Background

Background/Context

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 Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) addresses gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) challenges in the Asia-Pacific region, including deeply embedded discriminatory social norms and practices that perpetuate inequalities based on gender and other intersectional identities (e.g., ethnicity, class, region, age, disability, migratory status, and sexual orientation and gender identity, among others).

In line with its triple mandate the ROAP works across the following areas: Inter-governmental support, Women’s leadership and political participation, Gender-responsive Governance (including on Gender Statistics); Women’s Economic Empowerment (including Migration, Ending Violence Against Women; Women, Peace and Security; Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction and Humanitarian Action.

Additionally, the ROAP is engaged in UN Coordination to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment. Covering 42 countries within Asia and the Pacific, it exercises its triple mandate and functions at a regional level and in support of UN Women’s offices and UN Country Teams in 24 countries across the region.

ROAP also oversees and manages three non-physical presence offices.

Under the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, UN Women delivers normative, operational and coordination support to ensure that women can fully, equally, and meaningfully contribute to building and sustaining inclusive, just and peaceful societies.

The cross-border peace and security landscape in Asia and the Pacific has evolved dramatically in recent years. Trafficking in persons for forced criminality associated with online scam centres and other cyber-enabled threats are increasingly becoming critical security concerns for women in the region.

The nature of conflict and its drivers has shifted.

The gender dimensions of non-traditional security risks, including trafficking in persons and cyber security, pose new challenges that require innovative responses and solutions. These emerging security issues in South-East Asia have significant adverse impacts on women’s rights, stability and security across the region.

In response to an alarming rise in trafficking in women for forced criminality along the Thailand- Myanmar border, UN Women is implementing the project to provide immediate support to survivors and mitigate and prevent the surge in trafficking in women and other cyber-enabled harms along Thailand-Myanmar border area, particularly in the Northern Thailand (the Project).

Report to the Programme Coordinator – Governance, Peace and Security, with matrix report to Country Programme Coordinator – UN Women Thailand, the national consultant is responsible to coordinate with project partners, provide support to the project implementation and monitoring and reporting, and contribute to the communications initiatives.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will focus on implementing, coordinating, monitoring and reporting for the Project on combatting trafficking in women (the Project) as per agreed project document, annual work plans of UN Women ROAP and Thailand.

1.

Coordinate with implementing partners, and government and non-government stakeholders to achieve successful delivery of the Project activities in alignment with UN Women programmes at regional and country level

• Coordinate relationships with the Project partners and suppliers to support the implementation for activities and results, identify issues and suggest solutions including capacity building needs for staff and partners.
• Provide technical support to implementing partners to ensure project implementation alignment with project results.
• Support coordination of the project workplan and implementation, according to the project document, and in collaboration with the Thailand Country Programme.
• Track and coordinate submission of implementing partners’ financial and narrative reports.
• Record and maintain documents on relevant project activities, issues, and risks, and liaise with the Thailand Country Programme to ensure the project results are achieved and resources are managed.
• Contribute to the exchange of information and knowledge products internally and externally of the project.
• Support advocacy campaigns, events, workshops and other knowledge products.

2.

Monitoring and Reporting of the Project

• Review, coordinate and monitor the submission of partner financial and narrative reports.
• Monitor the implementation of activities and the expenditure of funds and make budget re-alignments/revisions as necessary.
• Analyze the monitoring results data collected from implementing partners and use them for reporting.
• Ensure adequate documentation of results, lessons learned and promising practices from the Project.
• Facilitate the preparation of progress reports, and expenditures status reports for the donor and UN Women, including gathering and compiling all necessary information, and coordinating inputs by partners.
• Provide technical support to the development of partnerships and resource mobilization strategies.
• Identify potential areas of cooperation, based on strategic goals of UN Women, country needs and donors’ priorities and develop the relevant partnerships.

3.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization

Supervision

The consultant will be supervised by Programme Coordinator – Governance, Peace and Security, UN Women ROAP, who will be responsible for the quality assurance of the deliverables.

Contract period and work location

The time required for the consultancy is within the period of 22 August 2024 to 30 March 2025.

For upcountry assignments, UN Women will be responsible for the accommodation and travel expenses for any cost incurred during assignment period.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is an office-based consultancy in Bangkok, Thailand.

As part of this assignment, there will be regular in the country missions, especially Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Tak provinces.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Functional Competencies

• Good knowledge of programme formulation, implementation, and Results Based Management.
• Good knowledge of data collection, analysis, and reporting.
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports.
• Previous experience working on gender in Thailand and/or Myanmar an asset.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:

https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, human rights, gender/ women’s studies, international development, or a related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A project/programme management certification (such as PMP®, PRINCE2®, or MSP®) would be an added advantage.

Experience:

• At least 2 year of progressively responsible work experience in trafficking in persons, cybersecurity, and other cross-border peace and security, or development programme/project implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting or capacity building.
• Experience engaging and coordinating with diverse stakeholders, including local civil society organizations and sub-national level governments is required.
• Technical expertise on trafficking in persons, cross-border peace and security issues, and/or women peace and security is desirable.