UNDP Jobs - 3940- Consultant: Senior Disarmament, Demobilization and

Consultant: Senior 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 :

33 days from March to October 2008

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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 Senior DDR Gender Consultant will:

offer intellectual and strategic guidance and substantive and technical expertise in support of the work of the DDR team on improving gender responsiveness of UN-supported DDR programmes;
work closely with the DDR Gender Consultant to produce deliverables A and B described below; and
travel to attend the DDR Gender and Peer Assist Workshops from 21 to 25 April 2008 in the Geneva area.

The Senior DDR Gender Consultant will work closely together and guide the work of the DDR Gender Consultant. The Senior DDR Gender Consultant will be responsible for the overall quality and timely submission of deliverables A and B.

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 Senior 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
Prepare outline of the DDR gender strategy for submission to the DDR team and BCPR Senior Gender Advisor
Review draft of the gender strategy prepared by the DDR Gender Consultant for submission to the DDR team and the BCPR Senior Gender Advisor
Prepare proposal of programme for the DDR Gender Workshop
Review power point presentations for the DDR Gender Workshop
Participate in the DDR Gender Workshop (Geneva area)
Review matrix of good practices and lessons learned on Gender and DDR
Review draft workshop report prepared by DDR Gender Consultant which will consolidate all comments and recommendations made by participants
Review DDR Gender Strategy in light of Workshop recommendations/outcomes

Deliverable B

Prepare draft outline of How-To-Guide for submission to the DDR Team and BCPR Senior Gender Advisor
Prepare proposal of programme for the Peer Assist Workshop
Participate in the How-To-Guide Peer Assist Workshop
Review draft peer-assist report prepared by DDR Gender Consultant which will consolidate all comments and recommendations made by participants
Review drafts of How-To-Guide prepared by the DDR Gender Consultant for submission to the DDR team and BCPR Senior Gender Advisor
Review integration of peer review recommendations by the DDR Gender Consultant
Prepare draft plan of action for field testing the How-To-Guide
Review integration of field testing recommendations by the DDR Gender Consultant
Participate in teleconference/meetings with BCPR/DDR team

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 reviewed by Senior DDR Consultant;
Second installment upon approval of revised draft action plan by Senior DDR Consultant for field testing of Deliverable B;
Third installment upon approval of final deliverable B.

Competencies

CorporateCompetencies:

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 10 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 skills in English (working knowledge of French highly desirable)