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 UN Women Somalia Strategic Note 2022-2025 articulates the entityโs strategic direction, objectives and approaches to support efforts to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, including womenโs full enjoyment of their human rights. It outlines how UN-Women will leverage its normative support functions, UN system coordination and operational activities, as mandated by its founding resolution, in an integrated and mutually reinforcing manner in support of transformative results. The SN also contributes to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
Accordingly, UN Women Somalia program focuses, among others on key areas under the triple nexus mandate, encompassing normative, coordination, and operational activities. These areas include women's peace and protection, joint rule of law, leadership, and economic access and protection.
1.Women, Peace, and Protection program emphasizes ensuring the safety, security, and rights of women in conflict and post-conflict situations. It involves initiatives to prevent gender-based violence, support survivors, promote women's participation in peace processes, and strengthen legal frameworks for women's protection.
2. Joint Rule of Law: UN Women works to enhance the rule of law and access to justice for women by promoting gender-sensitive legal systems and institutions. This involves advocating for gender equality within legal frameworks, ensuring access to justice for women, and building the capacity of law enforcement and judicial bodies to address gender-based discrimination and violence.
3. LEAP: Through the Leadership Empowerment, Access and Protection of Women and Girls in Crisis [LEAP] program, UN Women supports efforts to empower women to participate in decision-making processes at all levels, including political, economic, and community leadership. This includes initiatives to increase women's representation in governance structures, support women's leadership training and mentoring programs, and challenge societal norms that hinder women's leadership roles, Economic Access and Protection focuses on promoting economic opportunities for women, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings.
In 2025, the global community will mark the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995)3, 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, and the final five years of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. This anniversary should be used as the occasion to engage more with the generation of gender equality advocates and to bring those who remain on the sidelines into the centre of a whole-of-government, whole-of-society effort. The regional commissions of the United Nations have been invited to undertake regional reviews and convene regional intergovernmental meetings. These will feed into the sixty-ninth session of the Commission.
The intensity and the scope of the work undertaken by UN Women Somalia office team, requires a high-functioning and resilient team, clear on the mandate, effective and professional in communicating, focusing on achieving the one liaison office vision, and delivering on the programme, projects targeted results and joint initiatives.
UN Women seeks to hire an experienced consultant to support the objectives of the planned retreat as outlined below through well-structured discussions and engaging activities. Reporting to the UN Women Country Program Manager, the retreat consultant will deliver on the following objectives.
The specific objectives of the assignment and the retreat are as follows:
Building team spirit and foster the bond across teams and colleagues toward a more coordinated, peaceful, and productive working culture;To define major priorities and activities for the period 2024 -2025;To assess the progress made towards the goals outlined in the UN Women Somalia's SN 2022-2025 and enhance the teams understanding, motivation, and teamwork, ultimately enabling us to effectively meet our targets;Examining the Somalia Office's strengths, challenges, best practices, and takeaways from its accomplishments in 2022-2023 and identifying areas for improvement and, explore innovative approaches and potential solutions to address the identified challenges;To identify the development and capacity building needs of staff for more effective delivery of the UN Women programme within a collegial and participatory enabling environment;Conduct a constructive dialogue on new corporate leadership, vision, priorities, systems and dynamics that shape UN WOMENโs work in the changing context of our work in the region and at global level;Discuss the well-being of personnel in an increasingly complex and fast-changing context.Discuss challenges and opportunities for resource mobilization country and regional levels, including strategy for gearing Somalia country office towards the delegations of authority.To ensure an inclusive process and full ownership of the retreat agenda and outcomes, the planning team sought inputs from all participants for collective leadership and ownership of a successful planning and conduct of the retreat. To explore new ideas, innovative approaches and make suggestions that can strengthen accountability and enhance the office's performance and efficiency.Scope of Work:
Under the direct supervision of the UN Women Somalia Country Program Manager, the retreat facilitator is expected to facilitate and moderate the sessions. The sessions should be very engaging, participatory, and creatively organized in a culturally sensitive manner with the aim of helping staff reflect on the previous joint discussions with all staff such as all staff retreat held earlier and forge strategies for the following/upcoming year.
Duties and Responsibilities
In collaboration with the retreat planning teams, finalize the methodology, agenda incorporating feedback from previous staff retreats/meetings to ensure that issues raised previously are addressed;Facilitate and moderate key sessions of the retreats, ensuring maximum participation of the participants and the achievement of the retreats objectives and expected resultsl;Facilitate team building activities during the retreats and conduct daily reflections highlighting day key discussions;In consultations with the retreat planning team, produce retreats reports that will highlight daily deliberations and key actions points.Clarify expectations regarding participant feedback, self-assessment, and any post-retreat evaluations;Fostering a positive and inclusive environment.Deliverables:
Develop retreats agenda and team building plan facilitation methodology, incorporating feedback from previous staff retreats and meeting with existing staff;Ensure effective moderation of the retreats;Produce technical meetings report highlighting the key outcomes, recommendations, and action points.
Competencies
Core Values:
Core Competencies:
Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues Accountability Creative Problem Solving Effective Communication Inclusive Collaboration Stakeholder Engagement Leading by ExamplePlease visit this link for more information on UN Womenโs Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values
Functional Compitencies:
Advanced skills on Team Building for staff including senior management level teamsAbility to produce clear reports and guidance with in-depth analysis and strategic recommendations in English in the relevant field;Good communication and interpersonal skillsStakeholder ManagementAbility to complete complex assignments in a timely manner and delivery quality results
Required Skills and Experience
Education and Certification:
Advanced university degree (Master or equivalent) in International Development, Human Rights, Law or related field, with a strong expertise in Gender and Governance;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 5years of experience in the development sector preferably in Womenโs Rights and Gender Equality;Strong understanding of policy and legal frameworks on gender equality, human rights and gender-responsive Peace & Security programming;Prior experience in facilitating group discussions, workshops, or meetings is essential. This could include leading team-building activities, moderating panel discussions, or facilitating strategic planning sessions;Experience working as a consultant in relevant areas such as organizational development, strategy, leadership, or change management;Experience in building and maintaining relationships with clients or stakeholders, understanding client needs, and effectively managing expectations throughout the retreat process.Languages:
Fluency in English is required;Knowledge of [French] or [Spanish] or any other UN official is an asset.All applications must include (as an attachment) a completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form-en.doc
Please note that the system will only allow one attachment and candidates are required to include in the P-11 form links for their previously published reports and articles completed within the last two years. Applications without the completed and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
Notes:
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.