Project Officer

The Project Officer supports the effective management of UN Women projects in Sri Lanka, contributing to programme design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. The role involves coordination with stakeholders, technical and financial management, and advocacy to advance gender equality and women's empowerment.

Responsibilities

• Support the various assessments undertaken by the project in its initial stage and ensure strong coordination with relevant stakeholders in finalising the project deliverables and meeting project targets.
• Coordinate timely and effective implementation of the project, including daily management and delivery of project outputs.
• Support the development and monitoring of interventions at the individual, household and community levels to shift harmful social norms and promote positive behaviour change.
• Support the development of advanced capacity development programmes for women entrepreneurs, with a focus on adapting to the crisis and ensuring business continuity or diversification.
• Liaise with other UN agencies, government counterparts and partners in coordinating and implementing project activities.
• Assist the Head of Office / Programme Management Analyst in the management of budgets, administration and procurement-related matters and functions in accordance with UN/UN Women rules and regulations.
• Coordinate the contracting of project services to implementing agencies, ensuring compliance with UN procedures; oversee the release of funds to counterparts, liquidation of funds and other processes.
• Periodic monitoring meetings with government and non-government partners.
• Monitoring, analysis and evaluation of technical and financial reports from partners, including technical and management support.
• Assist in analysing quality of project design and implementation for improvement, and periodically update the project monitoring framework incorporating reviews, lessons learned, and best practices.
• Regular field visits and liaison with the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.
• Preparation of internal and external technical reports, research publications and briefs including donor reports; documentation of activities, outputs and outcomes on a regular basis.
• Support the development and strengthening of partnerships with UN agencies, government institutions, and civil society programme/project implementation and other stakeholders.
• Analysis and research of information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs, concept notes or project proposals on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost-sharing and joint programming.
• Identification and synthesis of good practices and lessons learnt linked to the project outcomes, and incorporating these to refine project strategies.
• Coordinate development of knowledge management strategies, advocacy products and methodologies on responding in crisis contexts.
• Organise advocacy campaigns with implementing partners.
• Perform other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.

Requirements

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Gender, Women’s Studies, Development Studies, International Relations, Law, Human Rights or a related field in Social Sciences 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 would be an added advantage.
• At least 2 years of progressively responsible work experience in providing substantive technical inputs and implementation of projects related to gender equality and women’s empowerment is required.
• Relevant technical experience in Sri Lanka in development programme/project implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, budgeting, and donor reporting is required.
• Experience in providing substantive technical input on gender equality and women’s empowerment for programme design, research, and/or national policies, actions plans or strategies for Sri Lanka is required.
• Experience in results-based management is required.
• Experience in conducting/facilitating multi-stakeholder initiatives and coordinating with a wide range of stakeholders, including government, civil society and non-governmental organisations, women groups, and local communities in Sri Lanka is required.
• 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.
• Experience in and familiarity with the United Nations system and its coordination mechanisms is desirable.
• Familiarity and experience working with civil society organisations and networks in Sri Lanka working to advance gender equality is desirable.
• Fluency in English is required.
• Fluency in local languages (Sinhala/Tamil) is required.
• Fluency in Tamil is highly desirable and will be considered an added advantage.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

Skills

• Project Management
• Programme Implementation
• Gender Equality
• Women’s Empowerment
• Development Program Coordination
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Budgeting
• Donor Reporting
• Result-Based Management
• Stakeholder Coordination
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Technical Inputs on Gender
• Research for Policy Design
• National Policy Development
• Office Applications
• Spreadsheet Management
• Database Management
• Web-based Management Systems
• ERP Systems
• Oracle Cloud

Languages

English, Sinhala, Tamil