Senior Programme Manager (Senior Trust Fund Manager) At UNOPS

UNOPS has signed an agreement with the United Nations/MPTFO to implement the project activities for Spotlight Initiative 2.0.

Spotlight Initiative 2.0

Spotlight Initiative was established by the UN Secretary-General as a flagship initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls (EVAWG). Spotlight Initiative proposed an unprecedented and innovative approach to delivering a comprehensive package of interventions to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls that places women and girls at the center of solutions, demonstrated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) acceleration and localization, and provided a platform for operationalization of the United Nations Development System reforms. The Initiative was launched in 2017 with initial 530+ million USD seed funding from the European Union, as well as complementary contributions from Portugal and Albania.

With the first generation of country and regional programmes having concluded implementation at the end of 2023, the Initiative has proven that a comprehensive theory of change and new way of working with a range of stakeholders, including the central role of civil society, through a coordinated, whole-of-society, whole-of-government, system-wide approach, can achieve transformative results to end violence against women and girls. Having demonstrated transformative impacts and acceleration across the SDGs and given its potential for further scale up, Spotlight Initiative was designated by the United Nations Secretary-General as a High-Impact Initiative during the 2023 SDG Summit–the only cross-cutting initiative.

In 2024, Spotlight Initiative entered its new phase, establishing the Spotlight Initiative 2.0 Fund and launching a new generation of programmes under the umbrella framework of Spotlight Initiative, applying lessons learned from its first 2017-2023 phase. With the ambition to raise an additional USD 1 billion over the next 5 years, “Spotlight Initiative 2.0” builds on lessons learned from the first generation of programmes and aims to diversify its donor and partnership base.

Spotlight Initiative 2.0 Fund is established as a multi-donor pooled funding instrument (Multi-Partner Trust Fund) and a UN Secretary-General’s fund, anchored in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG) and the UN Development Coordination Office (UNDCO), and administered by the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTFO) as the administrative agent of the Fund. This new generation of the Spotlight Initiative Fund is guided by the Spotlight Initiative 2.0 Fund Terms of Reference.

The Initiative presents a true multi-partner effort with built-in incentives for each partner to contribute to the development of the Fund’s vision and strategy. While the 2.0 Fund is constituted “anew”, it is a continuation of the first Spotlight Initiative 1.0 Fund in all key aspects, retaining the principles that made the Initiative a historic and unprecedented effort.

As Spotlight Initiative transitions from its first generation shaped by the initial investment from the European Union, the second iteration of the Fund sits within the broader Umbrella Framework guided by the leadership of the Executive Office of the Secretary-General. This Spotlight Initiative Umbrella Framework brings together and connects different elements of the Spotlight Initiative effort under one coherent approach.

The updated Fund is designed to capitalize on the experience and lessons learned from the first phase of the Initiative, while opening up space for new partners and donors to join and build on achievements, in the spirit of scaling up impact and results. The Fund’s updated structure and design draw from a number of evaluations and assessments conducted during the first phase of the Spotlight Initiative. It introduces more flexibility, adaptability to allow even more contextualized and impactful programming.

The Fund set up will be complemented by the High-Impact Programme for Violence Elimination by 2030 (HIVE UN Joint Programme, 2024-2026) that will support in exploring partnerships with country-based donor funding. This will account for additional programming leveraged by the Initiative’s momentum and ensure a coherent approach to all associated components of Spotlight Initiative.

The Fund Secretariat Team is in charge of day-to-day management and operations of the Spotlight Initiative 2.0 Fund. The Fund Secretariat provides substantive technical and management support to the Deputy Secretary-General, the Advisory Board and the Operational Steering Committee (OSC). The Fund Secretariat implements the direction and decisions of the Deputy Secretary-General and the OSC. The Fund Secretariat codifies the fund’s policies and rules of procedure into a programme and operations manual, including a Fund Risk Management Strategy. The Fund Secretariat also provides strategic advice and quality control over the fund operations and coordinates the meetings. It facilitates collaboration and communication between the EOSG, DCO, the Recipient UN Organizations, and the Resident Coordinators regarding the Fund operations when necessary. The Fund Secretariat will be responsible for reporting progress of funded projects through periodic progress updates (which will include consolidated narrative reports) received from Recipient UN Organizations and present on overview of the progress to the governance structures of the Fund.

Under the leadership of the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General and in accordance with the guidance received from the Spotlight Initiative’s Governance Mechanisms, the day-to-day management of the Spotlight Initiative is led by a Secretariat, housed within the Development Coordination Office (DCO) with a reporting line to the Executive Office of the Secretary General and servicing the whole UN System.

To ensure operational agility the Fund Secretariat is led by a Global Coordinator of Spotlight Initiative, who leads the Spotlight Initiative Global Team overall, with discretion to act and respond quickly to fund-specific needs. The Global Coordinator is supervised by EOSG, and the entire team is strategically hosted in the UN Development Coordination Office (DCO) on behalf of EOSG. The Fund Secretariat Team is administratively hosted by UNOPS.

The incumbent of this position will be a staff member of UNOPS, under its full responsibility

Functional Responsibilities

The Senior Trust Fund Manager, as a key senior function of the Fund Secretariat and head of management of the Fund, will work closely with the Advisory Board, the Operational Steering Committee, UN Resident Coordinators, Recipient UN Organizations, the Administrative Agent, and donors to the Fund.

He/she will be responsible for the following duties:

1. Advisory and Capacity building

1. Provides strategic advice to the Operational Steering Committee and Advisory Board on Fund related matters;
2. Supports Resident Coordinators, donor delegations and national counterparts in the design, set-up and management of the country level governance arrangements;
3. Guides the Recipient UN Organizations and Regional/National Entities on the programming processes and requirements as laid out in the Fund Operational Arrangements;
4. Ensures the development of the Fund’s strategic planning documents;
5. Develops capacity assessment tools and capacity development plans;

2. Advocacy and Building Strategic Partnerships

• Liaises and coordinates with donor focal points and other Fund stakeholders;
• Cooperates to establish and maintain strategic partnerships with additional potential donors, and identify and initiates key resource mobilization opportunities;
• Ensures linkages and consistency between the Fund and other global SDG’s related initiatives;
• Analyzes and research information on donors, prepare substantive briefs to the Operational Steering Committee on possible areas of cooperation;
• Contributes to the development and application of resource mobilization strategy;

3. Management and Oversight of the Fund Secretariat

• Prepares Annual Work Plan(s) and budget for the Fund Secretariat including any operational tasks, as required;
• Prepares job descriptions and vacancy announcements, and identifies, hires and supervises staff and consultants for Fund-related engagements/activities;
• Mobilizes goods and services to initiate activities;
• Provides administrative support to the Operational Steering Committee;
• Oversees activities of the Fund Secretariat and its team;

4. Management of Key Fund Operations tasks

• Develops contribution agreements with donors to the Fund together with MPTFO.
• Ensures communication of the Operational Steering Committee decisions to the UN Resident Coordinators in the priority countries, (include eligibility, maximum allocation available, timeline for programming and any specific requirements);
• Facilitates UN multi-agencies engagement in the programming;
• Ensures submission of programme proposals to the OSC after proper appraisal process and makes any relevant management recommendations to the Operational Steering Committee;
• Provides strategic oversight on Fund implementation including annual narrative and financial reporting, mid-term review and final evaluation planning, and advice the Operational Steering Committee on any management issues as required;
• Ensures the development of the Fund Result Based Management system and the Fund Risk Management matrix, in coordination with the global and regional technical support team as described in the Operational Arrangements of the Fund;
• Oversees implementation of the communication and visibility plan:
• Oversees consolidation of financial annual narrative reports and other updates;
• Leads approval/updates of operational arrangements and rules of procedures

Impact of results

• Planning, approval and implementation of global programme portfolio
• Fund’s Result based management system
• Fund’s risk management matrix
• Fund Secretariat’s Annual Work Plan and Budget;
• Progress and Final financial and narrative reports.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

*FEMALE CANDIDATES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY*

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) preferably in International development, Economics, Social Studies, Business Studies or related field with ten (10) years of relevant experience is required or,
• A first-level university degree in the above- mentioned fields of study, with twelve (12) years of relevant work experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

Required:

• Relevant experience is defined as experience at International level in managing and/or providing services for the design, management and monitoring and evaluation of Multi-Partner Trust Funds or large-scale programmes including results-based management, finance and operations.
• Extensive knowledge of United Nations Development Group (UNDG) joint programming is required.

Desirable: (The following experience is optional. Candidates who do not have it are welcome to apply)

• Experience servicing high-level multi stakeholder Fund/Programme Governance mechanisms
• Experience working at Headquarters or in a Regional Office of an international organization, particularly within the United Nations.
• Experience working at country level in at least two development/humanitarian contexts.
• Experience managing programme portfolios on gender equality and human rights, especially in the area of EVAWG.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of French or Spanish is desirable.
• Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.