Background

UN Women, grounded in 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; 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 center 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. 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 supports improved UN coordination and accountability mechanisms, and up-scaling of the quality of support provided to Member States in addressing national gender equality priorities. UN Women’s coordination work is supported at the regional level by its Regional Offices – working with the UN Development Group (UNDG) Regional Groups and the Regional Coordination Mechanisms. At the country level UN Women supports and works within UN Country Teams (UNCT).

The UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) previously known as the UN Development Assistance Frameworks (UNDAF) is the most important instrument for planning and implementation of the UN development activities at country level in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda). The Cooperation Framework determines and reflects the UN development system’s contributions in the country. The new Strategic Note guidance for multi and country offices, calls for alignment with the Cooperation Framework in country. Ensuring UN Women’s gender equality mandate is fully reflected in the UNSDCF is critical. UN Women also supports UN Country Teams to address gender in the UNSDCF as part of its coordination mandate. The Common Country Analysis is the UN system’s independent, impartial and collective assessment and ???analysis of a country situation for its internal use in developing the Cooperation Framework. It examines progress, gaps, opportunities and country’s commitment to achieving the 2030 Agenda, UN norms and standards, and the principles of the UN Charter, including as reflected in the Cooperation Framework Guiding Principles.? It is an important opportunity to engage with relevant stakeholders on was the CF can address complex issues, including gender inequality and exclusion. Supporting the integration of gender equality issues in the CCA is an important step towards developing a gender responsive Cooperation Framework.

Objectives of the assignment:

The objectives of this consultancy are two-fold: the first is to carry out a gender analysis of the UNSDCFs or UNDAFs of the countries where UN Women has a presence. The second is to identify together with UN Women, good practices and entry points for integrating gender equality more extensively in the development, implementation and monitoring of UNSDCFs.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work:

The consultant will carry out a gender analysis of current UNSDCFs (UNDAFs) to determine how gender equality issues are addressed. They will document, how UN Women offices in these countries have engaged with the UNSDCF development processes including but not limited to preparation of the CCA report and the extent to which these resulted in the integration of gender equality.

The consultant will be required to use the findings to co-facilitate discussions with UN Women (MCOs), Resident Coordinator Offices and UNCTs in these countries. These discussions will filter out information ESARO team and MCOs, on ways to strengthen UN Women’s role in supporting the integration of gender considerations, in the UNSDCF cycle, respond to gender equality issues targeting. The discussions will also identify good practices by UN Women offices and the Regional Office in engaging with the UNSDCF processes as well as make recommendations on addressing any shortfalls in their support.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Carry out a gender analysis of 13 UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks (UNSDCF), UN Development Assistance Frameworks (UNDAF), the Integrated Support Framework (ISF);
• Hold discussions with UN Women offices and UN Coordination mechanisms such as Gender Theme Groups, on their role in the Common Country Analysis (CCA) preparation as well as the UNSDCF cycle more broadly;
• Co-facilitate with the ESARO team, discussions on the findings with UN Women, RCOs and UNCTs;
• Produce a summary report of findings and recommendations including a companion slide deck;
• Develop a knowledge product summarizing the good practices and recommendations for UN Women MCOs and the regional office in terms of supporting the UNSDCF cycle.

Deliverables and Work Schedule:

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to establish, build and sustain effective relationships with clients;
• Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats, using appropriate IT functionality;
• Excellent event planning skills;
• Excellent knowledge of social media and communications strategy and methods;
• Ability to identify relevant events and stories and communicate them to a mass audience;
• Strong multimedia skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced degree in gender studies, international development, economics or related disciplines is required.

Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years of demonstrated extensive experience that combines research and programs in gender and international development at the national and international level;
• Specific experience and expertise on gender analysis, gender mainstreaming, and women’s rights work in the region;
• Knowledge and working experience of UN inter-agency processes particularly those related to the UNSDCF/UNDAF;
• Experience of integrating gender in UN inter-agency processes particularly those related to the UNSDCF/UNDAF;
• A track record of producing succinct, easy to read yet analytical publications;
• evaluations, analytical reports, and publications on gender issues.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Knowledge of French and/or Portuguese would be an added advantage.

UNWOMEN 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.