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.
GBV remains rampant throughout Uganda, not only violating the human rights of victims, but also severely undermining the nationโs economic and social development.ย According to the recently published Uganda Police Annual Crime reports of 2022, 2023 and 2024 domestic violence, rape, and defilement are consistently some of the highest crimes reported to the police in Uganda. This underscores the needย to continue prioritizing cases of GBV against women and girls; as preventing, mitigating and responding to GBV is a lifesaving priority that is essential to their wellbeing.
ย In attempting to access justice through the criminal justice system, the victims/ survivors of GBV often encounter a myriad of challenges some of which include: an information gap where they are generally unaware of specific laws and judicial system operations which oftenย leaves them open to false information. Furthermore, the absence of a robust referral system compounds the vulnerability of GBV victims.ย
In response to these challenges UN Women with support from the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) contracted a consultant in 2023 to develop a Navigation Guide forย Survivors to enhance their experience when in contact with the criminal justice system. The Navigation Guide for Survivors is designed for use by victims of GBV and other persons reporting GBV, including, guardians, parents, caretakers, local leaders, community members, cultural and religious leaders. It aims to provide practical guidance for victims and persons acting on their behalf from the moment an incident occurs until the case is disposed of. The Navigation Guide for Survivorโs adopts a step-by-step approach and explains criminal justice processes and procedures at each stage. It details the rights of victims, duties of criminal justice actors and highlights what a victim might expect at each stage.ย
The Navigation Guide for Survivors is one of the key interventions of the project titledโ Strengthening Criminal Justice Responses to GBV in Ugandaโ (Justice4 for Her); and it will be disseminated within this framework. The project is currently beingย implementedย in Gulu , Masakaย and Nebbi High Court Circuits .Itย aims to improveย the performance of the criminal justice system through enhancing the management of GBV cases, including reduction of the existing case backlog through the implementation of the Fast Track- Time Sharing Model; where a minimum of twoย court rooms fully equipped with technology for in person andย virtual hearings will beย designated in the selected High Court Circuits to hear Sexual and Gender - Based Violence(SGBV) .ย
The consultant will be reporting to the Program Specialist, Access to Justice and will be supported by the Administrative Associate who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.ย
Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work:
Theย consultant will complete the following specific tasks:
- Conduct a desk review of the Navigation Guide for Survivors and propose modifications (for simplification) with the trackย changesย function in MS Word application.
- Develop a Simplified Navigation Guide for Survivors; andย
- Develop a dissemination plan for the Navigation Guide for Survivors.
Deliverables: Deliverable Due Date Payment Scheduleย Two draft reports of the Simplified Navigation Guide for Survivorโs with proposed modifications (for simplification) with the trackย changesย function in MS word application 25th July 2025 ย 30% Two copies of final reports of theย Simplified Navigation Guide for Survivorโsย with pictorials. A clean copy and one with track changes. 8th August 2025 50% A comprehensive dissemination plan for the Navigation Guide for Survivors for the High Court Circuits ofย ย Gulu, Nebbi and Masaka.ย ย 30th August 2025 20%
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:
- Ability to create, edit, and present information in clear and appealing formats.
- Excellent analytical and research skills with strong drive for results and capacity to work independently.
- Strong knowledge of the national gender machinery, policies, legislation on GEWE, as well as the functioning of the criminal justice system in Uganda.
- Good knowledge of project management, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation skills.
- Cultural and gender sensitivity skills and ability to work in a multicultural environment with national government stakeholders.
- Excellent communication and writing skills.
Required Qualifications
Education and Certification:
- Masterโs degreeย (or equivalent) in Criminal Justice, Law, Human Rights, Gender, International Relations or related field.ย
- 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:
- Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible work experience in ย developing, reviewing and simplifying legal or policy documents to promote gender equality.
- Experience working on gender-focused projects, access to justice initiatives, or similar fields is required.
- Experience working with the Ugandan criminal justice system is required.
- Proven experience in simplifying, editing and proofreading UN documents is desirable.
Language:
- Fluency in English is required.
- Knowledge of any other UN official language is an asset.ย
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.)
Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.
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