India Interagency PSEAH Coordinator (Local Post for Indian Nationals and Applicants with Valid Work Permit)

Background

Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) of those the UN serves is a serious breach of accountability and erodes the confidence and trust in those UN and affiliated personnel providing assistance. Formed in October 2020, the Protection from Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH) Network of the United Nations Country Team focus on fostering a culture of greater accountability and protection from SEA at all levels within the UN and affiliated organizations in India by maximizing interagency cooperation and synergies to proactively and systematically address long-term solutions to SEA and with a view to increasing transparency and cost effectiveness in doing so.

The Resident Coordinators Office seeks to contract a dedicated interagency PSEAH Coordinator in 2022 to oversee the collective PSEAH response of the 22 UN Agencies and implementing partners in the joint Network.

Under the overall supervision of RC and UN Women, the PSEAH Coordinator is responsible for overseeing and supporting the collective PSEAH activities of the United Nations PSEAH Interagency Network in India. The PSEAH Coordinator will be contracted by the UN Women India Country Office on behalf of the Resident Coordinators Office and will report directly to the (RCO Team Leader/RC) and UN Women India Office. Working closely with the PSEAH Network coordination group, the PSEAH Coordinator will undertake the following duties and responsibilities.

Duties and Responsibilities

Establish the India PSEAH in-country program:

• Support the UNCT and RC to lead an inter-agency PSEAH Network for technical coordination on PSEAH, consisting of membership from 20 UN agencies, plus implementing partner organization in India;
• Support the UNCT and PSEAH Network in developing and implementing the annual India PSEAH Network Action Plan;
• Support the Network to carry out a joint PSEAH risk assessment in India to inform senior leadership on strategic decision-making;
• Oversee and support the inter-agency PSEAH Network to fulfil its responsibilities under its PSEAH Network TORs and Work Plan;
• Support organizations to follow good practices in PSEAH implementation toward collective achievements.

Support Network members and partner organizations’ operating in India to strengthen their internal PSEAH programs by:

• Implementing SEA prevention, risk mitigation, and response measures during planning, policy and project development, and programming in each department and in each technical sector;
• Providing training to staff on PSEAH and the Code of Conduct, including appropriate conduct for aid workers and how to submit and receive complaints under internal and inter-agency reporting systems;
• Ensure that internal HR practices are in place in human resource departments that guard against hiring persons who have a (pending) allegation of misconduct against them, and include PSEAH content in staff induction, contracts and subcontracting, and job evaluation criteria;
• Establish and/or strengthen internal investigation protocols, including clear case handling responsibilities in-country, capacitated investigations staff, and ability to enact disciplinary measures where SEA is substantiated;
• Establish and/or strengthen safe SEA-specific procedures for internal complaint and feedback mechanisms (CFMs) and referrals to survivor assistance, informed by good practice and community consultations.

Community engagement:

• Support the Network to develop a collective communication strategy to raise awareness on key PSEAH messages, including the rights of affected populations, the fact that assistance and services are never conditioned on sexual favors, and how to submit sensitive complaints;
• Ensure that the implementation of the PSEAH Network Work Plan is informed by community participation, contextually and culturally appropriate, and based on the community’s needs;
• Support senior leadership to develop an engagement strategy with the host government, including
• identified entry points in relevant ministries and stakeholders for outreach.

Interagency Complaints Mechanism:

• The PSEAH Coordinator supports the PSEAH Network members to establish and maintain an inter-agency community-based complaints mechanism (CBCM) by linking the CFMs of Network members through agreed referral pathways, establishing new complaint channels where reporting gaps are identified, and capacity-building all persons that operate complaint channels on the inter-agency referral protocols;
• Support the Network to operationalize the 2022 interagency SEA Complaints Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on inter-agency complaint referral.
• Mobilize the PSEAH Network to assist in a mapping exercise of available services and gaps for victim assistance, ensuring that the referral pathways provide immediate aid for complainants and survivors
• Work with the PSEAH Network, and other relevant actors to understand community preferences in reporting sensitive allegations
• Support the PSEAH Network to map existing complaint and feedback mechanisms (CFMs) to identify where there are gaps in community access for reporting sensitive complaints and support Network members to strengthen existing and/or establish new entry points to fill the gaps in reporting access so that there are safe, accessible, and contextually appropriate channels for any member of the community to report complaints of SEA
• In coordination with the PSEAH and on the endorsement of senior leadership, establish a
• collective channel for complaints (e.g. SMS based or email) with clear protocols on complaint intake and
• referral in line with the SOPs.
• Support the PSEAH Network to hold inter-agency trainings on good practices in SEA complaint intake and referral for PSEAH Focal Points, GBV and Child Protection actors, and all actors staffing CFM channels, so that all actors who may receive SEA complaints know how to recognize SEA and where to send allegations in the joint CBCM.
• Keep anonymized records of allegations received directly by Network members and other actors in-country in order to capture SEA trends and support stakeholders to adjust programs.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Percentage of Annual India PSEAH Network Action Plan implemented to measure the progress made in implementing the activities outlined in the annual action plan and leading to development of next annual plans.
• Number of SOPs/Guidance notes related to SEA prevention, response, and reporting developed and implemented cross Network Member UN agencies.
• Percentage of staff compliance with PSEAH Training and Code of Conduct across network members and partner organizations, clearly indicating increased awareness amongst UN agencies.
• Increased efficiency and accessibility of the inter-agency community-based complaints mechanism (CBCM) through indicators of case resolution and enhanced understanding of the systems and principles of victim centric approach.
• Increased level of engagement with the community and ensuing feedback integration into further activities.
• Successfully tracked number of reported cases of sexual exploitation and abuse across network members, identify gaps and create areas for improvement in prevention and response.

Competencies

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

• Good knowledge of programme management;
• Ability to administer and execute administrative processes and transactions;
• Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats;
• Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow;
• Strong financial and budgeting skills;
• Strong IT skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree in international development, Gender, Human Rights, Public Administration or Social Sciences.

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years’ experience, including field experience in development settings.
  – – Familiarity with the UN system and global coordination structures (e.g. IASC).
  – Proven ability to implement an Action Plan.
  – Experience in developing and facilitating training and capacity-building activities is an advantage.
  – Familiarity with data protection and confidentiality measures is an advantage.
• Background Technical expertise in at least one of the following areas:
• – Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEAH)
• – Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP)
• – Protection
  – Human rights
  – Child Protection
  – Gender-based violence/Victim assistance
  – Staff misconduct and discipline
  – Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL)

Language Requirements:

• Good spoken and written English and a national language.

Application:

Interested applicants should apply to this announcement through UNDP jobs site: jobs.undp.org

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/about-us/jobs
• Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment;
• Applications received after the close date will not be accepted;
• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Inclusion Statement:

• At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employ, 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.)

Note:

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.