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. It provides support to Member States’ efforts and priorities in meeting their gender equality goals and for building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.
Since Saturday 15 April, intense fighting has been taking place in Sudan between the Sudan Army Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). After a bitter disagreement between the two most powerful generals on the integration of the RSF into the regular army of the respective armed forces, heavy fighting and street battles have broken out, especially in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, Marawi in the Northern State, North, South and East Central Darfur, Blue Nile Region and Blue Kordofan, and Eastern Sudan, and the Blue Nile. While some states remain relatively calm such as Red Sea State, armed Conflict continues in Khartoum, Marawi, and Darfur Region and is expected to continue.
The Sudan's health system is on the verge of collapse, as many hospitals have been forced to close because they have ran out of blood, medicines, and medical supplies, while in some cases medical personnel have been unable to go to work. According to media sources, several hospitals in Khartoum are out of service, leaving only 20 hospitals in the capital that are fully or partially functioning, while 9 have been hit by artillery.
Millions of people in Khartoum and Darfur have limited access to electricity, and water, and food is running out, while households can no longer provide for themselves due to challenges accessing banks and cash. Food delivery systems are at risk with limited access to markets and shops. Initial reports indicate that families in the affected areas are surviving on pre-conflict food stocks that are expected to run out at any time.
GBV has been at an all-time high and reaching the victims has been difficult due to insecurity. It is worth noting that even before the fighting broke out, humanitarian needs in Sudan were at an all-time high, with a third of the population – approximately 28 million people – in need of humanitarian assistance majority of women and girls. At present, there are already more than 4 million internally displaced persons in the country. It is expected that these numbers will rise as fighting spreads and intensifies.
It is against this backdrop that UN Women is looking for a GBV Expert to support in developing a GBV Strategy to enable UN Women to effectively address the needs of crisis-affected women, girls, boys, and men in Sudan. This position will require experience and an in-depth understanding of humanitarian coordination mechanisms, humanitarian action programming, gender equality, and women’s empowerment issues.
Duties and Responsibilities
Reporting and accountability:
The consultant will work closely with and under the overall guidance of the Country Representative for the UN Women Sudan Country Office, based in Sudan, and with the direct guidance of the Gender in Humanitarian Coordinator, the consultant will be responsible for providing the necessary information, and developing the necessary tools, and undertaking consultations with stakeholders, and facilitating all processes as well as writing and submitting the final draft of the UN Women Sudan Country Office GBV strategy.
The objective of the assignment:
The objective of the assignment is to support UN Women in developing a country humanitarian GBV strategy for Sudan for 2023-2025. The consultant is expected to help facilitate consultations and combine inputs from UN Women representation in the country to develop the draft of the Strategy. The process of developing this strategy will also be an opportunity to reflect on past efforts, performance, and challenges faced in Sudan to ensure that the new strategy takes these elements into consideration.
Proposed methodology:
The methodology proposed is as described below, which will be further expanded upon by the recruited consultant in consultation with UN Women in Sudan and allied UN Agencies and partners. UN Women is open to considering how the consultant may wish to adjust the methodology.
The consultant will review documents to familiarise himself/herself with UN Women and its work in the Sudan. The consultant will also undertake initial key informant interviews with key UN Women staff to prepare for strategic discussions, including some external stakeholders that UN Women may suggest from Government counterparts, the UN, and NGOs.
After drafting the strategy, the consultant will circulate the first draft for comments from UN Women staff at the country and regional level. When these comments are incorporated, a validation workshop will be facilitated by the consultant featuring the participation of the same group of staff that participated in the strategic consultative events, after which a final draft of the strategy will be produced for UN Women SCO’s review and approval. The consultant will also develop an action plan for the implementation of the new strategy. The action plan must have indicators to track progress on the implementation. The GBV strategy should contain a Vision, Mission, Strategic Objectives, and Strategic Priorities. The document is to be no longer than 10 pages (excluding annexes).
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
- Strong background in humanitarian action, mixed migration and refugee response, gender equality, and human rights/women’s rights.
- Strong understanding of Do No Harm principles on delivery of humanitarian aid, and research on sensitive gender issues.
- Excellent research, analytical, and writing skills.
- Ability to think and work logically and work precisely with attention to detail.
- Initiative, sound judgment, and demonstrated ability to work harmoniously with staff members of different national and cultural backgrounds.
- Ability to work independently and meet tight deadlines in a high-pressure environment.
Required Skills and Experience
Qualifications and Skills required:
- Advanced degree with a specialisation in gender and development studies, social work, public health, law/human rights, international relations, and/or other related social science disciplines.
- 5-7 years of specialized experience addressing GBV at the international level;
- Substantive and technical experience in inter-agency coordination;
- Experience in this field in a humanitarian context is an asset;
- Experience working with the UN is an asset;
- Experience working in the region is an asset;
- Substantive experience in GBV is a basic requirement.
Language Requirements:
- Fluency in oral and written English is required, and knowledge of Arabic is an asset.
Please note that applications without a completed and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
UN Women Personal History form (P-11) can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment .
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.
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, colour, 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.)