.
• Lead the design, planning, formulation, preparation and development of the Country Strategic Note in consultation with government, civil society, donors, UN system partners and other stakeholders.
• Provide substantive advice to Executive Director, Regional Director and Senior Management on regional strategy and programme planning.
• Manage and ensure quality of results-based and rights-based programming for the Country Office.
• Lead monitoring of results-based management approach to programme planning and design.
• Establish and maintain the Country Office's risk management framework aligned with UN Women's ERM policy.
• Lead regular risk assessments covering programmatic, operational, financial, reputational, fraud, safeguarding, and security risks.
• Chair or designate the Country Office Risk Focal Point and ensure risk register updates and escalation.
• Integrate risk considerations into strategic planning, programme design, partner due diligence, and resource allocation.
• Ensure implementation of internal control frameworks and compliance with UN Women's policies on fraud prevention, anti-corruption, and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse.
• Oversee business continuity planning and organizational resilience measures.
• Monitor external risk factors and develop mitigation strategies.
• Ensure adequate risk transfer mechanisms are in place for major programmes and partnerships.
• Lead the office in delivery of operational goals, finalize annual work plan and budget, and oversee implementation.
• Establish internal control environment and tone-at-the-top for risk awareness and compliance culture.
• Review and approve high-risk transactions, partnerships, and programmatic decisions.
• Manage preparation of UN Women mandated country reports and audit review process.
• Provide managerial direction, guidance and leadership including workforce planning, recruitment, performance management and coaching.
• Promote teamwork and ensure a respectful, inclusive, safe and healthy work environment.
• Serve as member of the UN Country Team and collaborate on UN programming and advocacy for gender equality.
• Partner with Resident Coordinator and UN system partners to strengthen interagency coherence and harmonization.
• Represent UN Women in intergovernmental forums, public information events and key meetings.
• Build relations and partnerships with government officials, multilateral and bilateral agencies, NGOs.
• Lead and support advocacy for gender equality and women's empowerment.
• Lead development and implementation of resource mobilization strategies and plans.
• Conduct due diligence on potential partners to assess risks prior to engagement.
• Manage donor reporting and negotiate cost-sharing agreements.
• Manage development and implementation of communication plans.
• Promote innovation, learning and capacity building within the Country Office.
• Oversee safety, security and well-being of personnel, programmes and assets.
• Maintain and update Country Office security strategy and serve on Security Management team.
• Perform other duties as necessary for efficient functioning of the Office and Organisation.

Requirements

• Master's degree or equivalent in development related disciplines, economics or public policy or other social science fields is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A project/programme management certification (such as PMP®, PRINCE2®, or MSP®) would be an added advantage.
• At least 10 years of progressively responsible development experience that combines strategic and managerial leadership in development cooperation at the international level is required.
• Experience in gender and women’s issues programming, at the international level, preferably in developing countries within the UN system, Agencies, Funds or Programmes or UN Mission is required.
• Field based experience working with multi-cultural teams is required.
• Experience leading and coaching staff in international settings is required.
• Experience implementing risk management frameworks, internal controls, or enterprise risk management systems in international development or UN context is required.
• Demonstrated experience managing organizational risks including programmatic, financial, reputational, and safeguarding risks is required.
• Experience responding to audit findings and implementing control improvements is desirable.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required.
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.
• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

Skills

• Project Management
• Programme Management
• Strategic Leadership
• Development Cooperation
• Gender Programming
• Women’s Issues Programming
• International Development
• Field Experience
• Multicultural Team Leadership
• Team Coaching
• Financial Risk Frameworks
• Internal Controls
• Enterprise Risk Management
• Organizational Risk Management
• Audit Response Preparation
• Control Improvements
• MS Word
• Excel
• Spreadsheet Management
• Database Management
• Web-based Management Systems
• ERP Systems
• Oracle Cloud

Languages

English