Background

UN Women grounded in the vision of equality and enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works to eliminate discrimination against women and girls; to empower women; and achieve equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.  In East and Southern Africa Region, UN Women maintains presence in 13 countries with programme presence in Somalia and Zambia.

Like other parts of the world, the frequency and magnitude of disasters particularly climate induced are increasing in the East and Southern Africa region. The key drivers of the disaster situation include drought leading to food insecurity of millions of people; conflict resulting to rising numbers of internally displaced persons and refugees; flooding due to heavy rains and cyclones; locust invasion especially in the Horn of Africa as well as COVID 19 impacts. Significant losses and damages caused by disasters are a major threat to sustainable development goals including SDG 5 on gender equality. The region’s disaster profile is closely linked to the vulnerability of its population and economy/widespread poverty as well as their limited capacities to cope with natural hazards.

In 2015, the world adopted the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (SFF DRR) a global framework for reducing disasters and building the resilience of nations. This identifies that “women, children, and people in vulnerable situations are disproportionately affected” by disasters and calls for a “people-centred preventative approach to disaster risk”, which engages relevant stakeholders including “women, children, youth, persons with disabilities, migrants, indigenous people, older people” in the design, implementation of policies, plans and standards.

While disasters affect everyone, their impacts vary based on pre-existing conditions key among them gender inequality. In disaster situations, gender inequality determines the extent to which men, women, boys and girls are vulnerable to, experience, and are affected by disasters. Women are more affected due to inadequate engagement in disaster preparedness, access to early warning information and inclusion on disaster prevention & mitigation measures. For a community to be truly resilient, everyone must be included. 

Some of the key barriers to effective integration of gender in disaster risk reduction measures is inadequate knowledge, guidance, and tools to support the efforts of DRR stakeholders. To address this gap, UN Women in ESARO seeks the services of a consultant to develop a tool to support gender mainstreaming efforts by DRR stakeholders across the region.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Humanitarian Specialist, the consultant will carry out the following responsibilities:

• Carry out a desk review of existing tools and guidelines for gender mainstreaming in Sendai Framework and consult with entities doing DRR work in the region;
• Develop an outline and structure of the guideline and share with UN Women country offices, RO and HACRO for inputs;
• Develop a draft gender mainstreaming guideline and share with key stakeholders for feedback;
• Produce a final gender mainstreaming tool;
• Carry out training for UN Women staff, gender equality and social inclusion stakeholders and DRR stakeholders including women’s organizations on the guideline and the Sendai Framework.

Deliverables:

• A short accessible guidance note to build on why gender-responsive implementation of the Sendai Framework for DRR is necessary;

• Practical tool that provides a step-by-step process and checklist on how to go about ensuring gender-responsive Sendai Framework implementation in practical terms;

• PowerPoint presentation, linked to the guidance note to support capacity development;
• Report from the training of stakeholders.

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

Functional Competencies:

• In-depth knowledge of gender equality disaster risk management; humanitarian and conflict prevention;
•  Demonstrable experience in the development of gender mainstreaming tools, guidance and training programmes;
• Demonstrated ability to produce clear reports and guidance with in-depth analysis and strategic recommendations in English in the relevant field;
• Good communication and interpersonal skills, ability to plan and deliver trainings;
• Ability to complete complex assignments in a timely manner and delivery quality results.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced Degree in the field of, Disaster Risk Management, Humanitarian Affairs, Conflict Management, Social Sciences, Gender Equality, Program Management, or a closely related field.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of experience in the development sector preferably in Disaster, Humanitarian, Conflict Prevention and Gender issues;
• Experience in programming on initiatives that address the issues affecting women and girls;
• Knowledge of policies and legal frameworks on gender equality, Disaster and Humanitarian crisis;
• Experience of research on gender equality and women’s empowerment is an added advantage;
• Experience in planning and facilitating participatory interactive multi-cultural training sessions.
• Experience in the development tools and training manuals.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in spoken and written English.

UNWOMEN is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.