UN WOMEN Jobs - 62521- Consultant to Design a Guidance Note on Mainstream

Consultant to Design a Guidance Note on Mainstreaming the Rights of Lesbians, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Persons into UN Women’s Strategic, Programmatic and Advocacy Work, Including in the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Home-Based

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

22-Mar-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

40 days

Languages Required :

English French Spanish

Expected Duration of Assignment :

40 days

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

Applicants who previously applied will remain under consideration so no need to re-apply.

Discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) persons more broadly, is a global pandemic that has naturally caught the attention of United Nations system, including treaty monitoring bodies, special procedures of the Human Rights Council (the Council), and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The Human Rights Council’s first resolution of June 2011 on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, was at the Council’s request, shortly followed by the pioneering report of OHCHR (A/HRC/19/41) on this issue. The report highlighted patterns of systematic violence and discrimination in all regions against persons of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity. Violations highlighted included state-sponsored killings through the criminalization of homosexuality/lesbianism and the imposition of the death penalty; extended incarceration, including through life sentences; denial of any legal recourse or remedy where persons have been murdered, raped or subjected to other extreme violence by both public and private actors because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity; denial of freedom of assembly and expression, through the criminalization or withholding of state recognition to non-governmental organizations working to promote the human rights of everyone; state-sponsored abduction of the children of persons suspected of being lesbian, gay, or transgender; and systematic refusal to extend protection from discrimination to persons thought to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, including in the areas of employment, housing, immigration, social services, health care, and marriage and family life.

The CEDAW Committee notes specifically in its General Recommendation No. 28, on the core obligations of States parties under article 2 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women that, “discrimination against women based on sex and gender is inextricably linked with other factors that affect women, such as race, ethnicity, religion or belief, health, status, age, class, caste, and sexual orientation and gender identity”. The Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences reports of specific acts of violence against lesbians and bisexual women through crimes such as “corrective rape” and forced impregnation in some countries.

Organizational Context

The systematic exclusion of Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LBTI) women, takes its roots in prejudices and customary practices based on stereotyped roles for men and women and is therefore directly related to UN Women’s mandate. Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; 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, UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations System’s efforts at ensuring that commitments to 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.

At the international and regional levels, sexual orientation is a prohibited ground of discrimination. This recognition is also being incorporated into many national human rights systems through constitutional anti-discrimination provisions and other legislation and policies aimed at protecting LBTI people from violence and discrimination.

An important reference for UN Women’s work to strengthen LBTI rights is the September 2015 joint call to action on ending violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex adults, adolescents and children by 12 UN agencies, including UN Women.

Human rights violations of persons because of real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity overlap and intersect with other forms of discrimination that women face in their daily lives and are therefore interlinked with the broader issues of women’s rights and empowerment. UN Women is thereby seeking a consultant to develop a Guidance Note for purposes of directing its attention to the opportunities and entry points for mainstreaming LBTI issues into its work at all levels—country, regional and global, taking into account the Sustainable Development Goals, the Beijing Platform for Action and other agreed commitments.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will work under the guidance and supervision of the Constitutional and Access to Justice Advisor and Chief of the Civil Society Section of UN Women HQ. She or he will develop internal guidance for the organization through a consultative and participatory process embracing internal expertise and external input from LBTI activists from all regions to highlight the most relevant programmatic focus in each context. The consultant will identify a set of performance indicators to aid the organization in evaluating the operational integration of LBTI concerns.

Timeframe and deliverables

The assignment will be undertaken over a period of 40 days from January 18 to March 31 2016 and specifically will consist of the following products and accompanying time frames:

An inception report highlighting a clear methodology, a proposed outline of the Guidance Note and a road map for undertaking the assignment: January 22 2016;
A mapping of UN Women’s existing work on LBTI issues from 2011-2015: January 29 2016;
A mapping of recommendations issued by human rights treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review on LBTI issues from 2000-2015 to Member States, and the extent to which such issues have been reflected in shadow reports of the UN system and Civil Society Organizations: February 12 2016;
An overview of the global policy, legislative and constitutional environments and their impact on the lives of LBTI women: February 29 2016;
A Guidance Note of not more than 20 pages, which integrates all the above and provides guidance to UN Women staff on what the issues are and how they should be addressed in programming including in concert with the rest of the UN system and in the context of intersectionality and the SDGs: March 31 2016.

Competencies

Core Values/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.

Professionalism:

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

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.

Ethics and Values:

Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
Self-management and emotional intelligence;
Creating synergies through self-control.

Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning:

Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others.

Functional Competencies:

Substantive knowledge and experience in development within the context of gender equality, women’s empowerment and how these intersect with LBTI issues;
Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision from the spectrum of development experience in human rights;
Strong communications skills, with proven expertise in writing in English and to produce convincing concise policy and programme documents for development practitioners;
Proven analytical and problem solving skills;
Ability to leverage information technology, executive information systems, management techniques and tools for optimal office performance; and
Good planning, goal-setting and prioritization skills;
Excellent negotiation skills.

Communication:

Excellent communications skills; strong interpersonal skills;
Ability to prepare succinct, evidence-based analytical papers.

Teamwork:

Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations, both within the UN system and externally;
Ability to work in a multicultural and multi-ethnic environment with respect for diversity.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree in relevant gender studies, human rights, law, gender and development, political science, international relations or a related field.

Experience:

A minimum of 8 years of relevant and progressively responsible experience in the field of gender and LBTI rights related work;
Previous work with the UN coupled with an excellent understanding of the UN system and of UN Women’s mandate;
Strong knowledge of the UN and regional human rights systems; and
Background in analytical work and programming and knowledge of current development issues, including the ongoing discussions around the SDGs;
Experience in leading consultative/participatory processes.

Languages:

Fluency in English is required;
Knowledge of French and/or Spanish will be an asset.