Result of Service

To support the implementation of the audit and provide required inputs for the participation gender audit report.

Work Location

Remote

Expected duration

4 months

Duties and Responsibilities

I. Background Since the adoption of the United Nations System-Wide Action Plan (UN-SWAP) on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women in 2012, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) has been among the first UN entities to roll it out and implement it. Over more than a decade, ESCWA worked steadily on advancing on most on the indicators under the UN-SWAP 1.0 and 2.0. ESCWA was also among the leading agencies who started early on reporting on UN-SWAP 3.0. Throughout the years, ESCWA was recognized by UN Women, the custodian entity to monitor the implementation of the UN-SWAP, as an outperforming entity, excelling in numerous areas. In 2014, ESCWA conducted its first organization-wide participatory gender audit (PGA), and the second in 2020. In both PGA exercises, an internal team, composed of a leader and several members, worked closely with an external certified gender audit facilitator to undertake the audit following the ILO methodology. The audits provided an in-depth insight into how gender is mainstreamed in internal processes including planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation. They also scrutinized the organizational culture as well as the mechanisms and processes in place to ensure gender is mainstreamed in ESCWA results. Human resources related issues were equally examined, including policies on human resources and gender parity. The audit reports, that summarize the findings, shed light on the progress achieved and concluded each by a set of recommendations for action to fill the identified gaps. Results of the two ESCWA participatory gender audits informed the development of consecutive institutional gender equality and the empowerment of women policies (2014-2018, 2019-2023 and 2025-2030) and guided the implementation of the UN-SWAP across its several areas. II. Objectives and methodology Capitalizing on the progress made in advancing women’s rights and gender equality in the organization, ESCWA is planning to undertake its third PGA in 2026. Therefore, ESCWA will form a team composed of two certified gender audit facilitators to conduct its third participatory organization-wide gender audit following ILO methodology in close coordination with the ESCWA Gender Focal Points Network (GFPN) and with the support of its members. The audit aims to monitor and assess the progress in achieving gender equality at the level of the organization since 2019. The audit will thus:  Examine how internal practices and systems are effective in promoting gender equality within the organization and in its outputs and whether these practices and systems and mutually enforcing;  Identify challenges and gaps; and  Provide recommendations to overcome these challenges and fill the gaps. The audit is planned to follow the ILO participatory approach and is expected to be conducted in:  The Office of the Executive Secretary;  The six substantive clusters;  ESCWA Communication and Information Unit;  The Administration division that includes the following functions: Budget and Finance; Conference Services; General Services; Human Resources Management; Information and Communication Technology; Joint Medical; and Procurement. The implementation of the audit is expected to involve:  Conducting awareness raising and capacity building sessions targeting the GFPN;  Conducting a review of selected organization’s departments in line with the ILO five elements of participatory gender audit, which will entail information collection processes including a general survey, review of documents, interviews and focus groups;  Validating the findings of the audit with the ESCWA UN-SWAP team, the GFPN and senior management;  Preparing and submitting the audit report. In light of the above, ESCWA seeks to hire a PGA facilitator to work closely with the lead facilitator and support the implementation of the PGA as part of the team formed for this purpose. III. Tasks and Deliverables The facilitator is requested to:  Support the lead facilitator in developing the gender audit work plan;  Support the lead facilitator in providing training needed for the gender focal points to support conducting the audit;  Support the development of the survey questionnaire and the interviews and focus groups’ guides;  Undertake interviews as set in the audit work plan;  Review and comment on the analysis of the information collected;  Support the development of the draft audit report.

Qualifications/special skills

A master’s or equivalent) in social and/or gender and/or development studies or related area is required. All candidates must submit a copy of the required educational degree. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. A minimum of 5 years of professional work experience in gender equality and women’s rights and sustainable development is required. ILO Certified gender audit facilitator is required. Previous experience in conducting organizations’ gender audits is required.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat; and Arabic is a working language of ESCWA. For this position, fluency in English is required. Note: “Fluency” equals a rating of ‘fluent’ in all four areas (speak, read, write, and understand) and “Knowledge of” equals a rating of ‘confident’ in two of the four areas.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.