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.
Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.
The United Nations System Coordination Division, coordinates and promotes the accountability of the United Nations system in its work on gender equality and the empowerment of women at the global, regional and country levels. Through a dedicated portfolio on disability inclusion and intersectionality, it contributes to gender equality and empowerment of women and girls with disabilities.
Context
The Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action recognize disability as a barrier to full equality and advancement, and the enjoyment of human rights, [1] and identify specific actions to ensure the empowerment of women with disabilities in various areas. [2] The Platform for Action established gender mainstreaming as a global strategy for achieving gender equality. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) agreed conclusions 1997/2 defined the strategy of mainstreaming and established guiding principles for mainstreaming.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) emphasizes the need to incorporate a gender perspective in all efforts to promote the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by persons with disabilities.[3] It also includes, as one of its general principles, the need to ensure equality between women and men;[4] a standalone article, Article 6, on women with disabilities; and several provisions with specific references to women, gender, or sex.[5] To assist States Parties, and provide guidance, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted a General comment on Article 6: Women with disabilities.[6] In Section V on National Implementation the Committee notes that “[T]he recommendations of the relevant United Nations bodies dealing with gender equality shall be taken into account by all States parties and applied to women and girls with disabilities” (paragraph 63).
The consultant will contribute to UN-Women’s work on gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls with disabilities, disability inclusion and intersectionality agenda in line with the principle of Leaving No One Behind (LNOB).
[1] Beijing declaration and platform for action: adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women: action for equality, development and peace, Beijing, China, 4-15 September 1995. (1995). Beijing: United Nations, paragraphs 46 and 225.
[2] Ibid. paragraphs 60(a), 175(d), 280(c), 82(k), 106(c), 106(o), 124(m), 126(d), 178(f), 178(j), 195(a), 206(k), 101, 233(a), 233(b), 81(a), 278(d).
[3] Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) preamble (s)
[4] Ibid., Article 3 (g).
[5] Ibid., Article 8 on awareness raising, paragraph (b); Article 16, on freedom of exploitation, violence and abuse, paragraphs 1 and 4; Article 25, on health, chapeau; Article 28 - Adequate standard of living and social protection, paragraph 2 (b); Article 34, on the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, paragraph 4.
[6] Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in General Comment No. 3 (2016) on Article 6: Women and girls with disabilities (CRPD/C/GC/3).
Duties and Responsibilities
The purpose of the consultancy is to strengthen operational and technical support to the Global UN Coordination Adviser, Gender Equality and Disability Inclusion, in particular to the implementation of the thematic portfolio of projects, as well as to contribute to UN-Women’s expanding corporate work on the empowerment of women and girls with disabilities, disability inclusion and mainstreaming in line with the SDG principle of ‘leaving no one behind (LNOB)’. Under the direct supervision of UN-Women’s Coordination and Disability Inclusion Adviser, the consultant will support specifically the following tasks:
# | Specific Tasks: |
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1 | Provide knowledge and operational support to the implementation of thematic joint-programme(s) including through supporting the establishment of an inter-agency forum on intersectionality.
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2 | Provide technical expertise and operational support to the implementation of with operational support; hematic joint-programme Including through the following deliverables:
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3 | Support the operationalization of an action plan for the implementation of UN Women’s Strategy on the empowerment of women and girls with disabilities and the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy under the guidance of the Adviser on Coordination and Disability Inclusion and with support from UN Women Global Task Team on Disability Inclusion and Intersectionality (GTTDI); |
4 | Support the development of capacity building/learning session on the disability inclusion/UNCT scorecard on disability inclusion including through the following deliverables:
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5 | Conduct internal consultations to report against multilateral/UN-wide reporting meeting institutional commitments. |
6 | Provide demand-driven technical input to portfolio requests on the issue of women and girls with disabilities. including through the following deliverables: • Provide technical support to Global Adviser in organizing side events, informal sessions, bilaterals etc. • Provide support in developing Background Notes and Talking points UN Women events conducted on women and girls with disabilities; |
Competencies
Core competencies
- Demonstrates and safeguards ethics and integrity;
- Demonstrates cultural and gender sensitivity, ability to work in a multicultural, multiethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds;
- Facilitates and encourages open communication and strives for effective communication;
- Stays composed and positive in difficult moments, handles tense and difficult situations with tact, and has a consistent behavior towards others;
- Can assess and prioritize work needs quickly;
Functional competencies
- Understanding of global context in the areas of inclusive development, human rights and gender equality.
- Knowledge of mainstreaming the rights of women and girls with disabilities and experience supporting related interagency and intergovernmental processes;
- Excellent research, writing, analytical skills;
- Project management skills with familiarity of operational support;
- Experience in advocacy and communication would be an advantage;
Required Skills and Experience
Qualifications
Education: University degree in international development, social sciences or gender studies.
Experience: Minimum 3 years of experience in knowledge development and research, including in gender equality; knowledge and experience of quantitative and qualitative research methods; experience in knowledge management; experience working in the United Nations and knowledge of its structure. Experience of project management would be an advantage.
Language: Fluency in English is required (oral and written); proficiency in another UN working language is desirable.
Length of the contract: 6 months [with a possibility of extension subject to availability of funding);
Location: Home based (the consultant will need to work remotely until further notice due to COVID-19)