Background

West Africa is a region particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change in the world are all in sub-Saharan Africa and three of them (Mali, Niger and Chad) are countries of the Sahel[1]. Recent estimates suggest that 40 to 60 per cent of the land in the Sahel is severely degraded, which has a serious impact on land productivity, and thus on people's livelihoods. Women and girls in West Africa play a key role in climate change adaptation and mitigation through their role in key sectors such as agriculture or through the sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystem conservation – including those with important carbon sequestration functions (forests, mangroves, etc.).

Women are also disproportionately affected by climate change, environmental degradation and disasters. Women account for 80 per cent of the world's environmentally displaced[2], and are 14 per cent more likely to die in natural disasters[3]. West Africa's dependence on agriculture makes it extremely vulnerable to climate change and women's dependence on agriculture and natural resources for their unpaid productive and care work implies that they are particularly affected by climate fluctuations.

The magnitude of the climate emergency will thus force countries to shift to more sustainable patterns of production and consumption in the coming decades. The transition to a green economy will create opportunities in the form of green jobs in many sectors. Renewable energy, sustainable construction and infrastructure, and the circular economy will generate millions of new jobs in the coming years, including in sub-Saharan Africa.

Women's access to these opportunities or exclusion from the benefits associated with the green transition in sub-Saharan Africa will depend on the policies implemented by governments in the short term[4].

[1]The Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) Vulnerability Index, 2019. A country's ND-GAIN index score is composed of a Vulnerability score and a Readiness score. Vulnerability measures a country's exposure, sensitivity and ability to adapt to the negative impact of climate change. ND-GAIN measures the overall vulnerability by considering vulnerability in six life-supporting sectors – food, water, health, ecosystem service, human habitat and infrastructure.

[2]UNDP Linkages Gender and CC Policy Brief 1-WEB (1).pdf

[3]Focus: Women and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 13: Climate Action | UN Women

[4]UN Women Jobs Report EN-FR | UN Women Africa

Against this backdrop, UN Women’s Regional Office for West and Central Africa is working with regional institutions, governments and civil society to support the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes to improve women’s participation in the green economy in the region. The Regional Office is currently looking to hire the services of a gender and green economy specialist to support this work through the analytic, knowledge management and policy advice tasks contained in these ToRS.

Duties and Responsibilities

Reporting to Regional Policy Advisor WEE, the Consultant works closely with UN Women programme and operations teams in regional and country offices, implementing partners and UN Women West Africa and Women's Economic Empowerment Centre staff. In particular, the consultant is expected to perform the following functions:

• Provide content (draft Concept Note and programme, ToRs, presentations, panelist briefs, etc.) and logistical support to the organization of up to 5 learning/advocacy/policy dialogue events in the area of gender and the green economy in West Africa including:

1. A working session between ECOWAS departments and UN Women to present the work of each institution in this area and explore synergies and potential collaboration (September 2022);
2. Co-organisation of a side event on the margins of COP27 on gender and the green economy (November 2022);
3. Regional workshop with technical staff from ministries of ECOWAS member States to discuss gender and the green economy, share best practices and identify national priorities in this area (Senegal, December 2022);
4. Other two to be determined

• Provide technical advice to UN Women country teams and national stakeholders to integrate gender in green economy strategies at the national level  
• Lead/contribute and manage policy analysis exercises on gender and green transition in the Sahel (new research and/or adaptation of existing research in policy tools/briefs and other policy documents)
• Support UN Women country offices in formulating projects and funding proposals to support women's participation in the green economy in West and Central Africa
• Formulate a project document for a regional programme on gender and green economy in West Africa based on the findings of the meeting --- name of the meeting
• Formulate a resource mobilization strategy in the area of gender and the green economy in WCA
• Contribute to knowledge management in the areas of gender and the green economy by producing and disseminating different knowledge products as needed
• Build capacity of UN Women staff and national and regional stakeholders in the area of gender and the green economy

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core skills:

• Gender Awareness and Sensitivity
• Strategic thinking
• Effective communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder engagement

Functional Skills

• Strong analytical skills on gender and economic policy and women's economic empowerment;
• Strong communication skills in English and French
• Strong writing skills and ability to produce a variety of knowledge products for different audiences and objectives.
• Experience in the use and application of macroeconomic technical tools.
• Ability to produce impactful communication materials and knowledge products.
• Strong commitment to knowledge sharing in a multicultural environment
• Ability to design and deliver training and other capacity-building strategies in the area of gender and economics to a variety of audiences.
• Project management Core Competencies 3

Required Skills and Experience

EDUCATION

Master's degree or equivalent in green economy, development economics, feminist economics or any other relevant field of economics or public policy

EXPERIENCE

• Excellent knowledge of gender-related green economy transition issues;
• At least 7 years of experience in policy analysis and research in the area of gender and economics, or gender and climate change;
• Previous experience formulating and implementing gender and development projects in developing and emerging;
• Prior experience working in the UN system is an asset.

LANGUAGES

• Fluency in English is required; working-level of French is a strong asset. 

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc. Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)