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. The active participation of women and girls in shaping their future, based on a recognition of their dignity and capacities, is posited in several global policy frameworks as a basic condition to promote gender equality and women’s rights. SDG 16 “Peace, Justice and effective, accountable, inclusive Institutions” and SDG 5 “Gender Equality and Empower all Women and Girls” are understood and implemented together, as interdependent and synergic goals. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates the 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 to build effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

In Nigeria, gender inequality is widespread due to patriarchy, imbalance in socio-economic opportunities, cultural and religious factors and inadequate enabling legal and policy frameworks, among other factors. The violence or threat of violence that women and girls face is a consistent thread, ranging from domestic violence, traditional harmful practices, fear of standing for elected office, sexual harassment of girls and young women, among others, with consequences that constrain women’s autonomy and life chances. Against this backdrop, UN Women works to support Government’s national priorities, which prioritizes the empowerment of women and girls and their contribution to all areas of economic, political and social development. The objective of building and sustaining peace and security across the country is critical for Nigeria, which faces several security challenges including the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, the Farmers/Herders conflict in the Middle Belt, and conflicts over natural resources in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

In 2006, Nigeria launched its National Gender Policy, which provides the overarching framework for achieving gender equality through various sectoral and institutional guidelines and interventions. In response to this imperative policy and the critical role of the  law enforcement plays, the Gender Policy for the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) was formulated in 2009 and launched in 2010, with the collaboration and support of development partners, including UN Women, UNFPA, and various international and national NGOs. The Gender Policy also speaks to Nigeria’s National Action Plan (NAP) for implementation of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, which acknowledges the need to promote gender-responsive security sector reforms.

The objectives of the gender policy of the NPF are as follows:

1. To institutionalize gender mainstreaming framework as a core value in the Nigeria Police Force;
2. To infuse into the Police Act/Regulations the principle of CEDAW and other global, regional, and national frameworks that support gender equality and women empowerment;
3. To reduce the current gender gap in the Nigeria Police Force, and make the Nigeria Police Force an equal opportunity employer; and
4. To build the capacity of the Nigerian Police Force to effectively handle cases of gender-based violence/violence against women.

The Gender Policy is aligned with the core principles of gender equality found in national, regional, and international legal and policy instruments. The implementation objective was to eliminate all forms of gender based discriminatory policies and practices in the Force and the professional handling of gender-based violence cases. Given the critical front-line role that the NPF have vis-à-vis gender-based violence, the Policy also outlines institutional structures for dealing with gender related crimes, and capacity building for relevant personnel. The Policy also set out targets with timelines and an implementation monitoring mechanism.

Since the launching of the Policy, the Nigerian Police Force has made some advancements towards gender mainstreaming. In 2011, the proportion of female police officers stood at 12.41%. However, this modest progress is even less so reflected within higher ranks, where only 5% of senior officers are women. Moreover, the police force has established structures for preventing and responding to Gender-Based Violence (GBV). Other gender-responsive reforms include the introduction of a recruitment target for women, a review of its internal regulations to counter discriminatory provisions, formation of a Gender Unit specialized to respond to cases of GBV, and gender-sensitive training.

The current political commitment and momentum by the NPF, as a front-line institution, on addressing the increase in GBV as a result of COVID-19 and associated measures, as well as other policy developments around community policing, among others, provides a strategic opportunity to review the overall implementation of the Policy since its drafting ten years ago and associated achievements, challenges and gaps; changing security and policy context and needs; and content validity. As such, under UN Women’s project on Enhancing Gender-Responsive Security Operations and Community Dialogue, which aims to support an enabling, gender-responsive policy environment for security sector, UN Women in close collaboration with NPF, wishes to engage a consultant to support the review and revision of the NPF Gender Policy.

Duties and Responsibilities

The overall objective of the consultancy is to undertake an evaluation of the implementation of the 2010 NPF Gender Policy, including achievements, challenges and gaps; review current policy and context developments; and revise and update the Policy.  The consultancy will have a deliberate focus on identifying lessons learnt, good practice, and implementation gaps from the first decade of the Policy’s existence to inform and improve a revised Policy. The review and revision process should address both  the internal practices of the NPF relating to personal and administrative questions – recruitment, retention and promotion of women as well as issues of gender harassment etc.; and the external policing practices that relate to interface with the population, including in the context of regional/international peacekeeping or peace support operations. 

Under the supervision of the UN Women and NPF team, the following tasks will be carried out:

1. Undertake consultative and planning meetings with NPF leadership, senior management and relevant staff as well as identified key stakeholders (reference group) to be engaged in the process, in close collaboration with the NPF;
2. Develop state of implementation tool and conduct desk research, consultations, and interviews on the level of implementation of the current Policy;
3. Facilitate a consultative multi-stakeholder meeting on implementation status of current Policy, including progress, challenges and lessons learnt;
4. Review the current and emerging policy, legal, and institutional context, including existing policies, laws, strategies and institutional frameworks/arrangements of relevance to the NPF, security sector reform and gender/women, peace and security;
5. Revise and update the current Gender Policy in line with current realities, including operational framework to enhance implementation, monitoring and reporting;
6. Facilitate a validation workshop on the above-mentioned revised Policy and incorporate inputs into a final document.

The selected Consultant will be expected to complete the following key-deliverables within the indicative timeframe:

Reporting

Under the strategic guidance of the Country Representative and in partnership with the UN Women and NPF Team, the proponent will develop and deliver the above listed outputs in accordance with the above outlined timeframe and specifications. Writing and formatting of the document should be consistent throughout.

The proponent will be expected to report to the office for a minimum of 1 hour per week, with additional check-ins as required.

Competencies

Core Values / Guiding Principles:

• Integrity: Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct;
• Professionalism: Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work;
• Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity: Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Ethics and Values: Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity;
• Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
• Development and Innovation: Take charge of self-development and take initiative;
• Work in teams: Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multiethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds;
• Communicating and Information Sharing: Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication;
• Self-management and Emotional Intelligence: Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others;
• Conflict Management: Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution;
• Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge;
• Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Knowledge of international human rights treaties and instruments, and the gender dimensions of these legal frameworks;
• Excellent analytical capacity;
• Experience drafting policy implementation tools and/or guides;
• Ability to speak and write in a clear and gender-sensitive language;
• Familiarity with the UN system and knowledge of UN Women;
• Knowledge of women, peace and security frameworks and security sector  

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in Law, Social Science, Gender Studies, International Development, Human Rights, Political Science, International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies or any related field.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of relevant experience at national or international level in gender or related strategy development and/or implementation; 
• Excellent knowledge of international, regional, and regional instruments, policies, and frameworks that relate to gender and the security sector;
• Previous exposure to security sector reform;
• Strong understanding of the security policy and legislative environment and institutions in Nigeria;
• Proven experience in mobilizing stakeholders, leading and facilitating workshops and consultative processes;
• Previous experience in conducting gender audits and assessing and developing institutional gender policies;
• Fluency in English is required
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is an asset
• Experience working in the UN system is an asset

Duration of the Assignment

The assignment is expected to take 50 working days from the date of signing the contract