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 League of Arab States (LAS) , in partnership with UN Women Arab States, is committed to addressing and mitigating violence against women in the region. Recognizing the urgent need to enhance protective measures and empower women, the proposed consultancy aims support the development of a comprehensive strategic framework on combating violence against women in the Arab states. This framework will serve as a guideline for the member states to enact policies and programs that effectively reduce and prevent violence against women in the Arab region.

This partnership comes within the framework of the efforts of the League of Arab States to implement the Universal Charter on Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) issued by the United Nations in 1979, and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women issued by the United Nations General Assembly pursuant to Resolution No. 48/104 of 12 December 1993, and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action issued by the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 in Beijing, which included a special axis on violence against women as one of the twelve critical areas of concern, and Security Council Resolutions No. 1325, 1820, 1888, 1960, 2467 and 2106.  And With reference to the Ministerial Declaration on ARAB Women Development Agenda (2023-2028) “Gender Equity and Parity for Developmental and Environmental Sustainability” adopted during the “31” regular session of the Council of the League of Arab States at the Arab Summit level,  which emphasized the importance of protecting women and girls from all forms of violence in the fourth : track on Eliminating Violence against Women, the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, and the Arab Strategy on Women’s Security and Peace 2012 and its updated version in 2023. This framework build on the recently developed  the gender responsive budgeting study by LAS and UN Women to ensure that the framework also look at gender funding gaps and how to close them.

The consultant will be reporting to the Programme Support and Management Unit (PSMU) Specialist, under the overall supervision of the Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS) Deputy Regional Director, the consultant will work directly with the League of Arab States to develop a comprehensive strategic framework for ending EVAW in the Arab region.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Undertake the drafting of the regional EVAW strategic framework.

• Conduct a thorough desk review and analysis of existing policies, legal frameworks, and initiatives targeting eliminating violence against women in the Arab region;
• Coordinate and facilitate consultations with focal points from Member states including government representatives, to gather insights and feedback;
• Develop the first draft of the strategic framework, incorporating best practices and innovative approaches tailored to the socio-cultural dynamics of the Arab states;
• Incorporate feedback from Member states and partners to refine and finalize the strategic framework to be ready for the adoption from the Council of LAS at the ministerial level;
• Develop a second draft integrating all the comments and feedback;
• Prepare and present the final strategic framework to the League of Arab States and UN Women for approval and clearance;
• Provide an updated final draft inclusive addressing all comments and feedback.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy;

As part of this assignment, there will be a maximum of 2 trips to Cairo, Egypt.

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:

• Ability to perform a broad range of administrative activities related to operations resources management and services;
• Ability to extract, analyze data and resolve operational problems;
• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Good organizational skills;
• Ability to research, select relevant information, and maintain accurate records and database; Knowledge of administrative rules and regulations;
• Good application skills of IT tools and management systems;
• Knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages.

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, human rights, gender/ women’s studies, international development, 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 proven experience in policy analysis and strategic planning related to gender issues is required;
• Deep understanding of the socio-cultural and legal context of the Arab countries is required;
• Previous experience in the field of ending violence against women is required;
• Experience in qualitative and quantitative research methods, and in writing research reports is desirable;
• Excellent analytical, writing, and communication skills is required;
• Experience coordinating and liaising with UN agencies, partners, is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in Arabic and English is required;
• Knowledge of French is an asset.

Required attachments

• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)

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:

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.)