Gender advisor civic engagement - Hoofdinhoud

On October 23rd, 2011 Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) declared the country fully liberated, bringing to an end the eight month armed conflict to overthrow the authoritarian regime of Colonel Muammar Qadhafi. The new Libya is founded on a commitment to conduct an election by June 2012 to establish a National People’s Council which will form an interim government and draw up a new constitution. This will be Libya’s first election in 45 years: the vast majority of the public has never participated in any similar events and has little knowledge and understanding of such processes. There is as yet no parliament, electoral management body or constitution-making entity, no established political parties, civil society organizations or independent media with any familiarity with these processes, and no previous experience of freedom of expression or access to information based on developed professional and ethical standards.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) is tasked with assisting the Libyan authorities in restoring public security and the rule of law, promoting inclusive political dialogue and national reconciliation, and in helping the NTC embark on the drafting of a new constitution and on laying the foundation for elections. UNSMIL and UNDP consultations with Libya’s transitional authorities and civil society have emphasized the enormous challenge of staging Libya’s first election for over forty-five years and in particular the urgent need to conduct a major civic education campaign across Libya, particularly targeting women, youth and other traditionally marginalized sections of society to build this consensus and promote meaningful participation in the political transition process.

UNDP, in consultation with a range of national and international actors, has developed a civic engagement strategy to build people’s knowledge and understanding of the broad concepts underpinning a democratic society such as the respective roles and responsibilities of citizens, government, political and special interests, the mass media, and the business and non-profit sectors, as well as the significance of periodic and competitive elections. The strategy aims to assist the Libyan authorities’ efforts, with UNSMIL support, to hold peaceful, free and fair elections in which an informed electorate is empowered through knowledge and understanding to exercise their democratic rights and responsibilities fully, and to use the electoral process to choose representatives who will work on their behalf to peacefully resolve differences of opinion over the resources, systems and structures of the future state.

The role of women in public life in Libya has traditionally been very limited. Their social position is deeply rooted in patriarchal values and traditions, especially in the rural areas. Since February however, the perception of women's role in society has been dramatically challenged by the emergence of an impressive and extensive array of women leaders and activists. Women of all ages have played an integral part in the uprising and have carved out an enduring image of strength and credibility: their inclusion at all levels in the mechanisms and processes of the transition to democracy will be central to the creation of an inclusive civil society in Libya. For many women, the extent of their inclusion also provides a fundamental indicator of progress in the political development of the country.

The primary role of the Gender Advisor - Civic Engagementis to ensure the effective delivery of key gender-related outputs in UNDP’s Support to Civic Engagement in Libya’s Transition project. Working under the direct supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor, the Gender Advisor will support the development and implementation of a comprehensive civic engagement sub-strategy to enhance the participation of CSOs representing women and other excluded groups in the transition process. S/he will design and implement capacity development initiatives for women’s CSOs, provide support to other transitional recovery initiatives, and work in close collaboration with the other programme units in UNDP Libya. S/he will build strategic partnerships with all stakeholders including the Ministries of Civil Society, Social Affairs, Health, and Higher Education, and with civil society, UNSMIL, donors, international and national NGOs, and other professionals to ensure successful UNDP programme implementation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Support to the design, planning and implementation of gender sensitive civic engagement activities within the UNDP programme “Support to Civic Engagement in Libya’s Transition” to enable targeted sections of civil society to participate effectively in the democratic transition process.

Designing a comprehensive gender sensitive sub-strategy for participation of CSOs representing women in the transition process.

Support the implementation of the SCELT project to enhance selected partner organizations capacity to lobby and advocate for women’s participation with the government, members of the NTC, and the National People’s Conference when elected.

Conduct regular analysis of participation by different stakeholders in the constitution making process, with reference to - inter alia - geography, religion, gender, disability and language.

Creation of strategic partnerships and close coordination with all stakeholders, including the government, civil society, political parties, and donor agencies to support the implementation of gender-related aspects of the SCELT project

Assist women’s CSOs to establish a civil society network on women’s role in the transition, using Security Council Resolution 1325 as a platform to collaborate with government in the development of a national implementation plan.

Conduct mapping of NGOs promoting women’s participation, and their main activities, and develop and maintain a database of donor support to NGOs and CSOs, highlighting gaps in donor support and in particular, under-supported groups and communities.

Assist with the design and implementation of a small grant scheme for under-supported CSOs from women’s NGOs and groups.

Provide CSOs strategic advice and guidance for ensuring that gender and social inclusion issues are addressed properly in their project activities and approaches, including communication and outreach activities, HR aspects of activity implementation, etc.

Provide advisory services to national and international stakeholders on gender aspects of the democratic transition process.

Providing advice and inputs to partner CSOs, government bodies, UN agencies, and donors on the production of resource materials and training strategies that advance gender equality in the transition.

Conceptualizing and providing technical inputs to produce resource materials focusing on gender equality and social inclusion in the democratic transition process.

Designing and delivering orientation and training for CSOs, government counterpart offices, UN agencies, and academia on gender and social inclusion issues that need to be reflected in the new electoral and constitution-building processes.

Provide technical and policy advice to UNDP Libya on women’s participation and gender equality and related advocacy information and communications issues.

Monitor progress and important gender-related developments in the transition process and ensure project activities are adjusted accordingly.

Work closely with the Electoral Support component of the UNDP programme, identifying gender issues for collaboration and provide support accordingly.

Work with the Governance Unit to identify synergies and overlapping issues on related projects in governance and judicial support, and ensure coherent support from UNDP.

Advise UNDP on other planned transitional governance initiatives in Libya.

Reporting and Knowledge Management:

Prepare timely, quality, narrative and relevant inputs for regular and ad hoc reports, thematic briefing papers, and presentations as and when required.

Draft thematic briefing papers, updates, and contributions for CO and UNDP practice newsletters related to democratic governance and civic engagement to keep stakeholders informed of developments in the project.

Identify and codify best practices in supporting the role of women in civic engagement activities in democratic transition processes.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards.

Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the project.

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Treats all people fairly and equally.

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge and expertise in democratic governance, gender and post-conflict recovery.

The candidate should have significant experience in providing practical advice to policy makers; be able to work well with counterparts in government, electoral management bodies, civil society, political parties, and the donor community; and know how to contribute to building national capacity for development.

Strong communication and interpersonal skills, ability to foster networks and partnerships, and good working knowledge of information and computer technology. While representing UNDP views, the candidate should also be able to provide coordination among the UN agencies.

Demonstrates sound knowledge of UN rules, regulations, policies, procedures and best practices in the electoral assistance field.

Excellent negotiation and representational skills, at senior level (with international organizations and/or diplomatic missions).

Displays analytical judgment and demonstrated ability to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner.

Demonstrates strong intellectual and operational capacity in providing and coordinating advisory services to stakeholders in electoral processes, specifically to EMBs and civil society organizations.

Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities. Demonstrated ability to multitask under pressure and to meet strict deadlines often under hardship conditions.

Excellent organizational skills and ability to work effectively in teams, delivering through and with others.

Self-management, including conflict management and negotiating skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Masters degree in Development, Sociology, Gender Studies, Political Science, or a related field.

Experience:

Minimum 7 years specialized experience in international development, with at least five years experience in gender programming.

Strong technical knowledge of post-conflict recovery and transitions.

Experience in promoting women’s participation in development and political processes.

Experience in providing technical assistance to government officials in politically-sensitive environments.

Knowledge of the regional dynamics and the political, social and cultural history of Libya.

Experience in working with transitional, conflict-affected contexts or emerging democracies.

Language:

Fluency in Arabic and English.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.