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Moldova: UN Women National Consultant with technical expertise on social issues to support the informal Women´s Advisory Board (WAB) on Sustainable Peacebuilding

Mar 6, 2023 | United Nations Women
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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.

 The work of UN Women in Moldova is guided by its new Country Strategic Note 2023-2027, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Moldova (2023-2027), UN Women Global Strategic Plan, National Programs and Strategies and aims to contribute to the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Strategic Note focuses on four main areas: 1) Ending Violence against Women; 2) Women’s Leadership and Governance; 3) Women’s Economic empowerment and 4) Humanitarian and Peace development nexus and UN Coordination on Gender equality.

 UN Women’s work on women, peace, and security is guided by 10 UN Security Council resolutions—1325, 1820, 1888, 1889, 1960, 2106, 2122, 2242, 2467, and 2493 and is bolstered by a number of related normative frameworks, which make up the broader women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda. Although the Agenda achieved wide acceptance as an international policy framework, being integrated into various development and peace programs, women remain excluded or under-represented in most formal peace processes.

 In Moldova, since 1992, the protracted conflict between the two banks of the river Nistru poses a potential threat to the overall stability of the country and the region. The Transnistrian settlement process is conducted by using several formats of negotiations: 1+1 (at the level of Political Representatives of the Sides backed up by 11 Thematic Working Groups and three (3) subgroups on the level of experts) and the 5+2 format that includes OSCE, Russia and Ukraine as mediators between the two sides and the US and the EU as observers. The war in Ukraine launched by Russia on February 24, 2022, directly impacted the Transnistria conflict settlement process, particularly the “5+2 format” considering the stakeholders involved. However, meetings at the level of Political Representatives of the Sides and the activity of some of the joint thematic working groups continued. Considering the disproportionate consequences of the war on women and men, and the resulted predominantly women and children refugee inflow from Ukraine, seeking shelter on both banks of Nistru river, it becomes increasingly important that women’s perspectives and their role in all peacebuilding efforts, including post-conflict rebuilding, is elevated.

 Although a growing body of literature and studies demonstrate that women’s participation increases the probability of a lasting peace agreement, they are under-represented at all three-levels of peace talks, both in decision-making and at the level of working groups, thus issues with different implications for women and men have rarely been considered or discussed. The issue of women’s rights, including on the left bank of the Transnistrian region, and the participation of women in peacebuilding processes and women’s social inclusion has been raised by various international and regional actors in the past few years, who encouraged the Sides to advance the role of women in the settlement process. 

In light of the above-mentioned considerations, UN Women Moldova has established an informal Women´s Advisory Board (WAB) for Sustainable Peacebuilding on both banks of Nistru river to bolster implementation of Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, foster meaningful participation of women in peacebuilding processes and facilitate the inclusion of gender equality perspective in conflict negotiations on thematic issues. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision and guidance of the UN Women Programme Officer on Women, Peace and Security, in coordination with UN Women Programme Specialist,  Programme Analyst on WILG and UN Women Moldova senior management, the selected consultant is expected to work closely with WAB members and WAB facilitator to (1) extract, synthetize and substantiate social issues faced by women affected by the frozen Transnistrian conflict, and based on these (2) formulate concrete proposals of items recommended to be included on the negotiation agenda, at the appropriate level (e.g. Working Group level, or higher),  depending on the typology/ magnitude/urgency of the issues voiced by women. The consultant shall develop and provide background, research, analytical data supporting the proposals, to the extent possible.

 The recipients of the proposals shall include, but are not limited to: Co-Chairs, members of the relevant Working Groups; the Bureau for Reintegration Policies, OSCE Special Representative for the Transnistrian Settlement Process; Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova; the OSCE mediator in the Transnistria Settlement Process. The Special Representative on Gender of the OSCE Chairpersonship shall be informed, consulted and engaged at the appropriate stages of the process. Other relevant stakeholders may be approached on a case-by-case basis, in consultation with UN Women and relevant actors.

More specifically, the Consultant is expected to:

  • Closely monitor the evolutions of the negotiation process to identify gaps and entry points of social nature;
  • Jointly with WAB members and the other consultants from the Expert Review Group, develop, test, and validate a standardized Tool for the identification of social issues.
  • Using the Tool, hold in-depth consultations with WAB members to extract/collect the key social issues faced by women in the context of the protracted Transnistria conflict;
  • Conduct research, analysis to substantiate the identified issues, as appropriate;
  • Ensure thematic specific consultation with key stakeholders before validating the final version of a deliverable;
  • Formulate concrete proposals/recommendations for the settlement process actors with specific social issues/entry points from gender perspective to be included on the negotiation agenda;
  • Validate the respective proposals items with WAB members before these are formally submitted by WAB Secretariat to the relevant settlement process actors. Consult with other parties, as appropriate.
  • Lead/support the development of position papers, non-papers, advocacy briefs, other written outputs as relevant;
  • Deliver trainings, workshops, hold focus group discussions, participate in meetings/ consultations/events, and support various advocacy efforts as identified jointly with UN Women;
  • Perform other relevant tasks, as requested by UN Women for the successful implementation of the assignment.

Competencies

Core Values:

  • Integrity
  • Professionalism
  • Cultural sensitivity and respect for diversity
  • Gender sensitiveness and empathy towards women’s rights issues
  • Respect for UN principles 

Core Competencies:

  • Communication
  • Planning and Organizing
  • Organizational Awareness
  • Team working ability
  • Accountability
  • Leadership

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Required Skills and Experience

Education: 

  • At least Master’s degree in social sciences, law, gender studies, security studies, other areas relevant for the assignment;
  • Additional certifications in one of the areas relevant for the assignment would be an asset.

Experience:

  • Minimum 5 years of professional experience in the development/implementation of policy documents/ strategies, laws, projects related to social aspects, including from Gender perspective;
  • Proven experience in developing research, policies, security-related studies, etc. on social issues, including from gender perspective;
  • Track record of cooperation with security sector and/or specific experience related to the Transnistria settlement process is a strong advantage;
  • Strong track record of cooperation with civil society organizations is required;
  • Work experience with international organizations, including UN agencies, will be considered an asset. 

Language Requirements:

  • Excellent verbal and written Romanian and Russian languages. Fluency in English language is required.

Application Procedure: 

The United Nations in Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens legally entitled to work in the Republic of Moldova, are particularly encouraged to apply. 

Interested applicants should apply to this announcement through UNDP jobs site: jobs.undp.org.

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from

https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc;

Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, please combine all documents into one (1) single PDF document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment;

Letter of Intent to include a brief overview of the consultant’s previous experiences makes the candidate the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. It should reflect the above-mentioned required skills and experience.

Financial proposal – specifying a total lump sum amount for the task specified in Terms of References. The Financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (daily rate). Please see ANNEX I and ANNEX II - https://sc.undp.md/jobs/2765/

Applications received after the close date will not be accepted.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.