UN WOMEN Jobs - 102347- International Consultant to develop GIMAC’s 20-yea

International Consultant to develop GIMAC’s 20-year Report (Re-advert)

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

18-Oct-2021

Application Deadline :

10-Oct-21 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

3 months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

3 months

UNDP 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. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

UN Women is grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination and violence 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.

The UN Women office in Ethiopia plays a dual role, representation to the African Union (AU) and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and representation to Ethiopia. In this regard, under its regional function, the Ethiopia country office engages with the AU and its various organs, the United Nations system particularly ECA, regional CSOs and international NGO, as well as the diplomatic community and in particular, delegations to the African Union.

CSOs are UN Women’s most important constituents. UN Women has long standing relation with women’s movement and brings their voices, capacities and contributions in support of gender equality and women’s empowerment. The Gender Is My Agenda Campaign (GIMAC) Network is a continental network of African women’s and civil society organizations, with over

55 member organizations. The Network’s main mandate is the empowerment of women and girls in Africa particularly through the implementation of key regional and international gender equality instruments.

GIMAC Network was officially launched in 2002 during the transformation of Organization of the African Union (OAU)to ensure women are part of, and benefit from, the transformation process and realize the gender equality agenda. The Network has identified key strategic objectives to meet its mission and vision. GIMAC Network advocacy strategy for the year 2020-

2022 details strategic and policy influencing and convening; builds capacity of and support member led advocacy initiatives; and facilitate inter-generational leadership and mentorship of young women amongst the key strategic objectives of the network.

In almost 20 years of its existence the network has implemented specific activities targeted at achieving its strategic objectives. GIMAC Network has created advocacy platforms to engage key decision-making bodies of the AU, RECs, Member States and UN in a conversation with CSOs and young women networks. GIMAC Network has held over 37 consultative meetings on the margins of the African Union Summit meetings; organized campaigns focusing on various thematic areas; held CSOs consultations in the development of legal instruments speaking to the gender agenda such as the AU Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Strategy (GEWE). Moreover, the Network has pushed for CSOs, women farmers as well as young women and girls’ active engagement and participation in major decision-making spaces at the continental and international level.

Every advocacy effort was accompanied by specific outcome statement and call for action, outlining key recommendations, shared with key decision-making bodies of the AU and Members States for integration and endorsement. GIMAC Network has shared over 37 outcome statements with African Union Women, Gender and Youth Directorate (WGYD) for deliberation at the Specialised Technical Committee on Gender Equality and Women´s Empowerment (STC on GEWE) meetings, which is the statutory organ that adopts and decides on AU’s work on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Through the support of WGYD the recommendations had also been shared with key decision-making bodies of the AU and Member States for consideration in major policy spaces. In addition, members used them as advocacy tools and consistently called for their integration in various decision -making spaces including AU Summits, AU- RECs Coordination Meetings and CSW.

It is evident that these efforts have led to key results that constitute the achievements of the network. Among others is the adoption of the SDGEA by the Heads of State at their July 2004

Summit which has remained the most strategic reporting instrument deployed by the AU in the promotion of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Africa. Moreover, GIMAC network advocated for the appointment of the first female chair of the African Union Commission in 2013, the appointment of the Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security (2014), and AUC Envoy for the Youth (2018).

Nonetheless, continued tracking and monitoring of the substantive contributions of the network through systematic analysis is of critical importance to fully measure the results of its advocacy efforts. It is pertinent to assess the level of recognition, adoption and endorsement of the recommendations in continental and regional policy decisions. Measuring their impact in creating the desired policy changes and analysing the extent to which they have been integrated within the decisions of the African Union, Member States and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) is critical to understand the effectiveness of the network’s advocacy efforts.

About the proposed initiative

Against this background and as part of its 20 years anniversary celebrations, GIMAC Network in partnership and support from UN Women proposes to commission an assessment to track, monitor and evaluate the contributions of GIMAC to the continental policy and advocacy for GEWE and the impact on policy decisions, follow-up strategic plans and actions by AU, Member States and RECs. Furthermore, it will support the development of tracking tool that will enable the network to monitor and track the integration of its recommendations in AU Assembly decisions and outcomes of other key continental policy platforms. The knowledge product will be an important tool in ensuring advocacy efforts of the network are result oriented.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will be required to undertake the following tasks:

Develop a report that analyses the uptake of GIMAC’s recommendations by AUC Assembly Decisions throughout the 20 years of its advocacy efforts towards creating the desired policy changes
Develop a tool to track and monitor the integration of the GIMAC Network recommendations in AUC Assembly Decisions and outcomes of other continental policy platforms.

Deliverable

A tracking tool of uptake of network recommendations in AUC Assembly decisions going forward
A 20-year anniversary report that assesses the 20 years achievements, the impact of the network , lessons learned and proposed way forward for strengthening the network.
A presentation on the findings of the report on the launch event during the 20-year anniversary.

Competencies

Professionalism:

Demonstrate solid professional competence and expert knowledge in the area of communication, gender, politics or peace and security

Teamwork:

Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds

Ethics and Values:

Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Communicating and Information Sharing:

Be able to communicate easily and effectively, using various communication channels.

Functional Competencies:

- Extensive knowledge of the global and Africa regional women, peace and security agenda, as well as related regional priorities in Africa.

- Excellent writing and communication skills.

- Good knowledge of the African Union.

Required Skills and Experience

Educational qualifications

An advanced degree in International Law, Development studies, Political science, Gender studies, or related Social Science field with a minimum of six years relevant experience.

Experience

At least 6 years of progressive experience in national, sub-regional and regional policy evaluation and assessment, research and advocacy initiatives on GEWE issues.
Substantive experience in evaluating and assessing organizational policy advocacy and influencing at continental policy spaces
Technical Policy Skills with a deep familiarity and knowledge of the legislative process and experience with the advocacy spectrum, as well as the political landscape, policy opportunities, and roles of various influencers and decision- makers in a particular locale.
Experience in gender advocacy, gender policy development, gender coordination, partner engagement, strategy development and implementation.
Ability to analyze organizational processes, identify constraints and opportunities and recommend targeted solutions.
Experience in working with women’s organizations at continental, regional national and community levels.

.Language Requirement

Proficiency in English is required. Knowledge of French will constitute an advantage.

Please note that applications without a completed and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment. UN Women Personal History form (P-11) can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment .

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.