UN Women - National Consultant, Capacity Needs Assessment (Governorate Offices), home-based, West Bank, Palestine

Background:

UN Women (UNW), 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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. 

UN Women’s triple mandate, along with its global network and deep policy and programming expertise, continues to endow the Entity with a unique capacity to: (i) support Member States to strengthen global norms and standards for gender equality and women’s empowerment, and mainstream gender perspectives in other thematic areas; (ii) promote coordination and coherence across the UN system to enhance accountability and results for gender equality and women’s empowerment; and (iii) undertake operational activities to support Member States, upon their request, in translating global norms and standards into legislation, policies and strategies at country level. 

UN Women plays an innovative and catalytic role in the State of Palestine since its inception in 1997 (as UNIFEM). In line with the national priorities, the work of UN Women for the period 2023-2025 is aligned with three of the Palestine United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework’s (UNSDCF) outcomes:

•            Palestinians have greater access to economic opportunities that are inclusive, resilient, and sustainable, including decent employment and livelihoods opportunities in an empowered private sector.

•            Palestinians, including the most vulnerable, have equal access to sustainable, inclusive, gender responsive and quality social services, social protection, and affordable utilities.

•            Palestinian governance institutions, processes, and mechanisms at all levels are more democratic, rights-based, inclusive, and accountable.

Its three-year Strategic Note supports the efforts to achieve measurable results in country in terms of four UN Women global Strategic Plan impacts (2022-2025): (SP Impact 1). Governance and participation in public life; (SP Impact 2). Women’s Economic Empowerment; (SP Impact 3). Ending Violence Against Women and Girls and; SP Impact 4. Women peace and security, Humanitarian & Disaster Risk Reduction. 

In line with the Palestinian Government’s commitment to achieve gender equality and combat Violence Against Women (VAW), and in full partnership with the Justice, Security and Social Sectors, UN Women within its joint programme with UNDP and UNICEF- “ Reinforcing equal access to justice for all Palestinians - SAWASYA III” is supporting the Justice, Security and Social institutions  to mainstream gender into their plans,  procedures and policies, and develop and provide gender responsive services to women victims and survivors of violence. 

Within this framework, UN Women is providing technical support to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Ministry of Social Development (MoSD), High Judicial Council (HJC), Palestinian civil police (PCP), and the Attorney General Office (AGO), the Supreme Judge Department (SJD) and other relevant institutions, while also  supporting civil society organizations to strengthen  gender- responsive services  for women survivors of violence and  mainstream gender into their policies, plans, procedures and practices.   

In line with this, UN Women Sawasya III programme is planning to recruit a consultant to assess the technical capacity and the capacity building needs of the relevant teams in the governorate offices cross West Bank districts to be able to provide gender responsive and inclusive services to women victims and survivors of violence in accordance with the governorate’s roles and responsibilities stated in the National Referral System (NRS).

Objectives of the Assignment:

The main objective of the assignment is to assess the institutional and human resources capacities of the Governorate’s Affairs main office and its district offices and to identify their capacity development needs and priorities. The assessment will inform targeted interventions to strengthen their ability to effectively deliver inclusive, gender-responsive, and survivor-centered services to women and girls who are victims and survivors of violence.

The assignment includes the following sub- objectives:

• To conduct capacity building needs assessment (human resources, administrative/ procedures and logistics) for the assigned personnel and the services of the governorate’s affairs offices.
• To identify technical, administrative, procedural, logistical and human resources capacity needs and priorities based on the findings of the capacity assessment.
• To develop a capacity building plan (human resources, administrative, procedures and logistics) based on the priorities. 

The consultant will be reporting to UN Women Rule of law and Protection Specialist and will be supported by the programme’s Women Security and Inclusion Analyst, in addition to the CSO support and Finance Associate who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Inception phase:

• To develop an inception report that includes a detailed description of the work plan, the assessment’s criteria, and the methodology, and share it with UN Women for review and approval. The methodology should combine mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, while being grounded in international human rights standards and principles of gender equality and gender justice.
• To meet with UN Women’s technical team and the Governorate’s Affairs Office focal point, to discuss the assignment’s objectives, methods and tools that will be used, and the main deliverables.

Implementation phase:

• To conduct a desk review of relevant national, regional and international references including the NRS and the applicable procedures and policies.
• To conduct individual and group meetings with relevant officers to collect data on their needs, views and recommendations. 
• To review the applicable work practices, procedures and mechanisms to identify challenges and capacity gaps in the services provision.
• To conduct field visits, when needed, to get first-hand data on followed procedures and practices, and logistical needs.
• To consult with relevant service providers, from the different sectors including civil society organizations and governmental counterparts, to learn about their experience.
• To assess the human resources, administrative, procedural and logistical capacity needs of the Governorate’s Affairs Offices and its district offices, to effectively manage cases of women victims and survivors of violence.
• To develop a comprehensive assessment report and capacity-building plan and submit them to UN Women for review, feedback, and approval. The assessment report should comprise three key sections: (i) an assessment of human resources capacities and needs; (ii) an assessment of administrative capacity gaps and needs, including procedures, practices, guidelines, and related systems; and (iii) an assessment of logistical capacities and requirements. The report should clearly identify existing gaps and needs and provide specific, actionable recommendations to address them.
• To present the findings in a validation workshop and reflect feedback. 

Final report: 

• To submit a final narrative report that includes a description of the assignment, the achievements, methodology used, lessons learned and recommendations along with relevant annexes including the list of meetings dates and participants.

Deliverables

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy with frequent field visits to partner institution main offices in the West-Bank, Palestine. 

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 international standards on human rights, gender justice and women rights.
• Proven Experience in the field of protection and access to justice and security.
• Strong capacity to establish, build and sustain effective relationships with clients, demonstrating understanding of client’s perspective; anticipates client needs and addresses them promptly.
• Strong ability to effectively interact with technical and non- technical end users in a   cooperative and helpful manner.

Required Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• A master’s degree in social studies, gender studies, human rights or public policy. 
• 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 3 years’ experience in the field of gender equality, women’s rights and violence against women is required. 
• Experience in developing assessments, policies, capacity building plans or guidelines on VAW, women’s access to justice and/or gender equality is required. 
• Experience working with the social protection system in Palestine, and the National Referral System is required.  
• Experience working with the UN system or/and International Organizations is desirable. 
• A sample of a capacity assessment report, preferably in areas related to women rights and protection be attached as part of your application. 

Languages:

• Fluency in Arabic is required 
• Working knowledge of English is 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.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.