Outcome FIJ_O_4

Nurturing an empowered workforce and advancing an inclusive UNWomen culture

The UN Women Fiji MCO has demonstrated significant progress in strengthening its organizational capacity and effectiveness through comprehensive staff development initiatives throughout 2024. The office has implemented a structured approach to building a high-performing, diverse workforce that embodies UN values, reaching approximately 80 staff members across multiple Pacific countries including Kiribati, Samoa, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands. With an average recruitment process time of 14 weeks, the office has maintained steady progress in building its team. A cornerstone of this effort has been the implementation of an extensive learning program that combines structured training, personalized coaching, and collaborative learning opportunities. The office achieved a 79% completion rate for mandatory corporate learning courses by the end of 2024, marking a notable 13% increase from mid-year. This improvement reflects the office's commitment to continuous professional development and compliance with organizational standards. The MCO has particularly excelled in fostering an inclusive learning environment through its comprehensive induction process for new staff, covering critical operational areas including finance, procurement, travel, human resources, communications, and programmatic aspects. Weekly learning sessions have been institutionalized to ensure ongoing skill development and knowledge sharing, while individual coaching sessions have addressed specific needs of staff across different geographical locations, demonstrating a commitment to leaving no one behind in professional development opportunities. Notably, ten staff members benefited from inter-regional and cross-regional knowledge exchange opportunities, including participation in the Gender Equality Village, the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction 2024, and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative Forum, surpassing the target of six staff members for such exchanges. A significant milestone in strengthening organizational effectiveness was the four-day staff planning retreat held at the Hilton Fiji Beach Resort in September 2024. This gathering brought together staff from across the Pacific region, creating a participatory space for strategic planning, capability building, and team strengthening. The retreat exemplified a transformative approach to organizational development by incorporating sessions on unconscious bias, stress management, and strategic planning, while also providing opportunities for cross-team collaboration and knowledge exchange. Performance management has shown steady improvement, with the office achieving a 65.2% compliance rate in Performance Management and Development (PMD) by the end of 2024. This reflects a gender-responsive approach to talent management that emphasizes regular dialogue between supervisors and supervisees, ensuring meaningful participation in goal-setting and performance evaluation. These initiatives collectively demonstrate UN Women Fiji MCO's commitment to efficient and effective business processes through a human rights-based approach that prioritizes capacity building, inclusive participation, and continuous improvement. The office has created a supportive environment that enables staff to contribute effectively to UN Women's mandate while developing their professional capabilities and advancing gender-responsive organizational culture. This coordinated approach has helped ensure sustainability and institutional embedding of good practices across the Fiji MCO.

Nurturing an empowered workforce and advancing an inclusive UNWomen culture

The very nature of the Fiji MCO underlines its cross-border and inclusive nature. As an implementing agency covering 14 Pacific Island Countries and actively programming in six of these nations, the Fiji MCO is demonstrating a commitment to inclusivity by working in diverse cultural and geographical contexts. This approach recognizes and respects the unique needs and perspectives of each country. Although the Fiji MCO had a high separation toll of 12 in 2023, the recruitment of 20 new members of the workforce (FTA and SSAs) in 2023 was a strategic approach to expanding the workforce and leveraging a diverse skill set. Capacity building for staff was high on the Fiji MCO’s agenda, particularly to enable the implementation of a new corporate Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System (Quantum) and ensure that employees are equipped with the skills necessary to adapt to and leverage new technologies. In its commitment to knowledge-sharing, the MCO commenced a rollout of the training to other countries. This approach ensures that staff members at various levels have access to the necessary skills and information to operate efficiently. In addition, there were other training opportunities for staff in areas such as RMS-Quantum linkages, Communications, and Resource Mobilization, to name a few. Furthermore, the inclusion of staff members from Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu in a work-exchange-based approach in PNG demonstrates a commitment to inclusive training initiatives, promoting collaboration, cross-cultural understanding, and the exchange of best practices among staff members. The completion of all staff reviews for 2023 and the emphasis on performance management is the Fiji MCO’s commitment to recognizing and acknowledging the contributions of the workforce – an approach essential for building a positive workplace culture and fostering employee empowerment.