TECHNICAL SUPPORT CONSULTANT ON WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN) was established by General Assembly resolution 64/289 of 2 July 2010 on system-wide coherence with the mandate to assist Member States and the United Nations system to progress more effectively and efficiently towards the goal of achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women. The Regional Programme on “Improving Women’s Human Rights in Southeast Asia“ (2011 – 2016) funded by the Canadian International Development Agency, aims to contribute to the reduction of discrimination against women in Southeast Asia, namely in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), the Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam. The CEDAW SEAP is designed to achieve three outcomes: (1) increased skills and knowledge for ensuring CEDAW compliance in development and monitoring of new and revised legislative frameworks; (2) increased awareness among formal and informal justice system actors of CEDAW commitments; and (3) strengthened monitoring and accountability mechanisms for implementation of CEDAW commitments. The Programme taked advantage of the overall political drive in Southeast Asia for acceleration of regional integration in the political, economic, social and cultural spheres by improving regional processes for knowledge generation and exchange, stock taking and priority setting for furthering implementation of CEDAW and gender equality commitment of the governments. It will enhance the capacities of governments in Southeast Asia to address gender equality issues; and the capacities of civil society organizations to hold the government accountable. Sustainability, coherence, innovation and focus on the most disadvantaged groups of women are overarching themes of the CEDAW SEAP. Through CEDAW SEAP, UN Women will support legal reforms towards elimination of discriminatory provisions and adoption on new laws that promote and protect women’s human rights and are compliant with the international human rights standards. It will also address the gaps and barriers faced. by women in getting justice by improving capacities of various actors in the complex plural legal systems of Southeast Asia. Innovative approaches for integrated normative frameworks on women’s human rights along with harmonized monitoring frameworks will be supported to enhance government and civil society capacities to monitor the implementation of gender equality commitments. The current activities are built on the results of the first phase that focused on raising awareness of The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) among stakeholders, catalyzing actions for the legislative change, and capacity development for more effective implementation and monitoring of CEDAW commitments. The programme activities are now focusing on knowledge generation and exchange, stock taking and priority setting for advancing the implementation of CEDAW in Southeast Asia. With its mandate of providing high quality , technical advisory support services to the government and the country offices of UN Women , UN Women Regional office for Asia and the Pacific is building a roster of expert consultants whose services can be availed for short term tasks within minimum lead time. While this Roster is being developed at the regional level, the consultant could be contracted by the country offices of UN Women, especially in South East Asia

Duties and Responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities Under the direct guidance of the Regional Programme Manager (Country Representative in case the contract is with country office), and in collaboration with the relevant technical team, the consultant will be expected to undertake a subset of the following core tasks. Core tasks The scope of tasks to be implemented will be agreed with the Technical Expert/s as the need arises, and may cover, but may not be limited to the following: Provide substantive advice and strategic inputs to UN Women and its partners through drafting guidance notes, policy briefs, issue briefs, concept notes and other substantive technical inputs on women’s human rights in laws and practices, access to justice, monitoring and reporting of gender equality commitments; Provide substantive technical input through drafting innovative and cutting edge knowledge products, background papers, research reports, training curriculum and modules in the above areas; Provide expert review, comments and inputs into UN Women policy documents to ensure that they represent cutting edge knowledge and are consistent with UN Women Strategy for the sub-region. This may include, but not limited to Progress of the World Women, MDGs report, regional thematic reports, country gender assessments, and others; Provide substantive assistance in the development and facilitation of expert groups meetings, workshops, consultations and other critical discussions, including online discussions, that deepen the current discourse on women’s human rights at country and regional levels. Name of Applicant and signature: Support specific requests by UN Women country offices and partners in advising to governments, in developing and delivering capacity development programmes for legislators, executive and justice sector as well as to civil society organizations; Prepare manuals and other capacity development materials on women’s human rights; Provide advice to the UN Women Senior Management team (Regional Director, Deputy Regional Director; Programme Managers and Advisers) on the strategic direction of the UN Women work. Expected deliverables: Briefs, guidance notes, policy notes, concept notes, and other substantive technical inputs on issues related to women’s rights including on trends, emerging issues and challenges on law reform, access to justice, monitoring and reporting on women’s human rights; Expert reviews and comments on research reports, assessments, handbooks, manuals and other tools and knowledge products, advocacy documents, and other UN Women documents; Training materials and modules on women’s human rights for legislators, justice sector actors, executive agencies, line ministries, civil society organizations; On demand capacity building activities at country and regional levels; Facilitation of expert group meetings and other critical discussions on women’s human rights as required UN Women.

Competencies

Technical/ Functional: Comprehensive knowledge of and exposure to a range of gender issues, including gender mainstreaming methodologies and programming implementation; Very good knowledge of institutional mandates, policies and guidelines related to gender; Very good knowledge of the region, including the political environment and legal status as they pertain to human rights. Managerial: Strong ability to take initiative and to demonstrate autonomy; Ability to work in a complex environment requiring liaison and collaboration with multiple actors; Strong interpersonal and communication skills; Proven record of being a reliable consultant delivering outputs in previous contracts in a timely manner. Behavior: Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with people of different national backgrounds with respect for diversity; Ability to demonstrate sensitivity, tact, and diplomacy.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Master's Degree in gender studies, international law, political sciences, international relations, social sciences, linguistics, journalism or related fields Experience: Minimum ten years of relevant experience in the field of promoting gender equality, women’s human rights, in particular in application of CEDAW and human rights norms in law and policy justice sector reform and capacity building of governments and civil society organizations; Extensive research in the field of gender equality and women’s human rights; Working knowledge of UN Women and experience of working with UN Women on law reform, justice, accountability for gender equality; Knowledge of and experience in producing substantive inputs to policies on law development, justice sector reform and implementation of CEDAW and other human rights instruments; Experience in conducting policy advisory and capacity development services to policy makers at national, regional and international levels. Language requirements: Fluency in English (written and oral).

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.