Trainer

The topic of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) is a cross-cutting priority across the programming of the Division for Peace, following a growing commitment to leaving no one behind in its efforts to build sustainable and inclusive peace in conflict and post-conflict environments. As made clear in the ground-breaking UN Security Council Resolution 1325, as well as by subsequent resolutions constituting the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, positive peace cannot be achieved without the substantial and meaningful involvement and participation of all members of society, including its most vulnerable members and those most affected by the consequences of armed conflict.

Hence, in line with the principles underpinning the WPS Agenda UNITAR has developed The Women’s Leadership for Peace programme which UNITAR which draws upon observations and requests from partners and participants over the years that there remains a considerable underrepresentation of women in positions of leadership at all levels linked to the sustaining peace agenda. With a dual focus on SDG5 and SDG16, it is a priority for UNITAR to address the trend that women tend to be poorly represented in formal and informal mechanisms and institutions for negotiating and sustaining peace. Through effective partnerships, UNITAR will ensure that the Women’s Leadership for Peace programme provides a cross-cutting and world-class approach to women’s leadership training, with sharp focus on regional context.

The Women’s Leadership for Peace programme draws upon observations and requests from partners and participants over the years that there remains a considerable underrepresentation of women in positions of leadership linked to the sustaining peace agenda. With a dual focus on SDG5 and SDG16, it is a priority for UNITAR to address the trend that women tend to be poorly represented in formal and informal mechanisms and institutions for negotiating and sustaining peace. Through effective partnerships, UNITAR will ensure that the Women’s Leadership for Peace programme provides a cross-cutting and world-class approach to women’s leadership training, with sharp focus on regional context. The leadership course will be one component of the programme.

In partnership with the Senior Women Talent Pipeline (SWTP), a project which provides recruitment support to a pool of pre-screened senior women leaders interested in a career in UN Peace Operations, UNITAR will be running an iteration of a Francophone edition of its Women’s Leadership for Peace Programme at the Rwanda Peace Academy. Held in French, this training aims at strengthening capacity among Pipeline members on leadership in Francophone UN peacekeeping contexts as part of effort to better equip Pipeline members for a potential future career at the UN in Francophone spaces. A key focus of the training will be to provide participants a thorough contextual basis of challenges faced by senior leadership in UN Peace Operations including through presentations and exercises led by former and current UN senior leadership. Participants will also examine leadership from a gender perspective and the relevant links to the UN’s approaches to inclusivity and participation all the while better placing themselves to identify their own strengths and weaknesses in relation to their leadership profile. Participants will also gain a better understanding of the idea of interculturality and the ways in which it can aid them in their international careers. A more detailed description of the programme can be found in Annex I.

The incumbent will co-deliver the Leadership for Peace Programme in Support of the Senior Women Talent Pipeline (Francophone Edition) along session plans provided by UNITAR. The incumbent will not be responsible for any design or development of the programme and will be assisted by a co-facilitator throughout the programme.

• Prepare for delivery of the Leadership for Peace in Support of Senior Women Talent Pipeline (Francophone Edition);
• Facilitate the 5 day Leadership for Peace in Support of Senior Women Talent Pipeline (Francophone Edition) in Rwanda from the 4-8 December 2023;
• Provide brief recommendations after conclusion of the programme.

• Evaluations from participants reflect professional facilitation of the training;
• Recommendation document contains brief notes on areas of improvement for the programme.

Timely and quality submission of deliverables; activities implemented with a high degree of effectiveness and efficiency; excellent coordination with PTPU team members is ensured throughout the duration of this contract.

Context and Rationale

Recognizing that increasing the number of women who are elevated to lead and contribute in the peacebuilding space is not just desirable from an equity perspective, but it is crucial for sustaining peace, gender equality represents a key priority area of the United Nations. Specifically, at the intersection of SDGs 5 (Gender equality) and 16 (Just, peaceful, and inclusive societies), women’s leadership in the peace and security field is a cross-cutting concern for the organization. This can be seen by key frameworks, such as UN Security Council Resolution 1325, as well as the and the DPO/DOS Policy on Gender Responsive United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, the UN System Wide Gender Parity Strategy and the A4P+ Agenda, that have called for an increase in the number of women in peace operation as well as an increase in their meaningful participation in leadership positions at all levels of peace processes more broadly. Given that when women participate, the quality of peace increases, the UN actively prioritizes addressing the trend that women tend to be poorly represented in formal and informal mechanisms and institutions linked to sustaining peace.

However, analyzing the progress made in the two decades since Resolution 1325 initiated the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, reveals a gap in implementation, particularly in increasing participation. This is made evident by data from UN Women which reveals that in 2022 women represented only 19 per cent of delegations in UN-led peace processes. Overall, the progress towards gender parity in the field has been slow, exemplified by the fact that in the largest most complex missions, the percentage of women remains below the parity level. While peacebuilding and conflict prevention architectures often include a gender strategy, implementing these effectively requires ensuring that women’s voices form a critical component of peacebuilding efforts.

As part of their ongoing efforts to support the UN in addressing this gap and promote women’s leadership at all levels of decision-making in conflict resolution and peace processes, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the UN Department of Operational Support’s Senior Women Talent Pipeline (SWTP) have partnered to offer Leadership for Peace Programmes for pipeline members. The proposed project aims to increase the representation and meaningful participation of women in Francophone UN peace operations. Given the importance of multilingualism and multiculturalism in conflict resolution and UN peace operations, and seen that approximately half of these operations are deployed in the Francophone contexts, the proposed training will focus on the importance of multilingualism.

Following the success of a pilot iteration of this training course, jointly held in December 2022, UNITAR and SWTP will continue their collaboration to provide pipeline members with an in-depth contextual background of the challenges faced by leaders in UN peace operations to help them be better placed to identify their own strengths and weaknesses in relation to their leadership profile. The proposed project will scale up this initial pilot programme to include a focus on the importance of sensitivity to the culture and language of the environments in which theses missions are operating, highlighting that constructive interaction between operation representatives and local populations is essential to mission success. By providing SWTP members with this understanding, this training will prepare them to contribute to mission performance and fulfil multidimensional mandates with increasingly complex tasks.

Considering the many connections between UNITAR’s Leadership for Peace Programme and SWTP’s mandate to promote gender parity at the senior level, these partners are uniquely positioned and well equipped to implement this course. This training programme supports SWTP in achieving its goals by drawing on UNITAR’s experience and expertise in developing and delivering transformative leadership courses. Together, SWTP and UNITAR will build the capacity of pipeline members on leadership in peacebuilding spaces, in an effort to better equip them for a possible future career with the UN in Francophone spaces.

Project Overview

The overall objective of the training programme is to better prepare and equip Francophone candidates for a potential future career in UN peace operations and for the UN recruitment process. This training is particularly unique in that it aims to do so by giving participants a clearer vision of themselves, renewing their energy and drive, and enabling them to reconnect or revaluate their ambitions. The space for inner development and re-examination coupled with peer-to-peer learning and experience sharing results in a transformative leadership course that creates solidarity between participants as well as better places them to apply for senior positions in Francophone UN peace operations.

The overall objectives are described as follows:

• Improve a comprehensive understanding of the latest thinking on sustainable peacebuilding and the sustainable peace agenda – with a particular focus on Francophone UN peace operations;
• Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of participation of and interaction with the local population in UN peace operations;
• Explore leadership mindsets, practices, styles, and skills to effectively address peacebuilding challenges;
• Explore the specific and perceived challenges women face in accessing leadership positions in Francophone UN peace operations and identify ways to overcome them;
• Support the design of a personalized self-development plan, setting specific objectives for the duration of the course and goals for achieving transformation beyond the program.

Within the bounds of this project, SWTP and UNITAR envision running the Leadership for Peace Programme periodically over a period of at least two years in order to have greater reach and impact by creating a pool of well trained and prepared women leaders, motivated and eligible to serve in leadership positions in francophone peace operations.

Target Audience

True to the values of multilingualism and multiculturalism, this training is designed specifically for Francophone Pipeline members, regardless of their country of origin. It is intended for members who have the interest and desire to meaningfully contribute to Francophone peace operation and further roles in the peacebuilding space.

UNITAR in Brief

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is one of the United Nations’ main training instruments and is active in all regions of the world. They empower people, governments and organizations through knowledge and learning to effectively address contemporary global challenges.

Within the framework of UNITAR, the Peace Division supports the establishment of peaceful, just, and inclusive societies (SDG 16) by enabling individuals, institutions and organizations to make a meaningful contribution to sustainable peace. UNITAR employs an innovative and comprehensive set of learning and knowledge exchange methodologies, tailored specifically to the needs of beneficiaries, effectively develop and strengthen knowledge and skills, as well as transform attitudes and behaviours.

SWTP in Brief

The Senior Women Talent Pipeline (SWTP) is a career program and talent pool within the UN Department of Operational Support. Through this pool of qualified women, SWTP aims to promote gender parity for senior P5, D1 and D2 positions in UN peace operations.

SWTP members can receive personalized support to prepare them to apply for senior positions in UN peace operations through the UN personnel selection system. In addition, various training and development opportunities are offered to candidates to ensure that they are well equipped to apply for and hold senior positions within the UN.

Since 2024, no less than 63 appointments have been made of members from the UN Senior Women Talent Pipeline for positions at P5-USG levels.