USA: International Consultant to Develop a Policy Paper on the Linkages Between Gender, Conflict, and Climate Change in the Arab States Region

Oct 28, 2021 | UN Women
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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 is mandated by the UN Security Council to lead on UN system-wide coordination on Women, Peace and Security, and to this end, UN Women has been working with governments, UN partners, and civil society in the region to support women’s participation and influence at all levels of decision-making to prevent and resolve conflict.

In the Arab States region, UN Women Regional Office for the Arab States, with support from the Government of Germany, contributes toward building sustainable peace by strengthening women’s leadership and participation in peace and transition processes. This is being done through the transfer of evidence-based knowledge and skills to empower institutions and key actors, including women in the region themselves, to engage in and influence peace processes.

In the context of the project, UN Women also looks to identify trends and build evidence around emerging issues as they relate to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in the Arab States region. With the region directly experiencing the impact of climate change in recent years, and with increasing evidence that conflict dynamics could be affected by climate-related events, climate-related security has become a pressing issue both on the global and regional agenda. In this context, UN Women seeks to explore the linkages between gender, climate change, and peace and security in the Arab States region.

Context overview and rationale

In the Arab States, the projections for the impact of climate change are becoming increasingly dire, with the region facing rises in sea levels, significant precipitation decline, and increasingly high temperatures. This is likely to create serious implications for the stability and security of the region. Indeed, emerging research shows that countries such as Iraq, Syria, and Yemen have already seen conflicts and tensions being exacerbated by drought and extreme weather, while overall in the regional climate change is projected to impact conflict factors such as water scarcity; limited land resources and land degradation; dependency on food imports; dependency on volatile energy markets and the general vulnerability of many economies of the region to changes in global trade.

Climate change can have differentiated gendered impacts, and contributes to the increased vulnerability of women, particularly in the contexts of conflict, due to existing gender inequalities in societies, such as unequal power relations and structures and unequal access to and control of resources, among other factors. Despite the emerging evidence of the gendered impacts of climate change, they remain poorly understood on the international, national, and local levels, and have been generally absent from climate-security policymaking and practice to date. This is also true for the Arab States region where women’s roles and initiatives and the gender impact of climate change have rarely been documented. Further research is needed on the human security risks associated with climate change, including in conflict settings in the region, as well as in relation to women’s existing and potential roles in preventing and mitigating climate-related security risks in the context of the WPS agenda.

Objective of the Assignment:

To fill this gap, UN Women ROAS seeks to explore the linkages between climate change, gender and conflict, and the roles of women in addressing the impacts of climate change in the region and is hiring a consultant to develop a policy paper on this issue.

Reporting to the WPS regional advisor, the consultant will draft a policy paper providing an improved understanding of the differentiated gendered experiences of climate change and its impact on conflict, gender norms, and power relations in the region. The paper will also identify best practices and existing initiatives aiming to tackle gender issues in climate change in the region. In doing so, the paper will highlight entry points and opportunities to enhance women’s role in building sustainable peace and preventing conflict in the context of climate change, with a specific focus on Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Syria, and Yemen (to be confirmed). Finally, the policy paper will present recommendations for UN Women and other relevant actors in the region to integrate climate-related considerations into their women, peace and security work.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Undertake a desk-review of existing research and publications on gender, conflict, and climate change, with a specific focus on the Arab States region;
• Based on the desk review, submit a paper outline for UN Women’s comments;
• Identify and undertake interviews with key women, peace and security actors in the region and specifically in the research’ focus countries, such as women civil society organizations and UN partners who are working on climate change;
• Develop a policy paper of approximately 20 pages highlighting the impact of climate change on conflict with a gender-lens in the Arab States region, and documenting women’s response and initiatives to respond to the consequences of climate change, best practices as well as gaps and challenges when it comes to women’s involvement;
• Develop a set of recommendations for UN Women and other actors highlighting entry points for WPS programming in the region including in light of upcoming high-level engagements focusing on climate change.

Deliverables and Timelines

• Undertake desk review of existing research on gender, conflict, and climate change in the Arab States Region and submit policy paper outline for UN Women review: November 2021 – 5 days
• Undertake interviews with key WPS stakeholders in the region: November 2021 – 5 days
• Draft policy paper highlighting research findings and key recommendations: November-December 2021 – 12 days
• Include UN Women’s comments in the final policy paper: December 2021 – 3 days

Competencies

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:  https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent analytical and research skills;
• Strong understanding of and commitment to gender equality and women's empowerment and its policy implications;
• Strong understanding of the policy framework and programmatic responses of WPS in the Arab States region;
• Excellent writing skills;
• Excellent organizational skills;
• Excellent interpersonal and networking skills, and ability to work in multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environments;
• Ability to work under pressure on multiple projects whilst maintaining high quality and timeliness;
• Self-management.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Masters Degree preferably in gender, political science, international relations, law, or equivalent;
• 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:

• At least 7 years of experience working on gender and WPS;
• Previous experience conducting research on WPS issues;
• Previous experience researching climate change, conflict and peacebuilding issues is an asset;
• Knowledge of the MENA region is an asset;
• Experience working with the UN and international organizations is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in spoken and written English is required;
• Knowledge of Arabic is an asset.

Evaluation Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology: Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation.

Criteria Weight Technical: 70% (70 points)

• A University Degree in gender, political science, international relations, security studies, law, or equivalent (20 points);
• At least seven years of experience in gender equality and WPS issues (30 points);
• Previous experience conducting research on WPS and/or conflict issues (20 points).

Financial: Lowest Financial Proposal: 30% (30 points)

The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula:

• Contract will be awarded to the technically qualified consultant who obtains the highest combined score (financial and technical);
• The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula: (Lowest Bid Offered*)/ (Bid of the Consultant) x 30;
• 'Lowest Bid Offered' refers to the lowest price offered by Offerors scoring at least 49 points in the technical evaluation.

Application:

Interested Individual Consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• A cover letter with a brief presentation of your consultancy explaining your suitability for the work and link to portfolio of work;
• UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment;
• Personal CV; and Financial proposal; Proposed inclusive daily rate.

The above-mentioned documents should be merged in a standalone file including all of them since the online application submission does only permit uploading one file per application. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification.

Note:

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.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employ, 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.)