National Consultant to develop gender glossary

Background

UN Women, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women has been created to accelerate up the process of meeting the needs of women and girls across the world. UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programs and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls worldwide. UN Women is at the forefront of the global drive to remove gender barriers and end discrimination, because we believe in a world of justice and human rights for everyone.

CSOs in Tajikistan developed the Strategy “Behavioral Change and Implementation of Violence Prevention Initiatives” within the framework of the Spotlight Initiative, a joint EU and UN initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls. To implement this Strategy ” (hereinafter CSO Strategy), 51 NGOs united and created a network of CSOs “Life Free of Violence”.

The major goal of the CSO Strategy is to build zero tolerance towards discrimination and violence against all girls and women (including women and girls subjected to multiple forms of discrimination) through capacity strengthening of CSOs, advocacy for legislation enhancement, and development of coordination among key stakeholders.

While CSOs have been active in addressing gender-based violence, as noted in the CEDAW Concluding Observations of October 2018, they do not yet have a significant influence on decision-making during the sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) policy processes. The inadequacy of SGBV legislation itself, the absence of a coordination mechanism on SGBV with the participation of CSO representatives (where CSOs can have a centralized voice), and the low gender sensitivity of state bodies required to respond to SGBV also do not contribute to the overall objective of the strategy.  

With that in mind, “Enhancing the institutional capacity of CSOs to be more actively involved in decision-making on addressing sexual and gender-based violence” and “Strengthening coordination between civil society institutions as well as CSOs with other key actors” have been identified as one of the important activities under Objective 1.

Considering all the aforementioned problems and statements, the need for the unique understanding of the correct gender terminology has been raised. UN Women is currently seeking a National Consultant to develop gender glossary.

Goal and objectives:

The overall objective of the consultant’s work is to fulfill the objectives of the strategic goal by strengthening close cooperation between CSOs, the state entities and development partners. One of the key factors contributing to the success of the implementation of the CSO Strategy and the plan of actions of the “Life Free of Violence” Network is strengthening the capacity of local organizations. The CSO Strategy “Behavioral Change and Violence Prevention Initiatives” defines Objective 1 as “Strengthening the influence of CSOs in decision-making processes to prevent SGBV and protect survivors”.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the UN Women Country Programme Manager/Head of Office, the Consultant will perform the following duties: 

1. In close cooperation with UN Women, develop gender glossary in two languages (Tajik and Russian).
2. Share the draft glossary with the CSO Network “Life Free of Violence” Coordinating Council for their recommendations before submitting the final version to UN Women for clearance and approval.   

To achieve this goal, the 2 key objectives are planned:

Objective 1: Strengthen the influence of CSOs in decision-making processes to prevent SGBV and protect survivors.

Objective 2: Contribute to reducing negative stereotypes and harmful social norms leading to SGBV against women and girls (including women and girls experiencing multiple forms of discrimination) among the general population, including government officials.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Be client-oriented – ability to listen all parties and to facilitate the process for mutual satisfaction and consensus.
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment and in a team.

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

Functional Competencies:

• Good knowledge of technical area.
• Good organizational skills and ability to pay close attention to detail.
• Proven excellent communication and facilitation skills.
• Experience in report writing and analyzing the data.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• University degree (diploma) in education, gender or social development, human rights, law, humanitarian sciences, social studies, or related field.

Working Experience:

• At least 5 years of work experience in gender equality issues, policy research/analysis in the fields of gender equality, social sciences, or related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in document revision, strategy development, report writing, curricula, manuals, training modules on gender and social development.
• Prior experience in the work environment of an international agency, NGOs, UN Agencies.

Language: Fluent Tajik and Russian languages; knowledge of English is an asset.

Application Process 

The application should include:

• A cover letter signed (maximum length: 1 page);
• Personal History Form (P-11 form)– including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded by following link: a signed [scanned] copy should be submitted.

Candidates should have the ability to quickly produce degree certificates and medical certification (of good health) should they be short-listed in consideration of the consultancy post.