International Consultancy: Capacity Building Technical Officers in the Systematic Application of Gender Mainstreaming

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Qualifications

1.       Purpose of the Consultancy

The main purpose of this consultancy is to support the WHO country office in building the capacity of technical officers in the systematic application of gender mainstreaming measures in programme design and development of knowledge products.

2.       Background

Globally, gender mainstreaming was established as a major global strategy for the promotion of gender equality in the Beijing Platform for Action from the Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. Syria is committed to the international agenda including reporting to Beijing as well as to CEDAW.    A national Gender Equality plan was endorsed for the country and includes health is one of the main 6 pillars.   

Within WHO, the Roadmap of the WHO Secretariat to advance gender equality, human rights and health equity has called for developing and implementing a capacity-building plan. It directs all relevant WHO programmes, departments and offices to take responsibility for building their capacities to support Member States to implement gender-responsive approaches. 

The Roadmap recommended the following : i) conduct gender analyses and respond to findings through the design of gender-responsive health policies and strategies, financing, information and education, and services; ii) increase understanding of sex and gender differentials and inequalities related to risk factors, exposures and manifestations of ill health, severity and frequency of diseases, health-seeking behaviours, access to care and experiences in health care settings, and outcomes and impact of ill health, as well as their root causes; and iii) advance equality and non-discrimination within the health workforce, including through supporting diversity and inclusion, strengthening women’s leadership, ensuring decent work free from all forms of discrimination, violence and harassment, addressing gender pay gaps and occupational segregation by gender, and increasing the capacity of health workers to deliver high-quality health services that are people-centred and responsive to diverse needs.

Therefore, WHO Syria strives to ensure that gender aspects are reflected in the design of the programme/ project (i.e. results framework, activities and indicators), with initial focus on incorporating a gender perspective into context analysis and planning stage for health programmes.

3.       Objective

To recruit an expert who will train technical officers, and other relevant staff, in the WHO country office in Syria on gender mainstreaming in health.

The training objectives will include: 

1-      Importance of gender agenda in WHO work

2-      How to conduct a gender analysis

3-      Importance of sex aggregated data for reporting

4-      How to take gender responsive actions on needs, risk and interventions

5-      Introduce WHO tools and guidelines around gender mainstreaming in health

A two-day training will be conducted in two batches to cover all technical officers and other relevant staff in WHO Country Office Syria, including 5 subnational hubs.  Designing and developing training content will be done from distance. 

4.       Planned timelines

Start Date: 10th December 2024

End Date:   27th December 2024

With a total of 10 working days.

5.       Work to be performed

Output: All Technical Officers and other relevant staff in the WHO Country Office will be trained on gender responsive programming. 

Deliverables

6.       Technical Supervision

The selected Consultant will work under the overall guidance of the Acting WHO Representative and would be directly supervised by the Public Health Specialist (Health Promotion & Determinants).

7.       Specific requirements

Qualifications required:        

An advanced university degree (Master’s level or above) public health, reproductive health, gender, social sciences, women sciences or any related field.

 Experience required:

At least 10 years’ experience working in working on gender and women health.

Skills such as good presentation and communication skills along experience in conducting gender training

Demonstrable experience in working with WHO previously.

Language requirements:

Proficiency in English.  

8.       Place of assignment

Remotely and in country

9.       Medical clearance

The selected Consultant will be expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work.

10.   Travel

The Consultant is expected to travel to Damascus Office to implement the training.