Background

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women will work 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 centre of all its efforts, 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. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.
 
UN WOMEN is dedicated to advancing gender equality and women’s human rights in Afghanistan. Staff and consultants of UN WOMEN Afghanistan are expected to contribute to a professional working environment in which the strengthening of national capacities and human potential is prioritized. Respect for diversity and human dignity is required, as is the active pursuit of a collaborative and inclusive approach to both internal and external stakeholders, including colleagues and partners.
 
UN WOMEN’s Women, Peace & Governance Unit aims to build the capacity of and strengthen opportunities for Afghan women to mobilize as political actors of change as a means of demanding accountability by state and non-state actors on the implementation of gender equality commitments, including provisions of women’s full and meaningful participation in peace and governance processes at the community, sub-national and national levels. The unit operates within the framework of UN SCR 1325, CEDAW, the National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan (NAPWA) and the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS).
 
The Oral History Project aims to collect, document and publish a report of Afghan women’s testimonies that reflect the scope and nature of gender-based violence experienced by women during the three decades of international and internal conflict and beyond. The project also aims at giving space for Afghan women to have a voice and a place in their country’s history.  It is hoped that the exercise will be a transformative one, helping to bring closure and reprieve for the women participants through having their stories heard. Finally, it is intended that the results of the analysis feed into global studies on conflict early warning indicators that lead to conflict resolution rather than escalation.
 
Around twelve hundreds testimonies have been collected in the field research phase, all of which has now been translated into English. An internal report has been produced by Research NPO of WP&G Unit, identifying the main defects of the data and the preliminary key emerging themes from the collected data.
 
Under the direct supervision of the UN Women, Peace & Governance Unit Manager/Officer in Charge, and in consultations with the Deputy Country Director, the Oral History Research Specialist will primarily develop an analytical report which reviews and analyses the data collected through field research, identifying emerging trends, potential responses to prevent and protect against continued gender-based violence in a post-conflict/transitional setting. The consultant will be assisted by the unit’s Research NPO and guided by the Unit Manager to ensure that the quality of the report meets UN Women’s standards and is delivered in a timely manner.

OBJECTIVES:
 
  • The research serves to provide evidence-based data and generate new knowledge on women’s experience during thirty years of conflict in Afghanistan;
  • Will serve to define the most appropriate interventions for effective prevention and response to Violence against Women (VAW);
  • Findings should contribute to the formulation of policies and provide evidence for the development and strengthening of VAW programmes in Afghanistan;
  • Identify crucial issues, including reasons, gaps and consequences of VAW in Afghanistan;
 

Duties and Responsibilities

 
KEY RESULTS
 
The final output of the OHRS is a publishable report containing an analysis of women’s experience of armed conflict.
 
The output shall be between 50 to 75 pages, single space, which, among others will contain:
 
  • Experience-based overview of women’s experiences of armed conflict
  • Analytic insights on the impacts of women’s experiences and their relevance to policy making for peace building
  • Conclusions and recommendations
 
The output should be written to suit the needs of women peace advocates, decision and policy makers in the peace process, and peace educators. The OHRS will also recommend the possible lay out and photos to be used in the publication and shall review the laid out version prior to publication.
 
Documentation of Research/Testimonies:
 
The consultant’s final report must provide end note references for all specific facts and statistics used. The report must also include a bibliography of the major references used. 
 
Primary sources must be used wherever possible over secondary sources. For example, the consultant should reference a statistic to its original report, not where it is cited second hand by a newspaper or website.
 
If the consultant has done quantitative analysis for the research, the raw data should be provided, and all steps of calculations shown, in relevant software.
 
If Internet sources have been used, a printed out page from the website showing the cited facts or link to the webpage to be provided and the date the page was viewed should be included with the documentation. 
 
All research findings, documents, contents will form part of the project and the consultant’s will not hold any right over them. (Also see, letter of contract/agreement)

RESULTS EXPECTED
 
1. Research and review of relevant literature and publications on women/gender based violence in Afghanistan, focusing on women’s experience of gender based violence over the last three decades of war and armed conflict.
 
Outputs – Annotated/descriptive outline of the Report  
 
Timeline: One week
 
2. Review the translated data and testimonies to identify emerging themes and patterns from among the collected data; and identify potential gaps and/or areas where additional information is required;
 
Outputs – Description of data gaps, sources and relevance  to the completion of the report;  
 
Timeline:   Two weeks


3. Develop the first draft of the Report, following the agreed-upon annotated outline;
Timeline: three weeks;


4. Incorporation of the inputs and comments of the UN Women to the first draft and development of the final draft.
 
Outputs – Final draft of the report 
 
 
Timeline:  One week
 

5. Finalization of the draft, collection of photos and development of concept for the lay- out of the final output and review of manuscript after the lay out.  
 
Outputs – final draft, photos and layout concept (jointly with UN Women team) 
 
Timeline: One week
 

Competencies

Core Values and Ethics
    • Demonstrated sensitivity, discretion, tact, and courtesy in relation to gender equality and women’s rights, development principles and projects, implementing partners, and national and international personnel of varied nationalities and backgrounds Comply with UN WOMEN rules, regulations and code of conduct.
    • Commitment to upholding the organizational values and principles of UN WOMEN Afghanistan.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:
    • University degree in social science research, international studies, political science, or gender;
Experience:
    • 5-7 years relevant work experience conducting comprehensive field research in developing countries, a bonus if previous experience conducting research in conflict/post conflict settings and having written research reports;
    • Proven qualitative and quantitative data analysis and writing research reports skills, with particular expertise in qualitative data analysis;
    • Proven leadership skills, including the ability to set priorities, manage time effectively, and contribute to a team environment of respect, recognition, and mutual accountability;
    • demonstrated research skills in Afghanistan, preferably on Gender Based Violence(GBV), Transitional Justice(TJ) and an informed awareness about the real situation of Afghan women;
    • An understanding of the social, cultural, and political context of Afghanistan and its relation to gender;
    • Experience working in issues related to gender and peace building in Afghanistan;

Language Requirements:
    • Excellent English written and oral communication skills.
 
 
The application process comprises a one-page cover letter explaining the interest and suitability for this position as well as the UN P-11 (CV). Interviewing will follow for short-listed candidates. All interested candidates should apply online through the mentioned link:
 
 http://www.undp.org/
Please note that applications received after the closing date will not be given consideration. Only short-listed candidates whose applications respond to the above criteria will be contacted for an interview.