Programme Specialist on Gender and Mediation

TERMS OF REFERENCE
Location :	Nairobi, Kenya
Application Deadline :	08 August 2012
Type of Contract :	Individual Contractor
Languages Required :	English required,  Somali an asset
Duration:	6 Months
Background
UN Women /DPA Joint strategy on Gender and mediation Peace processes provide a critical opportunity to reshape the political, security and broader socio-economic landscape of a nation state. However, women have been consistently marginalized in peacemaking efforts. The low number of women at the peace table demonstrates a gap between the aspirations of many global and regional commitments, and the reality women face at the local and national levels. Five UN Security Council resolutions (S/RES/1325 (2000), S/RES/1820 (2008), S/RES/1888 (2009, S/RES/1889 (2009), and S/RES/1960 (2010) and the United Nations Secretary-General’s reports on mediation support (2009) and women’s participation in peace building (2010) have repeatedly called for the inclusion of dedicated gender expertise and greater numbers of women in peace negotiations. Yet, ensuring women’s participation in peacemaking is not only a matter of women’s rights. Women are crucial partners in shoring up three pillars of lasting peace: economic recovery, social cohesion and political legitimacy. By including women in peace processes, a mediation process can expand the domestic constituencies engaged in peacemaking, which in turn can build the credibility of the process and broaden national ownership. It can also bring more comprehensive understanding of the causes and alternative solutions to conflict. If women’s participation can result in responses that address broader needs, including their own, this in turn can contribute to the long-term sustainability of the peace agreement. To achieve greater effectiveness of UN Mediation efforts through the increased participation of women and strengthened capacity to address gender issues in peace processes, UN Department of Political Affairs (DPA) and UN Women launched a Joint Strategy on gender and mediation to: Increase the availability and quality of gender expertise in mediation processes; and Support greater and more effective participation by women at all levels of conflict resolution and peacemaking including through the identification and preparation of qualified female mediators. With an aim to strengthen women’s effective participation in the Somalia transition process, UN Women is looking for a Programme Specialist who will take responsibilities for providing technical assistance to UNPOS gender and political affairs units as well as to members of the Somalia on women, peace and security issues with a focus on supporting system-wide programming on gender-responsive peacemaking and peacebuilding.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the joint supervision of the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General for Somalia (Gender and Political Affairs Units) the UN WOMEN EHA Regional Programme Director, and in close coordination with the UN Women Peace and Security Cluster and the DPA focal point , the locally hired /national Programme Specialist will take responsibilities for programme interventions aiming at supporting women’s participation and leadership in the ongoing Somali transition process.  Specifically, the consultant  will perform the following duties and responsibilities: Technical assistance (25%) Conceptualize and provide substantive inputs to the operationalization  of new programme and projects on gender and mediation in the EHA region and especially with regard to the Somali transition process; Review and provide feedback to ongoing projects, project-related strategies and documents, work-plans, case studies and related knowledge products and publications as requested; Ensure effective information flow and communication in the gender and mediation area; Provide guidance and support to the gender advisor to UNPOS, regional and national partners to ensure women’s effective participation in the peace process and build strategic links with the work being done on national development strategies and under other international frameworks on women, peace and security; Programme Development, Management and Monitoring (20%) Conceptualize, develop and oversee implementation of the UN Women/DPA joint strategy on gender and mediation with regard to the Somali transition process; Advise, guide and provide input into the formulation of quality project proposals for intervention in the areas of mediation and peacebuilding, setting models for achieving aspired results according to clear monitoring and evaluation systems; Ensure timely and proper collection of documentation regarding the implementation of mediation-related programmes. Network with and Build Capacity of National Women’s Organizations (30%): ·         Support to grassroots women’s civil society organizations, including from the Somali Diaspora, and advocates to increase their influence in shaping national transition and peacebuilding plans, strategies and financing mechanisms; through network development, development of oversight bodies, capacity development and support to the development of national and international advocacy platforms. ·         Facilitate access of national women’s organizations to decision making spaces, including peace fora and formal peace negotiations in Somalia; ·         Facilitate South-South and regional cooperation among women’s peacebuilding organizations on gender-responsive mediation initiatives and peacebuilding processes; ·         Inform the development of the UN Women Global Database of Women and Peacebuilding Organizations, developed under the joint Strategy on Gender and Mediation. Strategic partnership and resource mobilization (15%): Strengthen and enhance partnership/cooperation/consultation/coordination with national and local state actors, national and international civil society actors, especially, women's organizations, bilaterals, UN, World Bank, donors, academia, private sector and private foundations for more effective and coordinated implementation of the country strategies in the area of women, peace and security; Ensure internal partnership, networking and coordination between ongoing UN Women programmes, projects and activities for a holistic and coherent approach for implementing the UN Women/DPA joint strategy on gender and mediation; Take active role and provide substantive inputs into the process of resource mobilization and partnership building for fund raising for mediation-related programmes; Advocacy, Knowledge Management and Communications (10%): Support and facilitate necessary advocacy efforts in support to implementation of gender-responsive mediation and conflict resolution efforts; Document, and analyze lessons learned from the EHA region that might be useful for the UN Women/DPA Joint Strategy on Gender and Mediation Develop and ensure the implementation of communications and advocacy plans and identify and seize strategic advocacy opportunities on an ongoing basis; Ensure maintenance of a calendar of the most relevant international/regional/national peace fora and events on mediation and conflict resolution, facilitate access to that information by partners and relevant UN Women staff, and coordinate their participation.
Deliverables 1.      Development of a communication strategy to ensure that women’s contributions to community and national peacemaking is conveyed widely and inform the Somali public about human rights principles (e.g. vis-à-vis constitution, security etc), as well as security and peacemaking mandates on women’s participation e.g. UN SCR 1325 and other resolutions/ protocols of regional security institutions etc), 2.      Development of a fact sheet about Somali women’s contributions to peacemaking to inform all stakeholders (UN community, the Somali community and TFIs) and link with lessons learned and best practices from the region that might be useful for future interventions. 3.      Development of training curricula and building capacities and mentoring Somali women who have been identified and nominated by the various Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs), regions and technical working committees for systematic and effective participation in existing High Level Consultations and Technical Working Committees. 4.      Providing technical guidance on women’s engagement in the Somali transitional process for civil society delegates. 5.      Supporting the formulation of quality project proposals for mediation and peacebuilding interventions in ongoing conflict areas of Somalia. 6.      Identifying Women and Peacebuilding Organizations in Somalia to be integrated into the UN Women’s database of women’s peacebuilding organizations. 7.      Ensuring internal partnership, networking and coordination between UNPOS and UN Women joint activities for a holistic and coherent approach for implementing the UN Women/DPA joint strategy on gender and mediation; Competencies
Core Values ·         Integrity: Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct. ·         Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity: Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity. Management and Leadership: Establish and maintain relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs, gain support Pro-activity in developing solutions; Monitor progress against milestones and deadlines; Demonstrate openness to change, flexibility, and ability to manage complexities; Ability to work under pressure and with multi-disciplinary and multicultural teams and possess excellent inter-personal skills; Demonstrate strong written and oral communication skills; Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills; Ability to establish priorities for self and others, and to work independently. Development and Operational Effectiveness: Proven ability to problem-solve and think creatively to develop and implement smart business solutions in a challenging post conflict socio-economic environment; Knowledge Management and Learning: Possess in-depth knowledge of the issues of women's rights, mediation and peacebuilding; Knowledge and experience with programming, monitoring and evaluation; Actively work towards continuing personal learning and development, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills; Seek and apply knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of UN Women
Required Skills and Experience
Education: Masters degree or equivalent in the fields of gender and international affairs, political science, development and/or security studies. Experience: At least 5 years of management and supervisory experience for programming geared to support women's empowerment and rights, with particular experience in complex and multi-component programmes on gender responsive governance, peace and security; Demonstrated knowledge of programming issues within UN Women strategic directions of work; Specific skills in political analysis and peace talks process issues (planning, design of table and agenda, engaging excluded groups); Experience writing project documents, fundraising proposals and project reports; Fundraising experience highly desirable; Experience in developing advocacy strategies and public speaking highly desirable; International peacebuilding experience and multi-cultural exposure. Language Requirements: Fluency in English, knowledge of Somali is desirable.

Qualified candidates may submit their applications including their curriculum vitae or United Nations Personal History form (P.11) to the address mentioned below on or before the deadline. Email: recruitment-unsoa@un.org           Please quote; v  Vacancy Notice Number and Functional Title in the Subject of the e-mail. v  Index Number (for UN staff member) and attach an updated fact-sheet, and a copy of the last two performance appraisals. Applications received after the deadline (08/08/2012) will not be considered.

The United Nations shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs.

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING).