UN Action Strategic Retreat Facilitator

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

Result of Service

The consultancy will be conducted between 8 January 2024 and 15 March 2024, with the Strategic Retreat to be held in New York on 28 and 29 February 2024 and a final retreat report due 15th March 2024. The consultancy is expected to take a total of 15 working days over the 10-week period. All activities will be conducted in coordination with the UN Action Network Secretariat and the Strategic Framework Core Group.

Deliverables:

1. Agenda development – Design the retreat agenda in consultation with relevant stakeholders.

2. Session planning – Prepare a comprehensive methodology and facilitation plan for each individual session of the retreat and list which background documents and materials are required.

3. Facilitation of Retreat sessions – Facilitate key sessions of the workshop.

4. Evaluation – Develop and conduct a retreat evaluation.

5. Strategic Retreat Report – Prepare, revise and submit the overall retreat report of no more than 15 pages (which includes an executive summary, summaries of retreat sessions, decisions taken at the retreat, the retreat evaluation and annexes the agenda, participants list and lists outputs of relevant exercises as transcribed from flip charts, or captured by note-takers). The Strategic Retreat report should also include a draft of the 2024 – 2025 Network Workplan.

Work Location

Home-based with 3 days travel to New York

Expected duration

15 days over 10 wks

Duties and Responsibilities

Conflict-related Sexual Violence (CRSV) is frequently and deliberately used to target civilians, inflicting long-term trauma and humiliation, fracturing the social fabric, triggering displacement and fueling armed actors’ activities. Such violence is motivated by political, military or economic objectives to control territory or resources and also serves as a tactic of violent extremism and terrorism. Women and girls continue to be those primarily affected by CRSV, not least due to patterns of gender discrimination and inequality predating the conflict.

The United Nations Security Council has recognized the link between sexual violence, gender equality, and the restoration of peace and security. Through a series of UNSC resolutions (UNSCR) on Women, Peace, and Security, it has stressed that sexual violence can significantly exacerbate situations of armed conflict and impede the restoration of international peace and security. CRSV is a serious violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, which under international criminal law can amount to a war crime, crime against humanity, or a constituent element of genocide. These resolutions have laid the conceptual and operational framework for the UN system, together with Member States and the international community, to prevent and respond to CRSV. The most recent CRSV resolution, UNSCR 2467, explicitly recognized the need for a survivor-centred approach in preventing and responding to CRSV and the continuum of violence perpetrated against women and girls. It also calls for the deployment of Women’s Protection Advisors (WPAs) at a senior level within offices of UN Resident Coordinators in all relevant situations of concern to implement the commitments outlined in all UNSCRs on CRSV.

Almost 15 years after the establishment of the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary- General on Sexual Violence in Conflict (OSRSG-SVC) in 2009, the current Special Representative (SRSG-SVC) Pramila Patten denounced the alarming trends of CRSV reported across conflict and post conflict situations and the prevailing and profound accountability gap for sexual violence crimes. For the next decade of mandate implementation, the SRSG-SVC called for a new era of decisive action centred around 1) empowering survivors and those at risk notably through enhanced quality service-provision, 2) acting on available information to bring parties into compliance with international norms; and 3) enhancing accountability as a critical pillar of prevention and deterrence, relying on the support of the entire UN system in fulfilling this mandate and the UN’s obligations to prevent and respond to CRSV wherever it occurs.

UN Action

UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict (UN Action) unites efforts across the UN system with the goal of preventing CRSV, meeting survivors’ needs and enhancing accountability for CRSV. Launched in March 2007, the Network currently embraces 25 UN entities And is recognised through multiple UNSCRs as the critical UN interagency coordination mechanism to address CRSV.

UN Action, working as one UN, aims to prevent and respond to CRSV through a survivor-centred approach. Such an approach includes, but is not limited to, meaningfully engaging survivors and meeting their needs, addressing the root causes to CRSV, enhancing accountability and justice mechanisms, establishing protective environments propitious for the full enjoyment of survivors’ human rights, self-determination, and personal, social, cultural, political and economic undertakings, including in leadership roles if they so choose.

The Network is chaired by the SRSG-SVC and supported by the UN Action Coordinator and UN Action Secretariat, located in the OSRSG-SVC. Each member entity has a dedicated Focal Point at the working level, and a Steering Committee member at the principal level. UN Action’s initiatives, including coordination, knowledge production, sharing ttand dissemination, advocacy and project funding, are resourced through Member State voluntary contributions to the Conflict-related Sexual Violence Multi-Partner Trust Fund (the Fund).

Shortly after the issuance of Security Council resolution 2467 (2019), UN Action developed its new Strategic Framework (2020 – 2025), focusing particularly on a comprehensive and survivor-centred approach to CRSV, with a renewed emphasis on the prevention of CRSV, including addressing its structural root causes.

The Strategic Framework was created through an intensive and iterative process that led to the delineation of a new Goal, Theory of Change, four main Outcome Areas and a General Outcome related to overall coordination and advocacy, as well as specific activities, which were further detailed in its 2020 – 2021 and 2022 - 2023 Workplans.

The overarching goal of UN Action is that CRSV is prevented, survivors’ needs are met, and accountability of perpetrators is enhanced.

The five attending Outcomes are:

A General Outcome related to Overall Coordination of the UN Action Network;

Outcome 1 related to Prevention, Protection and Support to Survivors;

Outcome 2 related to Capacity Building and Strategic Engagement;

Outcome 3 related to Knowledge Building and the development of Policies, Guidance and Tools; and

Outcome 4 related to Data Collection, Management, Monitoring, Analysis and Harmonisation.

UN Action also developed targets with linked indicators for each of these Outcome areas. As living tools, UN Action’s overall Governance Documents, Strategic Framework and Workplans are regularly reviewed and updated in consultation with decision-makers and key stakeholders, including country counterparts.

Between October 2023 and 15 February 2024, UN Action embarked on a rigorous evaluation at the mid-point of its 2020 - 2025 Strategic Framework which outlined the Network’s successes, challenges and lessons-learned since 2020. Simultaneously, the Network is also reaching the completion of its 2022 – 2023 Workplan.

Scope of the Work

On 28 and 29 February 2024, UN Action will organise its Strategic Retreat with the 25 Focal Points and their alternates from all UN entities of the Network. The primary objective of this two-day workshop is to draw lessons from the mid-term review of the UN Action 2020 - 2025 Strategic Framework, make adjustments to the Strategic Framework as needed, and define the 2024 – 2025 Network Workplan.

The consultant, who will report to the UN Action Coordinator, will support the preparation, facilitation, and reporting on the Retreat. The specific retreat objectives are:

• To synthesize, share reflections and help formulate next steps for the UN Action Network based on the mid-term Evaluation of 2020 - 2025 Strategic Framework and the completed 2022 – 2023 Workplan. Create an exercise to be able to engage UN Action Focal points to discuss successes, challenges, good practices and lessons learned.

• To define strategic priorities and develop the main activities for the 2024 – 2025 Network Workplan that is hinged on the Strategic Framework and centres the needs of survivors of CRSV.

• Renewed ownership and collective commitment to the UN Action Network by Network Focal Points.

Qualifications/special skills

Advanced university degree (Master’s level) in law, development studies, political science, humanities, education or other relevant field is required.

Fifteen years relevant experience in facilitation, team building, strategy development and guidance and planning is required.

Demonstrable experience and knowledge of conflict related protection issues desirable.

Understanding of how the UN system operates in conflict settings is desirable.

Demonstrable experience of working on gender issues in development and in conflict settings is desirable.

Experience in facilitating team building and strategic planning processes, including on issues related to gender, protection issues, peacekeeping, crisis response and conflict-prevention desirable.

Experience in working with or coordinating networks is desirable.

Languages

Fluency in oral and written English is required.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.