Background

The 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, peace and security.

UN Women’s goal in Liberia is to promote women’s human rights and gender equality which are key in sustaining and furthering achievements in stability and development.  In this regard, its programming in the Country is connected to five corporate priority areas: women’s leadership and political participation; enhancing women’s economic empowerment (WEE); engaging women in all aspects of women, peace and security (WPS) processes; advancing women’s rights to live free from violence and gender responsive budgeting and governance. UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s joint work in advancing gender equality.

UN Women in collaboration with the OHCHR is implementing a joint project to advance the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) on Women, Peace and Security. This joint project is generously funded by the Peace Building Fund and is implemented in partnership with the Government of Liberia. This intervention has thus been designed to accelerate the implementation of the second  Liberia National Action Plan on Women, Peace and 

Security-2019-2023 (NAP WPS)  which is a peacebuilding policy document that is aligned with global, regional and national commitments such as the SDGs, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the UNSCR on WPS. This project aims to enhance allocation of financial resources for the implementation of the second NAP WPS through innovative financing and Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB). To this end, this project will equally strengthen the capacity of women’s organizations and targeted government agencies on GRB and innovative financing.

The UNSCR 2242 (2015) and the 2017 report on WPS agenda of the Secretary General (SG) to the General Assembly calls for increased funding for Gender Equality and WPS programming. A lack of financial resources has been identified as one of the major challenges that impeded the implementation of the Liberian first NAP WPS.  Despite significant attempts by the government to advance the implementation of the UNSCR on 1325 and the subsequent NAP WPS, failure to allocate sufficient resources and funds has been the most serious and persistent obstacle to the implementation of the WPS  agenda over the past 10 years.

The Gender Responsive Planning and Budgeting (GRPB) component of the above mentioned joint programme aims at generating resources for delivery of the peacebuilding activities of the Second NAP WPS (2019-2023). The Government through the Public Finance Management Reform Strategy and Action plan (2017-2020) and the National GRB policy approved in 2018, committed to using gender-responsive planning and budgeting as a tool to mainstream gender issues into the public financial management system with the main purpose of ensuring that the benefits of plans and budgets reach the vulnerable groups characterized by their different gender needs and priorities.

In this context, UN Women Liberia seeks to hire an International Consultant (IC) who will strengthen the capacity of Government actors, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Women Rights Organizations on GRPB to ensure increased allocation of financial resources for the implementation of the NAP WPS.  The IC will closely work with a National Consultant (NC) who will support with the production of deliverables.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the assignment:

Conduct an assessment to facilitate capacity building on GRPB for both Government, CSOs and women’s organizations to be able to conduct and produce sector budget analysis. The assessment should generate an understanding/mapping of current capacities in the respective ministries and gaps that will be addressed through training/mentorship, etc.

Through this assessment, doable and sustainable resources will be identified for both Government Agencies (Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP), Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), and Liberian National Police (LNP), Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) and women’s organizations. The IC will:

• Develop tools and procedures to institutionalize GRPB at county level for enhancement of allocation of resources for the peacebuilding activities of the NAP WPS and to strengthen the monitoring system.
• Strengthen the capacity of Government actors and Women Organizations on GRPB to ensure increased allocation of financial resources for the implementation of the NAP WPS.
• Work with UN Women’s Innovative Financing and M&E Consultants to monitor and support CSOs and Government to establish a monitoring mechanism to monitor and track how resources that are generated are used.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Under the overall guidance of Women Peace and Security Specialist and direct supervision and support  from the Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) Programme Specialist and a NC  and in close consultation with the MFDP, LRA  and the MGCSP, the IC will accomplish the following tasks:

Task 1. Develop a Consultancy Workplan

• Conduct a desk review.
• Conduct preliminary consultations with senior management and technicians at the MFDP, MGCSP, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the LNP, UN Women and OHCHR and county administrations of Nimba and Grand Bassa to facilitate development of a consultancy plan.
• Conduct consultations with relevant CSOs and women rights organization.

Task 2. Conduct institutional capacity assessment on GRPB in relation to NAP WPS of relevant government agencies (LNP, MIA) and two county administrations (Nimba and Grand Bassa).

• Based on assessments under the Liberia Spotlight Initiative Program, develop methodology, data collection tools, and collect data to assess the individual and institutional capacity needs to facilitate, implement and report on GRPB.

• Lead and manage data processing and analysis. and
• Develop a well-structured report that comprehensively outlines research findings, methodology, challenges, recommendations, list of persons interviewed and workshop participants. 

Task 3. Organize tailored gender responsive planning and budgeting trainings for relevant institutions including mentoring sessions to ensure that national and local budgets (county Social Development Fund) integrate actions from the NAP WPS

• Develop tailored GRB training materials, based on the findings from the institutional capacity needs assessment.
• Develop pre and post tests to measure changes in knowledge and skills.
• Facilitate at least 5 workshops to enhance the capacity of at least one hundred civil servants (Budget officers, M&E officers, Gender Focal Persons and members of the Gender Units established under the Spotlight Initiative Program) and decision makers from targeted Ministries  and Government agencies (Ministry of Justice, MFDP, MGCSP, Ministry of Health,  and LNP and county administrations (Gran Bassa, Nimba) with enhanced knowledge  on GRB/ HRBA
• Write and submit training report.

Task 4 Develop evidence-based advocacy and GRB tools to facilitate the integration of the NAP WPS into the planning, budgeting and monitoring processes for MGCSP, MFDP, CSOs and women rights institutions

• Review existing and relevant advocacy tools and draft one to integrate GRPB into the planning, budgeting, and monitoring processes for the implementation of the NAP WPS.

• Draft easy to use advocacy tools on GRPB with the CSOs and women rights institutions for the implementation of the NAP WPS.
• Validate and adopt the advocacy tools with CSOs and women rights institutions on GRPB for the implementation of the NAP WPS.
• Develop GRPB tools to facilitate the integration of gender into the Government’s planning, budgeting, monitoring and reporting cycle including advocacy tools to influence the 2020/21 budget.

Task 5. Conduct a gender assessment to inform the planning, budgeting and monitoring processes and to allocate resources for the implementation of the NAP WPS. 

• Review existing planning, budgeting and monitoring processes of the national and sub-national budgets to inform the integration of NAP WPS related activities/programme

• Conduct a gender assessment of the Public Finance Management (PFM) Reform to identify potential entry points to mainstream gender.
• Develop and submit a report with the findings.

Task 6. Enhance the capacity of Government officials and CSOs on how to conduct a gender analysis of the national budget FY 2020/21

• Conduct a gender analysis of the approved national budget FY 2020/21.
• Facilitate a training on how to conduct a gender analysis of the national budget
• Develop an infographic on the gender gap of the national budget FY2020/21.

Task 7. Support CSOs and women’s rights organization and Government to establish a monitoring mechanism to track how resources are generated and used.

• Work with UN Women’s Innovative Financing Consultant, the MFDP and MGCSP to develop Terms of Reference for the government and CSOs to establish a monitoring and accountability mechanism on the implementation of resources generated and use for the NAP WPS
• Strengthen capacities of targeted government officials including planning and budgeting officials, M&E officials and Gender Focal Points, and members of the Gender and Security National Task Force on GRPB.
• Develop monitoring tools and provide technical assistance to Government and CSOs to establish a monitoring and reporting system that captures results achieved on the promotion of gender equality and the implementation of existing policies such as the NAP WPS.
• Facilitate trainings for Government officials and CSOs on how to monitor the allocation and expenditure of resources for the implementation of the NAP WPS.

Task 8. Facilitate exchange of learning between Liberia and other countries on GRPB for the promotion of Gender Equality, through the UNSCR 1325 Regional network.

• Facilitate an E-Learning exchange/video conference on GRPB for relevant government institutions.
• Facilitate an E-Learning exchange/video conference on GRPB for CSOs.

Competencies

The IC’s performance will be evaluated based on:

1. timeliness,
2. responsibility,
3. initiative,
4. communication,
5. accuracy, and quality of the products delivered

Required Skills and Experience

1. Education

Master’s degree in Gender Studies, Public Finance, Law, Public Administration or other related fields

      2. Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience in gender mainstreaming, gender and human rights assessments, planning and budgeting
• Proven experience facilitating high level consultative workshops for government institutions and CSOs and local community members.
• Experience in working with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning in developing countries.
• Previous experience working in Liberia or a post conflict country would be an asset.
• Proven experience in conducting research in the area of gender equality and women empowerment.

     3. Language and other skills:

• Proficiency in oral and written English
• Computer literacy and ability to effectively use office technology equipment, Internet and email.  Excellent facilitation and training skills