Antecedentes

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.

Women’s leadership and participation is one of UN Women’s primary areas of work as mandated in its inception, recognizing the integral role of women in strong and stable democratic processes. UN Women works to implement Impact 1 of the Entity’s Strategic Plan 2014-17 “Women lead and participate in all areas of decision-making”.

To promote the leadership and participation of women in all levels of decision-making processes, UN Women works with a range of stakeholders including women leaders and aspiring candidates, national parliaments and parliamentarians, political parties, media, civil society organizations, and electoral management bodies, in coordination with UN partner Entities, through a wide range of interventions which include: i) support gender responsive legal reforms, and institutional processes to advance women’s participation and representation (including initiatives to address violence against women in politics); ii) build capacities of women leaders and aspiring candidates; iii) promote change of gender norms through advocacy and outreach initiatives targeting communities, political leaders and the media; iv) and support women leaders in gender responsive political institutions.
In Sierra Leone, UN Women’s work in this area has mainly included support to civil society partners in their advocacy efforts to increase women’s participation in electoral processes since 2012, and the political representation of women at all levels.

In March 2018, Sierra Leone will hold Presidential, Legislative, District Council and Local Council elections. Ahead of the elections, UN Women has conducted a technical support mission to set programming priorities and design a targeted programme in alignment with UN Women Strategic Plan 2018-2021 and the flagship programme on women’s political empowerment. The programme will promote and strengthen women’s political participation during the current electoral cycle, with a focus on potential interventions to prevent and mitigate violence against women in elections in Sierra Leone.

Under the supervision of the UN Women Representative in Sierra Leone, the international consultant will provide the technical support and coordination required to effectively launch and roll-out a women’s political participation programme (WPP) developed in line with the recent country assessment mission conducted by UN Women HQ Political Participation Unit. 

Deberes y responsabilidades

Under the supervision of the UN Women Representative in Sierra Leone, the international consultant will provide the technical support and coordination required to effectively launch and roll-out a women’s political participation programme (WPP) developed in line with the recent country assessment mission conducted by UN Women HQ Political Participation Unit.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

To achieve this objective, the consultant will undertake the following tasks:

1.     Oversee the launch and roll-out of the WPP programme including its related deliverables in close coordination and as agreed with the government, partners and United Nations Country Team, particularly with UNDP. Convene and attend meetings with partners to coordinate work plans and programme activities;

2.     Coordinate the development and implementation of a strategy to prevent and mitigate violence against women in elections (VAWE):

Organise a launch event of the UN Women-UNDP programming guide on Preventing Violence Against Women in Elections;
Provide technical support to key partners and stakeholders on data collection and analysis on forms and incidence of VAWE, including with UNDP-led and civil society led observation and monitoring mechanism;
Oversee the development of a country case study on VAWE from an electoral cycle approach, including qualitative interviews with women in politics.

3.     Facilitate and coordinate the development of a communications and advocacy strategy to support women’s political participation and leadership with national partners:

Design and implement public awareness initiatives on gender equality and women's political participation, e.g. through the HeForShe campaign, targeting traditional leaders, paramount chiefs, and others at the local level.
Provide technical assistance to, and support advocacy with, media outlets and journalists on gender-responsive media coverage;
Support local NGOs/CSOs to deliver gender-responsive messaging.

4.     Support women political leaders with capacity building and advocacy initiatives:

Work with partners and stakeholder to support the convening of a National Women's Conference and/or women’s manifesto;
Support the organisation of community mobilization/ women leaders’ caravans to improve community awareness on women’s political empowerment, such as by convening community dialogues to provide awareness raising.
Coordinate the documentation of experiences of women leaders in pursuing local and national efforts to advance gender equality and increase women’s engagement in political processes, including through video or other materials, and potential showcasing of video testimonials on iKNOW Politics.

5.     Undertake other programme activities in support of women’s political and electoral participation as required.

KEY DELIVERABLES: 

1.     Finalise documents and roll out the Women’s Political Participation programme and deliverables

2.     UN Women-UNDP Programming Guide on Preventing Violence Against Women in Elections launch event in coordination with UNDP and key national stakeholders

3.     A country case study on Violence Against Women in Elections is produced

4.     Communications and advocacy strategy to transform gender norms, to sensitize the media and electorate on the need for women in public life at all levels.

5.     At least two women leaders and aspiring candidates’ caravans organised

6.     National Women’s Conference and/or women’s manifesto organised

7.     A brief documentary showcasing experiences of women leaders produced

8.     Preparation of a comprehensive handover note upon completion of consultancy that includes context and programme/policy recommendations, including status report on all tasks and deliverables and any other relevant information.

The assignment will take up 65 working days over a period of 6 months. The consultant will report to the UN-Women Representative in Sierra Leone, with guidance from the UN Women Political Participation Advisor in HQ as needed.

Competencias

COMPENTENCIES

Core Values and Guiding Principles

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling UN Women values and ethical standards;
• Demonstrates a commitment to UN Women’s mission and vision;
• Able to work effectively within a team;
• Displays cultural and gender sensitivity and adaptability;
• Able to multi-task and juggle competing demands;
• Can assess and prioritize work needs quickly; and
• Able to relate to external partners, including other international organizations and agencies, NGOs, grassroots community groups, etc.
• Demonstrates integrity by modeling UN Women values and ethical standards;
• Able to relate to external partners, including other international organizations and agencies, NGOs, grassroots community groups, etc.

Functional Competencies

• Sound practical knowledge on women’s political participation programming including on gender responsive electoral processes (i.e. sex disaggregated data collection, prevention and mitigation of violence against women in elections);
• Previous experience in field-based election in a variety of cultural and political contexts;
• Ability to work effectively and harmoniously with people from varied cultures and professional backgrounds, demonstrating excellent interpersonal communication skills.
• Results based management skills;
• Ability to produce well-written reports and/or programme documents demonstrating analytical ability;
• Excellent communication skills;
• Experience in working with UN Women or UN or international NGOs on women’s political participation; 

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) Political Science, Sociology, International Relations, or relevant field and/or equivalent practical experience.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of experience integrating gender equality and political participation and representation; including proven experience integrating gender equality and electoral cycle, women’s political participation, and gender based electoral violence mitigation;
• Sound knowledge of international standards on human rights, women’s rights and related instruments;
• Experience with UN Intergovernmental processes including those related to women’s empowerment, gender mainstreaming and gender equality;
• Experience working with multi-stakeholder organizations is essential: governments, CSOs, and the UN/ multilateral/bilateral institutions.
•  Experience in programme design and results-based management;
• Experience with UN electoral assistance processes;

Language:

• Fluency in oral and written English is required.