Outcome ETH_O_4

Nurturing an empowered workforce and advancing an inclusive UN-Women culture

In 2022, UN Women Ethiopia ensured that all staff has been provided with the orientations on performance management, performance, and capacity development planning. Performance planning and review are done for all staff and areas for development/capacity building identified. In addition, UN Women has revitalized its Staff Learning and Development Team to develop the learning plan by coordinating with staff and management. As a result, several learning initiatives has been convened which empowered the staff with capacities and knowledge on strengthening results-based management, monitoring and data collections methods to ensure a culture of continuous learning and experience sharing. In addition, a number of initiatives for staff engagement including staff retreat, regular general staff meetings, programme and operations team meetings have been implemented by UN Women. These fora provided opportunity for staff to have better coordination of programmes, shared vision on targeted results and feeling of togetherness/oneness. Moreover, UN Women continued to ensure the implementation of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and sexual harassment, as tackling sexual misconduct continues to be a priority for UN-Women and the UN system at large. UN Women Ethiopia ensured 100% compliance of staff with the completion of the mandatory course on SEA and sexual harassment. As part of its annual risk management process, the office assesses the risk on SEA and sexual harassment and identifies risk mitigation measures. To enhance a culture of accountability and continuous service improvement, UN Women has started the implementation of performance accountability systems including the Global Service Tracker and the Quarterly Business Review (QBR). The tools provided operational management data and compliance rates for management decision making and implementation of a continuous improvement system.

Nurturing an empowered workforce and advancing an inclusive UN-Women culture

In its commitment to nurturing an empowered workforce and promoting an inclusive organizational culture, Ethiopia Country Office has established itself as an employer of choice, characterized by a unique and inclusive work environment. Throughout the year, UN Women has made significant advancement in ensuring that its workforce reflects a wide spectrum of experiences and backgrounds, thereby enriching the organization with a variety of perspectives and skills. Moreover, the organization has placed a strong emphasis on creating a work environment where every member feels valued, heard, and empowered. Through various initiatives and programs, UN-Women has reinforced its commitment to professional development, work-life balance, and a supportive workplace culture that prioritizes mental and physical well-being. This has been instrumental in attracting and retaining a cadre of talented professionals who are passionate about advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women in Ethiopia and worldwide. During the past year, the average recruitment process spanned 16 weeks. This extended duration primarily stemmed from complexities involving multi-stakeholder engagement and the alignment of varying priorities among both internal and external stakeholders. Furthermore, the office encountered difficulties in attracting a sufficient pool of candidates possessing the necessary skills and experience, particularly for technical positions. This shortfall in qualified applicants often necessitated the re-initiation of the recruitment process. UN Women ECO actively participated and represented in eight and capacity building and cross-reginal initiatives: Global Humanitarian Strategic Planning at UN Women HQ: UN Women Country Representative attended, gaining insights on humanitarian strategic planning. This knowledge was applied to revise the Humanitarian Country Team's (HCT) gender roadmap for monitoring and reporting. CIPS Procurement Training in Senegal: UN Women Deputy Representative’s participation in this training enhanced procurement efficiency in the country office through the adoption of quality assurance steps. Sixth Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces Global Leaders Meeting in Ecuador and 4) EVAWG Team Retreat with WCARO in Tanzania: These events allowed the UN Women to integrate safe cities principles into their programming and share the UNW ECO's approaches like SASA with the WCARO team. South-South Experience Sharing Mission on Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB) in Morocco: UN Women National Planning Team's participation facilitated exchanges of best practices in GRB, enhancing the office’s capabilities in this area. Global Ombudsman Training in Thailand: UN Women Coordination team's involvement in this training enabled the country office to orient its staff on the role and function of the ombudsman. Global Leadership Training for Deputies at UN Women HQ: This training provided innovative leadership strategies that have been integrated into the country office's core programs and resource mobilization efforts. Global Webinar on Ethiopia’s Experience Sharing for the customized and multi-year Performance Monitoring Framework (PMF) for the Strategic Note 2021-2025: The webinar showcased Ethiopia's effective use of the Performance Monitoring Framework (PMF) benefiting global Monitoring & Evaluation teams. Through these diverse engagements, UN Women ECO has not only shared its unique experiences and approaches but also assimilated global best practices and cutting-edge strategies into its operations and programming. This has strengthened the office's capacity in various critical areas, from humanitarian response to gender-responsive budgeting and leadership. The Ethiopia Country Office of UN-Women is focused on improving the well-being and retention of its staff. This initiative aligns with the global Strategic Plan for 2022-2025 and efforts by the ESARO Regional Director to foster a nurturing and inclusive work culture. Following a 2022 retreat, the office recognized the need for immediate and specific actions to enhance staff well-being, acknowledging issues such as high stress, work-life imbalance, and contract types. To address these challenges, a dedicated ECO wellbeing team was established, which decided to conduct a survey for developing a relevant and evidence-based Terms of Reference (TOR). In 2023, with support from UN Women Headquarters, a staff wellbeing survey was conducted, receiving responses from 67% of the staff (37 out of 55 members).

Nurturing an empowered workforce and advancing an inclusive UN-Women culture

The CO conducted a staff retreat and SN /WP planning workshop from 14-18 October 2024. The event provided opportunity for staff team building and reflection as w ell as review of the programme implementation and planning for the 2025 workplan . The HR unit supported programme teams with recruitment of staff and consultants following corporate po licies and procedures. In 2024, UN Women ECO actively participated and represented in three cross-regional knowledge-sharing events, contributing to and benefiting from global insights and strategies (cumulative total of 11 cross-regional knowledge exchange) 1) Global Humanitarian Strategic Planning at UN Women HQ: UN Women GiHA team attended, gaining insights on humanitarian strategic planning. This knowledge was applied to revise the Humanitarian Country Team's (HCT) gender roadmap for monitoring and reporting. 2) Global Leadership Training for Deputies at UN Women HQ: This training provided innovative leadership strategies that have been integrated into the country office's core programs and resource mobilization efforts. 3) UN Women WCARO & ESARO WEE Learning week at Abuja, Nigeria. It aims at Accelerating the progress of WEE in Sub-Saharan Africa amidst changing contexts.