Background

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

The Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) portfolio in India focuses on creating an enabling and safe environment for women’s greater participation and leadership in economic activities.

UN Women is undertaking efforts to address gender-based inequalities faced by women workers in the garment supply industry.

India has a total workforce of 520 million people, and the textile and garment sector is the third largest employer in the country after agriculture and construction, employing 45 million people. India is the second largest textile and garment exporter worldwide after China and the sixth largest exporter of garments globally. In November 2017, India’s textile and garment sector had a total turnover of USD 150 billion, the largest portion of which went to the domestic market and USD 36 billion of which was in the form of exports. Ready-made garments constitute the largest sub-sector, accounting for 43 percent of total textile exports in the first nine months of 2016-17. While the EU and the US are the main export markets, making up 47 percent of all textile and garment exports, China represents the main import country and accounts for 16.6 percent of all textile and garment imports to India.

Tamil Nadu is regarded as numero uno in textiles and garments in India. It has at least one-third of the textile business in the country, with 2,032 spinning mills (total mills in India: 3,542), 5.63 lakh power looms (India: 24.86 lakh), 1.55 lakh handlooms (India: 23.77 lakh), and nearly 15,000 garment units (close to one lakh units nationally). The State houses clusters of the entire textile value chain –spinning, weaving, processing, and garmenting.

A study on ‘Socio-Economic profile of women working in textile units of Tiruppur district in Tamil Nadu’ by Dr. P Mala in 2016 reveals that in Tamil Nadu, the textile industry is female dominated. Women workers are about 65% and mostly unskilled. Yet, despite being one of the largest employers of women, the conditions continue to be discriminatory, isolating and exploitative for women and girls. Studies by the Fair Wear Foundation and other organizations have indicated absence of formal contracts, long working hours in cramped spaces, insecure contracts, wage discrimination, absence of creches, widespread sexual exploitation and abuse. The predominance of small firms, low qualification of the workforce and limited trade union presence, contribute to this exploitation and discrimination particularly in terms of women.

The Project ‘ Women’s Empowerment for Textile’ forms part of UN Women’s WEE Programme and its intersections with UN Women’s Flagship Programme Initiatives [Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces for Women and Girls and global initiatives (SASA ,RESPECT)] to end Violence against Women and Girls. It is an innovative and catalytic initiative aimed at preventing and responding to sexual harassment at the workplace and prevention of other forms of gender-based violence against women and girls in select community locations of the Textile Industry in the state of Tamil Nadu.

The Women’s Empowerment for Textile (WEFT) project is designed to forge and strengthen a multi-sectoral coalition in Tamil Nadu (Textile/Apparel) to effectively prevent and respond to sexual harassment of women and girls at the workplace, and other forms of gender-based violence, through targeted interventions. Convened by UN Women the coalition will comprise of global brands suppliers/manufacturers, government, industry associations, trade unions, civil society organisations, and other relevant stakeholders.

The coalition will facilitate an enabling legislative and policy environment focussed on effective prevention and response strategies and mechanisms to end violence against women. It will focus on factory and community interventions to promote favourable social norms, attitudes and behaviour at worksites, public spaces, community, and individual levels to prevent violence against women. The coalition will comprise suppliers/manufacturers, government, industry associations, trade unions, civil society organisations, businesses, global brands, etc.

Reporting to Country Programme Manager, WEE, the Project Coordinator contributes to the effective management of the WEFT Project by providing substantive inputs to project design, implementation and management as well as monitoring and reporting efforts.

S/he guides and facilitates the delivery of the project by monitoring results achieved during implementation and ensuring appropriate application of systems and procedures and develops enhancements if necessary. She/he works in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, UN Women HQ staff, Government officials, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful project implementation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Contribute technically to the development of project strategies:

Provide substantive inputs to the project design;
Provide substantive technical support in convening the coalition and ensuring its smooth functioning;
Provide substantive technical inputs to all the stakeholders including brands, government, civil society, trade unions, industry associations on prevention and response to sexual harassment at the workplace and in communities that can inform the project design and successful implementation.
Provide substantive technical support to the implementation and management of Women’s

Empowerment for Textile (WEFT) Project:

Lead the implementation of project activities;
Lead the convening of the coalition and ensure successful coordination with all the coalition members including brands, government, civil society, trade unions, industry associations;
Manage and coordinate the efforts of implementing partners for successful achievement of project results;
Review, coordinate and the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports.

Provide technical assistance and capacity development to project/programme partners:

Coordinate and provide technical support in the implementation of project activities;
Maintain relationships with coalition partners to support implementation and expansion of the WEFT project;
Identify opportunities for capacity building of partners and facilitate technical/ programming support and trainings to partners, as needed.

Provide technical inputs to the monitoring and reporting of the project:

Monitor progress of implementation of activities and finances using results based management tools;
Draft reports on monitoring missions, programme results s, outputs and outcomes;
Provide substantive inputs to the preparation of donor and UN Women reports.

Provide substantive technical inputs to the management of people and finances of the project:

Monitor budget implementation and make budget re-alignments/ revisions, as necessary;
Provide substantive inputs to financial reports;
Supervise Programme Associates and Assistant.

Provide substantive inputs to building partnerships and resource mobilization strategies:

Provide substantive inputs to resource mobilization strategies; analyse and maintain information and databases;
Prepare relevant documentation such as project summaries, conference papers, briefing notes, speeches, and donor profiles;
Participate in donor meetings and public information events, as delegated.
Provide technical support to inter-agency coordination to achieve coherence and alignment of UN

Women programmes with other partners in the country:

Provide substantive technical support to the Representative and Deputy Representative on inter-agency coordination related activities by drafting background reports and briefs.

Provide substantive inputs to advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts:

Develop background documents, briefs and presentations related to WEFT project
Coordinate and organize advocacy campaigns, events, trainings, workshops and knowledge products;
Coordinate the development of knowledge management methodologies, and products on WEFT project.

Key Performance Indicators:

Workplan for the assignment.
Timely and effective delivery of the project.
Coordination between key stakeholders ensured.
Strategic partnerships created.
Results based monitoring system in place.
Knowledge building and knowledge sharing facilitated.
Communications and knowledge products for the project in place.
Interim and final donor reports for the project.

Competencies

Core Values / Guiding Principles:

Integrity – Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
Professionalism – Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.
Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity – Demonstrates an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values – Demonstrates and safeguards ethics and integrity.
Organizational Awareness – Demonstrates corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
Work in teams – Demonstrates ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
Communicating and Information Sharing – Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.
Self-management and Emotional Intelligence – Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behaviour towards others.
Conflict Management – Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.
Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing – Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Functional Competencies:

Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
Focuses on impact and result for the partners and responds positively to feedback.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in social sciences/ Social Work /Gender Studies/Public Administration/Policy/law or related fields.

Experience:

5 years of relevant professional experience in project design, implementation, management, monitoring especially in the areas of women’s economic empowerment and intersections of violence against women.
At least 3 or more years of experience working in the textile supply chain is desirable (candidates with this expertise and experience would have preference over others).
In-depth understanding of hiring workers in the textile supply chain, with a focus on women workers.
Knowledge of procurement processes in the textile industry at the factory and global brands level.
Experience in engaging or having worked for/with international apparel brands.
Substantial relevant experience and expertise in managing multi stakeholder/partners projects preferably in textile supply chains.
Substantial relevant expertise and experience in working with the private sector on gender mainstreaming in policies and initiatives beyond Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Experience in high quality documentation and reporting skills desirable.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English and Hindi is required.
A working knowledge of Tamil language is desirable.

To apply for this job please visit jobs.undp.org.