Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women works to achieve women empowerment, gender equality and elimination of discrimination against women and girls. 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.

In South Sudan, UN women support national priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with government, civil society and other relevant actors. Through the “Gender mainstreaming in Security Sector Reform” project, UN Women aims to support the establishment of a representative, inclusive and gender-responsive South Sudanese security sector that ensures the meaningful participation of women at all levels of the security institutions, and prioritizes the protection and promotion of human rights of civilians, especially of women and girls at community levels, and contributes to the sustainability of peacebuilding efforts. The project supports security sector reform (SSR) that provides the blueprint for facilitating inclusive peacebuilding and social cohesion in local communities through women’s participation in the design of its laws, policies, and practices.

The project is guided by the Security Council resolution 2151 (2014), which identifies core standards and principles of the UN support to national SSR processes. The resolution underscores the need for the “inclusion of more women in the security sector” and notes the importance of the “equal and effective participation and full involvement of women in the SSR process, given their vital role in the prevention and resolution of conflict and peacebuilding”. Furthermore, the project is also guided by the WPS SCRs 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 2106 (2013), 2122 (2013) and 2467 (2019), which expressly highlight the necessity of integrating women’s needs and priorities into the UN’s support to SSR. 

Aligning with South Sudan’s national priority, the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), signed on 12th September 2018, also guides the implementation of the project. The R-ARCSS provides important entry points to include women’s experiences with security sector institutions in anticipated security sector reforms under the R-ARCSS. Chapter Two of the peace agreement addresses transitional security arrangements and articulates a reform package of the security sector. In line with this, the parties to the R-ARCSS have been making efforts to realize the security sector reform. However, patriarchal norms and negative masculinities may make it difficult to include women and consider their participation as part of the security sector reforms in the different security institutions.  

CONTEXT OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

The promotion of gender equality in the security sector is a core element of global, regional, national, and local efforts to “build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels” as enshrined in Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. For example, the 2019 High-Level Roundtable on Gender Parity and SSR  recommended the Member States and the UN join efforts to:

(i) increase the proportion of women at all levels of the security sector institutions, in particular in senior positions;

(ii) prevent and respond to gender-based discrimination in the security sector work-place;

(iii) promote the empowerment of women in the security sector and their networks; and

(iv) enhance the availability of data of women in the national security institutions to track progress and promote accountability to the implementation of Goal 16.

Since gaining independence in July 2011, South Sudan has signed and/or ratified a significant number of international and regional agreements/instruments on gender equality to promote and protect the rights of women and girls in all sectors and institutions. This constitutes the Government’s commitment to promote and protect the rights of women and girls on an equal basis with men, including ensuring the meaningful participation of women at all levels of the security institutions of South Sudan based on the gender equality principle enshrined in the regional and international agreements/instruments signed and/or ratified by South Sudan. The national security sector institutions to be targeted in this project include the Ministry of Defense and Veterans Affairs, Ministry of Interior, South Sudan National Police Service, South Sudan People’s Defense Forces, South Sudan Prisons Services and Strategic Defense and Security Review Board, the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Commission and any other relevant security sector institutions that are part of the R-ARCSS.

OBJECTIVE:

UN Women South Sudan is seeking to engage an International Consultant to:

• Support the security sector institutions especially the Ministry of Defense and Veterans Affairs, Ministry of Interior, South Sudan Security Sector Women’s Networks, and others to consolidate their inputs into the South Sudan National Action Plan (SSNAP) on UNSCR 1325;
• Provide inputs on engendering of the security sector reform (SSR) to the South Sudan National Action Plan (SSNAP) on UNSCR 1325 being developed by the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Development with support from the security institutions;
• Provide recommendations on the operationalization of the gender strategy in security sector reform to the relevant security sector institutions;
• Review the national, regional, and international instruments on gender mainstreaming in the security sector reform and document strategies on how to implement them in South Sudan’s security institutions;
• Review existing documents on the South Sudan security sector such as the Acts for Peoples’ Defense Force, National Security, National Police Service, etc. to establish gender gaps and use this information to enhance the development of the gender strategy and its operationalization;
• Facilitate a national validation workshop in collaboration with relevant institutions to validate the assessment;
• Write and submit reports on the assignment;
• Perform other related duties as may be assigned. 

SCOPE OF WORK:

The Consultant will be required to work in Juba, South Sudan. The International Consultant will work in close collaboration with the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare; Ministry of Defense and Veterans Affairs; Ministry of Interior, South Sudan Security Sector Women’s Network, and other national security institutions where needed.

DELIVERABLES:

• Methodology and tools developed and shared with the team;
• Draft inception report for the assignment developed;
• A final NAP document with related reports detailing the work undertaken with relevant annexes;
• A final detailed report of the national workshop to validate the draft report.

Application Evaluation Criteria:

A two-stage procedure will be utilized in evaluating the submissions, that is, the evaluation of the technical component and the financial proposal. The technical component is evaluated based on its responsiveness to the Term of Reference (ToR).

Technical qualification evaluation criteria:

The total number of points allocated for the technical qualification component is 100. The technical qualification of the individual is evaluated based on the following criteria:

Financial proposal:

• The financial proposal specifies a total lump sum amount in US Dollars for the consultancy work.

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.

Education and certification: 

• Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, law, gender/women's studies, international development, international relations, or a related field, with at least 7 years experience, or a first-level university degree in combination with at least 10 years of work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Extensive experience in the development and operationalization of strategies on gender and/or the security sector institutions at the national, regional, or international levels;
• Excellent knowledge on the development of National Action Plans/National Policies in the region;
• Strong understanding of monitoring and reporting on the implementation of regional and international agreements/instruments on gender equality in the security sector institutions;
• Good knowledge of gender analysis and gender mainstreaming as a concept, tool, and strategy for promoting accelerated inclusion in different sectors;
• Familiarity and experience of working with or collaboratively with security sector institutions;
• Experience in developing and drafting documents like reports, manuals etc;
• Experience in managing and facilitating high-level dialogues, roundtable discussions, and consultations, with stakeholders at the national level;
• Excellent command of English is required, and good command of Arabic is an added advantage;
• Strong communications skills (written and oral).

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Working knowledge of another official UN language is an asset;
• Knowledge of Arabic is an asset.

Application procedures:

Interested applicants must submit the following documents/information (in PDF format) to demonstrate their qualifications:

Technical component:

• Letter of interest explaining why they are the most suitable for the work;
• Technical proposal of no more than 3 pages outlining the applicant's understanding of the assignment and proposed methodology for the assignment, including stakeholders to be met;
• A Curriculum Vitae (CV);
• Complete P-11 form;
• Contact details of 3 (three) clients for whom you have rendered similar services;
• Sample work (may be asked for in separate communication).

Please note, that the system will only allow one attachment, and, hence please combine the multiple files while uploading the attachment.

• Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment. Personal History Form P11 that can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment

Qualified women candidates are highly encouraged to apply.

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.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employ, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

 UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks.