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Qualifications
Purpose of consultancy
The World Health Organizationโs Division of Pacific Technical Support (WHO-DPS) is seeking a qualified individual to serve as Gender Specialist - GEF Building Resilience of Health Systems in Pacific Island LDCs to Climate Change Project. The successful applicant will undertake a review of the Gender Action Plan that has been developed for the project, to align it with the WHO guidance on conducting gender analysis within the WHO framework of Mainstreaming Gender in Health Adaptation to Climate Change Programmes. This alignment is essential to ensure that the project is not only gender-sensitive but also responsive to the specific needs and contexts of each participating country. To support this process, the consultant will assist project countries (Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu) in contextualizing the WHO guidance, tailoring it to their national realities and implementation strategies, and developing country-specific gender analyses and gender action plans (GAPs). This will help enhance the gender responsiveness of project activities and ensure that gender considerations are meaningfully integrated into health adaptation efforts.
Background
The health impacts of climate change are diverse and serious, including water- and vector-borne diseases, undernutrition, and the mental and physical effects of extreme weather and climate events. Extreme weather and climate events also disrupt the delivery of health care services. Ministries of Health from Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu have limited technical capacity to effectively integrate climate-related risks into policy, planning, and regulatory frameworks, and into interventions to control the current and project future burden of climate-sensitive health outcomes.
In consultation with stakeholders, this GEF LDCF project was designed to increase the capacity of national health systems and institutions, and sub-level actors, to manage long-term climate-sensitive health risks, through four complementary outcomes: (1) strengthening governance of health system and institutional capacities; (2) strengthening capacities of health system institutions and personnel to manage the health risks of climate change; (3) ) improving the coverage and quality of health services addressing climate-related diseases; and (4) enhancing south-south cooperation. The regional approach will facilitate catalytic partnerships across countries, training and capacity development of climate change and health specialists in the countries, and documenting lessons and best practices, thereby ensuring that these can be replicated and scaled up across the region. The project will be implemented closely between WHO and Ministries of Health in participating countries.
Deliverables
Job Description
The selected Consultant will undertake the following:ย
- Conduct a comprehensive gender analysis, critically reviewing the existing Gender Action Plan, and ensuring its alignment with the latest WHO and UNDP standards and frameworks. This includes identifying gaps, recommending actionable improvements, and integrating best practices to promote gender equity and responsiveness across programme implementation.
- Develop a revised Gender Action Plan for the project to facilitate implementation of activities that promote gender equality and womenโs empowerment, covering both technical aspects of project activities and operational aspects of the project (i.e., Project Results Framework, Social and Environmental Safeguards and Grievance Redress Mechanisms, Risk Register, and reporting requirements).
Provide tailored technical support to each country in the development of country-specific Gender Action Plans. These plans will be designed to reflect the unique needs, capacities, and institutional arrangements of each national context, ensuring relevance, feasibility, and alignment with international gender equality frameworks. The support will include promoting inclusive approaches that strengthen national ownership and sustainability.
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Expected Outputs and Deliverables:
Deliverable 1: Project-level revised Gender Action Plan: A revised Gender Action Plan for the project with concrete outputs to facilitate implementation of activities that promote gender equality and womenโs empowerment. ย The consultant will develop a detailed project-level revised gender action plan that includes:
- A comprehensive gender analysis of the programme context, identifying key gender dynamics, barriers, and opportunities.
Due date: ย 28 February 2026
Deliverable 2: Develop a Gender Action Plan for Country 1 and Country 2, aligning with the project level revised Gender Action Plan: The consultant will develop comprehensive Gender Action Plans for Kiribati and Vanuatu, ensuring alignment with the overarching project Gender Action Plan and with the country-specific context. This deliverable will include:
Due date: 31 March 2026
Deliverable 3: Develop a Gender Action Plan for Country 3 and Country 4, aligning with the project level revised Gender Action Plan: The consultant will develop comprehensive Gender Action Plans for Kiribati and Vanuatu, ensuring alignment with the overarching project Gender Action Plan and with the country-specific context. This deliverable will include:
Work with the country team in contextualizing gender analysis for each country, identifying key gender issues, gaps, and opportunities within national systems and sectors relevant to the project.Drafting of country-specific Gender Action Plans, tailored to reflect each countryโs unique needs, capacities, and institutional arrangements.Clear implementation roadmap, including objectives, activities, indicators, responsible entities, and timelines.Recommendations on how to fully operationalize and sustain its implementation in planning, delivery, and reporting.Final validated Gender Action Plans for Country 3 and Country 4, ready for endorsement and integration into national and project-level planning.Due date: 30 April 2026
Qualifications, experience, skills and languages
Educational Qualifications
Essential: First university degree in gender studies, international development, sociology, community engagement and research, or relevant field.
Desirable: Masterโs degree in gender studies, gender and development, environment, sustainable development, sociology, or a closely related area.
Experience
Essential:ย
Demonstrated understanding of issues related to gender and sustainable development with at least 5 years of practical working experience in gender mainstreaming, womenโs empowerment and sustainable development.Experience carrying out participatory gender analysis; experience collecting and formulating gender responsive indicators and sex-disaggregated data and preparing gender responsive project analysis; developing gender action plans.Proven experience in the analysis of gender issues.Demonstrated understanding of the links between sustainable development, social and gender issues.Demonstrated experience working on policy and programmatic issues with national and local governments and civil society organizations, including community organizations.Experience with project development and results-based management methodologies.Excellent analytical, writing, advocacy, presentation, and communications skills are required.Desirable:
Work experience in the Pacific is a plus factor.Experience in facilitating gender responsive stakeholder meetings.Experience developing GAPs specifically for GEF projects.ย
Technical skills and knowledge
Proficiency in project management, including the ability to plan, coordinate, and monitor gender-focused initiatives.Familiarity with international frameworks and conventions related to gender equality, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).Strong interpersonal and communication skills to effectively engage with diverse stakeholders and facilitate discussions on sensitive gender topics.ย
Languages:
Expert knowledge of spoken and written English is essential.
Competencies
Communicating credibly and effectively;Producing results;Moving forward in a changing environment; andFostering integration and teamworkย
Location
Remote
Remuneration (travel costs are excluded)
Remuneration: Payband level B (USD7,000 - USD9,980 per month OR USD350 - USD499 per day), subject to qualifications and experience.Expected duration of contract: 60 days over 4 monthsย
Additional Information:
This vacancy notice may be used to identify candidates for other similar consultancies at the same level.Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.A written test may be used as a form of screening.If your candidature is retained for interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.For information on WHO's operations please visit: http://www.who.int.The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits workforce regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics.ยThe WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its workforce. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States (https://www.who.int/careers/diversity-equity-and-inclusion) are strongly encouraged to apply for WHO jobs.ย
Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process. Requests for reasonable accommodation should be sent through an email to ย reasonableaccommodation@who.int.ย An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential. WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter (https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/our-values) into practice.WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of short-listed candidates.WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.Consultants shall perform the work as independent contractors in a personal capacity, and not as a representative of any entity or authority.WHO shall have no responsibility for any taxes, duties, social security contributions or other contributions payable by the Consultant. The Consultant shall be solely responsible for withholding and paying any taxes, duties, social security contributions and any other contributions which are applicable to the Consultant in each location/jurisdiction in which the work hereunder is performed, and the Consultant shall not be entitled to any reimbursement thereof by WHO.Please note that WHOโs contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SHW). The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries. Country-specific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccination-related queries please directly contact SHW directly at shws@who.int.In case the recruitment website does not display properly, please retry by: (i) checking that you have the latest version of the browser installed (Chrome, Edge or Firefox); (ii) clearing your browser history and opening the site in a new browser (not a new tab within the same browser); or (iii) retry accessing the website using Mozilla Firefox browser or using another device. Click the link for detailed guidance on completing job applications: Instructions for candidates.