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.
Seychelles has consistently demonstrated its commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women through various national and international frameworks. The country is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and has also ratified key instruments such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the Maputo Protocol and the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. Seychelles continues to take strides in promoting gender equality in public and private life, reflected in its relatively strong representation of women in Parliament and public service, and the establishment of a Gender Secretariat under the Family Department of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Family.
Despite this positive development, Seychelles faces global and regional challenges that affect the security, safety, and rights of women and girls. These include traditional and new and emerging security threats such as gender-based violence, human and drug trafficking, inequality, and the impact of climate change on women's livelihoods underscore the need for a more coordinated and strategic response to women's peace and security agenda.
The adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) and the subsequent Women, Peace and Security (WPS) resolutions provide an essential framework for recognizing and strengthening the role of women in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and recovery processes. At the regional level, the SADC Regional Strategy on Women, Peace and Security (2022โ2030) calls on Member States to develop and implement National Action Plans to mainstream gender in peace and security initiatives. ย Seychelles, as a member of SADC and the African Union, has expressed its intention to align with this regional priority and take concrete steps to domesticate the WPS commitments through the development of a National Action Plan.ย The country is also a member of the Eastern Africa Standby Force and has pledged police officers, military experts, and civilian specialists to support the organizationโs mandate of promoting peace and security in the Eastern Africa region. In recent years, the Seychelles has made notable progress in gender inclusion, with women now comprising 45 percent of the national police force and increasing representation in the army as well.
While Seychelles is not directly affected by armed conflict, the WPS Agenda remains highly relevant in the context of national resilience, prevention of conflict, social cohesion, and sustainable development. Issues such as domestic violence, economic marginalization, and the impacts of drug abuse and crime, particularly on women and youth, are key concerns that intersect with the WPS Agenda.ย
Recognizing the importance of these obligations and the need for strategic coordination, the Family Department within the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Family has formally requested technical support from UN Women Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) to facilitate the development of Seychellesโ first National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325. This process will serve to:
Establish national priorities and targets in line with global, regional, and national gender and peacebuilding commitments; Build institutional capacity and coherence in addressing women's security concerns; Strengthen multi-sectoral collaboration across government, civil society, and international partners; Ensure the protection and empowerment of women and girls in all aspects of peace and security.The development of a National Action Plan (NAP) on UNSCR 1325 will allow Seychelles to operationalize its international commitments by setting clear priorities, assigning responsibilities, allocating resources, and identifying concrete actions and indicators. It will provide a strategic framework to address new and emerging peace and security threats, such as climate change, transnational and organized crime, GBV, strengthen the protection of women and girls, promote their participation in decision-making processes, and build institutional capacity to sustain peace and social cohesion.
In this context, the NAP becomes an essential tool to translate global and regional commitments to national actions that will ensure that the WPS Agenda is meaningfully localized to reflect the unique priorities, needs, challenges of Seychelles. It will be participatory and consultative process grounded by the local realities and ensuring that the perspectives of women and marginalized groups are meaningfully integrated.
Under the close guidance, and support from the Head of UN Resident Coordinator Office in Mauritius/Seychelles, and UN Women ESARO Policy Advisors Women, Peace, and Security, an international consultant will be recruited to support the development of National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 for Seychelles.ย
Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work
Inception Report & Desk Reviews to develop Context/situational analysisย
Develop and submit an inception report inclusive of methodology and consultancy workplan; Conduct a desk review of existing relevant documents and reports from State and Non-State actors related to governance, peace and security; Conduct preliminary consultations with relevant members on development and implementation of the NAP and Government line Ministries, Departments and Agencies. Develop context/situational analysis for Seychelles;ย Articulate the rationale and importance of developing a NAP on UNSCR 1325ยData Collection and Analysis
Develop a standardized data collection and undertake a baseline assessment to help identify national priorities and challenges related to WPS. The assessment informs the NAP'S objectives, ensuring the action plan is grounded in local realities and needs. The assessment can focus on both the national context and institutional capacitiesDrafting of the NAP
Draft NAP based on findings and agreed recommendations based on the assessment on new emerging issues on peace and security and context, which includes a concise context analysis of the peace and security situation in the country in relation to the women, peace and security agenda, develop a clear implementation, monitoring and reporting structure/mechanism; Develop a logical framework with clear interventions, SMART indicators, targets, baseline, responsible institutions, and costing; Propose a coordination and implementation structure.Conduct Final Validation Workshop
Develop concept notes and agenda for the NAP validation workshop;ย Facilitate validation workshops and input feedback into draft NAP.ยConsultantโs Workplace and Official Travel
The consultant is required to travel to Victoria, Seychelles for consultation and possibly validation of the NAP.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:
Expert knowledge on gender equality, including the Women, Peace, and Security agenda; Proven ability to advocate and provide policy, substantive and strategic advice in women, peace, and security; Ability to develop and maintain strong partnerships; Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making Excellent analytical and communication skills required. Ability to work independently.ยEducation and Certification:
Masterโs degree or equivalent in development studies, gender, conflict prevention, peace building, law, human rights or any other related area is required; A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experienceย may be acceptedย in lieu of the advanced university degree.Experience:
At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in managing complex and multi-component programme interventions with national partners, preferably related to Women, Peace and Security, Womenโs Political Empowerment and Leadership and Ending Violence against Women and girls; Experience in facilitating high level consultative workshops with Government officials, Development partners and non-state actors; Proven experience facilitating high level consultative workshops for Governmental Institutions and CSOs; Excellent English communication and writing skills.ยLanguages:
Fluency in Englishย Working knowledge of another official UN language is desirable.Application:
All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from:ย https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc. Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
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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