UN Women is the global champion for gender equality, working to develop and uphold standards and create an environment in which every woman and girl can exercise her human rights and live up to her full potential. We are trusted partners for advocates and decision-makers from all walks of life, and a leader in the effort to achieve gender equality.
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.
UN Women’s engagement in humanitarian action and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is to ensure consistency and sustainability in addressing gender equality concerns across the humanitarian-development nexus.
Additionally, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction [SFDRR], a global framework also promotes gender equality and inclusion of women and girls in addressing disaster impacts.
Southern Africa is one of the regions most affected by serious impacts of climate-induced natural disasters; since 2019 the region has been hit by 7 cyclones with varying intensity and impact.
In 2023 alone, a succession of cyclones and floods resulted in significant loss of life and assets in Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
In early March 2023, Malawi was hit by Tropical Cyclone Freddy [TCF] that induced floods and mud slides in 15 districts across the Southern region where at least 184,000 people were displaced and 183 people lost their lives, while over 199,000 houses were destroyed or flooded.
In Mozambique, TCF affected over 1 million people mainly in the Zambezia Province, while in Zimbabwe, 370,000 people were directly affected with 250,000 people displaced across Zambezia, Sofala, Tete, Manica and Niassa provinces.
165 people were killed, 10 injured and more than 30,000 houses were damaged by heavy rains and floods.
Women, and children are often recognized to be among the most vulnerable to natural hazards,1. Given that they are disproportionately affected by disasters, women and girls are more likely to die in disasters and have different and uneven levels of resilience and capacity to recover compared to men.
Additionally, climate change, economic uncertainties, new pandemics, and food shortages exacerbate their vulnerabilities.
The vulnerability of women and girls is largely attributed to pre-existing gender-based inequalities and do not emanate from a single factor but reflect historical and culturally specific patterns of social institutions, culture and personal lives that negate their roles and contributions. However, there is need to research this further to understand how lessons learnt from past disasters can be triangulated to inform and what can be done better in the future with a view to strategically strengthen gender responsive resilience and response interventions.
In response, the Women’s Resilience to Disasters (WRD) Project an 18-month project that aims at initiating and providing a comprehensive package of services to strengthen women’s resilience to natural disasters and threats, including climate change, contributing to sustainable, secure, and thriving communities in the disaster-prone districts in Malawi is under implementation.
The objective of the WRD project in Malawi is to (i) support the development and adoption of gender-responsive decision-making and governance systems on DRR, and (ii) enable targeted action to build the resilience of women and girls.
The project will be implemented in three disasters prone districts that were heavily hit by Tropical Cyclone Freddy: Zomba, Blantyre and Phalombe.
Reporting to the Regional Humanitarian Specialist and liaising with the Reference Group focal points in each of the target countries, the Consultant will undertake a comprehensive review of the preliminary findings of the Cross-border Analysis of the Gendered Impacts of Climate Induced Hazards in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe Reports.
The Consultant shall be expected to review the country specific reports and prepare a summarized report (35 pages) and PowerPoint Presentation that shall be used to facilitate the validation workshop with key sector experts and stakeholders including government, INGOs, women and youth organizations.
Insert a paragraph on organizational setting, reporting and collaborators.
The consultant will be reporting to Title, and will be supported by Title, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.
Objectives of the Assignment:
Given the magnitude and scale of recent climate-related hazards affecting the Southern Africa region and their strong gender dimensions, there is need for a cross border initiative informed by current data to strengthen women’s resilience to disasters in the region.
The Report and its findings will be used to inform the development of a regional WRD programme.
Specifically, the Report will reflect:
Scope of Work:
Note: It is envisioned that the Report shall be publicly launched in one of the target countries within the Programme implementation period.
Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work
Deliverables
Deliverables | Expected Time allocation per Deliverable | Payment Schedule (optional) |
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9 days | 100% |
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1.5 days | |
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0.5 days | |
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4 days | |
15 days |
Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel
This is a home-based consultancy and there will be no Travel
Core Values:
Core Competencies:
Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf
Functional Competencies:
Education and Certification:
Experience:
Languages:
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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.
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REQUIRED EDUCATION: Bachelor Degree
EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: 60