Background

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.

Women’s leadership and political participation are 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. UN-Women works to implement Output 4 of the Entity’s Strategic Plan 2018-2021 “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.

To this end, the UN Women Regional Office for the Arab States (ROAS), in partnership with International IDEA and UNDP supports the recently launched regional Arab Network for Women in Elections (the Network). The Network’s Vision is to “Work[ing] as a regional platform to support and promote women's political and electoral participation in the Arab world" with the following related objectives from the Network’s 2019 Framework;

• Develop the capacity of electoral management bodies and parties involved in promoting women's participation in the political and electoral process
• Conduct studies on the challenges and obstacles to the participation of women in the electoral process at all levels and establish several interventions and solutions in cooperation with all stakeholders and partners
• Conduct Leadership training programs for women in elections as voters, candidates, staff, and observers

The Network was launched in 2019 by the Arab Elections Management Bodies and is governed by a Steering Committee comprising representation from Tunisia, Jordan, Sudan, and Somalia electoral management boards in addition to civil society organizations (including the Arab Women’s Organisation (AWO)). The Network is currently headed by Tunisia. The Network’s mandate is to build capacities of women vying and voting in elections across the region to be manifested through training, campaigns, and information and experience south-south exchanges. Additionally, the Network aims to promote gender- mainstreaming in policies and procedures to foster women's political participation through advocacy and outreach, data collection and research, and standard-setting in the region.

The objective of the Assignment:

UN Women ROAS now seeks the services of a consultant will work in partnership with the Arab Network for Women in Elections and in close coordination with International IDEA focal point as one team to define the Network's Roadmap and strategic planning for the next three years. The Roadmap will be defined based on the Network’s framework and the ArabElection Management Body’s charter and bylaws in general. 

The consultancy will be under the supervision of the UN Women Policy Advisor on political participation, and in close coordination with the focal person from International IDEA. The consultant will be responsible for consulting partners, collating feedback from partners on the Network’s priorities, developing a Roadmap that is timebound, results-based management-oriented, and defining roles and responsibilities of Network parties for all agreed Roadmap actions.

Duties and Responsibilities

Consultations with the Network and her key partners to identify key priorities

• In discussion with the Network, UN Women and International IDEA identify a list (with contacts) of key international and regional partners of the Gender Network (Arab Electoral Management Body (ArabEMB), Steering Committee, Members) to consult on the nascent Roadmap and multi-year planning
• Develop a schedule for the virtual consultations
• Develop a questionnaire in consultation with the Network and International IDEA to inform the consultations
• Host a briefing webinar with all consulted partners to share preliminary findings and strategic priorities
• Complete the consultations and analysis of findings.

A desk review of all relevant material including inter alia documentation on the ArabEMB’s establishment and the Network, strategies, frameworks, and work completed by the organization in general and the Network in particular.

Develop a draft three-year Roadmap for the Network that aligns to the Network’s Framework (2019), Annual Workplan (2020) and consultation findings and priorities

• Develop a Roadmap that defines the strategic actions, setting measurable objectives and measurable targets to be reached by the Network for the successful achievement of each strategic action
• Identify a robust set of gender-sensitive indicators for the implementation of the Roadmap’s actions in a results-based management framework
• Allocate responsibilities and accountability for implementation and completion of each strategic action,  with clear timelines established,  and identify necessary resources to be allocated accordingly
• Conduct internal and external organizational assessments, on internal and external factors that may influence the Network and its mission, identify current issues or problems at the global, regional or national levels and forces (political, economic, traditional, cultural, etc.) that might affect the Network’s working environment and assess the implications to be captured in the risk management matrix.

Support the Network to identify all priority actions and responsible parties for the effective implementation of the Roadmap including:

• Priority studies over the three-year period and in particular the first year
• Define the internal communication channels for seamless implementation of the Roadmap
• Liaise with the consultant delivering the Communications Strategy (or provide a handover in the event that both consultancies do not coincide)
• Host a virtual debriefing with the Network and her main partners to present the draft Roadmap for feedback
• Present the methodology, findings and priority actions of the Roadmap to all related partners for validation purposes (preparations for the validation will be led by the Network) though a virtual meeting
• Revise draft Roadmap capturing feedback
• Finalize and handover the Roadmap.

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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/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Functional Competencies

• Sound practical knowledge on the structural barriers to women’s political participation and including on gender-responsive electoral processes (i.e. gender-responsive electoral arrangements; sex-disaggregated data collection, prevention, and mitigation of violence against women in elections) in the Arab states;

• Ability to work effectively and harmoniously with people from varied cultures and professional backgrounds, demonstrating excellent interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to produce well-written reports and/or strategy related documents demonstrating analytical ability;
• Strong knowledge of program development, implementation, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to work collaboratively in diverse teams, as well as strong communication skills;
• Proven ability to provide technical advice in a timely manner and to communicate effectively.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• Master’s degree in political science, gender studies, international relations, international development, development economics, electoral policy and administration, law, or another relevant field in the social sciences.
• 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

• At least 7  years of experience in political processes especially women’s political participation, leadership and gender-responsive electoral arrangements in the Arab states’ region;
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience working to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment is required;
• The track record on developing strategic planning documents on women’s political participation and empowerment is an added advantage;
• Previous experience in the field-based election in a variety of cultural and political contexts is preferred;
• Previous work experience in transitional or developing democracies, crisis-affected countries in the Arab states’ region is preferred;
• Experience in electoral processes and electoral legislation and election management bodies is preferred.

Language Requirements

• Fluency in Arabic and English is required.

Application:

• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment;
• 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. Make sure that you provide a valid email address for future communications.

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.