Historique

Background/Context

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.

This concept note outlines the plan to document a comprehensive five-year project implemented by UN Women Zimbabwe Country Office, focusing on engendering governance to promote peace, and security in Zimbabwe. The project was executed in three phases, each addressing different aspects of these critical areas. The project is generously funded by the Embassy of Ireland in Pretoria.

 Project Description

The project aimed to enhance women's political participation and contribute to the women, peace, and security agenda in Zimbabwe. It was designed to address the systemic barriers that prevent women from fully participating in political processes and to promote peace and security by empowering women as key stakeholders in conflict resolution and peacebuilding.The project was initially aligned to the Zimbabwe United Nations Development Assistance Framework (ZUNDAF 2016-2021), which outlines the strategic direction and results expected from the cooperation between the Government of Zimbabwe and the UN System in Zimbabwe. The ZUNDAF was replaced by the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2022-2026 and the project was further aligned to the UNSDCF on Peace Pillar. It also contributes to the UN Women global Flagship Projects on Women’s Political Empowerment and Leadership and Women Peace and Security, the Sustainable Development Goals, 5 and 16 and UN Security Council Resolution 1325 specifically the participation pillar.

The engendering governance to promote peace and security project in Zimbabwe has been focusing on formulating, enforcing, implementing and monitoring strategies to promote women's participation in decision making processes and structures at national and local levels are in line with national, regional and international provisions. This was aimed to be achieved through:

  • Supporting young and senior women, particularly those most left behind, to effectively and meaningfully participate in national processes.
  • Enhancing the capacity of governance institutions to implement the women, peace and security agenda.

 

Highlights of Project Results

The project intended to build on UN Women’s previous work on women’s political participation, leadership, and women, peace and security programming and it supported the establishment and work of the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) and AWLN Youth Caucus in Zimbabwe. UN Women has been therefore utilising the Zimbabwe Chapter of the AWLN to foster an enabling environment for women’s leadership and participation. AWLN is ‘’an action-oriented initiative that seeks to enhance the leadership of African women in bringing transformative changes focusing on peace, security and development in the continent’’. The AWLN Zimbabwe Chapter’s engagement around its mandate has resulted in a number of note-worthy activities which are in line with the overall objective of creating an enabling environment for women’s leadership and participation as well as the advancement of normative frameworks on women’s rights.  The AWLN Zimbabwe Chapter saw:  i) the localization of high-level regional and global processes on women on women’s rights and gender equality, ii) awareness raising on opportunities and gaps in women’s leadership as per the constitutional amendment and legislative reforms iii) the launch of an intergenerational mentorship programme  iv)    promotional segments on national radio and television v) activities under the 16 Days of Activism on Gender-Based Violence and lastly  vi) participation in regional and AWLN Global Events.

 

Notable achievement through this project has been the adoption and endorsement of Zimbabwe National Action Plan (ZNAP) on UNSCR1325 Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and the recognition of the roles of young people in peace processes by contributing to the development validation of the Zimbabwe National Action Plan (ZNAP) on UNSCR 2250 Youth, Peace and Security (YPS). The project has also enabled the development of a legislator’s guide or Handbook for Parliamentarians to promote an appreciate of the UNSCR1325.  Further, it also facilitated training for media personnel around gender-responsive media of women in politics to address the barriers and challenges presented to women’s increased political participation through negative portrayals in the media. The project also enhanced the capacity of AWLN to serve as a national platform to galvanize the leadership of African women to reduce discriminatory gender and social norms, stereotypes, practices and power relations. Key to the Chapter’s efforts have been continued engagements with women leaders to place women’s needs and concerns on the agenda. The Network with promoted solidarity in women’s advocacy towards the creation of safer spaces for women to exercise their leadership.

In this regard, documenting the five-year project on women's political participation and women, peace, and security in Zimbabwe is crucial for understanding its impact and extracting valuable lessons for future initiatives. This documentation will contribute to the global knowledge base on gender equality and women's empowerment and support ongoing efforts to create inclusive and peaceful societi

Application Instruction:

Apply online through this website and submit following documents:

Devoirs et responsabilités

This assignment is a documentation of milestones, successes and processes of the ‘Engendering Governance to promote Peace and Security in Zimbabwe for purposes of sharing both internally and externally and extracting lessons from it.

 

 Objectives:

 

The objective are;

  • To document the progress and impact of the five-year project on women's political participation and women, peace, and security in Zimbabwe.
  • To analyze the strategies interventions and partnerships employed in each of the three phases.
  • To identify lessons learned and best practices in the implementation of the interventions with an extension of work with partners that can inform future initiatives.
  • To provide recommendations for policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders.

 

Outputs

  • Technical note outlining the documenters’ understanding of the tasks to be carried out, as well as the methodology to be used.
  • Data collection tools          
  • A comprehensive report documenting the project's impact, challenges, and successes.
  • Two case studies showcasing best practices and successful interventions annexed to the report
  • Two policy briefs with recommendations for enhancing women's participation in politics and security sector.
  • A repository of photos captioned and edited for inclusion into the report and for use in other UNW engagements.
  • A documentary video showcasing project in action, human interest stories, new initiatives and strategies that contributed to the achievements, challenges or constraints encountered, project achievements and lessons learned

 

 

 

Proposed Activities will include:

The documentation process will involve a mixed-methods approach, including:

Based on experience on project reviews and documentation, UN Women is proposing to use the Action Learning Case Study (ALCS) Methodology, a methodology that guarantees structured documentation process, thoroughness, objectivity, stakeholder participation, ownership and triangulation of information generated within a short span of engagement.

The methodology offers an opportunity to combine use of both desk reviews and field work to generate primary information from and with the target groups and their organizations as well as other stakeholders. The ALCS will entail the following stages, each with distinct methodological approach.

These are;

Inception phase

  • Carry out desk reviews with project team to gain background understanding of the project and pick experiences and best practices, and identify the specific lessons learnt and practical recommendations for the knowledge production.
  • Conduct analysis of quantitative data collected during the project implementation.
  • Develop tools for documentation.
  • Consultations with the Zimbabwe country office team to broaden understanding of the project and corroborate information gathered through desk reviews.

Field Phase

  • Conduct interviews with key stakeholders, including project beneficiaries, government officials, and civil society organizations.
  • Focus group discussions with AWLN and women who participated in the project to gather in-depth insights into their experiences and perspectives.

Synthesis phase

  • This phase will see the collation, analysis and professional presentation of the information gathered during the preceding 2 phases ensuring that information is accurate and objective, recommendations realistic.
  • Finalize the publication by incorporating any additional comments from UN Women Zimbabwe team and submit the draft final documents as per the Terms of References.

Case Studies:

  • Develop case studies of successful interventions and highlighting stories of individual and community impact.

 

The Consultant is expected to report to the Monitoring and Evaluation and Learning Analysts with matrix reporting UN Women Governance Specialist who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues

 

Deliverables

 

Activity

Date

Number of working days

Conduct desk review

20 August 2024

2

Drafting and presentation of documentation inception report, data collection tools and instruments

 

22 August 2024

3

Field work- data collection and analysis

25 August 2024

5

Prepare draft documentation report and other deliverables

30 August 2024

3

Presentation and validation of the documentation to UN Women and stakeholders

2 September 2024

2

Incorporation of feedback and comments from stakeholders and finalize documentation report and other deliverables

4 September 2024

2

Final submission of report, case studies, videos and photos

10 September 2024

6

Total working days

23 Days

 

 

 

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy.

DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT AND DUTY STATION:

 

The assignment is home-based. The contract duration is tentatively from  20th  of August 2024 to 10th  Sept 2024. Travel to interview beneficiaries, view project sites and engage with the Project stakeholders is required. UN Women will cover travel and accommodation costs beyond commuting distance from the consultant’s usual place of residence for UN Women authorized travel as per the UN Women standard travel guidelines.

 

Logistics and Contract Arrangements

 

UN Women will facilitate this process by providing contact information such as email addresses and phone numbers of their respective partners. UN Women will oversee the logistics of the documentation and provide support for the arrangements as needed. The consultant will be also responsible for the dissemination of all methodological tools such as questionnaires, conducting interviews, group discussions etc.

 

Arrangement: The consultant must have own equipment and working space. UN Women will own all rights to the evidence and information gathered during the process, reports, policy briefs, case studies, videos, photos and all documents produced for this assignment, and UN Women must be credited in perpetuity

Compétences

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/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values 

 

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES

  • Strong interpersonal, teamwork and communication skills.
  • Ability to work independently and proactively solve problem;
  • Capacity to plan, priorities and deliver tasks on times.
  • Capacity to   engage with stakeholders to receive inputs for analysis and reporting;
  • Ability to research, analyse, compare and present complex information.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education and Certification:

 

• Master’s degree or equivalent in  Social Sciences,  Law or a related field is required.

• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

• A [project/programme management] certification would be an added advantage.

 

Experience:

  • A national consultant with the following skills and experience
  • Master level and above educational background in social sciences or a related field;
  • 8 – 10 years’ experience and knowledge in documenting project and programmes related to Women Political Participation and Women Peace and Security.
  • Experience in conducting evaluations with a focus on gender equality, women’s empowerment. Specific evaluation on Governance and Women Political participation will be an added advantage.
  • Extensive knowledge and understanding of Results Based Management methodologies;
  • Experience and understanding of gender equality, human rights, and women’s empowerment programming of UN agencies, development partners and government;
  • Application and understanding of UN Mandates on Human Rights and Gender Equality;
  • Knowledge of regional/country/ local context will be an asset;
  • Proven experience and excellent networking and partnership skills with UN agencies, government and CSOs;
  • Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written and strong presentation skills;
  • Excellent spoken and written English (all deliverables to be in English). Working knowledge of Shona and/or Ndebele will be an asset;
  • Capacity to work independently and use own equipment.

 

 

 

Languages:

  • Fluency in English is required.
  • Knowledge local languages any other UN official language is an asset.