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.

UN Women’s goal in Liberia is to promote women’s human rights and gender equality which are key in sustaining and furthering achievements in stability and development.  In this regard, its programming in the Country is connected to five priority areas: women’s leadership and political participation; enhancing women’s economic empowerment; engaging women in all aspects of women, peace and security and humanitarian processes; advancing women’s rights to live free from violence; and gender responsive budgeting and governance. UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s joint work in advancing gender equality.

These goals of the UN Women is align to that of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection which has the mandate to promote the development, empowerment and protection of women, girls and children, as well as the welfare and integration of persons with disabilities, the vulnerable, extremely poor, excluded and disadvantaged. Specifically, the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection (MGCSP) is to initiate, develop and implement and/or coordinate policies and programs aimed at women, girls, and children, as well as those physically challenged, marginalized, disadvantaged and excluded, to ensure that their rights are protected and that they are integrated, and contribute to, and benefit from, the peace, stability and socio-economic advancement of the Country, Liberia.

The Country Gender Profile

A Country Gender Equality Profile (CGEP) is the result of a comprehensive gender analysis of the situation of women and men, which stakeholders use to inform national, sectoral, and decentralized planning and implementation, national disaster preparedness and response, UNSDCF development, prioritization, and implementation, and to guide UN Women Strategic note, programme, and project development.  The Gender Equality Profile will contribute evidence for advocacy for stakeholder commitment towards Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment and the implementation of global and regional normative frameworks, including the Sustainable Development Goals.

Assessing the current gender situation in Liberia is of the utmost importance to guide future development of gender strategies and programmed in the country. This country profile will be based on international commitments to gender equality that have been adopted by Liberia. These analyses will present the situation primarily based on the indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while at the same time considering the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and CEDAW frameworks. To ensure the systematic monitoring of and reporting on Liberia’s commitments towards the achievement of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable, the Country Gender Equality Profile (CGEP) needs to be updated considering some of the achievements made since 2021.

The new CGEP will act as a tool to provide a timely and effective understanding of the current operating context in relation to gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) to national and international partners. By providing an in-depth analysis, the CGEP will enhance the understanding of differences in the conditions, needs, participation rates, access to resources and development, control of assets, decision-making powers between girls, women, boys, and men. It is important to understand these differences in Liberia to ensure that actions led  by the Government of Liberia and Civil Society; and supported by development partners tackle gender inequalities and discrimination where needed and benefit equally girls, women, boys, and men. UN Women Liberia Country Office, as part of broader UNCT initiatives, is responsible to support the Government of Liberia in the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda and monitoring progress towards the SDGs.

This assignment will be supervised by the Deputy Country Representative of UN Women Liberia in close collaboration with the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection through its Deputy Minister for Research, Policy, and Planning. The national consultant will team up with an international consultant and work closely with UN Women’s Programme Specialist, Gender Responsive Budgeting in undertaking the responsibilities.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

The consultant should combine desk review and secondary analysis of qualitative and statistical data in a manner that is useful for the planning of policies, programs and projects that are gender responsive. Under the overall guidance of the Country Representative, in  close consultation, collaboration and partnership with the Department of Research, Policy and Planning at the Ministry of Gender Children and in close consultation with other UN Agencies,  the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS), Civil Society Organizations(CSOs) Reference Group, Private Sector, and relevant ministries, agencies and commissions, the national consult will accomplish the following tasks:

The national consultant will be work under the international consultant to ensure a completion of all tasks mentioned below:

Task 1. Develop a Consultancy Workplan

The National consultant, with the guidance of the international consultant, will develop a comprehensive inception report and work plan to outline key responsibilities and timelines.

1. Conduct a desk review of relevant documents such as Country Common Assessment, 2022 national census report, gender assessment of Liberia statistics system.
2. Conduct preliminary consultations with UN agencies, senior management and technicians at the MFDP, MGCSP, CSOs reference group, and the private sector to facilitate development of a consultancy plan;

Task 2. Conduct Data Collection

1. Gather, examine and analyze existing disaggregated data (if available) related to gender equality in Liberia
2. Collaborate with national and international development partners and the Liberian government (LISGIS, MFDP, MGCSP) in gathering and analyzing relevant statistics

Task 3. Perform Institutional and situation capacity assessment

1. Examine the socio-cultural, economic, environmental, legal and other factors that hinder the efforts of gender equality in Liberia.
2. Assess the institutional capacity of government ministries and other stakeholders to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women in Liberia.
3. Evaluate national policies, legal framework and strategies from a gender perspective and identify good practices and shortcomings.

Task 4. Draft the CGEP

1. In consultation with MGCSP, LISGIS, MFDP, CSOs reference group and the private sector, Identify major needs and concerns regarding gender equality in Liberia and the coverage of these by UN agencies and other development partners;
2. Make recommendations to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in economic, social and decision-making processes; and
3. Propose several clear tangible suggestions for the integration of gender in areas of intervention (e.g. sectors of concentration, thematic area), including from a programmatic perspective for UN Women, the government of Liberia, UNCT and other UN Agencies.

Task 5. Validate the draft CGEP

1. Organize and facilitate 2-days working sessions to validate the draft updated CGEP

Task 6. Finalize the Updated CGEP with the following

1. Develop a Power point presentation outline the main results, findings and specific policy recommendations;
2. Develop final report of the Consultancy.

Deliverables

1. Draft and Final Inception Report with detailed work plan, methodology, tools, roles, responsibilities, and timeframe submitted;
2. Analysis of existing disaggregated data (if available) related to gender equality in Liberia produced;
3. Institution and situation capacity assessment report submitted
4. Draft CGEP report including preliminary findings and recommendations submitted;
5. Final validated CGEP;
6. CGEP update process that describes the entire drafting process, a list of stakeholders consulted, a matrix of all stakeholders’ comments obtained throughout the evaluation; challenges encountered, and lessons learned submitted.

Ethical Considerations:

In all interactions with respondents, ethical guidelines should be followed while conducting interviews, data collection, etc:

1. Seeking informed consent before beginning data collection;
2. Ensuring the anonymity of respondents and the confidentiality of all data collected;
3. Prior to engaging with beneficiaries who might be considered vulnerable, Government units and UN Women who have engaged closely with them will be consulted to ensure both that they are aware of no issues that could be of ethical concern and that post-interview support will be available.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

1. The consultant will work from the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection with intermittent presence on UN Women premises;
2. The Consultant will work using her/his own laptop;
3. The consultant may need to travel to counties and prior approval of MGCSP and UN Women will be required.

Technical Committee will be established and composed of selected key stakeholders and gender experts from other Ministries, UN Agencies, Development Partners, and CSOs among others to provide technical guidance and oversight to the consultant(s) throughout the process of conducting the assignment. The Technical Committee will also strengthen ownership of the process. The consultant shall be ultimately accountable to UN Women and MGCSP for this assignment.

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

Functional Competencies:

• Strong knowledge of gender equality and women’s rights issues, political science, law, and development;
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with government representatives, CSOs, Women’s rights group, other UN agencies and donors;
• Proven networking skills, and ability;
• Strong writing and communication skills;
• Knowledge and understanding of UN system and familiarity with inter-governmental processes; Strong IT skills, including databases, extranet and office software packages; and
• Strong analytical and interpersonal skill.

Required Qualifications

The National Consultant should fulfill the following requirements:

  a. Education:

• Master’s degree is required in Gender Studies, social sciences, political science, governance, or other related fields.

  b. Experience:

• At least 5 years of proven experience in gender analysis, and gender mainstreaming and gender related policies.
• Prior experience in review, assessment, and evaluation work in development context and proven success in leading reviews of policies and programs preferably related to gender;
• Proven exposure/experience in gender and emergency including the design/development/implementation of capacity development support programmes;
• Proven experience in leading and facilitating workshops;
• Knowledge of the governance, policy development on gender equality, and women empowerment context within Liberia.
• Excellent analytical skills with a strong drive for results and capacity to work independently.
• Familiarity with the UN system would be an asset.

Languages:

• Proficiency in oral and written English;
• Ability to effectively utilize computer software (i.e. MS Excel, Access, oracle, SPSS etc.) for database development and management;

Statement

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.)