Women, Peace & Security Humanitarian Action (WPSHA) Consultant

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 Nigeria, gender inequality is widespread due to patriarchy, deeply entrenched discriminatory cultural practices and weak implementation of gender equality policy frameworks and laws, among others.  For over a decade, the government have been struggling to deal with the increasing level of insecurity in all the six geo-political zones of the country, ranging from attacks by the Boko Haram insurgents, farmer-herder crisis, armed robbery and kidnapping for ransom. Women and children constitute majority of the population that bear the brunt of these crises. Gender-specific security risks and challenges confronting women and girls, including rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence, as well as sexual exploitation and abuse have been a notable feature of these conflict environments in Nigeria, particularly due to displacement and the critical conditions within Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps.  Though they represent about 50% of the country’s population, women in Nigeria continue to be underrepresented or excluded in formal peacebuilding processes. The inadequate inclusion of women’s and girls’ perspectives in policy-making decisions, resource allocation, implementation in economic and social sectors, and peacebuilding processes remains a major challenge towards the advancement of gender equality and attainment of sustainable peace and security in Nigeria.

In view of the above, UN Women works to support the Government’s national development agenda, which prioritizes the empowerment of women and girls and their contributions to all areas of economic, political and social development. The objective of building and sustaining peace and security across the country, in line with the provisions of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on women, peace and security cannot be over emphasized. The ground-breaking Resolution builds on a body of international human rights laws and legal instruments. It recognizes that armed conflict impacts women differently from men and  demands protection of women and girls during armed conflict and post conflict situations. It also recognize women’s role as peace builders and agents of change, and  calls on UN and member states, civil society, and the international community to ensure women’s increased participation in conflict prevention and peacebuilding processes, at all levels.

In support to the government of Nigeria in meeting its commitments to UNSCR 1325, UN Women supported the development of the country’s first and second National Action Plans (NAPs) on the Resolution, in 2013 and 2017, respectively, as well as the development and implementation of State Action Plans (SAPs). This is in addition to policy development, capacity building and intuitional strengthening to a wide range of institutions for the effective implementation of the provisions of the policy documents, at all levels.  Through a European Union funded  Programme  on ‘Promoting Women’s Engagement in Peace and Security in Northern Nigeria (2014 -2018), UN Women supported the Nigerian Government (Federal level), three Northern States of Nigeria and selected constituent Local Government Areas (LGAs) to strengthen women’s leadership, advance gender equality and improve protection for women and children in conflict settings. 

Furthermore, to build on the Northern Nigeria Women, Peace and Security Programme , UN Women is implementing a Programme on Women, Peace and Security in Nigeria (2019 -2021, with two specific objectives: Increase women’s effective participation in peace and security processes, peace negotiations, conflict prevention and resolution and improve public perception of the role of women in peace and security, with funding support from the Government of Norway. Similarly, a project on  Enhancing Gender-Responsive Security Operations and Community Dialogue (2020 – 2021)  is implemented by UN Women, with support from the Government of Germany. The project aims to enhance gender sensitive security sector (SSIs) operations and foster community dialogue between women affected by conflict and security sector actors, at national/strategic and operational/tactical levels. It also establishes a structured dialogue platform between women, women-led organizations and security actors in the pilot operational areas.

To support ongoing WPS and humanitarian action interventions and the integration and technical coherence of UN Women’s WPHSA programming, UN Women will recruit a WPSHA consultant to facilitate UN Women’s thought leadership on WPSHA; provide technical assistance to projects within the WPSHA portfolio, in particular to enhance intra and inter programme coherence and synergy; and finalize the WPSHA programme framework for the 2021-2024 period

Summary of Key Functions:

The consultant will perform the following key functions:

• Promote UN Women’s thought leadership on WPSHA with government, donor, civil society and other critical stakeholders;
• Provide technical expertise to the WPSHA portfolio as well as enhancing intra and inter programme coherence and synergy;
• Coordinate the development, finalization, and roll out of the WPSHA programme framework for the 2021-2024 period.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the strategic guidance of the Country Representative, and with day-to-day reporting to the UN Women Deputy Representative, the consultant will undertake the following tasks:

• Collaborate with HQ to develop and finalize the WPSHA programme framework 2021-2024;
• Provide technical support and advice to the WPSHA programme, including ongoing project implementation, proposal development, and synergy and coherence with other WPSHA projects and broader UN Women programming, and;
• Facilitate opportunities for policy dialogue and thought leadership on WPSHA;

Deliverables:

The deliverables for the assignment are as follows:

• 2021-2024 WPSHA Programme Framework
• Partner Roundtable on WPHSA achievements in Nigeria and utility for addressing current insecurity
• One new proposal (integrated or joint programme) under the WPSHA portfolio

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

Functional Competencies

• Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture.
• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to apply conceptual models in support of formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programs and projects and mobilize resources
• Demonstrate openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Demonstrate strong oral and written communication skills;
• Strong organization skills and ability to pay close attention to detail;
• Strong policy analysis experience and knowledge of WPS
• Ability to lead formulation of strategies and their implementation;
• Strong networking skills;

Education:

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

Experience:

• At least 7 years of relevant professional experience, at the international level in implementing programs on women’s empowerment/women, peace and security
• Experience leading strategic planning processes on issues relating to women, peace and security humanitarian action programing
• Excellent knowledge of program management and results-based management tools
• Demonstrated ability to work in an independent manner; ability to organize work efficiently and deal with multiple tasks
• Previous experience working in West Africa is an asset

Language:

Excellent oral and written English skills