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.

UN Women’s work on engaging men and boys for gender equality is anchored in the belief that achieving gender equality is about transforming unequal power relations between men and women. This involves challenging notions of masculinity and traditional perceptions of manhood. It requires men to question power dynamics in their actions or their words at the personal, interpersonal and societal level and to take responsibility for change. Men need to be engaged as gender advocates – speaking out as active agents and stakeholders who can transform social norms, behaviours and gender stereotypes that perpetuate discrimination and inequality.

Be it through its recently launched “HeForShe” initiative, which has already galvanized citizens around the world to sign up to do their part for gender equality, or its policy and programme work, UN Women is actively engaging men and boys for women’s rights. From the classroom to the streets, local leaders and everyday male champions are addressing violence against women and redefining masculine identities through community intervention programmes.

In South Sudan, UN women has been engaging communities through local activists, dialogues and training of community leaders, youth and women on positive social norms and engaging men and boys towards a fairer society.

 Scope of Work:

The high prevalence of harmful social/ lagged norms and traditional practices that subject women girls to multiple factor such as household poverty, discrimination and stigma that makes them vulnerable to HIV infections, sexual gender-based violence and hamper their participation in socio-economic spheres of live. Eliminate gender-based stigma and discrimination that continue to pose barriers for women and girls to access HIV prevention, testing, treatment, care, and support.  Change in the attitudes of men towards women will bring equal participation and right awareness among both men and women.

The South Sudan stigma index report 2020 has found that discrimination and abuses targeted at PLHIV are fueled by some cultural beliefs and practices, including widow inheritance in some sections of the population of South Sudan. Customary authorities should therefore be supported to facilitate changes in cultural practices that consider the reality of HIV while preserving the century-held traditions of their communities including survival of generations, and respect to the dead.

Therefore, UN Women in partnership with the government of South Sudan is undertaking an initiative focusing on masculinity and community engagement to address harmful social norms and toxic masculinities, those that perpetuate sexual gender-based violence (SGBV) and HIV. UN Women is seeking to engage an international consultant to support in the development of tailored guidelines on social norms, particularly those that perpetuate violence against women and HIV/AIDS.  

Under the overall guidance of the Country Representative, and Deputy Representative, the Consultant will report directly to EVAW Specialist, and will work in close collaboration with the office team in ensuring that all the required related technical-related tasks are completed within the agreed timeframe.  

The EVAW section at UN Women seeks to review relevant studies/assessments on social norms that perpetuate violence. As such, UN Women needs to engage a consultant with extensive experience in Masculinity, transformational social norm changes and engagement of men and boys’ experiences.

The objective of this consultancy is to review relevant studies/assessments on social norms and masculinity and develop/complete guidelines to address harmful social norms. Furthermore, this consultancy is to substantially contribute to the strengthening of the two (2) evidence-based knowledge products on the topic and practical approaches for integrating this evidence into national efforts on EVAW. 

 The scope of work for this consultancy covers the following tasks: 

• Support development of a detailed Workplan, to be approved by UN Women;
• Conduct internal and external consultations to inform the development of the products;
• Consultation with government and stakeholders in selected states;
• Support the international consultant with literature review, methodology and findings including the recommendations where necessary;
• Support developing Guidelines on social norms that perpetuate VAW/HIV and masculinity report paper to be submitted to UN Women for comments and feedback;
• Support international consultant to designed, reviewed, edited and make the document ready for publication;
• Support Validation workshop to be attended in person by the lead consultant and the national consultant;
• Support Presentation of work to UN women staff at the country office.

Below are the specific deliverables:

Payment:

Payment will be scheduled on lumpsum basis and as per the following deliverable completion

a. On signing of the agreement and submission of workplan/ inception paper. 20% Payment;

b. On 50% completion of work (by mid- September - 30% payment;  

b. Finalization of the two documents ready for publication. 50% payment.

Key Performance Indicators 

• Timely and quality submission of the required information;
• Timely and quality of programme delivery of the workplan and inception documents;
• Timely and quality collection of the right data from the grass roots with support of national consultant
• Regular communication with the supervisor, other agencies and partners;
• Quality Presentation of the findings and issues to the staffs, donors etc.

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:

• Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills;
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making;
• Strong writing and analytical skills;
• Strong knowledge of masculinities, social norms and male engagement. 

Education and certification: 

• Master’s degree in Anthropology Women/Gender Studies, Development studies, or relevant Social Sciences. 

Experience: 

• Minimum 5 years of experience conducting research related to gender, social norms, masculinity, and gender-based violence technical experience in thematic area;
• Demonstrated experience collecting, classifying, and analyzing both primary and secondary data in an efficient and effective way, and presenting the findings in a clear and coherent manner;
• Familiarity with the social norms, masculinities, and gender-based violence;
• In-depth expertise on researching men, boys and masculinities as well as gender-based violence (GBV);
• Track record of proper data collection and community consultations. 
• Experience in conducting similar research on masculinities and social norms shall be an added advantage;
• Experience working in the UN System is an asset; • Experience in leading/managing a team is an asset. 

Language Requirements: 

• Fluency in English and Arabic is required. 

Application procedure and deadline:

• Interested applicants must submit the following documents/information (in PDF format) to demonstrate their qualifications:

Technical component:

• Letter of interest explaining why they are the most suitable for the work;
• Technical proposal of no more than 3 pages outlining the applicant's understanding of the assignment and proposed methodology for the assignment, including stakeholders to be met;
• A Curriculum Vitae (CV) with contact details of 3 (three) clients for whom you have rendered similar services;
• Sample work (may be asked for in separate communication);

Financial proposal:

• The financial proposal specifying a total lump sum amount in US Dollars for the consultancy work;
• Please note that the cost of preparing a proposal and of negotiating a contract, including any related travel, is not reimbursable as a direct cost of the assignment.

Please note, that the system will only allow one attachment, and, hence please combine the multiple files while uploading the attachment.

• Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment. Personal History Form P11 that can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment

Qualified women candidates are highly encouraged to apply.

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.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employ, 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.

 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.

Gender Sensitivity:

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.

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.