Background

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women works for the elimination of the 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.

Through its focus on prevention and resilience building, UN Women ensures that new and existing disaster risks are mitigated by putting women at the center of disaster risk reduction, by giving them a voice, empowering them as disaster risk reduction leaders and actors, and by building their resilience. Evidence proves that the majority of victims and those affected by disasters are women. Due to the gendered dimensions of disaster risk, women and girls face greater vulnerability and exposure to disasters, yet women remain largely ignored and their capacities, unleveraged in conventional disaster risk reduction processes.

Justification

Through its focus on prevention and resilience building, UN Women ensures that new and existing disaster risks are mitigated by putting women at the center of disaster risk reduction, by giving them a voice, empowering them as disaster risk reduction leaders and actors, and by building their resilience. Evidence proves that the majority of victims and those affected by disasters are women. Due to the gendered dimensions of disaster risk, women and girls face greater vulnerability and exposure to disasters, yet women remain largely ignored and their capacities, unleveraged in conventional disaster risk reduction processes.

Purpose and Objectives

UN Women promotes gender-responsive disaster risk reduction and resilience building through technical and policy support, provision of gender expertise to disaster risk reduction mechanisms and processes, and by implementing global programmes and projects for gender-responsive disaster risk reduction and resilience building, including:

Global Programme on Women’s Disaster Resilience to Disasters (WRD)

• The programme proposes a comprehensive package for women’s resilience to disasters that focuses on rendering prevention, preparedness and response systems, plans and tools gender-responsive and provides targeted action enabling women and girls to withstand natural hazards, recover fully from disasters and increase their resilience to future natural hazards.
• The initiative influences policy change for gender-responsive disaster prevention, preparedness and recovery, enhances accountability, generates catalytic action, and produces practical lessons learned and best practices for upscaling and replication.

UN Women is looking for a consultant to provide short-term technical support for the inception phase deliverables of the global component of the Women’s resilience to disasters in SIDS program. The overall objective of this consultancy is to support UN Women’s Disaster Risk Reduction work and specifically its Women’s Resilience to Disaster Program – inception phase by providing ad-hoc programme development, knowledge mmanagement and advocacy support.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Programme Specialist, DRR & Resilience, the WRD Programme Consultant will perform the following key services:

1 - Support the Programme Specialist, DRR & Resilience, in providing strategic guidance, policy and programme support on DRR and resilience building:

• Support the development and implementation of the Women’s Resilience to Disasters Programme.
• Support the provision of technical support to field offices upon request.

2 - Support the Programme Specialist, DRR & Resilience, in building knowledge and capacities on gender-responsive DRR and resilience:

• Support the inception and development of the global DRR and resilience gender hub.
• Support the establishment of a gender-responsive DRR and resilience expert roster.
• Research, update and maintain relevant information related to DRR and resilience.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

The following deliverables are expected to be completed:

Institutional Arrangement

The WRD Programme Consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Programme Specialist, DRR & Resilience.

The consultancy will be office based in Geneva, Switzerland.  

Duration of the Work

The expected duration of work is five months and one week from the signing of contract, approximately from 20 January 2020 to end of June 2020.

Additionally, UN Women will require an estimated lead time of 10 working days to review outputs.

Competencies

Core Values

• Integrity
• Professionalism
• Respect for Diversity

Core Competencies

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration

Required Skills and Experience

Required Skills and Experience

• Master’s degree in gender studies, humanitarian affairs, policy, disaster risk reduction (DRR), resilience and/or any relevant field directly related to gender and disaster resilience;?
• At least two years of professional experience in disaster risk reduction or development contexts.
• Experience in gender in DRR & resilience, including at regional and country levels, an advantage.
• Demonstrated knowledge of gender equality and women’s empowerment in humanitarian contexts;
• Demonstrated coordination experience and knowledge of the humanitarian architecture, funding mechanisms, and recent disasters; 
• Knowledge of website development is an asset;
• Excellent writing skills, with a track record in writing programme development documents and reports (in English) related to gender and humanitarian issues; 
• Previous experience with UN Women and engaging with diverse stakeholders, including CSOs, NGOs, national governments, and other UN agencies an advantage.

Language Requirements

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required
• Knowledge of other UN official language is an asset

Computer Skills

High level of proficiency in computer systems, internet navigation and various applications including research databases and data analysis software.

Knowledge and experience of website development and design and online knowledge tools is an asset.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The payment for this consultancy will be completed on a monthly basis based on satisfactory completion of services and days worked. The daily fee will be determined based on the TOR, the resume of the selected candidate and the official salary scale for UN consultancies.  

Recommended Presentation of Offer

As part of the submission of applications, the following documentation is required:

1. Personal CV and P11 (All applications must provide the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment), indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
2. Letter of motivation.

IMPORTANT

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. Please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.