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

In Kenya, the UN Women Country Programme contributes to the development objectives of Kenya’s blueprintthe Vision 2030, the SDGs particularly, SDG 5 and is aligned to the United Nations SustainableDevelopment Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2022-2026 as well as UN Women Global Strategic Plan. UN Women Kenya Strategic Note 2023-2026 aims to achieve the following results: (i) Increased women’s leadership and participation in governance; (ii) Strengthened women’s economic empowerment; (iii) Increased protection of women against gender-based violence & access to justice forwomen; and (iv) Strengthened women’s leadership in peacebuilding and humanitarian response.

Context

In 2016, Kenya developed its first National Action Plan (KNAP) on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325), demonstrating a profound interest in the implementation of women peace and security (WPS) agenda at the country level. The KNAP is the overarching national framework that provides guidance on the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions on WPS. Many results were achieved during the first KNAP including the increase of women in the peace committee from 14% to 29 %, and the development of the Ministry of Défense Gender Policy. However, as recommended by the comprehensive review conducted in 2018; engagement of the county governments was required to fully implement the KNAP on UNSCR 1325 (2016-2018) to build an inclusive society where women’s rights were protected.

Kenya is currently implementing its second KNAP (2020-2024) on WPS, which was adopted in May 2020. It integrates lessons learned from the first KNAP and is building on previous the gains and achievements. In addition, the second KNAP strives to highlight the imperative role women play in advancing peace and security and emphasizes visibility. It also highlights the vulnerability and mitigation strategies through an implementation structure consisting of robust pillars (Participation, Protection, Prevention and Relief and Recovery) and coordination mechanism.

UN Women Kenya is committed to supporting the Government of Kenya and non-state actors to effectively implement the second KNAP. The main objectives of UN Women’s work with the Government under WPS is to support; 1) the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions and 2) women and girls in target counties to take leadership in WPS agenda, improve their resilience and participate in disaster risk management.

Considering the above, noting that the second KNAP ends in 2024, and with the aim of developing a highly relevant third KNAP, UN Women Kenya seeks to hire a national consultant to support the Government of Kenya to carry out a review of the second KNAP. 

Rationale for Review of the Second KNAP on UNSCR 1325

The second KNAP comes to an end in December 2024, which calls for a review to be conducted by November 2024 to assess level of progress in implementation, results, achievements, lessons, challenges and emerging issues that need to be incorporated in the third KNAP. The review will provide an invaluable opportunity for the Government of Kenya and non-state actors to take stock of the progress made across Government agencies and civil society organizations, that have been implementing the second KNAP since May 2020. It is an opportunity to capture the gains made at the county and national levels by highlighting implementation gaps and challenges, as well as emerging trends and priorities for action especially considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the second KNAP implementation at all levels.

Through the technical and financial support from UN Women, the State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action and the National Steering Committee on Peacebuilding and Conflict Management (NSC) will lead and provide recommendations to the review process.

Main Objective

The main objective is to document and review the progress made on the implementation of the second KNAP on UNSCR 1325 and provide recommendations for developing the third KNAP.

Specific Objectives

• Evaluate the achievements against the targets set in the second KNAP, including outcomes and outputs as well as indicators as per the implementation plan.

• Identify issues and challenges faced during the implementation of second KNAP within the context of peace and security in Kenya. Propose strategies to address challenges encountered during the implementation and provide related recommendations for development of third KNAP.

• Assess the implementation of the County Local Action Plans at the county level and evaluate the tangible effects of second KNAP on the ground among beneficiaries.

• Highlight successful practices and effective strategies employed in implementing the second KNAP.

• Share concrete recommendations for the development of third KNAP, that link to findings, challenges, best practices and lessons learned from the implementation of the second KNAP.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the UN Women Peace and Security Team Lead a.i. and the KNAP Secretariat at the State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action, the consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

Task 1: Inception Meeting, Desk Review and Inception Report

• Inception meeting.

• Conduct a desk review of existing relevant documents and reports from UN Women, state and nonstate actors related to peace and security, including the second KNAP.

• Conduct preliminary consultations with relevant members of the implementation structures (NSC on UNSCR 1325 and the WPS taskforce at the national and county level).

• Develop and submit an inception report including of methodology and consultancy work plan, which specifies the deliverables and timelines. Present the draft inception report in a meeting and review it incorporating the received feedback from the key stakeholders.

Task 2: Data Collection and Analysis

• Develop a standardized data collection tool(s).

• Carry out data collection at the national level and from selected counties.

• Analyze data collected. Draw conclusions and recommendations from all the relevant data on the second KNAP Participation & Promotion, Prevention, Protection and Relief and Recovery pillars.

• Provide qualitative information by developing four case studies/best practices specifically on the pillars of the KNAP: Participation & Promotion, Prevention, Protection and Relief and Recovery. 

Task 3: Validation of Preliminary findings

• Draft preliminary report with recommendations, that are clearly linked to the findings, challenges, best practices and lessons learned from the implementation of the second KNAP and share with key stakeholders.

• Hold a one-day in-person validation meeting with key stakeholders, including members of the NSC on UNSCR 1325 and WPS taskforce from the national and county level.

Deliverables, Working Days and Payment Schedule

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

• Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation skills

• Strong knowledge of Results-Based Management

• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making.

• Strong knowledge of Women, Peace, and Security

• Strong analytical skills

• Ability to identify and analyse trends, opportunities, and threats to fundraising and develop strategies

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• A master’s degree or equivalent in gender/women's studies, peace studies, international development, conflict studies, law, access to justice, social sciences, human rights, or a related field is required.

• A first-level relevant university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 10 years progressively responsible experience in conflict prevention and peacebuilding programming, training, and/or analysis with significant experience mainstreaming gender into analysis processes.

• Technical experience working on the WPS agenda.

• Strong understanding of the WPS Agenda, normative frameworks, and WPS programming.

• Demonstrated experience in doing research and analysis on areas of gender, development, peace, and security and demonstrate publications.

• Established working relationships with state actors at the national, county level, peace actors, women’s human rights and gender equality organizations, development partners that can be activated for the purposes of the data collection and analysis.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.

• Ability to work independently and deliver on tight timelines.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.

• Knowledge of Kiswahili is an 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/2022-07/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form-en.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.