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.
UN Womenโs Policy, Programme, and Intergovernmental Division (PPID) provides intellectual and strategic leadership on normative support and the delivery of integrated policy and program advice, including through policy analysis and gender mainstreaming. The Division leverages innovation, knowledge management and innovative technical expertise to support UN Women programs and to build the capacity of partners to deliver results on gender equality and womenโs empowerment. The Peace Security and Resilience Section (PS&R) is responsible for providing technical support to UN Women Country Offices in key areas including conflict prevention and peacebuilding, justice, and security sector reform, promoting women's political participation and mainstreaming gender issues into governance reforms.
The Elsie Initiative Fund for Uniformed Women in Peace Operations (EIF)ย (https://elsiefund.org/) is hosted by UN Women โ PS&R, PPID, New York. The EIF aims to support and incentivize efforts to increase the meaningful participation of uniformed women in United Nations peace operations through the provision of financial assistance or financial incentives to Troop and Police Contributing Countries (T/PCCs), and financial support to projects submitted by United Nations organizations.ย
The EIF seeks to accelerate progress towards achieving the United Nations Security Councilโs declared mandate to double the rate of womenโs participation within police and military contingents by 2020 compared to 2015, as well as supporting targets to increase the proportion of women serving as military observers, staff officers and individual police officers as per theย United Nations Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy 2018-2028.
Adequate due diligence of all project proposals is fundamental to managing the programmatic risks of the EIF. The EIF Terms of Reference (English; French; Spanish) require that countries contributing military and police officers to peace operations โ known as Troop and Police Contributing Countries (T/PCCs), that are being considered for funding, are assessed against the United NationsHuman Rights Due Diligence Policy on United Nations support to non-United Nations Security Forces (HRDDP) before funds being disbursed. (Policy Links: HRDDP:ย Englishย andย French; and HRDDP Guidance Note:ย Englishย andย French.ย
The HRDDP, issued by the United Nations Secretary-General on 13 July 2011, is intended to serve as a risk management mechanism to ensure that any support provided by United Nations entities to non-United Nations security forces is consistent with the purposes and principles set out in the Charter of the United Nations and with its obligations under international law to respect, promote and encourage respect for international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law. One of the key components of implementing the HRDDP is the risk assessment. This provides a baseline analysis of risks for providing or not providing support to security institutions; it also identifies appropriate mitigating measures that can reduce these risks to acceptable levels. Based on the risk assessment, the project management, in consultation with internal and external partners as appropriate, decides whether support can be provided, and, when support is provided, ensures that mitigation measures are implemented and the conduct of the recipient receiving support is monitored in terms of their human rightsย obligations.
The EIF will conduct human rights risk assessments for projects under consideration in future programming rounds, across all UN Womenโs regional areas of operations. This reflects the EIFโs ongoing expansion into a Global Trust Fund.ย
- Americas and the Carribean
- Asia and the Pacificย
- Eastern and Southern Africaย
- West and Central Africa ย
- Arab States
- Europe and Central Asiaย
The consultant will report to the EIF Manager who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues. The consultant will also work with and be supported by the Project Coordination Specialist for their assigned project.
Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work
The consultant will be responsible for the following duties and responsibilities. In undertaking these tasks, the incumbent will be required to draw upon United Nations and other sources including through a gender analysis.ย The incumbent will be expected to perform the following duties in consultation with the OHCHR headquarters, regional and country offices, the United Nations Country Team, UN Women regional and country offices, the United Nations Conduct and Discipline Service (CDS), the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight (OIOS), United Nations protection cluster, national human rights institutions and international and national non-governmental organizations.
1. Conduct a human rights risk assessment in line with the HRDDP (2013) and EIF HRDDP Implementation Framework
- Develop a comprehensive HRDDP risk assessment related to assigned projects submitted to the EIF.
In conducting theย human rights risk assessment, the incumbent will be required to undertake a document review of human rights reports from the United Nations Office for the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR), including the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), United Nations Treaty Bodies such as the Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, and Special Procedures in particular the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, reports of the Secretary General to the Security Council on peace operations, reports of other United Nations mechanisms, offices or agencies (e.g. Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict), reports of United Nations commissions of inquiry, decisions of United Nations treaty bodies on individual cases, and UNODC Transnational Organized Crime Threat Assessments and relevant HRDDP-related risk assessments from various UN agencies, funds and programmesย (see the United Nations Inter-Agency HRDDP Guidance Note (2015) - Sources of information for the risk assessment, pp. 20-21 for the list). The incumbent will also cover reports and individual cases related to sexual exploitation and abuse from CDS (https://conduct.unmissions.org/documents-standards) and OIOS.ย
Other required topics include sexual harassment and gender discrimination within the security institution such as reports on standards of conduct and civilian oversight mechanisms where publicly available. UN Women will endeavour to facilitate access to such reporting, including by requesting reports from the security institution and national partners. Where at all possible, data should be disaggregated by age and sex to determine the groups that are most affected by violations and further validation with the affected groups should be undertaken.ย
- Develop a comprehensive set of mitigation measures addressing the risks identified through the assessment.
2. Provide inputs during the conduct of barrier assessment-related projects
Concerning projects relevant to the conduct of a barrier assessment to the deployment of uniformed women to peace operations, the incumbent will also be required to meet with the assessment team of the research partner selected by the T/PCC security institution and/or DCAF) to provide data that is not CONFIDENTIAL, for inclusion in the MOWIP barrier assessment methodology, Fact Finding Form (FFF). The FFF is one of the MOWIPโs three data collection tools. This would include providing information concerning the three keyย issue areasย detailed in the MOWIP methodology, as well as information on relevant policy documents including but not limited to sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, gender-based violence and discrimination:
- Issue Area 2: Deployment Selection
- Issue Area 8: Top-Down Leadership
- Issue Area 10: Social Exclusion
3. Monitoring and evaluation indicators
- Develop indicators to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the mitigation measures.
- Provide HRDDP inputs to the EIFโs standardized documents, that apply to the project, as well as standardized templates to be used for internal processes and communication to beneficiaries and partners.
Deliverables
The deliverables are to be written in English or French and include the following:ย
1. Comprehensive HRDDP risk assessment report and mitigation measures
Based on the EIF HRDDP Implementation Framework, a comprehensive HRDDP risk assessment report for assigned projects to be submitted to the EIF in accordance with the detailed project proposals and a two-pager executive summary.
Each report should contain the elements to be considered for a risk assessment, listed in the text of the policy and on pages 18 to 20 of the Inter-Agency HRDDP Guidance Note (2015). The assessment should include violations for which women are particularly at risk such as sexual harassment within the uniformed services and sexual exploitation and abuse against community members:
- Human rights record
- Accountability record
- Prevention mechanisms
- Legislative / policy framework
- United Nationโs ability to influence and risk of not providing support
- Risks inherent to the kind of support envisaged
Action plan for each report which includes a:
- comprehensive set of mitigation measures for each risk identified, or related to the implementation of projects by the security institution
- formulation of indicators to be used during the monitoring, reporting and evaluation cycles for the project
2. Inputs during the conduct of barrier assessment-related projects: In collaboration with the assessment team of the research partner selected by the T/PCC / and/or DCAF), provide inputs during the completion of sections of the MOWIP FFF which relate to each of the three issue areas and policy areas identified in the duties and responsibilities above.ย
Consultantโs Workplace and Official Travel
This is a home-based consultancy.ย
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 visitย this linkย for more information on UN Womenโs Values and Competencies Framework:ย
Functional Competencies:
- Solid technical knowledge in the design and formulation of HRDDP related documents, processes and procedures;
- Knowledge of gender issues, especially in the context of peace operations and gender-based violence;
- Comprehensive knowledge of and exposure to a range of human rights issues, including related to the operation of security forces;
- Solid knowledge of the international legal framework, institutional mandates, policies and guidelinesย
- Ability to draft, edit and prepare clear and concise reports;
- Strong analytical and research skills, including ability to evaluate and integrate information from a variety of sources;
- Highly effective organization and planning skills and high attention to detail;
- Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain strong relationships and partnerships;
- Good level of computer literacy;
- Ability to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner; and
- Sound judgement with proven ability to work effectively under minimum supervision.ย
Education and Certification:
- Masterโs degree or equivalent in international relations, human rights, international law, humanitarian law, political science, social sciences, gender studies or related field is required.
- 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 10 years of progressively responsible work experience in human rights, international law, gender or a related area is required.ย
- Experience with implementation of the HRDDP policy and risk assessment is required.ย
- Experience with developing an analytical framework from a gender perspective, analyzing human rights-related documents, human rights monitoring or fact-finding, research, reporting methodologies and report writing is required.
- Experience working with security institutions is desirable.
- Experience in project development, management, and evaluation concepts and procedures is an advantage.
- Experience with inter-agency collaboration is an advantage.
Languages:
- Fluency in speaking, writing, and reading English is required.
- Fluency in speaking, writing, and reading French or Spanish is highly desirable.
Contracting Arrangements:ย
This call has been re-opened and candidates who have already applied previously should not re-apply, as their applications remain valid and will be considered automatically.
Successful candidates will be included in UN Womenโs Technical Expert roster for a period of 2 years. Entry into the expert roster system does not necessarily mean that a contract with UN Women is guaranteed. This will depend on forthcoming needs.
When a request for services arises, the UN Women office in need of services shall directly contract the consultant from the roster without the need for further selection processes. A specific Terms of Reference (ToR) outlining the outputs for each assignment shall be provided and, subject to agreement from the designated candidate, a consultant contract will be issued. Conditions of a particular assignment may be negotiable.
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,ย and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age,ย ability, national origin,ย 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 toย UN Womenโsย policiesย and proceduresย andย theย standardsย of conduct expected of UN Women personnelย 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.)
- Develop a comprehensive set of mitigation measures addressing the risks identified through the assessment.
- Develop a comprehensive HRDDP risk assessment related to assigned projects submitted to the EIF.