International Consultant- Strengthen the decentralization process of the Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group (GiHA WG)

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.

Across humanitarian contexts, the gendered impacts of crises are starkly evident, and too often ignored. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by crises due to compounded factors including the breakdown of key services which are critical to their health, protection, and recovery; weakened formal and informal protection mechanisms; disrupted livelihoods and limited access to resources; increased displacement; and power imbalances; while pre-existing inequalities, discrimination, and risks are by far exacerbated.

In recognition of this, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s (IASC) Policy on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls in Humanitarian Action (Gender Policy) calls to “establish and resource Gender Reference/ Working Groups”. There is a sustained call for UN Women to strengthen its coordination role in the humanitarian system by setting up Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) coordination mechanisms at the field level.

In Ethiopia, the national GiHA Working Group (WG) has been established since 2023 and is co-chaired by Ministry of Women and Social Affairs (MoWSA) and the Ethiopia Disaster Risk Management Commission (EDRMC) and coordinated by the Secretariat (UN Women). The GiHA WG meets monthly with members from UN agencies, international and national NGOs, CSOs including local women-led and women’s rights organizations (WLOs/WROs). The GiHA WG is effectively providing technical support and guidance to the Ethiopia Humanitarian Country Team, the inter-cluster coordination group, and humanitarian clusters to ensure that the gender dimensions in emergencies are effectively addressed throughout the humanitarian programme cycle in line with the IASC Gender Policy. Following consultations with the humanitarian clusters and WLOs/WROs, the Ethiopia Humanitarian Country Team has endorsed the proposal to further decentralize the national GiHA technical working group to the regions. In Tigray, the regional GiHA WG was established in 2024 and similar regional GiHA WG are planned to be established in Amhara, Afar, Somali and Oromia in 2025.

To effectively roll out this GiHA WG decentralization in the regions, UN Women will hire an international consultant to develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on the establishment and functionality of regional GiHA WGs and their interrelationships across regions and with the national GiHA WGs. The SOPs will reinforce the capacity of GiHA WG members at regional level and structure a channel of communication between all GiHA WGs in Ethiopia and to assess the national GiHA WG’s effectiveness through a Local Accountability Framework scorecard. 

Description and purpose of the consultancy 
The expected outcomes are: 
Standardized Operation Procedures (SOPs) document on the GiHA WG decentralization process, detailing the roadmap to achieve GiHA WG establishment, GiHA WG ToRs, Roles and Responsibilities, Workplans, Monitoring tools, etc.
Harmonized framework and synergy among regional GiHA WGs and /with the National GiHA WG established 
GiHA WGs members capacitated to contribute in a meaningful and constructive manner to the work of the GiHA WGs and influence regional humanitarian stakeholders to advocate for gender sensitive humanitarian programming
National and regional GiHA WGs’ activities are assessed through the Local Accountability Framework process

Responsibilities     
Under the direct supervision of the Deputy country representative at UN Women Ethiopia, the Consultant will be responsible for delivering the below: 
Conduct a desk review to assess the implementation of key frameworks guiding Gender In Humanitarian Action (GiHA) , identify gaps and most effective ways to  address them
Facilitate consultations with key stakeholders at national and regional states level about the GiHA WG decentralization process
Develop the SOPs for the establishment and functionality of each regional GiHA WG, adapted to each context and, detailing the roadmap to achieve GiHA WG establishment, GiHA WG ToRs, Roles and Responsibilities, Workplans, Monitoring tools, etc.
Develop training modules to capacitate GiHA WG members to fulfill their roles in the GiHA WG, to contribute in a meaningful and constructive manner to the work of the GiHA WGs and influence regional humanitarian stakeholders to advocate for gender sensitive humanitarian programming 
Rollout the training modules and Deliver 2.5-days of in-person training in English, using modern and engaging learning techniques for GiHA WG members from Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Somali and Oromia. 
Develop a pre-and post-training survey to measure the increase in participants’ knowledge and capacities on GiHA. 
Submit a training report, including key pre- and post-training survey results, to the UN Women Ethiopia Country office  for the training organized and an overall one-page summary of the trainings including demographics of trained humanitarians
Facilitate a 1-day workshop with GiHA WG members to review the Local Accountability Framework survey and assess the GiHA WG’s effectiveness, using the tool developed by UN Women HQ
Compile a report with the consultation’s results and recommendations.

Key Deliverables  
The consultancy is to commence on 20 February 2025 and is expected to require up to 32 days of work. Key deliverables and tasks are:  
Desk review to assess to assess the implementation of key frameworks guiding Gender In Humanitarian Action (GiHA) , identify gaps and most effective ways to  address them
Consultations with key stakeholders at national and regional states level about the GiHA WG decentralization process
SOPs for the establishment and functionality of each regional GiHA WG, adapted to each context and, detailing the roadmap to achieve GiHA WG establishment, GiHA WG ToRs, Roles and Responsibilities, Workplans, Monitoring tools, etc.
Training modules to capacitate GiHA WG members to fulfill their role in the GiHA WG, to contribute in a meaningful and constructive manner to the work of the GiHA WGs and influence regional humanitarian stakeholders to advocate for gender sensitive humanitarian programming
2.5-days in-person training in English, using modern and engaging learning techniques to GiHA WG members from 5 regions and national level. 
Pre- and post-training survey to measure the increase in participants’ knowledge and capacities. 
Training report, including key pre- and post-training survey results, to the UN Women ECO for the training organized and an overall one-page summary of the trainings including demographics of trained humanitarians
1-day workshop with GiHA WG members to review the Local Accountability Framework survey and assess the GiHA WG’s effectiveness, using the tool developed by UN Women HQ

Report with the consultation’s results and recommendations.
Payment will be made upon certification by UN Women that the work has been satisfactorily completed. All raw data files, consent forms and relevant documentation must be returned to UN Women before release of final payment
 

Deliverables    
Standardized Operating Procedures (SOPs) document on the GiHA WG decentralization process based on desk review and stakeholder consultations, detailing the roadmap to achieve GiHA WG establishment, GiHA WG ToRs, Roles and Responsibilities, Workplans, Monitoring tools, etc.  -Number of days       11

Training modules development, Moderation/ facilitation of the training, and a comprehensive training report, including pre- and post-training survey results and a one-page summary of the training-Number of days       18

1 day workshop using the Local Accountability Framework survey and report of compiled results and recommendations from the workshop-Number of days       3

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel
This is a hybrid assignment with 50% home-based and 50% from Ethiopia.  The approved travels to and from Ethiopia and within regional states will be paid by UN Women in accordance with the UN Women travel policy. 

Competencies :

Core Values:

Core Competencies:

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

•     Ability to work with minimal supervision.
•     Advanced Technical Expertise in Humanitarian Action and Emergency Response
•     Comprehensive Gender Analysis and Strategic Planning for Inclusive Development
•     Inter-Agency Coordination, Collaboration, and Advocacy for Effective Humanitarian Action
•     Capacity Development, Training, and Knowledge Management for Organizational Growth
•     Data Analysis and Gender-Responsive Monitoring for Impactful Program Evaluation
•     Evidence of having undertaken similar assignments
•     Experience in providing capacity building trainings 
•     High level written and oral communications skills in English
•     Result-oriented, team player, exhibiting high levels of enthusiasm for gender equality, diplomacy, and integrity.
•     Excellent interpersonal and professional skills in interacting with CSOs and development partners at regional and federal level. 
•     Experience in conducting assessment and writing high quality reports in English

 Education and Certification:
Master’s degree or equivalent in Gender, humanitarian action, protection, child protection, safeguarding, PSEA, Development Studies, Social Sciences, or another relevant field.

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, relevant work experience at the national or international level in the design, planning, implementation and/or monitoring of development and/or humanitarian action projects relating to gender equality.
Technical experience in gender-responsive humanitarian action, with demonstrated experience in humanitarian coordination with governments, UN agencies and civil society is required.
Experience of interactive / innovative training approaches engaging humanitarian workers.  
Working experience with UN Women or other Humanitarian United Nations agency is strongly desirable.  
Familiarity with GiHA coordination in Ethiopia is an added advantage. 

Languages:
Fluency in English is required
 

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:

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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 to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel 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.