UN WOMEN Jobs - 108577- African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) National Cons

African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) National Consultant

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Monrovia, LIBERIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Sep-2022

Application Deadline :

31-Aug-22 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

1 year

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

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, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. The organization provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

In 2017, UN Women, together with the Office of the African Union Special Envoy on Peace and Security, and the Federal Republic of Germany launched a network of African Women Leaders: AWLN. The AWLN is a ground-breaking movement of African Women leaders. The initiative aims to enhance the leadership of women in the transformation of Africa, in line with Africa Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Aspiration 6 of Africa Agenda 2063, “The Africa We Want”, envisions an Africa that is people-centred, and where women are empowered and play their rightful role in all spheres of life. This aspiration is also reflected in Goal 5.5 of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda that affirms the importance of women’s equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life. AWLN also serves as a practical instrument to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on women peace and security, at regional and country levels. The Network seeks to increase women’s participation in decision-making through peer learning and mentoring, enhanced solidarity, advocacy and capacity-building, among other strategies. AWLN comprises both the continental and national level networks.

With the Support of UN Women Liberia Country Office, in partnership with the African Union and the Embassy of Germany in Liberia, AWLN launched its National Chapter in Liberia (AWLN-Liberia) in December 2019. The National Chapter has a Strategic Steering Committee (SSC); Articles of Incorporation; and a Five-Year Strategic Plan (SP). AWLN-Liberia has worked since 2020 organizing and strengthening women political aspirants in Liberia and aspires to be an integral part of this Pan-African movement of transformational women leaders.

To date, the AWLN Liberia Chapter has nurtured collaborations with the National Elections Commission (NEC), political parties, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MOGCSP), the Women’s Legislative Caucus of Liberia (WLCL) and women’s civil society organizations.

AWLN-Liberia has specific priorities under its thematic areas (1) women’s political participation and representation in governance (2) women’s economic empowerment and (3) mentorship of young women and intergenerational dialogue, under which a Youth Caucus should be established this year. The SSC is keen to operationalize its mandate, considering the political context with limited women representation in the National legislature (2 women in the senate of 30 seats, and 9 women in the House of Representatives of 73 seats and 5 of 19 minister who are female)

To support AWLN Liberia realize its objectives, UN Women is hiring a consultant to support the implementation of AWLN Liberia’s Strategic Plan activities. The Consultant will handle a variety of tasks that are designed to help promote the AWLN Liberia priorities. S/he will provide programme support to the AWLN Steering Committee to ensure high quality, accuracy and consistency of work, under the overall guidance of the UN Women Liberia Country Representative and support from the UN Women Country Office team.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of UN Women Country Representative and in close partnership with the chair of AWLN chapter in Liberia and UN Women colleagues at the global, regional and country level, the consultant will engage in the following tasks:

Provide advice and support to the AWLN Steering Committee to roll-out the initial work programme of the AWLN Liberia Chapter with a focus on the three main priorities for Year 1: women’s role in peace and security; enhancing the role of women in politics and decision-making; strengthening peer learning and inter-generational mentorship;
Support the building of the national membership base of AWLN Liberia Chapter across all geopolitical zones, based on a clearly defined criterion, drawing on the globally- agreed standards.
Support the design of an internal communication strategy to facilitate interactions between AWLN members across the country, and facilitate meetings of the national steering committee, and meetings between members of the steering committee and other stakeholders including the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection, Women’s legislative Caucus of Liberia, the National Elections Commission and other women’s networks and CSOs.
Design a capacity development strategy for strengthening the ability of AWLN members to impact policy processes at national level.
Research and identify opportunities for networking, learning and strengthening collaboration with other AWLN national chapters.
Support the elaboration and adoption of policies and procedures to support the operations of AWLN;
Provide guidance to the AWLN Steering Committee on partner engagement and resource mobilization and oversee management of the AWLN Secretariat.

Key Deliverables:

Finalization of a one-year plan costed Plan of Action
Guidelines/standard operating procedures and practices developed to support operational aspects of AWLN Liberia chapter
Strategy developed for AWLN membership drive and for internal communications and capacity-building among members
A membership database
Partnership and resource mobilization strategy developed, and donor meetings facilitated.
Status report on AWLN Liberia Chapter, highlighting milestones achieved and lessons learned
Detailed report on partnerships and sustainability plan
Detailed end of assignment report with recommendations.

Competencies

Core Values and Guiding Principles:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling UN Women values and ethical standards.
Demonstrates a commitment to UN Women’s mission and vision.
Able to work effectively within a team.
Displays cultural and gender sensitivity and adaptability.
Able to multi-task and juggle competing demands.
Can assess and prioritize work needs quickly.
Able to relate to external partners, including other international organizations and agencies, NGOs, grassroots community groups, etc.

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge and experience of working on gender issues and women’s leadership
Gender analysis and gender mainstreaming skills;
Outstanding team- building, organizational and communication skills;
Capacity to work with diverse partners, including governments, donors and civil society

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in International Development, Gender, Law or in other related Social Sciences.

Experience:

Minimum 7 years relevant experience at the national or international level working on gender equality and women’s empowerment, experience of UN intergovernmental processes, including those related to women’s empowerment, gender mainstreaming and gender equality, experience working with multi-stakeholder organisations, governments, CSOs, UN and other multilateral and bilateral organisations.

Language:

Fluency in oral and written English is required.
Working knowledge of English and other UN languages is an asset.