UNDP Jobs - 3939- Consultant: Disarmament, Demobilization and Reinte

Consultant: Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Gender Consultant

Location :

Home-based with intermittent presence at UNDP premises in Geneva

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

11-Mar-08 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Duration of Initial Contract :

70 days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

March to October 2008

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

Awareness of the need to improve gender responsiveness of UN-supported disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programmes has improved dramatically over the past years. However, this growing commitment to address the different vulnerabilities and capacities of women and men, girls and boys in DDR programmes is often not met by sufficient levels of knowledge, skills, resources and coordination during planning and implementation.

Detailed gender-sensitive UN DDR policies exist since the launch of the Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Standards (IDDRS) in December 2006, but knowledge of how to translate these policies into gender-responsive programmes is still lacking. The sex- and age-disaggregated data which DDR programmes have been collecting over the past years is often left unanalyzed, or if analyzed is often disregarded, particularly during the crucial planning and design of reintegration. There is even some uncertainty about what exactly a gender-responsive programme should look like.

Because resources are unpredictable and uncoordinated, a piecemeal approach to gender still prevails. Addressing the specific needs of women associated with armed forces and groups and ex-combatants dependents often becomes less relevant or is considered too costly or is added very late in the process. There is still a culture of adding gender as an appendix, oftentimes too counter criticisms. More importantly, insufficient attention is paid to the fact that men and boys may also have special needs, especially to reduce self-directed violence (suicide, drug and alcohol abuse) and interpersonal violence (gender-based violence towards women and girls).

Within the framework of its Eight Point Agenda endorsed by the Administrator’s Gender Steering and Implementation Committee in November 2006, the DDR team in the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) is committed to finding creative ways of overcoming these obstacles and taking concrete steps towards making DDR programmes gender-responsive in all aspects of planning and implementation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the DDR Team Leader and in close collaboration with the DDR Policy Specialist/DDR Gender Focal Point and the BCPR Senior Gender Advisor, the DDR Gender Consultant will:

1) support of the work of the DDR team on improving gender responsiveness of UN-supported DDR programmes;

2) work closely with the Senior DDR Gender Consultant to produce deliverables A and B described below; and

3) travel to attend the DDR and Peer Assist Workshops from 21 to 25 April 2008 in the Geneva area.

Deliverable A: DDR Gender Strategy

The DDR Gender Strategy will be instrumental to inform DDR practitioners and national partners about the technical and financial support that BCPR can provide to improve gender responsiveness of DDR programmes. It will be prepared on the basis of the desk review/assessment undertaken by BCPR in August 2006 and the recommendations and plan of action drafted in October 2006. A 3-day validation workshop will be conducted which will bring together DDR programme managers and DDR gender focal points to provide inputs into the strategy. For more detailed information, see corresponding BCPR Knowledge Planning Form.

Deliverable B: How-To-Guide on Mainstreaming Gender in DDR Programmes

The How-To-Guide on Mainstreaming Gender in DDR Programmes will provide a step-by-step practical guidance on mainstreaming gender in data collection, analysis, planning, design, monitoring and implementation and evaluation/lessons learned identification in DDR programmes. This tool will complement the IDDRS and Operational Guide, including module 5.10 on Women, Gender and DDR, and will support the implementation of DDR-related aspects of the Eight Point Agenda. The How-To-Guide will be drafted following a 2-day peer-assist workshop which aim to identify existing knowledge, experience and insights from key in-house, UN and outside experts on gender and DDR. This tool will be submitted to peer review and field testing.

For more detailed information, see corresponding BCPR Knowledge Planning Form.

UNDP-BCPR will review and provide substantive comments to all delivered products. Comments will be provided within 10 working days of the submission of the deliverable in question.

Detailed description of tasks

The Gender Consultant will contribute her/his knowledge, expertise and experience throughout the production of deliverables A and B described above. To this end s/he will perform the following tasks:

Deliverable A

Become familiar with all BCPR gender related documents (Eight Point Agenda, BCPR Gender Proposal, BCPR Gender Review)
Review the DDR gender desk review/assessment undertaken by BCPR in August 2006 and the recommendations and plan of action drafted in October 2006
Support the Senior DDR Gender Advisor in the preparation of the outline of the DDR gender strategy for submission to the DDR team and BCPR Senior Gender Advisor
Draft of the gender strategy for submission to the Senior DDR Gender Consultant
Support the Senior DDR Gender Consultant in the preparation of the proposal of programme for the DDR Gender Workshop
Support the Senior DDR Gender Consultant in the preparation of the power point presentations for the DDR Gender Workshop
Participate in the DDR Gender Workshop (Geneva area)
Prepare matrix of good practices and lessons learned on Gender and DDR collected during the workshops
Prepare draft workshop report which will consolidate all comments and recommendations made by participants

Deliverable B

Support the Senior DDR Gender Consultant in the preparation of the draft outline of the How-To-Guide for submission to the DDR Team and BCPR Senior Gender Advisor
Assist the Senior DDR Gender Consultant in the preparation of the proposal of programme for the Peer Assist Workshop
Participate in the How-To-Guide Peer Assist Workshop
Prepare peer-assist report which will consolidate all ideas and recommendations made by participants
Draft How-To-Guide for submission to the Senior DDR Gender Consultant
Integrate peer review recommendations and submit revised draft to Senior DDR Gender Consultant
Support the Senior DDR Gender Consultant in the preparation of the draft plan of action for field testing the How-To-Guide
Integrate field testing recommendations and submit revised draft to Senior DDR Gender Consultant
Participate in teleconference/meetings with BCPR/DDR team
Submit an electronic/hardcopy folder with all relevant documents collected during the consultancy by both Gender Consultants

Fees and terms of payment

Payments will take place against approved draft and finalized products on the basis of days worked as follows:

First installment upon approval of draft deliverable A;
Second installment upon approval of draft action plan for field testing of Deliverable B;
Third installment upon approval of final deliverable B.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN values and ethical standards
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
Treats all people fairly without favoritism
Excellent analytical and organizational skills

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning
Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in the office
Has good knowledge of UNDP programme and operational issues
Has knowledge of UNDP/UN policies and programme in crisis and post-crisis situations.

Management and Leadership

Focuses on impact and results for the client and responds positively to feedback
Ability to establish effective working relations in a multicultural team environment
Excellent interpersonal skills
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills
Builds strong relationships with internal and external clients
Demonstrates capacity to communicate effectively; resource management; capacity to plan and organize programmes effectively
Demonstrates resourcefulness, initiative and mature judgment

Required Skills and Experience

Advanced university degree (Masters) in gender studies, economics, political science, sociology, international relations, anthropology, public administration, development studies or other relevant fields
A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience working on DDR and gender, including a significant period of time at the country level
Experience of designing comprehensive gender-responsive DDR programmes within broader recovery frameworks
Proven substantive technical experience in all aspects of programming (pre-programme assessment, planning, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation) in accordance with the United Nations Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Standards (IDDRS)
Excellent oral and written communication/drafting skills in English (working knowledge of French highly desirable)