Beijing+30 National Review and Reporting Consultant | UNWOMEN - United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (2024)

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.

Placing women's rights at the Centre 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. UN Women provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

The UN Women Somalia Strategic Note 2022-2025 articulates the entity's strategic direction, objectives, and approaches to support efforts to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, including women's full enjoyment of their human rights. It outlines how UN-Women will leverage its normative support functions, UN system coordination and operational activities, as mandated by its founding resolution, in an integrated and mutually reinforcing manner in support of transformative results. The SN also contributes to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda as well as other normative frameworks including the UNSCR 1325, CSW, Beijing declarations etc. Accordingly, UN Women Somalia program focuses, among others on key areas under the triple nexus mandate, encompassing normative, coordination, and operational activities.

In 2025, the global community will mark the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995)3, 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, and the final five years of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. This anniversary should be used as the occasion to engage more with the generation of gender equality advocates and to bring those who remain on the sidelines into the Centre of a whole-of-government, whole-of-society effort. The ministries of women have been invited to undertake national reviews and convene inter-ministerial meetings and in preparation of progress reports. These will feed into the sixty-ninth session of the Commission.

Leading up to the anniversary there should be a comprehensive national-level review process led by the government that involves all stakeholders. Comprehensive national-level reviews should assess progress made in implementation and identify challenges encountered. These reviews should take stock of achievements, identify gaps and setbacks, and outline strategies for addressing those gaps and challenges. They should result in renewed commitments and clear sets of priority actions, as well as help mobilize the necessary means of implementation and partnerships, support the identification of solutions and best practices, and promote the coordination and effectiveness of national, regional, and international actions. Reviews should align and build synergies with work on the 2030 Agenda and galvanize its gender-responsive implementation.

Reviews should be inclusive and mobilize all branches and levels of government, civil society organizations, the private sector, the entities of the United Nations system and regional and international organizations, academia, the media, and other stakeholders. This will ensure an inclusive, participatory, transparent, and thorough review process at the national and sub-national levels, based on evidence, while also producing tangible lessons and solutions, which should be followed by concrete action and collaboration towards the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the SDGs. A multi-stakeholder engagement strategy could be put in place for systematic outreach to and involvement of all key stakeholders, as well as their mobilization and concrete contributions to the review process. Different stakeholders, such as the private sector, educational institutions, academia, and others, can directly contribute to realizing gender equality through their own actions.

As in previous years, national reports will feed into the respective regional synthesis reports that Regional Commissions will prepare for their respective regional intergovernmental reviews. The national and regional reports will inform a global synthesis report, prepared by UN Women, to guide the sixty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women to be held in March 2025 which focuses on the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly.

UN Women and the regional commissions have developed a common "Guidance note for comprehensive national-level reviews" [1] to assist in and facilitate the conduct of comprehensive National-Level Reviews. [1] Available on-line at: https://www.cepal.org/sites/default/files/static/files/18-359nve_annex_1_-_guidance_note_english_annex.pdfUN Women seeks to hire an experienced consultant to support the Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development (MoWHRD) in preparation of a progress report for Beijing+30 as outlined below through well-structured discussions and engaging relevant stakeholders at the Federal and Federal Member States levels. Reporting to the UN Women Country Program Manager and to the Gender Director of the Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development, the consultant will deliver on the following objectives.

Objective:

The objective of this assignment is to support the development the Bejiing+30 Review report (including the national review survey) in line with the "Guidance note for comprehensive national-level reviews", in a participatory manner, building on existing resources.
Under the overall guidance and the direct supervision of UN Women’s Country Representative and the Gender Director of the Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development and working in close collaboration with the Ministry of Women human rights development at the Federal and Federal Member States.

Duties and Responsibilities

To familiarize and raise awareness among key stakeholders with the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, relevant ECOSOC documents, outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly and "Guidance note for comprehensive national-level reviews" for Beijing +30.
To carry out a desk review of documents relevant to the Beijing Platform for Action framework and for the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly, including but not limited to the national and civil society reports, analysis, charters, and policy papers. Identify and collect primary and secondary data from relevant stakeholders, institutions, and sources to compile the necessary information as per the guideline,
Facilitated feedback sessions with the Beijing+30 preparation technical committee.
Compile and produce first draft of the Beijing+30 report based on the inputs collected from relevant institutions and other information sources;
Present the draft report and facilitate consultations with relevant stakeholders from the government, civil society organizations, women and youth associations, the private sector, academia, and the media;
Present the draft report and facilitate a validation workshop;
Embedded comments on the first draft, finalize the draft report and submit a quality report to the Ministry of Women, and Human Rights Development as per the standard reporting guideline and by the specified deadline;

Deliverables:

Competencies

Core Values:

Respect for Diversity
Integrity
Professionalism

Core Competencies:

Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
Accountability
Creative Problem solving
Effective Communication
Inclusive Collaboration
Stakeholders Engagement
Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women's Core Values and Competencies:

Functional Competencies:

Technical credibility in policy research;
Technical credibility in gender analysis;
Partnerships building;
Strong skills and experience in communicating and presenting complex ideas;
Consistent approach to work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates openness to ideas and ability to manage complexities of the situations;
Previous experience working with government stakeholders, will be an asset;
Excellent English communication and writing skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

Master's degree or equivalent in in gender studies, development studies, law, international relations, human rights, public policy, sociology, anthropology, or similar fields 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:

At least 5 years of progressive programmatic and/or analytical work experience in the field of human rights and gender equality;
Demonstrate knowledge in the field of gender equality policy and legal framework;
Demonstrate knowledge of Somalia international commitments in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE);
Demonstrate ability to plan, collect and analyses data and experience in writing analytical reports;
Experience in writing reports to the UN treaty bodies, special procedures or similar reviews will be an asset;
Previous experience working with government stakeholders, will be an asset;
Excellent English communication and writing skills.

Languages:

Fluency in English is required;
Knowledge of [French] or [Spanish] or any other UN official language is an asset.

All applications must include (as an attachment) a completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from

Please note that the system will only allow one attachment and candidates are required to include in the P-11 form links for their previously published reports and articles completed within the last two years. Applications without the completed and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Notes:

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.

Diversity and inclusion:

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