National Gender Based Violence Expert/ Home Based at UN Women

Role

Background/Context

UN Women (UNW), 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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women’s triple mandate, along with its global network and deep policy and programming expertise, continues to endow the Entity with a unique capacity to: (i) support Member States to strengthen global norms and standards for gender equality and women’s empowerment, and mainstream gender perspectives in other thematic areas; (ii) promote coordination and coherence across the UN system to enhance accountability and results for gender equality and women’s empowerment; and (iii) undertake operational activities to support Member States, upon their request, in translating global norms and standards into legislation, policies and strategies at country level.

UN Women plays an innovative and catalytic role in the State of Palestine since its inception in 1997 (as UNIFEM). In line with the national priorities, the work of UN Women for the period 2023-2025 is aligned with three of the Palestine United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework’s (UNSDCF) outcomes:

• Palestinians have greater access to economic opportunities that are inclusive, resilient, and sustainable, including decent employment and livelihoods opportunities in an empowered private sector.

• Palestinians, including the most vulnerable, have equal access to sustainable, inclusive, gender responsive and quality social services, social protection, and affordable utilities.

• Palestinian governance institutions, processes, and mechanisms at all levels are more democratic, rights-based, inclusive, and accountable.

Its three-year Strategic Note supports the efforts to achieve measurable results in country in terms of four UN Women global Strategic Plan impacts (2022-2025): (SP Impact 1). Governance and participation in public life; (SP Impact 2). Women’s Economic Empowerment; (SP Impact 3). Ending Violence Against Women and Girls and; SP Impact 4. Women peace and security, Humanitarian & Disaster Risk Reduction.

In line with the Palestinian Government’s commitment to achieve gender equality and combat Violence Against Women (VAW), and in full partnership with the Justice, Security and Social Sectors, UN Women within its joint programme with UNDP and UNICEF- “ Reinforcing equal access to justice for all Palestinians - SAWASYA III” is supporting the Justice, Security and Social institutions to mainstream gender into their plans, procedures and policies, and develop and provide gender responsive services to women victims and survivors of violence.

Within this framework, UN Women is providing technical support to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), High Judicial Council (HJC), Palestinian civil police (PCP), the Official Gazette Bureau (OGB), the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD), the Supreme Judge Department and the Attorney General Office (AGO) to mainstream gender into their policies, plans, procedures and practices.

In line with this, UN Women Sawasya III programme intends to engage a qualified consultant to strengthen the Sharia Prosecution team’s capacity to manage violence against women (VAW) cases effectively and in a gender-responsive manner, with the aim of enhancing women’s protection and improving their access to justice.

Objectives of the Assignment:

The primary objective of the assignment is to enhance the Sharia Prosecution’s team knowledge and practical skills in managing violence against women (VAW) cases by strengthening their effective engagement in case conferences and the National Referral System, thereby ensuring coordinated, survivor-centered, and rights-based responses that improve protection and access to justice.

Sub- Objectives:

• Enhance Sharia Prosecution’s team technical knowledge on VAW case management frameworks and procedures, by strengthening their understanding of relevant protocols, SoPs and referral mechanisms organizing and governing the referral of VAW cases.
• Build practical skills for effective participation in case conferences and inter-agency coordination, by developing
  competencies in case analysis, risk assessment, decision-making, and collaborative case management with relevant service providers to ensure timely and coordinated responses.

The consultant will be reporting to UN Women Sawasya III Rule of law and Protection Specialist and will be supported by the CSO support and Finance Associate who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Inception phase:

• To develop an inception report that includes a detailed description of the work plan, and the methodology, and share it with UN Women for review and approval. The methodology should combine theoretical and practical components, including case studies.
• To meet with UN Women’s technical team and the SJD’s focal points, to discuss the assignment’s objectives, methods and tools that will be used, and the main deliverables.

Implementation phase:

• To meet with the SJD’s focal points to discuss the training needs and topics and identify the key topics to be covered in the sessions.
• To prepare training material, and pre- and post-training assessment and share them with UN Women for feedback. The training is expected to address topics related to the following:

-Legal and Institutional Frameworks for VAW Cases in Palestine.

-Survivor-Centered and Rights-Based Approaches.

-Case Conference Management and Decision-Making.

-Referral Pathways and Inter-Agency Coordination.

-Case Documentation, Reporting, and Follow-Up

• To conduct four-days training.
• To develop and submit a training report outlining the training proceedings and outcomes, including the results of the pre- and post- assessment.

Final report:

• To submit a final narrative report that includes a description of the assignment, the achievements, methodology used, lessons learned and recommendations along with relevant annexes including the list of trainees and training material.

Deliverables

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy with frequent field visits to partner institution main offices in the West-Bank, Palestine.

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

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 FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Sound knowledge of international standards on human rights, gender justice and women rights.
• Proven Experience in the field of protection and access to justice and security.
• Strong capacity to establish, build and sustain effective relationships with clients, demonstrating understanding of client’s perspective; anticipates client needs and addresses them promptly.
• Strong ability to effectively interact with technical and non- technical end users in a cooperative and helpful manner.

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• A master’s degree in gender studies, human rights, law or any other 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.

Experience:

• Minimum of 3 years of professional working experience in the field of violence against women, women’s protection and access to justice are required.
• Experience in providing capacity-building training on women’s protection and women’s access to justice is required.
• Working experience related to the national referral system is desirable.
• Experience with the UN system or/and International Organizations is desirable.
• Experience with the justice system is desirable.
• A sample of a training material and a training report in areas related to women’s protection and/ or women’s access to justice. be attached as part of your application.

Languages:

• Fluency in Arabic is required
• Working knowledge of English is required.