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.

Women’s leadership and political participation is one of UN Women’s primary areas of work as mandated in its inception, recognizing the integral role of women in strong and stable democratic processes. Through its Leadership and Governance section, UN Women works to implement Output 4 of the Entity’s Strategic Plan 2018-21 “More women of all ages fully participate, lead and engage in political institutions and processes”.

To promote the leadership and participation of women in all levels of decision-making processes, UN Women works with a range of stakeholders including women leaders and aspiring candidates, national parliaments and parliamentarians, political parties, media, civil society organizations, and electoral management bodies, in coordination with UN partner Entities, through a wide range of interventions which include: i) support gender responsive legal reforms, and institutional processes to advance women’s participation and representation (including initiatives to address violence against women in politics); ii) build capacities of women leaders and aspiring candidates; iii) promote change of gender norms through advocacy and outreach initiatives targeting communities, political leaders and the media; iv) and support women leaders in gender responsive political institutions.

UN-Women Nigeria Country Office works to support women’s political participation and empowerment, among other priorities.  In coordination with national institutions, UN partners and civil society, UN-Women Nigeria CO has identified key targeted interventions to increase women’s representation in decision making at all levels within the current electoral cycle ahead of 2019 general election. UN-Women Nigeria CO is now seeking the services of an international consultant, to support the coordination of this programming area of work.

Under the supervision of the UN Women Representative in Nigeria, the international consultant will provide the technical support and coordination required to effectively implement the women’s political participation programme in coordination with key partners and stakeholders on the ground.

Under the supervision of the UN Women Representative in Nigeria, and in close cooperation with programme staff, the international consultant will provide the technical support and coordination required to implement the women’s political participation (WPP) portfolio ahead of 2019 elections.

To achieve this objective, the consultant will undertake the following tasks:

• Oversee the implementation of the work plan on WPP, including the flagship programme initiative and its related deliverables, in close coordination and as agreed with the government, partners and United Nations Country Team, particularly with UNDP.
• Convene and attend meetings with partners to coordinate work and programme activities.
• Provide technical support to key partners and electoral stakeholders as needed to support the implementation of gender responsive electoral arrangements
• Support the implementation of a training/mentoring programmes for aspiring women candidates.

• Facilitate and coordinate the development of a communications and advocacy strategy to support women’s political participation and leadership with national partners.

• Provide technical assistance to develop an advocacy strategy to transform gender norms and support advocacy with, media outlets and journalists on gender-responsive media coverage.
• Support local NGOs/CSOs to deliver gender-responsive messaging and advocacy on WPP.

• Develop and implement a strategy to prevent and mitigate violence against women in elections (VAWE), including a launch event of the UN Women-UNDP programming guide on Preventing Violence Against Women in Elections.
• Undertake other programme activities in support of women’s political and electoral participation as required.

KEY DELIVERABLES:

1. UN Women Nigeria CO’s work plan on Women’s Political Participation implemented

2. Strategy to prevent and mitigate violence against women in elections (VAWE) developed and implemented.

3. UN Women-UNDP Programming Guide on Preventing Violence Against Women in Elections launch event in coordination with UNDP and key national stakeholders

4. Communications and advocacy strategy to transform gender norms, to sensitize the media and electorate on the need for women in public life developed

5. Preparation of a comprehensive handover note upon completion of consultancy that includes context and programme/policy recommendations, including status report on all tasks and deliverables and any other relevant information

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; and

• Able to relate to external partners, including other international organizations and agencies, NGOs, grassroots community groups, etc.

Functional competencies

• Sound practical knowledge on women’s political participation programming including on gender responsive electoral processes (i.e. sex disaggregated data collection, prevention and mitigation of violence against women in elections);

• Previous experience in field-based election in a variety of cultural and political contexts;

• Ability to work effectively and harmoniously with people from varied cultures and professional backgrounds, demonstrating excellent interpersonal communication skills

• Results based management skills;

• Ability to produce well-written reports and/or programme documents demonstrating analytical ability;

• Excellent communication skills;

• Experience in working with UN Women or UN or international NGOs on women’s political participation.