Legal Advisor on Gender Equality Consultant
Contract
This is a National Consultant contract. More about National Consultant contracts.
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.
UN Women has been working in Lebanon since 2015 through its triple mandate, encompassing normative support, UN system coordination and operational activities to mobilize urgent and sustained action to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls and support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Operational activities have prioritized advancing women's leadership and political participation, women and peace and security and economic empowerment with changing discriminatory gender norms as a cross cutting area of work.
Under the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) programme, UN Women supports the government of Lebanon in the implementation, reporting, monitoring and evaluation of progress achieved under the National Action Plan (NAP) on United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on WPS, which was endorsed by the government of Lebanon in 2019 for the period 2019-2023. The NAP on UNSCR 1325 focused on supporting i) the security and defense sectors in developing and implementing gender equality policies; ii) removing discrimination against women in laws and iii) promoting women’s role in peace building, recovery, transitional justice and mediation efforts. In addition, UN Women Lebanon supports the efforts of national women’s rights organizations and community based organizations (CBOs) to seek truth, foster collective remembrance and ultimately, move towards reconciliation around the legacy of the civil war.
Furthermore, the NAP on UNSCR 1325 provides the national framework guiding UN Women’s support to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). UN Women’s collaboration with the LAF dates back to 2019 and complements UN-system wide efforts to support the LAF to strengthen Lebanon's critical security functions amidst the multiple crisis. Specifically, in response to national priorities, UN Women has provided technical support to LAF to mainstream gender equality issues within the LAF Strategic Vision, including supporting the LAF Gender department.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall guidance of the UN Women Representative and the direct supervision of the Head of the LAF Gender department and UN Women Programme Management Specialist, UN Women seeks to recruit a Legal Advisor to provide technical support to the Head of the LAF Gender department to develop an internal policy for the LAF on Sexual Harassment through an inclusive and gender-responsive approach involving all relevant departments within LAF. This consultancy is funded by the Embassy of Norway.
The content of the LAF policy on sexual harassment should be in in line with relevant national frameworks, notably a) the Lebanese Constitution, b) Law 205 to “Criminalize Sexual Harassment and Rehabilitation of its Victims” and c) the soon to be endorsed LAF Gender Mainstreaming Strategy and d) Ministerial Decision No. 516/? ? of 2021, related to recruiting women into the LAF. It should also be in line with relevant international frameworks, such as a) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), b) Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and c) UNSCR 1325 (2000) and nine related resolutions on WPS. The consultant should also make use of the model anti-sexual harassment policy developed by the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) and contextualize it to the LAF context. The policy will include the following sections, at a minimum, a) national and international legal frameworks related to gender equality and violence against women and girls, b) prevention, protection, and response mechanisms on sexual harassment within LAF.
The policy should be developed in an inclusive and gender-responsive approach involving all relevant departments of the LAF to ensure ownership and accountability for its implementation. In close consultation and coordination with the Head of the LAF Gender department, the consultant will facilitate consultations and workshops to support the development of the LAF policy and ensure its effective adoption. The consultant will also liaise closely with UN Women and NCLW on the process of developing the policy.
Deliverables
Expected completion time (due day)
Payments
Inception report that includes details on process and content of the LAF policy, such as key informant interviews and consultations to be organized and preliminary outline of the LAF policy.
After 1 month of starting date of contract
30% to be paid by mid-June 2024
Hold consultations to develop the LAF sexual harassment policy
By 13 June 2024
Draft the policy in line with relevant national and international frameworks.
By 15 July 2024
70% to be paid by end of contract
Present draft policy to LAF, UN Women and NCLW for feedback
By 30 July 2024
Submission of final policy
By 10 August 2024
Consultant's Workplace and Official Travel This is a home-based consultancy, with frequent visits to LAF.
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
FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:
- Demonstrated knowledge in International and Lebanon's legal framework with focus on GBV.
- Demonstrated knowledge in developing sexual harassment policies.
- Experience working with State Institutions.
- Technical credibility in gender-related issues.
- Rapport building.
- Political tact.
Required Skills and Experience
Education and Certification:
- Master's degree or equivalent in legal studies, political studies or a 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.
- A certification on gender studies and/or issues would be an added advantage.
Experience:
- At least 10 years of progressively responsible work experience in legal consultancies.
- Experience in drafting laws or policies.
- Experience in developing human rights/ women rights policies and procedures for government institutions.
- Excellent analytical skills with strong drive for results and capacity to work independently.
- Excellent communication and writing skills.
Languages:
- Fluency in English and Arabic is required.
Application:
- Personal CV or P11 {P11 can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form-en.doc)
- A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)
- Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns, or other materials.
The above-mentioned documents should be merged in a standalone file including all them, since the online application submission does only permit to upload one file per application. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification.
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.)