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.
In July 2012 the Interim National Transitional Council of Libya adopted Law No. 59 (2012) on Local Administrative Systems, thereby creating a subnational level of governance for the country. Law 59 explicitly allots space for a woman to be a member in the municipal council, according to Article 11, which states: โmembers of municipalities located in the province, to be elected by direct secret ballot, with at least one member for women and one member from revolutionaries with special needs.โ Law 59โs intention to promote womenโs participation โ with the wording โat least one member for womenโโhas, in practice, been misinterpreted such that the law is used as a way to limit womenโs participation to only one seat.[1]
Following the adoption of Law 59, Libya established 120 municipal councils in 2013 in a bid to end Gaddafiโs 42-year realm of centralization. Some councils held elections in 2014.[1]ย Libya held a second round of elections during the period between 2019 and 2021, where the elections were conducted over several phases staggered across different days.[2]ย Each municipal council has seven members, and their responsibilities include electing the mayor, providing services to citizens at the local level, and establishing and maintaining utilities related to urban planning, water, local transportation, real estate and other local issues.[3]ย However, in 2023, the HoRs issued the Law No. (20) of 2023 amending Law No. (8) of 2013 by transferring the powers to elect municipal councils to the HNEC instead of the Ministry of Local Government.
In October 2023, The HNEC Board approves the executive regulations and electoral districts for electing municipal councils and issued Resolution No. (43) of 2023 regarding the executive regulations for electing municipal councils, and Article (2) referred the formulation and issuance of the executive regulations for the election of governorate and municipal councils to the HNEC in accordance with Law No. (59) of 2012.
The most prominent of which is: Dividing electoral districts (municipal councils) into three levels: small (7) seats one of them reserved for women, medium (9) seats two of them reserved for women, and large (11) seats three of them reserved for women.โ
In Libya, the local elections were held on 16 November in a first group of 58 municipalities across the country. Libya marked groundbreaking milestones for womenโs political empowerment. For the first time, a woman was elected as mayor in Zultin Municipality, and another woman won a non-quota seat in local elections. These achievements symbolize a transformative shift in womenโs political participation and leadership.ย
On 16 January 2025, the HNEC announced municipalities in which councils will be elected this year โ many of which are among the nationโs most populous. The 63 municipalities constitute the โsecond groupโ whose council mandates expired in 2024.
[1]ย CCA (2021), p13.
2]ย https://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-election-idUSKCN1RB0O2
[3]ย https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019โ2021_Libyan_local_elections
4]ย https://www.ifes.org/faqs/elections-libya-2020-municipal-elections
A 2022 report conducted by UN Women has shed light on the numerous challenges facing Libyan women who hold municipal positions and how these women have tried to overcome these challenges. The results of this research have unveiled different forms of violence against women in politics (VAWP) in Libya that have prevented elected women from performing their tasks effectively as part of the municipal councils. It has also demonstrated how exposed these womenโs lives are to potential violence.
The research points to clear recommendations for the four key actors in the field of womenโs political participation and protecting women from violence the most important of these recommendations were:
- Promote womenโs political participation through raising the awareness of women and men about the importance of womenโs participation in local and national elections as voters or candidates by addressing social, gender and security barriers to participation, and enhancing the skills and knowledge of women to participate.
- Strengthen the capacities of women municipal councillors around national laws, CEDAW, UNSCR 1325, and protection from VAW and VAWP to enable these women to report VAWP with relevant actors, and to advocate for their rights at the municipal level in Libya.
To enhance womenโs political participation through capacity building and knowledge increase and under the overall supervision of the UN Women WPP Programme Officer the UN Women Tunisia and Libya Cluster Office is hiring a WPP trainerย to provide training sessions and capacity development support to the women potential candidates and elected women to build their capacity on political participation, electoral process, sovereign institutions and their mandate, different roles between political participation at the national and local levels, legal frameworks that regulate political participation (national and international frameworks) ,with using the UN Women WPP curriculum
Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work
The national consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:
- Develop a tailored 3-day training agenda, design and administer pre- and post-tests to evaluate participantsโ knowledge and understanding of key topics
- Prepare and deliver context-specific training materials. The materials should cover political participation, electoral processes, national and international legal frameworks, and institutional roles.
- Deliver 3-day in-person training sessions for Three separate groups of women participants, in Tripoli, Libya by 30 June 2025.
- Deliver 4 virtual training sessions for four separate groups of women participants
- Facilitate meaningful discussions and insights on Female leadership, and how to ensure the process is inclusive, and how to address the specific needs and concerns of women in female leadership, and Libyan sociopolitical contexts aspects, conflict resolution, and gender sensitivity to effectively communicate complex concepts and.ย
- Ensure that theย training sessions are interactive and engaging and provide ample opportunities for participant input and feedback.ย
- Prepare a report by the endย of the training sessions, which should include the outcomes, recommendations, and a summary of the activities and participant interactions during the sessions. Deliverable Expected completion time (due day)ย Deliverable 1: Training materials covering political participation, electoral processes, national and international legal frameworks, and institutional roles.ย By 15 Jun 2025 Deliverable 2:ย Conduct 3-day in-person training sessions for Three separate groups of women participantsย By 30 Jun 2025 Deliverable 3:ย Conduct 4 virtual training sessions for four separate groups of women participantsย By 25 July 2025 Deliverable 4:ย Final report summarizing the training activities, participant profiles, assessment results, key discussions, challenges, and recommendations.ย By 30 Jul 2025
Consultantโs Workplace and Official Travel
This is an on-site consultancy requires a presence in Tripoli. Non-Libyans with legal residency in Libya are eligible to apply.
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 develop and facilitate tailored training programs on governance, political participation, and electoral processes.
- In-depth knowledge of governance systems, womenโs political participation, electoral frameworks, and gender equalityย principles.
- Ability to analyze legal and policy documents and translate them into practical, accessible training content.
- Capacity to design and implement pre- and post-assessment tools to evaluate training impact and learning outcomes.
- Demonstrated understanding of the cultural, political, and gender dynamics in Libya and the broader MENA region.
- Proficiency in documenting training processes, outcomes, challenges, and recommendations in a clear and structured manner.
Required Qualifications
Education and Certification:
- Masterโs degree in law, political since women studies, or a related field is requiredย
- A first-level university degree in,ย in law, political since women studies, or equivalent combined with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the mastersโ degree.
Experience:
- At least 5 years of relevant experience on governance, women political participation, elections and rule of law is required
- At least 5 years of experience in training in the field of Governance and Elections is required
- Experience in electoral systems and local governance is required
- Experience in Libya and MENA region is required
- Experience and familiarity with the UN system in similar / related assignments is an asset
Languages:
- Fluency in Arabic is required.
- Knowledge of English is an asset
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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