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 strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

The Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) framework has transformative potential to bring durable, sustainable, and inclusive peace to communities and societies. The four pillars of the WPS framework encompass (1) participation (2) protection (3) prevention (4) relief and recovery. These four pillars are recognized and reinforced by UN Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and strengthened and expanded in nine subsequent Security Council resolutions. UNSCR 1325 (2000) affirms the important role of women in: (1) prevention and resolution of conflicts, (2) peace negotiations, (3) peacebuilding, (4) peacekeeping, (5) humanitarian response, and (6) in post conflict reconstruction. Furthermore, the resolution asserts that the WPS framework must be localized by member states and civil society organizations. National Action Plans are promoted as the preferred means by which member states should fulfil their obligation to implement the resolutions, which Lebanon has achieved through the adoption of its first National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325 in 2019 for the period 2019-2023 that focuses on increasing women’s full participation in decision-making processes in the political, diplomatic, and economic domain as well as in the security and defense sectors.

In 2024, Lebanon embarked on the development of its second National Action Plan (NAP II) on UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security. This process is spearheaded by the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) with UN Women’s support towards the design and implementation of NAP II. Under the leadership of NCLW, the development of Lebanon’s NAP II will include broad based consultations with key stakeholders, including with government entities and CSOs in all eight governorates of Lebanon so as to design a NAP that is aligned with national context and priorities.

In coordination with NCLW, UN Women is recruiting a senior consultant on WPS to a) facilitate meaningful consultations with women’s civil society organizations, peacebuilders and other relevant stakholders across Lebanon to identify their needs in matters of peace and security and b) develop an outcome document, based on the inputs from the consultations and research findings, that outlines specific outcomes on WPS aligned with both UNSCR 1325 and existing national strategies and policies. The outcome document aims to support the realization of the WPS agenda in practice and NCLW will utilize the outcome document to inform the development of the NAP II on UNSCR 1325. The consultant will report to the UN Women Country Representative and will work in close collaboration with the UN Women WPS program team.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will be responsible for:

• Facilitate 3 consultations with civil society organizations, peacebuilders and other relevant stakeholders (ideally in-person but can be online) on WPS needs and priorities and possible interventions based on their perspective and local context
• Conduct in-depth research and literature review to identify WPS needs and priorities in Lebanon.
• Collaborate with a local research consultant and UN Women to gather input and feedback from other local consultations conducted on WPS needs across Lebanon, analyze those needs and issues, and integrate the relevant content into the draft outcome document.
• Develop a comprehensive conceptual framework for the outcome document, including the methodology and guiding questions for the civil society consultations that would meaningfully reflect their insights, needs and priorities in line with the UNSCR 1325.
• Produce an outcome document with analysis on political, economic, and social barriers impacting WPS needs and interventions, based on the inputs from the consultations and research findings.
• Provide authoritative expertise in WPS, combining substantive advice with operational and political perspectives.

Deliverables:

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy. As part of this assignment, there may be a trip to Lebanon.

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

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:
https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Substantial knowledge and understanding of women, peace and security and gender equality, preferably in the context of Lebanon and the Arab States region.
• Demonstrated leadership and technical ability to communicate complex ideas verbally and in writing.
• Experience in leading consultations with diverse stakeholders on issues of gender equality, women, peace and security and other relevant topics.
• Ability to produce analytical reports and document.
• Ability to build partnerships with a range of actors.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree in political science, international human rights, gender equality, public administration, or related discipline.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Minimum 10 years of work experience on Women, Peace and Security.
• Experience in formulating analysis and synthesis reports on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Computer skills, internet communication and command of MS Office.
• Excellent analytical skills with strong drive for results and capacity to work independently.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of Arabic is an asset.

Application:

• Personal CV or P11 (P11 can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc )
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)
• Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns, or other materials.

The above-mentioned documents should be merged in a standalone file including all them, since the online application submission does only permit to upload one file per application. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification.

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.)