Job Description

Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action, and peace and security.

The Surging Women's Employment Flagship Initiative (SWEI) in the Green, STEM, and Care Economies seeks to increase women's employment in the Arab States region by 5% by 2030 through innovative and collaborative approaches across governments, international financial institutions, the private sector, UN agencies, NGOs, and media.

This position operates within the framework of the EU-funded programme "Support to Women's Employment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region through Gender-Responsive Private Sector Development", which forms a core component of the SWEI Flagship in Tunisia. In Tunisia, where women's labor force participation stands at 26.3% with an employment target of 47,000 new jobs for women by 2030.

The National Programme Coordination specialist will be fully dedicated to the implementation of the EU programme, focusing on employment generation in three strategic sectors: Eco-Tourism & Renewable Energy (Green Economy), Community Health (Care Economy), and STEM fields including JobsInTech and Transnational Remote Work. This position will navigate Tunisia's complex political and economic context while advancing gender-responsive private sector development and policy reforms.

The “National Programme Coordination specialist” will play a role in supporting implementation of the programme, by providing:

1. Program Management Technical assistance of the programme with focus on the components of Employment Generation.
2. Contribute to conducting analysis and develop employment generation strategies, policies and programmes for women employment through private sector growth in the Green, STEM and care Economy.
3. Contribute to stakeholder engagement at national level, including public and private actors as well as the EU Delegation.

Scope of work and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the UN Women Tunisia Representative, with a dotted reporting line to the Director of Women's Employment in the Green, STEM, and Care Economy at the Regional Office, the incumbent will:

Programme Management and Technical implementation:

• Provide overall management and technical guidance for the implementation of the EU programme.
• Lead the refinement and finalization of Tunisia's National Chapter during the inception phase (January-June 2026), ensuring alignment with national priorities and EU programme objectives.
• Develop and implement comprehensive work plans for employment generation in Green, STEM, and Care economies in Tunisia.
• Provide technical guidance on employment generation strategies, ensuring integration of gender-responsive approaches across all interventions.
• Oversee the implementation of the EU-funded employment generation activities in Tunisia, ensuring timely and quality delivery.

Strategic Analysis and Programme Development:

• Conduct in-depth analysis of Tunisia's labor market dynamics, identifying opportunities and barriers for women's employment in target sectors.
• Develop evidence-based employment generation strategies that respond to Tunisia's specific economic and political context.
• Design innovative programme models for employment generation in Eco-Tourism/Renewable Energy, Community Health, and STEM fields.
• Oversee policy analysis and development of recommendations for legal and regulatory reforms to support women's employment.
• Develop knowledge products, case studies, and publications documenting Tunisia's experiences and lessons learned.
• Support regional learning and knowledge exchange, contributing Tunisia's insights to the EU programme.

Resource Mobilization and Partnership Development:

• Manage resource mobilization efforts for Tunisia's National Chapter, identifying funding opportunities and developing funding proposals.
• Build and manage strategic partnerships with national donors, IFIs, and financial institutions to secure financing for employment generation initiatives.
• Build and manage collaboration with government ministries including Ministry of Women, Family, Childhood and Seniors; Ministry of Industry; Ministry of Tourism; and Ministry of Digital Economy Engage with International Financial Institutions (IFIs) operating in Tunisia to develop innovative financing mechanisms for women's employment.
• Coordinate with the Raedat national programme and other government initiatives to ensure complementarity and leverage resources.
• Manage relationships with women's business networks, civil society organizations, and academic institutions.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Financial Management:

• Establish and implement robust monitoring frameworks aligned with national and regional indicators.
• Oversee national monitoring against agreed standards, criteria, and performance indicators.
• Monitor programme financial situation, ensuring adherence to delivery rates and optimal utilization of resources.
• Coordinate with the Regional Office on monitoring and reporting requirements.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Regional Office and the Organisation.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: Affiliate personnel including one (1) National PSA and possibly consultant(s).

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework:

Functional Competencies:

• Strong knowledge of women’s economic empowerment, on private sector partnership for GEWE.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making.
• Coordination and organisation skills
• Strong networking skills.
• Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities, and threats to fundraising.
• Strong knowledge of the Arab Region.
• The ability to write policy papers, speeches, and briefings.

RECRUITMENT QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in economics, sustainable development, social sciences, or other relevant fields.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible work experience in development and implementation, monitoring, and reporting on programmes related to gender and the private sector is required.
• Experience in providing advisory support to the private sector on women’s economic empowerment is required.
• Experience in working in a gender-related area particularly from the perspective of private sector development and women economic empowerment is desirable.
• Experience in providing capacity building to government stakeholders, private sector partners, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) etc. is desirable.
• Experience working with the UN is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in French and Arabic is required.
• English as working language is required.

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process