Lead Consultant

UNDP

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. In Sierra Leone, women have played critical role in harnessing peace during the 11 years’ war. They contributed to bringing democratic rule in the country and to the restoration of peace. In 1995, the Sierra Leone Women Movement for Peace in collaboration with other women’s groups galvanized support for democracy through the Bintumani one and two, calling for elections before peace and negotiating with rebel leaders 17. These conferences were held with relevant stakeholders, government, CSOs, traditional leaders, women groups, from national and sub-national levels The consultations contributed to the conduct of four successful general elections (2002, 2007, 2012 and 2018). Their active involvement through the Elections Situation Room (ESR) in the 2012 and 2018 as a crucial conflict prevention and conflict resolution mechanism have reinforced the pivotal role that women play in peacebuilding. An emerging wave of young feminist groups such as Girl Empower Sierra Leone, Girl-Up initiative have become critical thought leaders in influencing behaviors, practices and shaping ideologies for promoting women’s participation in politics and in protecting women and girls from gender-based violence. Leveraging on media platforms, they have contributed to shaping the social media platforms to promoting girls’ leadership and voice in political and public spaces. The role of CSOs and women groups in the prevention of conflicts, peacebuilding and promotion of women’s political participation have been monumental and well documented in Sierra Leone. Their response to the civil war, the peacebuilding processes and democratic governance has been prominent in ushering in a democratically elected government. Their active involvement through the Elections Situation Room (ESR) in the 2012 and 2018 as a crucial conflict prevention and conflict resolution mechanism have reinforced the pivotal role that women play in peacebuilding. Relying and drawing inspiration from UN Security Council resolution (S/RES/1325) on women and peace and security passed in October 2000, women CSOs have contributed to women political participation, actively demanding affirmative action for equal representation in all spheres of life and advocating for legal reforms that promote and protect women's rights. In this context, UN Women, UNDP, and World Vision proposal is seeking to implement the project to promote and sustain Women-Focused CSOs, facilitate shared objectives, joint planning, and monitoring for women political participation, conflict prevention and peacebuilding during the next general elections in 2023 in Sierra Leone.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the direct supervision of UN WOMEN coordination specialist, the lead consultant will work with the UN team to implement and develop the project activities with the various partners. The lead consultant will provide technical guidance and advisory services to the project’s team. Key deliverables Produce a mapping and profile organizations working on conflict prevention, mitigation and women participation and elections, and develop a ‘power and influence matrix’ to show the diverse, unique strengths and influence each CSO is bringing into the coalition. Provide TA to set up a national secretariat with sub-national structures for the coalition and develop a TOR, SOP, (administrative procedure, organizational structures, and systems) to help put in place governance structure and officially launch the coalition. Develop a ‘Working Together Manual and Toolkit’ to enhance and promote shared vision, synergy, linkages, and joint engagements among coalition members. Strengthen market women associations to use basic technologies and loumah (public market days) platforms to promote peace as well as garner support for women participation during the elections. Act as trainer and facilitator for meetings and workshops Provide technical inputs to the various documents of the project Contribute to the regular reports of the project Support the coordination of the project with UNDP and World Vision The total duration of this assignment is 10 months
Competencies
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. Able to relate to external partners, including other international organizations and agencies, NGOs, grassroots community groups, etc. Functional Competencies Good knowledge of gender equality and women’s empowerment, including women’s political participation, peace and security and women’s movement Good organizational skills and ability to pay close attention to detail. Good communication skills. Demonstrated leadership and personal examples of promoting knowledge management and a professional learning environment. Outstanding networking, team building, organizational and communication skills. Capacity to work with diverse partners including governments, donors, and civil society. Ability to use Microsoft word, excel, e-mail, web-based applications, and databases. Ability to work effectively and harmoniously with people from varied cultures and professional backgrounds. Results based management skills. In-depth knowledge of development issues. Ability to advocate and provide policy advice. Ability in strategic planning, results-based management, and reporting.
Required Skills and Experience
Education: A Master’s degree or equivalent in law, gender equality, Peace and Development, human rights, public administration, social sciences or other relate areas 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. Experience: A minimum of 8 years of relevant work experience in the field of gender equality and women’s political empowerment, including proven experience in women’s CSOs or Women peace and security. Experience working with multi-stakeholder organizations is essential: governments, International NGO, CSOs, and the UN/ multilateral/bilateral institutions. Substantive experience in women’s movement. Experience in programme design and results-based management. Experience in working in a multicultural environment. Sound knowledge of international standards on human rights, women’s rights and related instruments. Experience working with multi-stakeholder organizations is essential: governments, CSOs, and the UN/ multilateral/bilateral institutions. Experience in implementing, monitoring, and evaluating development programmes and projects Language: Fluency in oral and written English is required. Working knowledge of other UN languages is an asset. UN Women is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence NOTE: At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, 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. If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application. 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. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)