Capacity Building Consultant

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. 

Against this background- UN Women ‘Sawasya III programme” plans to recruit an expert in the field of Combatting Violence Against Women and women’s access to justice to provide sensitization, awareness and capacity building sessions to judges at the HJC, and Sharia Prosecutors at the SJD. 

Objectives: 

The main objective of this consultancy is to increase the awareness and knowledge of judges, sharia prosecutors and the Official Gazette employees in areas related to women’s rights, gender equality and VAW, in addition to strengthen the capacities and skills of HJC judges and sharia prosecutors in areas related to gender sensitive and responsive services to women victims and survivors of violence. 

The specific objectives of the assignment include the following points: 

1. To conduct five awareness and capacity building sessions to HJC judges on women’s rights, VAW, gender serotypes, challenges facing and impeding women’s access to justice, in addition to related national and international frameworks and best practices to enhance women’s access to justice. 
2. To conduct three capacity building and awareness sessions to Sharia prosecutors in areas related to VAW; gender sensitive considerations in cases of women at sharia courts and gender stereotypes, in addition to the National Referral System (NRS), and recommended practices to support women realizing their rights at sharia courts. 
3. To conduct two awareness and capacity building sessions to the Official Gazette Office relevant staff on women’s rights, gender equality, women’s access to justice, in addition to related national and international frameworks and best practices .The consultant will be reporting to Sawasya III Rule of Law and Protection Specialist and will be supported by the Security Analyst and the Finance Associate who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Developing the inception report: 

• Meet with UN Women, the SJD, and the HJC Gender Unit and VAW judges focal points to discuss the assignment and its objectives. 
• Develop the inception report, including the methodology, the deliverables, the sessions ‘outline, pre and post assessments templates, in addition to the time frame and share with UN Women for review, inputs and approval. 

Developing and delivering eight awareness and capacity building sessions: 

• Develop the awareness and the capacity building sessions material and share it with UN Women for review and inputs.
• Deliver eight awareness and capacity building sessions (five sessions for the HJC judges, e and three sessions for the Sharia prosecutors). 
• Deliver two awareness and capacity building sessions for the Official Gazette employees. 
• Submit narrative reports on each session separately.

The developed material should make stock of national, regional and international references. The sessions should be interactive and participatory. They should include theoretical presentation and case studies. Pre and post assessments should be conducted prior to and post each session separately. 

Reporting on the assignment: 

Develop a comprehensive final narrative report that includes a detailed description of the session, the used methodology, key findings, observations, key points of discussion, including the specific needs, challenges, proposed solutions and recommendations for future interventions. The report should include annexes containing the participants’ list in each session; the presentations (training material), the key questions and any other related material. 

Deliverables: 

The consultancy has three main deliverables: 

Deliverable Expected completion time (due day)  An approved inception report Ten days after the signing of the contract  A successful completion of 5 awareness and capacity building sessions  Two months after the signing of the contract   A successful completion of 5 awareness and capacity building sessions and approved final narrative report  Five months after the signing of the contract  

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel:

The consultancy requires field visits to partner institutions, including the SJD and HJC. 

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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:

• Very strong knowledge of national referral system 
• Sound knowledge of service providers within social, security and justice chain
• Strong expertise in facilitating sessions and workshop to social, justice and security sector personnel; (previous assignment with NRS partners is a great asset).
• Ability to manage time and meet tight deadlines.
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills.
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure.
• Proven networking, organizational and communication skills.

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• A Master’s degree or equivalent  in Gender Studies, Law, or Sociology or related fields is required. 
• 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 of professional working experience in the field of gender, violence against women, protection, women’s rights and women access to Justice is required. 
• At least 3 years’ experience in delivering training in areas related to VAW, gender equality, the National Referral system, and women’s access to justice is required. 
• Experience with the justice sector is desirable. 
• Experience with the UN or international organizations is desirable.
• A sample of a previously developed training material and training report preferably in areas related to combatting violence against women and / or addressing gender stereotypes must be attached as part of your application.

Languages:

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

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.

• A sample of a previously developed training material and training report preferably in areas related to combatting violence against women and / or addressing gender stereotypes must be attached as part of your application.

National Capacity Building Consultant for the Justice Sector - Home Based with field visits - UN Women Careers