UN WOMEN Jobs - 57428- National Consultant –Community-Led Ebola Recovery

National Consultant –Community-Led Ebola Recovery Initiatives

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Monrovia, LIBERIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

06-Jul-2015

Application Deadline :

30-Jun-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Six(6) Months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Six(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

About UN Women Liberia

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), grounded on 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 at various levels; 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 centre of all its efforts, the UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. In Liberia, UN Women leads the United Nations Country Team on gender equality and the empowerment of women. In line with the implementation of the UN One Programme in Liberia, UN Women is embarked on scaling up its support in the four priority areas as aligned to the Government’s Agenda for Transformation i.e. 1. Governance and Women Participation; 2. Women’s economic empowerment; 3. Women, peace and security; and 4. Coordination and gender mainstreaming in national development priories.

The Government of Liberia through mandated ministries such as Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection is committed to addressing its institutional development needs and capacity gaps in order to more effectively play its role in consolidating the policy gains through improved implementation and anchoring them in a whole of government accountability framework. As the Ministry’s key partner, UN Women is particularly well placed to accompany them in this process through the provision of technical assistance, capacity building, and policy guidance.

Although the Ministry plays the lead coordination role within the Government of Liberia for the promotion of gender equality, there are multiple Government institutions and ministries with the responsibility of implementing the National Gender Policy, particularly within the implementation of pending national reforms. These reforms also take into consideration the ongoing processes of the Ebola recovery through the Economic Recovery and Stabilization Plan (ERSP), Review of the Agenda for Transformation, as well as taking into account UNMIL drawdown. The various government institutions and key bilateral and multilateral agencies are central to the success of the National Gender Machinery with active stakeholders and participants in the assessments, analysis. In partnership with Sweden, UN Women is undertaking a Preparatory Phase of the Gender Sector Support Programme, which will provide a baseline and evidence to inform and longer-term strategic interventions to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women in Liberia

About the Position

Under the overall guidance of the Country Representative, and direct supervision of the Deputy Representative, the national consultant will develop community led initiatives – through a participatory process with women Peace Huts, and pilot the initial interventions in selected counties. It is envisaged that the successful initiatives will be incorporated in the broader Gender Sector Support Programme to further empower women at the community level.

Duties and Responsibilities

Analysis of the ongoing programmes and initiatives within all the Women Peace Huts on Ebola recovery;
Development of suitable initiatives led by women peace huts and groups at the county level, tapping into the already existing local mechanisms for sustainability;
Piloting of initiatives in selected counties in lead to the development of a more broader and sustainable programme to support women in the recovery efforts.

Detailed description:

Analysis of the ongoing programmes and initiatives within all the Women Peace Huts on Ebola recovery

Develop a methodology for assessing ongoing initiatives within Peace Huts on women empowerment and advancing gender equality;
Convene and facilitate sessions with women Peace Huts at the local level to analyze ongoing initiatives that target women and girls – in areas of livelihood, access to health, education, economic opportunities and participation and representation in peace building and decision making processes;
Undertake selected missions to validate findings from sessions on existing facilities or ongoing programmes, as well as engagement of community leaders in the development of the initiatives;
Convene a validation session with women peace huts on findings to finalize the analysis, and report

Development of suitable initiatives led by women peace huts and groups at the county level, tapping into the already existing local mechanisms for sustainability:

Design community led initiatives based on the analysis finding – through consultations with selected stakeholders with a presence in these communities including UNMIL, UN Agencies, and NGOs;
Convene and facilitate consultations with Peace Huts women leaders and local leaders on the recommended priority initiatives;
Develop an implementation plan in consultation with the Women Peace Huts.

Piloting of initiatives in selected counties in lead to the development of a more broader and sustainable programme to support women in the recovery efforts:

Lead the implementation of the catalytic initiatives in the selected counties, including monitoring of the projects progress;
Document the lessons learned and success stories, as well as dissemination of these findings through various forums;
Contribute to the finalization of the broader gender sector support programme, drawing from lessons learned in implementations of the community led catalytic programmes on Ebola recovery.

Deliverable(s):

Finalization of the report on analysis of ongoing programmes in Peace Huts, and dissemination in various platforms;
Develop and implement catalytic pilot projects with Peace Huts in the selected counties;
Documentation of best practices and lessons learned in the initial pilot project.

Competencies

Core values and Guiding principles:

Integrity:

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

Professionalism:

Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity:

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

Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values:

Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Development and Innovation:

Take charge of self-development and take initiative.

Work in teams:

Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Communicating and Information Sharing:

Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.

Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:

Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others.

Conflict Management:

Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.

Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Functional Competencies:

Participatory approach, knowledge of statistical theory and applications and the ability to monitor and collect research data to assess accuracy, validity, and integrity;
Ability to analyze statistics and other data and to interpret and evaluate results, and create reports and/or presentations;
Ability to effectively utilize computer software (i.e. MS Excel, Access, oracle, etc.) for database development and management;
Communicating clearly and objectively the work done and the resulting findings. Use appropriate standards for reporting certain findings or recommendations;
Ability to follow instructions through a standard work process;
Ability to perform routine tasks and to check work for accuracy before completion of tasks;
Ability to write comprehensive assessment and/or research reports.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Degree or equivalent in Social Science, Economics, or equivalent; Certified in Monitoring and Evaluation.

Experience:

Minimum 5 years of proven experience in the following areas:

gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls;
developing strategies for conducting baseline studies and/or research;
Strong in planning and implementation of projects and programme s on women empowerment;
Strong facilitation and organization skills including engagement with local leadership;
Experience in community participatory methodologies, as well as community empowerment initiatives;
Excellent writing skills.

Language:

Fluent in English.

Note:

Shortlisted candidates may be requested to provide samples of their previous work.