International Consultant - Expert on Gender and Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (SSA)

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

Background:

Within the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department, the Action against Terrorism Unit (TNTD/ATU) acts as the focal point, information resource and implementation partner for OSCE counter terrorism activities. The Unit assists OSCE participating States with implementing anti-terrorism commitments, thereby enhancing their overall capacities to prevent and combat terrorism.

As part of its efforts to fulfil obligations to participating States, the TNTD/ATU is working on the extrabudgetary project 1102235 ‘P/CVERLT Guidebook Series Capacity Building Programme’. The project is in line with The OSCE Ministerial Council Declaration No.4/15 on preventing and countering Violent Extremism and Radicalization that Lead to Terrorism (VERLT) which was adopted in Belgrade in December 2015. The project recognizes that UN Security Council resolutions 2242 (2015) calls for greater integration by States of their agendas on women, peace and security, counter-terrorism and countering violent extremism (CVE) which can be conducive to the spread of terrorism. The Declaration calls on OSCE participating States “to take into account a gender perspective in their efforts to counter terrorism and to prevent and counter violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism, with a focus on women’s empowerment and the participation of women as well as men in these efforts”.

In 2019 the OSCE published the guidebook ‘Understanding the Role of Gender in P/CVERLT – Good Practices for Law Enforcement’. The guidebook was later translated into Arabic and launched in Cairo in 2020. A new effort has been established in order to create a training curriculum based on the material of this guidebook and in 2021 a one-day training module that supports law enforcement and civil society working on P/CVERLT with applying a gender-sensitive and community-oriented approach was developed.

Drawing on existing good practices from the OSCE area and beyond, this effort aims to support law enforcement in the OSCE participating States and Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation in applying gender-mainstreaming in their operational responses to VERLT by providing concrete guidelines and good practices and co-operation with civil society where appropriate.

Objective of Assignment:

The chosen expert will work to adjust the existing training module to the context of the Arabic-speaking Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation, and deliver a one-day pilot training with law enforcement participants from the region.

Objectives

The TNTD/ATU seeks an Expert to tailor the one-day training module on understanding the role of gender in P/CVERLT for law enforcement to the Arabic-Speaking Mediterranean partners for Co-operation. The training module is designed to also allow for the participation of civil society actors who in some way interact with law enforcement.

The regional adaptations will consist of integrating relevant case studies from the region as well as tailoring content to make it locally relevant to the organizations in the region. Once the training module is complete, a pilot training for the OSCE Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation is planned in July 2022.

Course design and objectives:

The course objectives should include, but is not limited to, the below objectives. It is expected that the expert contributes their own knowledge to the regional adaptations of the course:

• Defining gender, gender awareness, gender equality and gender mainstreaming illustrating with regional examples where applicable;
• Overview of the international architecture regarding gender and PVE/CVE, including all relevant UNSCRs and strategic UN and OSCE documents. Above all, these include the OSCE Ministerial Council Declaration No. 4/15 on preventing and countering VERLT, and the UN General Assembly’s 6th review resolution of the Global CounterTerrorism Strategy;
• Understanding what a gender analysis is and how to use it as a tool in P/CVERLT using regionally relevant examples and case studies;
• The influence of gender roles and norms in the recruitment strategies of VEOs in the region;
• The differences in the roles of women and men within targeted VEOs in the region;
• The possible impact of such differences on disengagement, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes in the region;
• The gender-specific roles in family structures and how this may differently impact the resiliency of family members against violent extremist recruitment;
• Constraints, opportunities and entry points for narrowing gender gaps and empowering women in prevention strategies;
• Potential differing impacts of strategies, policies, and programmes on women/girls and men/boys, including unintended or negative consequences that law enforcement should be aware of.

Duration of Assignment:

7 working days

Tasks and Responsibilities:

Under the supervision of TNTD/ATU, the selected Expert will be tasked to adapt the one day training module to the context of the OSCE’s Mediterranean partners for Cooperation, focusing on Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.

Specifically, the expert will be tasked to:

1. Suggest changes to the existing curriculum and liaise with TNTD/ATU on which changes to take on board;
2. Adapt the curriculum and manual for trainers to the regional context, to deliver the one-day training as well as any material for participants including hand-outs, pre-coursework etc., taking into account cultural and political contexts;
3. Ensure that the design of the module with participant-led sessions, peer learning and other adult learning strategies are appropriate for the intended audience, especially taking into account institutional cultures of intended beneficiaries.

Deliverables:

The following outputs/deliverables are expected from the Consultant:

1. Overview of suggested adaptations and relevant case studies to include;
2. Final curriculum and agenda of the in-person training with adaptations;
3. Manual for trainers and hand-outs for in-person with regional adaptations;
4. Preparation and delivery of one day training for law enforcement participants from the OSCE Mediterranean partners for Cooperation.

Unless otherwise explicitly agreed with the OSCE these deliverables should be submitted in accordance with the deadlines set in the remuneration schedule. The OSCE reserves the right to terminate the consultancy assignment if any of the deliverables does not prove satisfactory and suggests the rest of the assignment cannot be completed to the OSCE’s satisfaction.

General Requirements

• The completed material is to be submitted in a Microsoft Word document in English;
• The draft material should contain the following sections;
• Overview of suggested adaptations and relevant case studies to include;
• Final curriculum and agenda of the in-person training with adaptations;
• Manual for trainers and hand-outs for in-person with regional adaptations;
• Preparation and delivery of one day training for law enforcement participants from the OSCE Mediterranean partners for Cooperation;
• Power point presentations and other audio/visual material to be used;
• List of recommended readings.

Pictures, videos and graphics may be submitted in any commonly used format (jpg, png, mp4, etc.); Any fonts used must be provided free of any copyright restrictions.

Necessary Qualifications:

• Proven experience in promoting gender awareness and sensitivity into projects and activities related to Counter-terrorism and P/CVERLT;
• Experience in working with awareness-raising among law enforcement, government actors and/or civil society on the importance of integrating a gender perspective in P/CVERLT;
• Second-level university degree in a discipline relevant to one or more of the following topics: security studies, terrorism studies, criminal justice, political science, international human rights, and social sciences;
• A minimum of five (5) years demonstrated experience in researching, analysing and developing content and/or training on gender in preventing and countering violent extremism and working with integrating a gender perspective;
• Knowledge of policy and practical challenges in counter-terrorism, preventing and countering VERLT, compliance with the rule of law and human rights in the context of the Middle East and North Africa Region;
• Experience providing capacity-building or training for law enforcement or government actors on countering terrorism and violent extremism is highly desirable;
• Professional fluency in English including excellent writing skills;
• Professional fluency in Arabic is a requirement;
• Previous experience in international capacity-building assistance, preferably with the OSCE or other international organizations;
• Flexibility and ability to work under time pressure to meet tight deadlines;
• Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities;
• Ability and willingness to work as a member of team, with people of different cultural, and religious backgrounds, different gender, and diverse political views, while maintaining impartiality and objectivity;
• Computer literate with practical experience using Microsoft applications.

Remuneration Package:

Remuneration will be based on the selected consultant's/expert's qualifications, experience, the tasks and deliverables for this position and in accordance with the OSCE established rates.

If you wish to apply for this position, please use the OSCE's online application link found under https://vacancies.osce.org/.

The OSCE retains the discretion to re-advertise/re-post the vacancy, to cancel the recruitment or to offer an appointment with a modified job description or for a different duration.

Only those candidates who are selected to participate in the subsequent stages of recruitment will be contacted.

The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all religious, ethnic and social backgrounds to apply to become a part of the Organization.

Candidates should be aware that OSCE officials shall conduct themselves at all times in a manner befitting the status of an international civil servant. This includes avoiding any action which may adversely reflect on the integrity, independence and impartiality of their position and function as officials of the OSCE. The OSCE is committed to applying the highest ethical standards in carrying out its mandate. For more information on the values set out in OSCE Competency Model, please see https://jobs.osce.org/resources/document/our-competency-model.

Please be aware that the OSCE does not request payment at any stage of the application and review process.

Additional Information

• Issued by: OSCE Secretariat
• Requisition ID: ACT000013
• Contract Type: Special Service Agreement (SSA) / Consultant
• Grade: No grade
• Job Level: Professional
• Job Type: Consultant
• Number of posts: 1
• Location: OSCE
• Posting Date: Apr 27, 2022
• Closing Date: May 11, 2022
• Employee Status: Short-Term
• Schedule: Full-time
• Job Field: Training
• Target Start Date: As soon as possible