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.

Building on its comprehensive approach to end violence against women and girls (EVAWG) through (1) creating an enabling legal and policy environment, (2) generating evidence, data and knowledge; (3) strengthening survivor-centered responses and access to multi-sectoral, coordinated essential services; (4) preventing VAWG by addressing the causes and drivers of violence against women and girls; (5) partnering with and supporting women’s rights organizations and civil society groups to play a lead role in addressing VAWG, UN Women is now deepening its work on technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TF GBV) to strengthen the global frameworks and standards as well as generating evidence of what works in preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls across the online-offline continuum.

Although online and technology facilitated GBV share the same causes and many of the drivers of offline forms of violence against women and girls – including structural gender inequality and discrimination, unequal power relations, deeply entrenched cultural and social norms and patterns of harmful masculinities – there are specific features of digital spaces that require dedicated focus and solutions for instance, the scale, speed and ease of internet communication, combined with anonymity, pseudonymity and impunity. Presently, there are significant gaps in knowledge and evidence of what works in preventing TF GBV, which is crucial to inform evidence-based prevention and response frameworks and interventions. To address these gaps, UN Women will be implementing a workplan in 2024 focused on developing global tools and standards as well as on implementing pilot interventions in two countries in the Latin America region: Bolivia and Mexico. This workplan will also contribute to the achievement of the targets of the blueprint of the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Gender-Based Violence and the Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation.

In this context, UN Women seeks to hire an international consultant to act as policy focal point on technology facilitated violence against women for the EVAW Section, to coordinate UN Women’s efforts on technology facilitated violence against women, including the implementation of programmatic interventions at global level as well as to  liaise with and provide technical support to UN Women’s country offices in the two pilot countries. The consultant will be reporting to Chief of the Ending Violence against Women Section and s/he will be working closely with and supported by the Policy Specialists of the EVAW Section to coordinate work on TF GBV across portfolios.

Duties and Responsibilities

Programme Management

Coordination of technology facilitated violence against women programming at the global level including the development, consultation and finalization of programme theory of change.
Implementation of the programme activities, including a) the development of a compendium of good practices on TF GBV in consultation with UN Women EVAW Section, Regional and Country Offices and other key partners and b) manage the development of an updated handbook for legislation on violence against women to include TF GBV and support the coordination of meetings with experts and consultations.
Drafting of the donor report including global results and inputs from Bolivia and Mexico programme results.

Policy and Technical Support

Provision of substantive policy and technical inputs to EVAW Policy leads to steer and strengthen coordination of work on TF GBV across policy portfolios (Essential Services, Prevention, Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces, Sexual Harassment, Advocacy, Data etc.).
Provision of technical support and inputs to the VAW data team and the knowledge management specialist for the update of the Global VAW database and the UN Women Virtual Knowledge Centre on Violence against Women with inputs on TF GBV.
Provision of technical advice on technology facilitated violence against women to country teams particularly Bolivia and Mexico where dedicated programmes will exist as well as any future potential programmes.
Drafting of talking points, briefing notes, speeches etc. on technology facilitated GBV and any other tasks as required by the Chief of EVAW Section.

Coordination and strategic partnerships

Coordination /collaboration with partners for a community of practice on TF GBV to provide a space for sharing knowledge, exchanging experiences and lessons learnt on emerging promising practices to prevent and respond to TF GBV.
Provision of support and advice on the establishment of strategic partnerships and resource mobilization on TF GBV including through the preparation of concept notes and presentations as well as mapping and identifying potential donors.
Coordination with the Action Coalition on gender-based violence and its community of practice to share developments, results, learnings through the TF GBV programme.
Drafting of a report showcasing the results and impact of the programme to support resource mobilization efforts.

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

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:
https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

Possesses comprehensive knowledge and skills related to ending violence against women, and technology-facilitated gender-based violence specifically. Demonstrates a deep understanding of the issues, challenges, stakeholders and best practices in these areas.
Strong knowledge and understanding of technology and innovation and how they intersect with violence against women and can be leveraged for strengthening prevention and response efforts.
Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
Strong knowledge of Results Based Management
Ability to synthesize programme performance data and produce analytical reports in order to inform management and strategic decision-making.
Strong analytical skills
Strong communication skills (written and oral)

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification: • Master’s degree or equivalent in public administration, law, human rights, gender equality, management, social sciences or a 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. Experience: At least 5 years of progressively responsible work experience at the national or international level in providing substantive policy and technical expertise related to ending violence against women. At least 2 years of proven experience in the field of technology-facilitated gender-based violence are required. Experience in coordinating, implementing, monitoring and evaluating development programmes and projects is required. Excellent analytical skills with strong drive for results and capacity to work independently. Languages: Fluency in English is required and strong working knowledge of Spanish is highly desirable Knowledge of any other UN official is an asset. Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel This is a home-based consultancy. If the consultant is based in New York, USA, s/he would be expected to work at UN Women’s offices at least 2 days a week. How to apply All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc. Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment. A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) 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. 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.