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.

The war against Ukraine has led to the largest and fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe and one of the biggest security threats since World War II. The ongoing violence and destruction not only affect civilians within its borders, but also lead to a large-scale population movements that have spilled over into neighboring countries or even further away as more than seven million Ukrainians sought safety, protection, and assistance away from their country. The war has continued to generate displacement and large-scale new arrivals to refugee-hosting countries along with dramatic levels of suffering, shattering the lives of many Ukrainians.

UN Women is committed to ensuring that women and girls are not left behind in the war against Ukraine. UN Women’s engagement with humanitarian and refugee response space is more critical than ever to ensure that humanitarian response prioritises women and girls’ voices and needs within the Regional Refugee Response.

UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office is working across the regional humanitarian and refugee response architecture to ensure a gender-transformative response framework. Serving governments, CSOs, UN Country Teams/Humanitarian Country Teams (UNCTs/HCTs), and UN Women country offices, the Office provides policy advisory services; creates, and disseminates knowledge, evidence and data on gender equality; and advances coherence for gender in humanitarian action/refugee response, including through gender mainstreaming and the coordination of humanitarian/refugee response structures on gender.

To ensure increased and sustained engagement in the humanitarian and refugee responses, UN Women is seeking a senior international consultant to enhance the regional efforts and provide analytical and operational support to the humanitarian teams at regional and country level in delivering and disseminating various technical products.

The consultant will be reporting to Regional Humanitarian Affairs Specialist, and will be supported by Humanitarian Programme Associate, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

Under the overall supervision of the Regional Humanitarian Specialist, the consultant is expected to perform the below tasks:

Key Deliverables
Strategic Coordination and Partnerships	Develop a roadmap for the consultancy based on key milestones and priorities to be discussed at least on a bi-monthly basis, including bi-monthly meetings to ensure adequate planification of tasks. Facilitate dialogue with key humanitarian partners, including non-traditional partners to strengthen regional coordination and strategic positioning of UN Women in humanitarian response and DRR. Identify opportunities to establish or enhance partnerships and coordination platforms with Women’s Rights Organizations (WROs), Women’s Led Organizations (WLOs), and relevant UN agencies.
2. Evidence Generation and Advocacy	Develop a ToR for a regional analysis with focus on women on the move, including policy and programming recommendations. Contribute to the conceptualization and development a regional dialogue on Pillar II of the humanitarian strategy with focus on priorities and partnerships. Contribute to strategic thinking with EU partners in preparation for key advocacy events in 2025.
3. Proposal and tools development	Contribute to the strategic thinking and proposal development for priority countries on the humanitarian-development-peace nexus approach including strategic partnerships with other UN Agencies. Advise on the design and development of region-specific Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for humanitarian action. Identify and develop additional tools based on needs.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy.  As part of this assignment, there may be travels based on the need.  The travel expenses will be covered by UN Women ECARO according to internal procedures.

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

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 Values and Competencies Framework:

Functional Competencies:

• Sound knowledge of the current policies and practices in the field of gender equality and humanitarian action
• Excellent writing and editing skills;
• Strong organizational and teamwork skills;
• Familiarity with the Europe and Central Asia Region
• Ability to work under pressure and within limited time frames
• Communicative, results-driven, ability to work in teams
• Knowledge and understanding of the UN System
• Ability to complete multiple tasks by establishing priorities

Education and Certification:

Support Functions:

•  A master’s degree in international development studies, gender, social sciences or a related field relevant to the requirements of this TOR.

Experience:

• At least ten (10) years of experience working on gender equality in humanitarian action is required;
• Previous experience working in the Ukraine response is required;
• Previous experience in developing policy papers and guidance notes on gender in humanitarian action is an asset;
• Previous experience facilitating workshops for senior leadership, including strategic discussion is an asset;
• Experience working within the United Nations System is an asset;

Languages:

• Fluency in written and spoken English required.

Statements :

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.)

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements