Individual International Consultant - Intergovernmental Fora Specialist

Background

Background/Context

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 Fiji Multi Country Office (MCO) covers 14 Pacific countries, with field offices/presence in 6 countries, and five ‘focus countries’ (Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Samoa). Each field presence is led by a national Country Programme Coordinator. UN Women, in partnership with Pacific Islands Governments, regional organizations, CSOs, donors and UN agencies, focuses on delivering within four interlinked programme areas:

• Ending Violence against Women and Girls (EVAWG);
• Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE);
• Gender and Protection in Humanitarian Action; and
• Governance and Participation in Public Life (GPPL)

The UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office (MCO) is based in Suva, Fiji and works alongside over 20 other UN agencies in the region and 14 countries and territories across the Pacific Region.  Under its Strategic Note (SN) 2023 - 2027, UN Women Fiji MCO focuses on delivering on four interlinked program areas underpinned by UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2022 in line with international and regional normative frameworks.

2025 will be a pivotal year for the accelerated realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. As the global community marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), and five years remaining of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, the moment is right to achieve irreversible and measurable progress towards this universal commitment to all women and girls, everywhere.  The commemoration of the thirtieth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly will take place during the sixty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 69), to be held from 10 to 21 March 2025.

The Beijing Platform for Action, adopted at the 1995 UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, is an agenda for women’s empowerment, offering a defining policy framework and roadmap for achieving gender equality and women’s rights. It has stimulated unprecedented political energy and social mobilization around the world, with governments, civil society and others using it to take steps to end inequality and discrimination. UN Member States have repeatedly reaffirmed its normative force.

As in previous years, UN member states were requested to conduct comprehensive national reviews of the progress made and challenges encountered in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, that involve all stakeholders.  In the Pacific, so far ten countries have submitted their national-level reports views.  These national-level reports fed into the 15th Triennial Conference for Pacific Women and the 8th Meeting of Pacific Women Ministers, which took place in Majuro, Republic of Marshall Islands from 22 to 25 July 2024.  The Pacific Community (SPC) is now developing a regional synthesis report based on these national-level reviews, as part of the region’s preparation for the sixty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 69). 

These national review reports will feed into the respective regional synthesis reports that Regional Commissions will prepare for their respective regional intergovernmental reviews. They will also feed into a global synthesis report that UN-Women will submit at the CSW 69 to the to be held in March 2025. In the Asia-Pacific region, these national-level reports will feed into the Asia-Pacific Regional synthesis report developed by UNESCAP and UN Women. UNESCAP and UN Women will also be co-convening the Asia-Pacific High-Level Ministerial Conference for the Beijing+30 Review, from 19 to 21 November 2024 in Bangkok. This Ministerial Conference will be preceded by a Civil Society (CSO) Forum held from 17 to 18 November in Bangkok.  The Conference will bring together Ministers of the National Women’s Machineries, senior officials and representatives from other relevant Ministries, civil society organizations, youth organizations, academia, the private sector, UN entities, independent experts and other key stakeholders from across the Asia-Pacific region to:

• To assess progress to the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) in Asia and the Pacific over the past five years;
• Review current and emerging challenges, good practices, lessons learned, and priority actions required to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and its contribution towards the full realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;
• Provide a platform for member States and stakeholders to explore policy options and strategies, including innovative approaches, toward realizing gender equality and the empowerment of women;
• Build regional consensus on priority actions to accelerate the implementation of commitments made in the BPfA;
• Consolidate regional inputs to the sixty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women which will focus on the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly

UN Women will support two preparatory streams prior to the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference for the Beijing+30 review:

1.             Pacific Civil Society Forum –16 November, Bangkok

2.             Pacific National Women’s Machinery preparatory meeting –18 November, Bangkok

This process and CSW69 are critical for progressing gender equality at the country level, regional, and global levels. They provide an opportunity to engage more with a new generation of gender equality advocates and to bring those who remain on the sidelines into the center of a whole-of-government, whole-of-society effort. By joining forces, governments together with society have the capacity to overcome and eradicate the root causes of gender inequality and chart a path forward for genuine, substantive equality, with equal rights and equal opportunities for women and girls. In the Pacific, this anniversary provides an opportunity to review the interlinkages between key global and regional frameworks and /or processes – with a view to consolidating the Pacific’s commitments to advancing GEWE.  They frameworks emanate from a series of intergovernmental and multi-lateral processes that Pacific governments have, together with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), the Pacific Community (SPC), the United Nations system and the Women’s Movement, been working on to ensure gender equality and women’s rights are mainstreamed and visible into every multilateral processes/efforts, and from local, to regional to global, including:

Regional

• The 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent (2023)
• The Revitalized Pacific Leaders Gender Equality Declaration (PLGED) (2023)
• The Outcome of the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women
• The Outcomes of the Pacific Island Women Leaders Meetings (2023-2024)
• The Boe Declaration
• The Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific (FRDP) (2016)

Global

• The Enhanced Lima Work Programme on Gender and the Gender Action Plan
• The Gender Action Plan to support implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (Sendai GAP)
• Agreed Conclusions from CSW 65, CSW 66, CSW 67 and CSW 68.
• The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) (2024).

Against this background, UN Women Fiji MCO is seeking to hire a Consultant - Intergovernmental Fora Specialist to prepare a briefing document, in collaboration with the Pacific Gender Technical Working Group, to support the Pacific National Women’s Machineries and Pacific civil society and other gender equality advocates, to effectively position key GEWE concerns in both the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference for the Beijing+30 Review and to also inform the negotiations on the Political Declaration that will be adopted at the CSW69 in New York in March 2025 as per the scope of work and delivery outlined below.

The Gender Technical Working Group is comprised of UN Women, UNFPA, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), Pacific Community (SPC), DIVA for Equality, Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, and Shifting the Power Coalition.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision and guidance of the Deputy Representative a.i and support from the UN Women Fiji MCO Gender Group Coordinator the Consultant - Intergovernmental Fora Specialist is expected to undertake the following tasks as per the timeline given below:

Expected Deliverables

The table below highlights the expected deliverables:

Note: The mentioned number of working days has been estimated as being sufficient/feasible for the envisaged volume of work to be completed successfully and is proposed as a guideline for the duration of assignment. It cannot and shall not be used as criteria for completion of work/assignment. The provision of envisaged deliverables approved by the UN Women designated official shall be the only criteria for Consultant – Intergovernmental Fora Specialist’s work being completed and eligible for payment/s.

Institutional Arrangement

• The Consultant - Intergovernmental Fora Specialist will be directly responsible to the UN Women Fiji MCO Deputy Representative a.i but also be supported to compete their role by the UN Women Fiji MCO Gender Group Coordinator and work closely as needed with members of the Pacific Gender Technical Working Group to ensure they have all the required information needed to complete this briefing paper.  The Consultant - Intergovernmental Fora Specialist will communicate any technical difficulties or questions to the UN Women Fiji MCO Gender Group Coordinator and seek approval/acceptance of output from UN Women Fiji MCO Deputy Representative a.i.

• Access to the members of the Pacific Gender Technical Working Group will be given to the Consultant - Intergovernmental Fora Specialist by the UN Women Fiji MCO Gender Group Coordinator.

• Access to the Pacific Community (SPC) consultant responsible for developing the Pacific Beijing+30 Regional Report.

• The Consultant - Intergovernmental Fora Specialist will be expected to actively communicate with the Pacific Gender Technical Working Group throughout the entire consultancy.

Duration of the Work

The consultancy is expected to commence from 16 September 2024 and to have concluded by 15 December 2024.

Feedback on the draft report will be provided five workdays after the Report is submitted by the Consultant - Intergovernmental Fora Specialist.   

Duty Station

Home-based, no travel is required. 

The assignment does not require any presence at any UN Women premises.

Performance Evaluation

The Consultant – Intergovernmental Fora Specialist’ performance will be evaluated based on timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.

Financial Arrangements

Payments will be disbursed to the Consultant - Intergovernmental Fora Specialist in one instalment, upon submission and approval the final deliverable set forth in the section “Expected Outputs and Deliverables” above, and certification by the UN Women Fiji MCO Deputy Representative a.i that the services have been satisfactorily performed.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity 
• Integrity 
• Professionalism 

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 Core Values and Competencies:  

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES

• Excellent analytical skills
• Excellent report writing skills 
• Good knowledge of gender equality and women’s rights issues in the Pacific

Required Skills and Experience

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 with two (2) additional years of progressively responsible experience at the national and/or international level may be accepted in lieu of Master’s degree.

Experience:

• At least 7 years (Masters Degree) or 9 years (Bachelors Degree) of demonstrable previous experience in preparing position papers and/or briefing documents and/or similar;
• Experience in key issues relating to gender equality, women’s empowerment issues in the Pacific, and Pacific regional and global intergovernmental processes would be advantageous;
• Experience working with the UN System;
• Demonstrated ability to prepare and draft reports and knowledge products is required (samples of previous work will be required).
• Computer literacy and ability to effectively use office technology equipment, MS Office.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.

Note:

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.)

Evaluation:

Initially, individual consultants will be short-listed based on the following minimum qualification criteria:

• 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 with two (2) additional years of progressively responsible experience at the national and/or international level may be accepted in lieu of Master’s degree.
• At least 7 years (Masters Degree) or 9 years (Bachelors Degree) of demonstrable previous experience in preparing position papers and/or briefing documents and/or similar.

Technical evaluation of shortlisted candidates will be done through desk review of applications on the basis of responsiveness to the Terms of Reference (TOR) as per table below. 

Interviews and/or written tests will be organised if needed only, depending on the short-listed candidates’ qualifications.

Technical Evaluation Table:

The consultancy recruitment process will be governed by the rules and regulations of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).

How To Apply:

• Personal CV or P11 (P11 can be downloaded from: )
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)
• UN Women Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns, or other materials.