Mission and objectivesUN 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. Placing womenโs rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member Statesโ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.
ContextSudan is experiencing one of the most severe and complex humanitarian crisis in the world, driven by ongoing conflict, political instability, massive displacement, food insecurity, and the near collapse of essential services. Since April 2023, the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has triggered unprecedented displacement, with nearly 13 million people majority of them women forced to flee with 8.7 million in IDP camps and another 3.8 million as refugees impacting 7 countries across the region. It is estimated that 30.4 million people or two-thirds of the population require humanitarian assistance in 2025.1 The humanitarian response is severely hampered by restrictions on access and chronic underfunding with current HRP funded at 13.4% of the USD 3.6 billion needed in 2025. Like many crisis contexts, women and girls face disproportionate impacts including widespread gender-based violence and other protection risks, food insecurity, increased burden of care and loss of access to basic services, including sexual and reproductive health, WASH and education. Despite these challenges, women and local women-led organizations (WLOs) have displayed great resilience, they remain at the forefront of response efforts, often in the most hard-to-reach areas. Since the conflict began, incidents of GBV have surged to alarming levels, with sexual violence disproportionately affecting displaced women, girls, and increasingly, men and boys. Sexual violence, including gang rape, abduction, and sexual slavery, has been used as a weapon of war, particularly targeting those in transit, displacement sites, or shelters. Economic hardship, driven by rising prices for basic goods, has further exacerbated vulnerabilities, increasing the prevalence of intimate partner violence and exploitation. Survivors face profound physical and psychological trauma, with older women, adolescent girls, and women with disabilities at heightened risk. Stigma, shame and fear of retaliation continue to greatly impact survivorโs willingness to seek medical care, leading in some cases to suicide. The ability to respond to GBV is critically constrained due to limited humanitarian access, shortages of essential supplies, specialized services and the destruction and looting of healthcare facilities. UN Women Sudan Country Office continues to respond to crisis affected communities especially women and girls with a focus on livelihood restoration, addressing protection risks, including gender-based violence, promoting the leadership and participation of women and girls across the humanitarian peace nexus, gender mainstreaming support for key humanitarian plans and strategies as well policy and advocacy influencing at national and sub-national levels. Operating out of Port Sudan, UN Women, through its Programme Partners, has programming in all the 17 states. UN Women, Sudan Country Office, is seeking a dynamic candidate, who as a catalyst for the advancement of Gender Equality and Women Empowerment, human rights, protection, gender-based violence prevention and response and conflict related sexual violence concerns within humanitarian preparedness and response frameworks
Task DescriptionUnder the direct supervision of the Country Representative or his/her designated mandated representative(s) the international UN Volunteer Expert will undertake the following tasks: โข Support and strengthen CRSV and GBV programming in the humanitarian interventions and accountability to gender equality in humanitarian response. This includes leading the update of the UN Womenโs Strategy on Ending Violence against Women and Girls in Sudan in line with the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan in Sudan and UN Womenโs Strategic Plan 2026-2029. โข Promote a comprehensive and coherent approach to how GBV and CRSV issues are addressed by the HCT and UNCT in Sudan, including conflict-related sexual violence and sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. This will include becoming familiar with the dynamics of GBV and coordination mechanisms related to different forms of GBV in Sudan in order to enable the UN Women office, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and the humanitarian clusters to develop a sound understanding of the drivers, triggers and protective factors related to different forms of GBV and take informed decisions on integrating GBV prevention and response in planning and operations; โข Integrate GBV dimensions in emergency response, preparedness, resilience efforts, and all womenโs empowerment programming aiming to insure a sustainable transition to development; โข Support strengthened advocacy and communication on CRSV and GBV needs and priorities for humanitarian response and its transition to development. โข Contribute to the GBV Sub-Cluster and guide UN Womenโs institutional engagement in the broader humanitarian architecture to ensure that GBV is appropriately integrated system-wide across all the clusters; โข Mobilize womenโs rights organizations and Government authorities to engage in CRSV and GBV coordination, planning and programming; โข Engage in discussions with potential partners in the country, including embassies or other inter-governmental organizations, in order to mobilize resources locally and generate interest in funding UN Women EVAWG Strategy; and set aside dedicated time for capacity development through coaching, mentoring and formal and on-the-job training; โข Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor. โข As an active UN Women team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to UN Women and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including: 1. High-level and technical advice to UN Women in planning and coordination to address CRSV and GBV; 2. GBV, including CRSV considerations fully integrated into all relevant strategic planning instruments/ processes; 3. GBV and CRSV prevention and response is appropriately integrated system-wide across all the clusters; 4. Local NGOs and Government authorities engaged in coordination, planning and programming; 5. Potential donors of GBV, including CRSV programming in the country identified and engaged to fund UN Women activities; 6. GBV and CRSV prevention and response capacities of national staff and (non-) governmental counterparts strengthened; โข A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed. โข At least one article written for UNV (with pictures and / or videos)
Competencies and valuesโข Culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members and local authorities; โข Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel; โข Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills; โข Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment; โข Ability to perform duties under stress and in insecure, isolated and potentially hostile environments; โข Sound security awareness; โข Have affinity with or interest in womenโs and gender issues, humanitarian action, refugee work, post-conflict or natural disaster situations, volunteerism as a mechanism for durable development, and the UN System. With the following Competencies and values: โข Professionalism: demonstrated understanding of operations relevant to UN Women; technical capabilities or knowledge relevant or transferrable to UN Women procedures and rules; discretion, political sensitivity, diplomacy and tact to deal with clients; ability to apply good judgement; ability to liaise and coordinate with a range of different actors, especially in senior positions; where appropriate, high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; resourcefulness and willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented; โข Integrity: demonstrate the values and ethical standards of the UN and UN Women in daily activities and behaviours while acting without consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in the organizationโs interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behaviour; does not abuse power or authority; โข Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; excellent interpersonal skills; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, mixed-gender environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity; sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of UN operations; ability to achieve common goals and provide guidance or training to colleagues; โข Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment. โข Planning and organizing: effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities; โข Flexibility โข Genuine commitment
Living conditions and remarksSudan is a unique country facing a unique (humanitarian) operation. It provides for an interesting and enriching environment but also requires a mature level of cultural awareness, as well as more stamina and commitment than elsewhere to make life comfortable and affordable. Therefore, flexibility and the ability and willingness to live and work in harsh and potentially hazardous conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort, are essential. Allowances The purpose of allowances for the National UN Volunteers Specialist is to enable the National UN Volunteers Specialist to sustain a modest and secure standard of living at the duty station. The allowances are in no way to be understood as compensation, reward, or salary in exchange for volunteer work. Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA): All National UN Volunteer Specialists are entitled to a monthly volunteer living allowance of USD 1,983.9 The purpose of this allowance is to cover the basic living costs of the National Specialists UN Volunteer. The allowance is to ensure that the volunteer can sustain a basic, adequate, and safe lifestyle. The monthly allowance rate is a fixed rate for the duty station as established by UNV headquarters.