Background:
Afghanistan is one of the worldโs most complex emergencies, and the worldโs largest humanitarian crisis. Afghan people are grappling with the impact of conflict, poverty, economic decline, and natural disasters. In this context, Afghan women and girls face unique vulnerabilities and require urgent support as gender inequality is interwoven with conflict dynamics and humanitarian needs. It is essential that Afghan women and girls can continue to shape the development of their country, and that their gains are protected. UN Women remains fully committed to supporting Afghan women and girls and to putting them at the center of the global response to the crisis in Afghanistan.
UN Women has been in Afghanistan for two decades. UN Womenโs programming approach is informed by analysis of the political, economic and humanitarian situation, risks to and capacities of partner organizations, and needs of Afghan women and girls. UN Women Afghanistan currently has four key programme priorities: (1) Gender in Humanitarian Action, (2) Ending Violence Against Women, (3) Womenโs Economic Empowerment, and (4) Women, Peace and Security.
Under its coordination mandate, UN Women provides UN system-wide leadership on gender responsive humanitarian action, through its presence in the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT). UN Women is the permanent co-lead of the Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group (GiHA WG) and works closely with its co-chair, CARE International, to provide technical, advisory, and programmatic support to the HCT and the Inter Cluster Coordination Team (ICCT). The GiHA WG is accountable to and reports to the HCT and provides close collaboration, communication, and coordination across clusters and technical working groups to ensure gender analysis and advocacy are adequately coordinated, disseminated, and utilized, through the ICCT coordinated by OCHA, including for strategic planning purposes such as Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) and Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP).ย In the context of the multiple crises in Afghanistan, the GiHA WG regularly develops knowledge products such as gender and access-related surveys and products looking at the participation of women staff in humanitarian action. This information and data support the provision of information to the overall response, and enables technical adaptations by clusters, the ICCT, and the HCT, to ensure continued reach to women and girls.
Under the overall guidance of the GiHA Coordination and Access Specialist, the Information, Knowledge, and Data Management Specialist works with and provides support to the UN Women GiHA team and the GiHA working group through the development of data and knowledge products.ย
Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work
The consultant will implement the development of data-driven products to enable UN Women and the GiHA WG or the upcoming Afghanistan Gender Group to inform the overall humanitarian and BHN response and decision-making with tailored gender-disaggregated data, information on womenโs access to assistance and participation therein. The consultancy will contribute to enhancing overall gender outcomes in the humanitarian response in Afghanistan.
The consultant will perform the following functions:
Deliver at least two rounds of GiHA and HAWG gender and access surveyย regarding the impact of the bans on women humanitarian workers in Afghanistan, including:
Updating the tool for data collection together with GiHA and HAWG colleagues Running the survey via Kobo Preparing the analysis and developing a snapshot showcasing key trends, for presentation to the HCT and publication on Relief WebUndertake two bi-annual mappings of the UN staff composition in Afghanistan, including:
Updating the tool for data collection Collecting data from various UN agencies in collaboration with RCO and OCHA Preparing the analysis and developing a snapshot showcasing all data, for presentation to the UNCTProvide IM support to data collection on women-led organizations,ย including:
Updating the existing mapping of WLOs in the country Updating the mapping of WLOsโ participation in clusters Providing needed information to clusters to shape their approaches and strategies to engage WLOsRepresent GiHA WG or the new Gender Group in key coordination mechanisms and related meetings:
Participate in the IM working group Participate in the assessment and analysis-related groups Participate in the ICCT Participate in any other coordination platforms related to information management and assessments across the humanitarian and BHN response. Support joint needs assessments with clusters and humanitarian partners, ensuring that gender dimensions are adequately integrated. Provide data analysis and insights on gender integration into joint assessments led by the ICCT, clusters, and BHN actors, including the Whole of Afghanistan Analysis, to support GiHA WG or the new Gender Groupโs positioning and inputs into interagency processes, including feeding into humanitarian planningDevelop capacity building initiatives for gender actors as well as clusters and BHN groups, including:
Carry out a training for partners on the use of Sex and Age Disaggregated Data (SADD) Carry out a training for WLOs and GiHA members on information management Provide technical advice to partners on integrating gender indicators into needs assessments and humanitarian planning tools. Support the design of monitoring frameworks and development of gender working group annual indicators, particularly for HRP and BHN reporting.Provide knowledge management support to GiHA WG or the new gender group, including:
Maintaining a list of all GiHA WG information products highlighting the needs, response, and gaps in gender inclusion in humanitarian action. Ensuring that the WG web pageย https://response.reliefweb.int/afghanistan/gender-humanitarian-action-gihaย is up to date and that it showcases the latest GiHA WG products Working in close collaboration with the communication team to provide updated content on GiHA products. Maintaining the membership data of the GiHA WGSupport to GiHA Programming โ Data Collection, Monitoring, and Reporting
Produce data analysis as part of programming, including for distributions of cash, Non-Food Items, and winterization-related support during the consultancy period Support the preparation of technical reports and data snapshots for distributions undertaken by UN Women during the consultancy period Support post-distribution monitoring (PDM) efforts by collecting feedback from women and girls on the adequacy, safety, and impact of the assistance received, and preparing final reports summarizing key findings.Deliverables Deliverable Expected completion time (due day) Payment schedule 2 GiHA HAWG snapshots produced First snapshot by September 2025, second snapshot by December 2025
40.5 working days
(13.5 days in September,
13.5 days in December, ย
13.5 days in January)
2 mappings of UN staff composition produced By February 202627 working days ย
(13.5 days in October,
13.5 days in February)
Updated information on WLOs in country and their involvement in clusters available By December 2025 13.5 days in November Attendance of key coordination meetings Throughout the consultancy9 days
(1.5 days per month)
Capacity building and trainings for gender and BHN actors deivered Throughout the consultancy 12 days (2 days per month) Updated GiHA WG webpage and membership database Throughout the consultancy 6 days (1 day per month) Data analysis and PDM for distributions Upon request, when distributions happen, depending on the distributions and programmatic activities happening.24 days
(4 days per month)
Consultantโs Workplace and Official Travel
This is a home-based consultancy.
As part of this assignment, there will be a maximum of 3 trips to Kabul, Afghanistan
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 visitย this linkย for more information on UN Womenโs Values and Competencies Framework:ย
Functional Competencies:
Ability to design research initiatives Strong writing skills Ability to create, edit, and present information in clear and presentable formats; Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports, information, and workflow;Required Qualifications:
Education and Certification:
Masterโs degree or equivalent in computer science or data management is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted instead of the advanced university degreeExperience:
At least 5 yearsโ experience in information management, results-based management, planning, costing, management, and results reporting/M&E/, humanitarian action, and related areas at the international level is required Experience in data analysis, development of data collection tools, and databases is required. Experience working in a humanitarian response is required Experience working on gender issues is desirable Experience working with diverse stakeholder groups or multi-stakeholder partnerships is highly desirable.Languages:
Working knowledge of English Working knowledge of another official UN language is desirable.ยStatements :
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,ย and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age,ย ability, national origin,ย 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 toย UN Womenโsย policiesย and proceduresย andย theย standardsย of conduct expected of UN Women personnelย 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.
ย