Capacity Building Consultant – Young Women in Peacebuilding

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. 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.

Since October 2023, according to UN Women estimates, more than 10,000 women have been killed as a result of the Israeli military operations in Gaza, among them an estimated 6,000 mothers who left 19,000 orphaned children. The situation is also worsening in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli military operations are increasing in number and lethality.

At a political level, the ongoing war has had important repercussions and consequences. As the war continues, efforts directed towards the humanitarian response should be complemented by ensuring an adequate representation of women and the inclusion of women’s priorities at all stages of decision-making processes, in line with the Women, Peace and Security Agenda and the humanitarian-development-peacebuilding nexus.  In the long run, however, the impact on an already fragile context will be the increased regression of women’s presence in decision-making context.

Palestinian women, including young women, have unrelenting ambition and a fundamental right to play a role in shaping a future that is peaceful and secure, and where they and their communities can thrive. For this reason,  UN Women proposes to develop the Young Women in Peacebuilding and Decision-Making network (YWPD Network). The initiative will be carried out in co-operation with the Negotiation & Support Unit NSU- Palestinian Negotiations Affairs Department (NAD). This initiative draws upon the successful experiences of the Gender Innovation Agora and the Young Women Peacebuilders Programme carried out by the UN Women Regional Office of Arab States and aims to work closely with both networks. 

Against this backdrop, UN Women seeks to hire a capacity building consultant. The selected candidate is expected to contribute to the formation of a cadre of 30-40 young Palestinian women leaders who can effectively engage in diplomacy, negotiation and decision-making and contribute to the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda in Palestine. 

Description of Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of UN Women Programme Manager and working in close coordination with both UN Women and the NSU/NAD, the consultant will develop the capacity building programme, methodology, curriculum, facilitation, inviting key experts, and evaluation of the programme for 30-40 participants from Palestine. 

The scope of work is to build a cadre of young Palestinian women leaders who can effectively engage in peacebuilding, diplomacy, negotiation and decision-making. Selected participants will engage in 50 hours of learning activities, carried out in person and online. 

The consultant will conceptualize, design, implement and evaluate the capacity building on diplomacy, negotiations, mediation and conflict resolution for young Palestinian women. This should include the minimum requirements: 

1.           Methodology: consultant should submit a methodology plan covering the following: 

•             Focus: At least 50 hours of training on diplomacy, negotiations, mediation and conflict resolution for young women.   

•             Platform: The programme will be via Zoom or any accessible online platform to allow for broader participation. 

•             Teaching Method: interactive and experiential learning balancing lectures, experts key notes, case studies, competitions, and best practices.   

•             Mentorship: at least one session of one-to-one guidance for each participant. 

•             Graduation:  group graduation project. 

2.           Curriculum:  the essential track on diplomacy, negotiations, mediation and conflict resolution for young women should cover the following modules: 

•             Introduction to the UN Security Council Resolutions 1325, on women, peace, and security and UN Security Council Youth, Peace & Security Resolution 2250; as well as subsequent WPS and YPS resolutions.

•             Conflict theories and analysis, including how to conduct gender sensitive conflict analysis.

•             Conflict Resolution Methods. 

•             Peace Processes, formal and informal tracks.

•             Mediation Process, Values and Phases.

•             Mediation Skills. 

•             Local dispute settlement. 

•             Diplomacy.

•             Negotiations.

•             Simulation and Case Studies.

The programme should be conducted in Arabic. 

The consultant is expected to lead on the development of the learning modules, jointly identify speakers and ensure coherence and academic value of the programme. In particular, the selected consultant is expected to: 

• Develop a methodology and a suitable learning curriculum.
• In cooperation with UN Women and NSU/NAD, finalize the list of selected candidates (30-40). 
• Lead on the academic aspects of the initiative throughout its implementation, by ensuring the implementation of the learning modules, proposing a viable timeline and identifying selected speakers. 
• Ensure the learning modules are delivered effectively. 
• Supervise the group projects and provide guidance as needed. 
• Evaluate the work of participants (assignments, final exam, and group project).  
• Provide certification to participants.
• Draft a final report of the initiative. 

  Deliverables Deliverable Expected completion time (due day) 

  Submit an inception report including programme plan, methodology and training outline. 

  1 December 2024 Develop training materials.  31 December 2024 Programme implementation as outlined in the ToR, including 50 hours of training delivery and events 

  February – August 2025*

  *The calendar of activities will be decided jointly by the consultant and UN Women.

  Final report including participants’ assessment, feedback, impact stories and recommendations. 31 August 2025

  Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

  This is a home-based consultancy. Travel to Palestine may be considered during the course of the assignment. 

  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:

      • Strong organizational and communication skills.
      • Ability to work in a team.
      • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
      • Ability to use information technologies as a tool and resource.
      • Commitment to UN values.
      • Excellent organizational skills.
      • Ability to work under pressure on multiple projects whilst maintaining high-quality and timeliness.
      • Self-management. 

        Required Qualifications:

        Education and Certification:

        • Master’s degree or equivalent in gender studies, international relations conflict and development and related fields.

        Experience:

        • At least 7 years of work experience on mediation or dispute resolution and peacebuilding at the international level is required. 
        • At least 5 years of experience working on gender equality specifically on women, peace, and security is required.
        • At least 5 years of experience in facilitating trainings is required.
        • experience to train young people is desirable
        • Experience working in Palestine and or Arab region is desirable. 
        • Previous experience working with the United Nations or other international organizations is desirable.

          Languages:

          • Fluency in English is required
          • Fluency in Arabic is highly 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.)