UN WOMEN Jobs - 48932- Women’s Participation and National Dialogue Expert

Women’s Participation and National Dialogue Expert

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Cairo, EGYPT

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Sep-2014

Application Deadline :

21-Aug-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

6 months

Languages Required :

Arabic English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

6 months

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

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. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

Through its regional office in Cairo and a number of country and multi-country offices, UN Women supports programmes across the Arab states/North Africa region. One key focus is broadening the scope of women’s citizenship, leadership and political participation, especially in transition countries. This is essential to ensuring that transitions are both fully inclusive and democratic, and respond to the needs and priorities of women and girls. UN Women help strengthen women’s networks and their advocacy capacities in close partnership with national women’s groups and transitional governments.

In Libya, many women’s organizations were established following the revolution, and managed to collaborate with other women’s organizations in the region, especially in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen. These organizations were able to get engaged in many national, regional and global events that focused on women's rights and political empowerment. Some of them have also received training in advocacy, lobbying and legislations in order to be prepared for the democratic changes.

However, in the region, it is well observed that women have lost out in the new governance bodies, despite their roles in the revolution. Almost three years into Libya’s uprising, the percentage of women represented in elected bodies, decision-making positions or those provided with the opportunity to directly influence decisions affecting their lives remains low. The Libyan interim governments included few women (16.5%) in the General National Congress (GNC) and only 10% of registered candidates for the Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA) elections were women. The limited numbers of women participating directly in such roles demonstrates the gap between the aspirations of many global and regional commitments and the reality women face on the ground. Much more work is needed to secure the roles and capacities of women as leaders and active participants in Libya’s future.

As part of its mandate under Security Council resolution 2095 of March 2013, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) assists the Libyan authorities in the promotion of empowerment and political participation of women in all its institutions, policies and practices. The UNSMIL Women’s Empowerment Service is responsible for effectively incorporating an integrated approach to women’s empowerment, which includes the provision of capacity building support to women’s Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to advocate effectively for the promotion and protection of women’s rights and facilitate the involvement of women organizations in the transitional process in Libya including supporting women in the election processes, and negotiations for a gender sensitive constitution. Given the significant needs of women in Libya, UNSMIL has prioritized supporting women in the national dialogue and the constitution drafting process.

Following the revolution, and to create a unified country, the government decided to call for a national dialogue, inviting all fractions to discuss the future of Libya. They established a committee for the national dialogue as well as a National coalition encompassing members from the largest political party in the General National Congress. Women’s organizations in Libya have requested UNSMIL’s Women’s Empowerment Service to support them to establish a Women’s Forum for the national dialogue in order to ensure women’s representation in the national dialogue bodies, and that women’s issues are integral in the dialogue’s agenda. UNSMIL and UN WOMEN are joining forces to respond to this request.

Objective of the Assignment:

The overall objective of the assignment is to enhance the role of Libyan women in the national dialogue in the coming six months. The assignment will have as its specific outcome that Libyan women have the capacity to advocate and boost their active representation at the dialogue table.

Scope of the Assignment:

The Gender expert will work under the overall guidance of the UN WOMEN Regional Director and the Chief of the Women’s Empowerment Service at UNSMIL. She/he will also be working closely with the regional office team, including the political participation advisor to achieve the objectives of the assignment.

Duties and Responsibilities

Building on UN Women's expertise and training material, the Expert will provide capacity building programmes to women groups/caucuses to enhance the role of women in the national dialogue:

Develop, customize and translate training materials on negotiations and mediation from the UN Women and the Department of Political Affairs (DPA) to suit the Libyan socio-political context;
Provide capacity building to 60 women who will engage in the mediation and negotiations in the national dialogue. (Three training sessions to be held in the region).

Provide capacity building programmes, drawing on UN Women's training material, to the women's groups'/ Caucuses' members (Technical, administrative and personal) to be able to act as a liaison between newly elected MPs and the grassroots levels. (Three training rounds to be held in the region).

Execute four sensitization sessions for all thematic groups of the national dialogue on women’s rights. (To be held in the region).

Develop an advocacy matrix and communication plan to support having 30% female representation at the national dialogue's negotiation table.

Design applicable and sustainable communication means and channels to convey needs, concerns and aspirations of the grassroots level to the newly elected MPs.

Provide policy directive feedback to UN Women and UNSMIL detailing out-of-the-box and applicable measures, means and processes to enhance women's representation and active participation in the public and political spheres; with emphasis on active engagement in the national dialogue.

Deliverables

October 31, 2014

Capacity building programmes to women groups/caucuses to enhance the role of women in the national dialogue provided, including developing, customizing and translating any relevant existing training materials on negotiations and mediation

December 31, 2014

Capacity building (3 training sessions) provided to 60 women who will engage in the mediation and negotiations in the national dialogue
Capacity building programmes, drawing on UN Women's training material, to the women's groups'/ Caucuses' members (Technical, administrative and personal) provided
Four sensitization sessions for all thematic groups of the national dialogue on women’s rights conducted;

February 28, 2015

Advocacy matrix and communication plan developed in supporting 30% female representation at the national dialogue's negotiation table;
Applicable and sustainable communication means and channels designed to convey needs, concerns and aspirations of the grassroots level to the newly elected MPs;
Policy directive feedback provided to UN Women and UNSMIL detailing out-of-the-box and applicable measures, means and processes to enhance women's representation and active participation in the public and political spheres; with emphasis on active engagement in the national dialogue;
Contribution to UN Women on women’s participation and rights in national dialogue processes review

Monitoring and Reporting Requirements:

The Gender expert will report to UN WOMEN and UNSMIL as follows:

Weekly progress reports;
Monthly delivery reports upon which payment will be made;
The Expert will also keep UNSMIL and UN WOMEN informed of any risks and appropriate mitigation methods on a need basis.

Competencies

Core Values and Guiding Principles

Integrity:

Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct;

Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity

Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies

Ethics and Values:

Promoting Ethics and Integrity / Creating Organizational Precedents.

Organizational Awareness:

Building support and political acumen.

Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring:

Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation.

Working in Teams:

Building and promoting effective teams.

Communicating Information and Ideas:

Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication.

Self-management and Emotional intelligence:

Creating an emotionally intelligent organization.

Conflict Management / Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements:

Leveraging conflict in the interests of the organization & setting standards.

Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning:

Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

Fair and transparent decision making; calculated risk-taking

Functional Competencies:

Substantive experience and record of accomplishment in the area of women political participation;
Demonstrated People Management Skills;
Familiarity with the Arab Region, women's rights organizations and networks in the region, generally, and in Libya particularly;
Good knowledge of UN Women and the UN system;
Proven ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
Ability to lead strategic planning, programme development and implementation, results-based management and reporting.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master's degree or equivalent in political/ social sciences with concentration women's political empowerment/conflict resolution and mediation.

Experience:

A minimum of seven years of experience in the field of women’s political empowerment with strong facilitation and training skills.
Demonstrated experience on national dialogues in the region preferred.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in Arabic and English.