Background

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) 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.

Fifteen years after the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, there is widespread concern that progress made at the normative and policy levels has not been translated into significant improvements in the lives of women and girls in conflict and post-conflict countries. Nigeria is no exception. Incessant violent conflict and high level of insecurity has over the years reverberated in various part of Northern Nigeria, leading to the death of many, destruction of properties and means of livelihood, abduction of vulnerable groups (especially women and girls), trauma and displacement. Women and children who bear the brunt of these crisis are often excluded in peace building and conflict resolution processes. In addition, women comprise about 50% of the Nigeria’s population but they represent an insignificant number in decision making processes, at all levels. In spite of the fact that the importance of women’s engagement in peace processes has been underscored in several international instruments, resolutions, conventions, and commitments by Member States, implementation has been very slow.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective of the Assignment

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the Programme Manager, Women Peace and Security and the WPS Section of UN Women Head Quarters, the Consultant will form and lead a team to undertake the studies in each of the three states, and offer options and experience drawn from international best practice. The Consultant will engage relevant stakeholders, including Government Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs), CSOs, Development Partners, Security Agencies and exiting Peace Committees in each state, with clear collaborative roles in the implementation, monitoring and reporting of relevant elements of the peace architecture. The consultants will also assess the activities and plans of other donors – notably the National Stability and Reconciliation Programme of UK DfID – as well as of other UN Agencies such as UNDP, to ensure substantive coordination and synergy wherever possible.

The specific objectives of the assignment is to review the existing peace and security architecture in Adamawa, Plateau and Gombe States from a gender and human rights perspective and provide recommendations to strengthen the system for sustainable peace and security.

Tasks

Form a technical research/review team, lead and coordinate the processes involved in the review of Peace and Security Architecture in Adamawa, Plateau and Gombe States;
Undertake desk reviews of relevant peace and security literature and documentation in Nigeria, with special focus on gender dimension in Northern Nigeria;
Undertake a gender analysis of existing peace and security architectures globally with the aim of documenting best practices and lessons learned;
Review and document findings and lessons learned from other international experiences of integrating gender perspective in contexts of conflict and insecurity, and bring value addition into the Northern Nigeria WPS programme;
Develop relevant research instruments and methodology;
Engage local data collectors at federal and state levels to generate information required to strengthen existing peace and security architecture in target states from a gender perspective;
Collect relevant gender disaggregated data at federal and state levels on existing peace and security mechanisms, including Early Warning and Early Response, Local Peace and Security structures and their capacity to reduce insecurity;
Drawing from the baseline survey of the Northern Nigeria Women Peace and Security Programme, identify gaps and needs particularly in the engagement of women in peace and security in the three states of focus, and the impact of violent conflicts and insurgency in neighboring states of Yobe and Borno;
Based on the findings of the baseline survey and other primary and secondary data, develop a Gender Sensitive Peace Architecture for each of the target states;
Drawing from review findings, both locally and internationally, identify opportunities for mainstreaming gender perspectives in peace and security frameworks in Northern Nigeria.
Methodology

It is expected that the Consultant would adopt participatory methodologies at every stage of the process, involving all relevant stakeholders at federal and state levels. This will involve gap analysis, focus group discussions (where appropriate), community dialogue, key informant interviews (KIIs) with selected Stakeholders, memoranda from relevant stakeholders(especially the Civil Society Organizations), Validation/Review Meetings with Stakeholders, Desk Review of existing local, national and international documents and instruments in relevant areas, amongst others to achieve expected outputs.

Scope of Work

The review of the existing Peace and Security architecture from a gender and human rights perspective will be conducted in Adamawa, Plateau and Gombe States, as well as Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. Efforts will be made to concentrate more on each of the state capitals and the selected Local Government Areas (LGAs) for Programme implementation (i.e. four LGAs per state).

The Consultant will be supported by team members to

develop the research/review methodology for the assignment;
conduct data analysis of key findings, and provide comprehensive report, with substantive recommendations to stakeholders at all levels;
facilitate stakeholders validation meetings in each of the target states on key findings, gaps analysis and recommendations, as well as the revised version of peace and security architecture in each of the target states;
develop a comprehensive peace and security architecture from a gender and human rights perspective in each of the target states, reflecting synergy at local, state, national and regional levels for publication and dissemination.
Deliverables

Programme implementation plan for the assignment;
Methodology including research and review instruments;
Report of Situation Analysis on Peace and Security Architecture in Adamawa, Plateau and Gombe States, Nigeria. The report, among others should contain analysed data, including tables and background information covering findings, value addition to knowledge management, conclusions and recommendations;
A Comprehensive Gender Strategy/Peace and Security Architecture for Government and stakeholders in Adamawa, Plateau and Gombe States, as well as the Federal Government of Nigeria. The document should include synergy with neighbouring states in Northern Nigeria, as well as national and regional integration for sustainable peace and security;
Final report (narrative and financial) of all activities conducted within the framework of the assignment with recommendations.
Competencies

Competencies Summary

Integrity

Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions as well as values and ethical standards, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
Ethics & values

Promoting Ethics and Integrity / Creating Organizational Precedents.
Commitment

Demonstrates commitment to UN Women’s mission and vision.
Cultural Sensitivity and Adaptability/Valuing Diversity

Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff;
Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.
Required Skills and Experience

Education
Master`s degree or equivalent in security studies, gender studies, social sciences or related disciplines.
Experience

A minimum of 15 years of relevant international experience in women;
Of which a minimum of 15 years of demonstrated international experience in conducting gender analysis and developing gender responsive policies, programs and strategies;
Peace and security research;
Strong knowledge of the women, peace and security agenda, in particular the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and subsequent resolutions;
Demonstrated competencies in the application of gender analysis tools and methodologies;
Demonstrated competencies in the conduct of participatory multi-stakeholder approaches;
Language Requirements

Written and oral proficiency in English is required.


Supervision and Performance Evaluation
The consultant will work under the direct guidance and supervision of the Programme Manager, UN Women Nigeria Office and the Peace & Security Unit, UN Women Head of Office and UNICEF’s Project Coordinator. The consultant will regularly brief the UN Women Country Team and UNICEF on the progress.

Based on clearance by the UN Women and Evaluation Group Chair, the consultancy fee will be paid on agreed installments payments in line with target deliverables. The Consultant will receive the final remuneration after successful completion of assignment positively evaluated by UN Women.

Duration
The duration of the consultancy is 75 days, commencing by September 2015, following the signing of contract. In a situation where there will be need to extend the contract duration, the Consultant will notify UN Women in writing at least 15 working days before the contract expires. UN Women will not entertain any costs extension other than the approved contract amount indicated on the contact agreement.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

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