Background

UN Women is seeking to hire a consultant to update its e-learning course on  implementation of  the Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security with new information, case study and  empirical data. The e-learning course was developed in 2007 in response to the requests  of the Security Council  to  raise awareness and promote implementation of  the Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security, including through  advocacy and capacity development.  Since that date four new WPS resolutions have been passed and a great deal of policy and programmatic innovation has taken place in the fields of conflict prevention, resolution, peacekeeping and peace building.   These developments need to be reflected in this basic introductory e-learning course. The course is intended to build understanding of the content and intent of these resolutions, as well as to establish a basic aptitude in gender and conflict analysis and linked operational measures such as developing a national action plan or adapting institutional practices (for instance in security sector, foreign policy or justice institutions)  to implement these resolutions. 
 
Resolution 1325 (2000), unanimously adopted by the Security Council in October 2000 under the Presidency of Namibia, is regarded as one of the most influential documents in establishing the legitimacy of addressing women’s and gender issues in the areas of peace and security.  The Resolution provides a framework that makes the pursuit of gender equality relevant to every conflict-related action, ranging from mine clearance to elections to security sector reform.   In subsequent years an ‘architecture’ of Women Peace and Security norms and actions have evolved via follow-up resolutions 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009) and 1960 (2010).
 
While all major stakeholders need to take responsibility for the full implementation of these resolutions, Member States in particular should ensure that they are integrated into their national policies and training programmes to make their implementation systematic and sustainable. In keeping with the spirit and objectives of the resolution, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women  (UN Women), is determined to continue strengthening the implementation of these resolutions at the regional and national levels through awareness-raising and capacity-building. 
Two initial e-learning courses, mainly focussed on UNSCR 1325, with specific content appropriate to Latin America and the Caribbean on the one hand and Africa on the other,  was developed in 2007 . The
Peace Operations Training Institute (POTI) collaborated in the production and dissemination of  these two e- learning training courses.
 
The courses consist of common modules in its first half  that focus on general information about United Nations and its intergovernmental architecture for addressing the women, peace and security agenda. Region-specific modules address the nature and impact of conflict on women in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa. This approach provides both courses with the necessary common foundation but also addresses the specificity of the women, peace and security issues in these two regions.
 
The Peace Operations Training Institute has been responsible for administering the e-learning course to a broad audience. The Latin America course was released 27 April 2011 and has averaged 232 enrolments per month for a total of 1862 through the end of 2011. The Africa course was released 11 July 2011 and has averaged 249 enrolments per month for a total of 1373 through the end of 2011.
 

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Lead  Programme Specialist on women, peace and security  the consultant will undertake a substantive update of the common module of the existing e-learning course on national implementation of women, peace and security agenda to reflect all the recent developments in that area at the global, regional and national levels as well as to populate the e-learning course with new statistical data, case studies and  good practice examples.  The update should keep the existing format of organizing the materials in the form of lessons with follow-up questions with multiple choice answers.
 
The substantive update of a common module is expected to result in increasing the number of lessons in order to cover all necessary information available at this time on women, peace and security agenda.
 
Deliverables:
  • First draft of a revised common module - 20 working days by 1 August 2012
  • Completed  common module- 5 further working days (from receipt of revisions and inputs) by 10 September 2012
  • The updated regional modules for LAC and Africa (produced by other consultants) are reviewed together with the updated common module- 5 working days (from the receipt of updated regional modules).

Competencies

Core Competencies:

  • Ability to work in a team;
  • Excellent communication and networking skills;
  • Demonstrated ability to work cooperatively and productively with internal and external colleagues;
  • High level of initiative and self-motivation;
  • Basic computer literacy.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Advanced degree in law, relevant social sciences, political science/ international affairs, international development studies, gender/women’s studies, human rights, peace and security or a related field.     
Experience:
  • Minimum 7-10  years experience in the area of  peace and security from a gender perspective.  Excellent writing and research skills.  
Language:
  • Fluency in English is required.
Note:
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.

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from
http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment

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.