JOB DESCRIPTION

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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates 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 Albania is implementing its Strategic Note (SN) 2022-2026 which aims to ensure that “All Women and girls enjoy and exercise their human rights in a gender equal society and meaningfully contribute to Albania’s sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development and EU integration”. To achieve such result, UN Women is focusing on three outcomes, which mirror verbatim the areas of focus of the United Nations Albania:

Increased and more equitable investment in people to remove barriers and create opportunities for those at risk of exclusion.

Innovative and integrated policy solutions that accelerate sustainable, productive and inclusive development.

Gender-responsive governance that strengthens equality and non-discrimination.

As part of the implementation of its new Strategic Note, UN Women will continue support the Government of Albania to align its national legal and policy framework with international human rights standards on gender equality, as well as facilitating networking and exchanges of good practices and advocate for women’s rights in all areas of life. Several ongoing initiatives support strengthening national policies and legislations, improve institutional capacities to implement international commitments, and promote the production of knowledge and information on the status of gender equality in the country. In addition, during this SN period, the country office has supported the CEDAW Committee session (2023), the UPR reporting (2024), the Beijing +30 review (2030), and will continue supporting their follow up on the coming years including possible the submission of a Voluntary national Review by the Government of Albania. UN Women will also follow up on the implementation of other key recommendations proposed by international instruments such as GREVIO (2024) and the Committee of Parties in Albania.

In this context, the country office is seeking to hire a national consultant who will advise on and support the implementation of activities related to gender equality and human rights in Albania, across the thematic areas covered by the office, including by providing expert-level support to relevant project managers. This will include support to the normative and inter-governmental work of the Country Office and as part of the UNCT as well as implementation of the “EU for Gender Equality Phase II – Gender Equality Facility in Albania” project, the “Empower Women for Rural Development in Northern Albania” project, the UNJP on EVAW Phase II project, and the direct Strategic Note funding project, where the consultant will be requested to provide inputs related to human rights and gender equality in key national strategic documents and planning processes.

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Head of Programmes and in close coordination with UN Women project managers, the gender and human rights advisor will be requested to provide technical assistance to the UN Women country office to include a human rights perspective across national policies and legal documents pertaining to gender equality.  Every assignment under the long-term retainer contract will be guided by a specific assignment clearly stipulating the nature and scope of work, list of deliverables, timeframe and the outcome.

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

Possible duties and responsibilities include (non-inclusive list):

Undertake reviews and provide recommendations for strategic documents and EU IPA planning documents and/or gender mainstreaming guidance notes on issues related to justice/human rights/gender equality upon request.
Draft inputs for the programme progress reports and UN Women quarterly and annual reports for the programme area as well as relevant contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework mid-year and annual reports on human rights related issues.
Conduct research and assist in collecting and analyzing data related human rights and gender equality in Albania.
Prepare legal reviews and analyses related to required legal changes and new legislation.
Prepare short briefs, articles and presentations on the programme results and impact or any other related documents relevant to human rights across programmatic interventions.
Support country office inputs to the development and relevant updates of the Common Country Analyses (CCA) document related to human rights and normative standards on gender equality.
Support the country office for the preparation of inputs for UNCT and other partners’ reporting to treaty bodies, EU annual progress reports, advocacy pieces as well as inputs to UN Women project documents as related to human rights and gender equality.
Support the follow up from human rights reports in coordination with national institutions as needed and upon request.
Support the country office to revise and provide input relevant to human rights and gender equality to reports/publications and other knowledge products developed by the office or its partners.
Prepare and deliver trainings for government and non-government partners related to the international and national human rights framework on gender equality.
Support with inputs into documents and specific thematic papers across a number of issues including climate change, DRR and others.
Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy. As part of this assignment, there will be a maximum of up to 3 trips per year to Tirana

Competencies :

Core Values:

Integrity;
Professionalism;
Respect for Diversity.

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 Values and Competencies Framework:

Functional Competencies:

Proven research, analytical and drafting skills,
Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with various public and non-public stakeholders including in the areas of gender equality and violence against women;
Excellent writing skills in English and Albanian;
Strong interpersonal skills;
Strong initiative-taking;
Focuses on impact and results for the partner;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.

Education and Certification:

Advanced university degree in development-related disciplines (human rights, law, international development, gender and social studies, public administration or any other related discipline).

Experience:

A minimum of 15 years of relevant work experience in the areas of human rights, social inclusion, non-discrimination and gender equality and addressing violence against women;
Prior experience and knowledge of EU directives and frameworks and relevant legislation;
At least 5 years of experience in designing and implementing initiatives on issues related to gender-based violence and services for victims of gender-based violence and engagement with civil society organizations working in the areas of gender equality or end of violence against women;
At least 3 years of experience in human rights monitoring and reporting processes and standards;
Previous experience or familiarity with the UN system or other international organizations. 

Languages:

Proficiency in written and spoken English and Albanian.

Statements :

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.

Diversity and inclusion:

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

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.

 

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements