National Consultant for the Development of a Standard Training Manual for Gender Focal Points of Security Sector Institutions at UN Women

Advertised on behalf of: UN Women
Type of Contract: Individual Contract
Post Level: National Consultant
Duration of Initial Contract: 50 Working Days
Duration of the Assignment: The assignment is expected to take 50 working days from the date of signing the contract.

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 active participation of women and girls in shaping their future, based on a recognition of their dignity and capacities, is posited in several global policy frameworks as a basic condition to promote gender equality and women’s rights. SDG 16 “Peace, Justice and effective, accountable, inclusive Institutions” and SDG 5 “Gender Equality and Empower all Women and Girls” are understood and implemented together, as interdependent and synergic goals. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, 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 to build effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.
• In Nigeria, gender inequality is widespread due to patriarchy, imbalance in socio-economic opportunities, cultural and religious factors and inadequate enabling legal and policy frameworks, among other factors. The violence or threat of violence that women and girls face is a consistent thread, ranging from domestic violence, traditional harmful practices, fear of standing for elected office, sexual harassment of girls and young women, among others, with consequences that constrain women’s autonomy and life chances. Against this backdrop, UN Women works to support Government’s national priorities, which prioritizes the empowerment of women and girls and their contribution to all areas of economic, political and social development. The objective of building and sustaining peace and security across the country is critical for Nigeria, which faces several security challenges including the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, the Farmers/Herders conflict in the Middle Belt, and conflicts over natural resources in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.
• Conflicts across different regions in Nigeria present significant challenges to the security sector. The ongoing Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East; resource-related insurgency in the Niger-Delta in the South-South, ethnic and herder/farmer clashes in the North Central/middle-belt states, and militancy and banditry in the North West are cases in point. These have all resulted in the increased deployment of security personnel-primarily military- to undertake internal operations across the country. Increased displacement of populations, disruption to economic activities, and increased protection concerns-in particular sexual and gender-based violence as a result of the conflicts and security responses, are disproportionally affecting women and girls. This highlights the critical need for a gender-responsive approach to security operations, spearheaded by gender-sensitive security sector institutions.
• Nigeria’s National Action Plan (NAP) for implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 acknowledges the need to promote gender-responsive security sector reforms, although full-scale implementation at policy and operational levels remains a challenge to date. Despite ongoing measures by SSIs and partners amidst increasing commitment to gender responsive operations and security institutions, critical gaps and challenges remain. Consultations with various security actors, including the Nigeria Army Gender Advisers highlight continued needs with regards to tailored training and operational guidelines for the nature of contexts and operations being undertaken.
• UN Women has in its previous and current programming undertaken baseline studies in various states of the North East, Middle Belt, and at a federal level which have assessed the representation of women within the various security services, knowledge of gender and related issues amongst security personnel, and community-security relations. These studies indicate that more needs to be done with regards to addressing issues of women’s representation across the security services; strengthening knowledge and capacity with regards to gender responsive security; and developing mechanisms and guidelines to support security personnel in-mission. In particular, the situation in the North East provides an opportunity to test and support efforts to make operations more gender responsive.
• The lack of deployment of women in operations in the North East, a long-standing operation which is currently shifting to a focus on major population hubs, coupled with  anecdotal evidence of not only high levels of sexual and gender based violence, but also sexual exploitation and abuse from security personnel, indicate a need to strengthen community engagement and dialogue as well as preventative measures for security personnel currently deployed or deploying in these contexts.
• As such, under UN Women’s project on Enhancing Gender-Responsive Security Operations and Community Dialogue, which aims to among other things, enhance the capacity of security sector personnel for gender-responsive operations, UN Women in close collaboration with the Security Sector Gender Group, wishes to engage a consultant to develop a Training Manual on Gender for Gender Focal Points for Security Sector Institutions

Duties and Responsibilities

• The overall objective of the consultancy is to develop a Standard Training Manual for Gender Focal Points of Security Sector Institutions (trainer’s and participant’s manual), with basic modules as well as advanced modules for specialized personnel, and pilot the training for selected personnel.
• This will also involve an initial mapping of past and current gender and related training and training materials offered by training institutes and other entities. The training concept should also envisage the possibility of step-down training.  
• Under the supervision of the UN Women team (working closely with the Security Sector Reference Group), the following tasks will be carried out:
• Undertake consultative and planning meetings with UN Women and identified key stakeholders (Security Sector Reference Group, etc) to be engaged in the process;
• Map past and current existing training, resources, courses and materials on gender, protection, and related topics for the gender focal points of security sector institutions;
• Develop questionnaire and undertake quick capacity training needs assessment of gender focal points;
• Draft a training manual on gender, which includes a trainer’s and participant’s manual;
• Present the draft manual to key stakeholders for validation and incorporate inputs;
• Undertake a pilot training for select gender focal points of SSIs;
• Generate a final report with an evaluation of the pilot training and recommendations.

The selected Consultant will be expected to complete the following key-deliverables within the indicative timeframe - Indicative Timeline:

• Inception report (including workplan, training concept and proposed outline, mapping of past/existing GFP training) - 7 days from the commencement of assignment
• Training and capacity needs assessment report (develop questionnaire and undertake quick training needs assessment of GFPs) - 15 days from commencement of assignment
• Draft Training Manual (trainer’s and participant’s manual) - 25 days from commencement of assignment
• Presentation and Validation workshop for draft Training Guide - 30 days from commencement of assignment
• Final Training Manual - 40 days from commencement of assignment
• Pilot training for select GFP - 45 days from the commencement of assignment
• Final report and evaluation - 50 days from commencement of assignment

Reporting:

• Under the strategic guidance of the Country Representative and in partnership with the UN Women, the proponent will develop and deliver the above listed outputs in accordance with the above outlined timeframe and specifications. Writing and formatting of the document should be consistent throughout.
• The proponent will be expected to report to the office for a minimum of 1 hour per week, with additional check-ins as required.

Qualifications / Required Skills and Experience
Education:

• Master's degree in Law, Social Science, Gender Studies, International Development, Human Rights, Political Science, International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies or any related field.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of relevant experience at national or international level in policy or programming work on gender, gender mainstreaming, or related areas;
• Knowledge of international, regional, and regional instruments, policies, protocols and institutional frameworks that relate to protection, gender and women’s rights, and strong knowledge of the relevant Nigerian frameworks;
• Proven experience in capacity development, with a focus on developing and delivering training materials, particularly for security actors;
• Fluency in English is required
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is an asset
• Experience working in the UN system is an asset

Competencies
Core Values / Guiding Principles:

• Integrity: Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct;
• Professionalism: Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work;
• Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity: Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Ethics and Values: Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity;
• Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
• Development and Innovation: Take charge of self-development and take initiative;
• Work in teams: Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multiethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds;
• Communicating and Information Sharing: Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication;
• Self-management and Emotional Intelligence: Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others;
• Conflict Management: Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution;
• Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge;
• Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

• Knowledge of international human rights treaties and instruments, and the gender dimensions of these legal frameworks;
• Excellent analytical capacity;
• Experience drafting policy implementation tools and/or guides;
• Ability to speak and write in a clear and gender-sensitive language;
• Familiarity with the UN system and knowledge of UN Women;
• Knowledge of women, peace and security frameworks and security sector 

Language required:

• English