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.
Mauritius is a signatory to several international and regional human rights instruments that promote womenโs empowerment and gender equality. This includes its commitments under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Beijing Platform for Action and Maputo Protocol and its alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular Goal 5 on gender equality and Goal 16 on peace, justice, and strong institutions. These frameworks emphasize the importance of advancing women leadership as a means of inclusive governance, preventing conflict, promoting cohesion and the elimination of gender-based violence as key components for achieving sustainable development.
At the global level, the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 in 2000 marked a pivotal moment in recognizing the unique impact of conflict on women and girls, and the essential role they play in peace and security processes. This resolution, and the nine subsequent ones that together form the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda, affirm the need to ensure womenโs full, equal, and meaningful participation in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and recovery efforts.
Recognizing the importance of these commitments, SADC developed its Regional Strategy on Women, Peace, and Security in 2018 as a mechanism to operationalize Article 28 (Peace Building and Conflict Resolution) of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. The Strategy, renewed for 2022โ2030, calls on Member States to mainstream gender across peace and security structures and to adopt National Action Plans (NAPs) to accelerate implementation of the WPS Agenda.
As an active member of SADC, Mauritius supports regional objectives such as promoting sustainable development, advancing regional integration, and improving living standards. It plays an important role in furthering the WPS Agenda by:
โข ย ย ย ย Implementing national policies that support gender equality and womenโs participation in decision-making;
โข ย ย ย ย Engaging in efforts to prevent and respond to GBV and uphold the rights of women and girls.
The development of a National Action Plan (NAP) on UNSCR 1325 will allow Mauritius 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, and challenges of Mauritius.
The NAP should also be anchored in the National Gender Policy 2022โ2030 to ensure alignment with the countryโs overarching gender equality commitments and policy coherence across sectors.
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, and supervision by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare, a national consultant will be recruited to support the development of a National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 for Mauritius.
Description of Responsibilities/Scope of Work
The consultant will undertake the following tasks and responsibilities under the following deliverables:
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Deliverable:
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 implementation of the NAP and Government line Ministries, Departments and Agencies; Develop context/situational analysis for Mar; 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 capacities.Drafting 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; The logical framework should incorporate gender-responsive budgeting elements and a resource mobilization plan to support sustainable implementation of the NAP; The logical framework must clearly indicate budget lines aligned with each strategic objective and identify the financial resources required to achieve them. It should also outline a realistic resource mobilization strategy, including potential national, bilateral, multilateral, and private sector funding sources, to ensure that implementation is not impeded by financial constraints; The draft should propose mechanisms for transparency and accountability, including provisions for periodic public reporting on implementation progress and gender impact.Conduct Final Validation Workshop
Develop concept notes and agenda for the NAP validation workshop;ย Facilitate validation workshops and input feedback into draft NAP.ยย
Consultantโs Workplace and Official Travel
This is a home-based consultancy with travel to outer islands (as required).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; Demonstrated experience in applying intersectional gender analysis and mainstreaming gender into peace and security frameworks; Proven capacity to lead participatory processes and inclusive consultations with women-led organizations and community stakeholders; Excellent analytical and communication skills required; Ability to work independently.ย
Required Qualifications:
Education 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 experience may be accepted 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 none-state actors; Proven experience facilitating high level consultative workshops for Governmental Institutions and CSOs; Experience working in the Indian Ocean, SADC region, or with Mauritian institutions will be considered an asset; Excellent English communication and writing skills.Languages:
Fluency in English ; Knowledge of French is an asset.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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