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.

Gender inequality in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is severe, with the country ranked 169 out of 170 globally. Women and girls face high rates of gender-based violence (GBV) and low literacy levels. The DHS 2016-2018 indicates that 54% of women have experienced GBV in the past year, and nearly 23% of women aged 15-49 have no formal education.  Structural barriers, cultural norms, and weak protection systems worsen the situation. Tribal conflicts, sorcery accusation-related violence (SARV), and small arms proliferation, especially in the Highlands, increase violence. Despite policies to reduce discrimination, comprehensive strategies are urgently needed to address these issues and achieve gender equality. Additionally, ongoing conflicts have displaced communities, further exacerbating GBV incidents. The persistence of these challenges highlights the critical need for targeted interventions to promote social stability and human rights and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly 05 on gender equality, 10 Reduce Inequality and 16 Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions. 

Building on the gains of the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative to Eliminate Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in Papua New Guinea (PNG), UN Women, UNFPA and UNOPS (Agencies) have commenced implementation of a joint initiative entitled “Soim Wokabout: Gender-Based Violence Referral Pathways Programme”, financed under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI Global Europe).  The joint programme aims to reduce the incidence of GBV in communities in target provinces, including in and out of schools (Eastern Highlands and the National Capital District).  This will capitalize on existing programmes addressing specific forms of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHRs) while supporting prevention and protection efforts for GBV survivors, strengthening access to justice, and ending violence against women and girls at national, provincial, district, and community levels.  It seeks to scale up effective integrated approaches to deliver quality coordinated services, strengthen referral pathways, mobilize communities and networks to address harmful gender and social norms fuelling GBV and SARV and promote implementation of laws and policies to reduce GBV and SARV while mobilizing national, provincial and community leadership on the programme’s investments to enhance sustainability.   

The joint programme’s specific objectives are: 1. To increase access of women, men, girls and boys in all their diversity, experiencing gender-based violence, to essential quality services, protection and justice. 2. To improve advocacy and agency of civil society organisations, women’s rights organisations, social movements and communities to end gender-based violence (GBV).  3. To make more effective the engagement of community leaders, male advocates and influential groups and actors in society in changing discriminatory social norms, gender stereotypes, GBV and harmful practices.  

The introduction of the National Gender Based Violence Strategy (NGBVS) Strategy 2016-2025, the National Public Service Gender Equity and Social Inclusion Policy, and the Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (GEWE) Policy demonstrates the Government of PNG’s commitment to advancing gender responsive planning and budgeting. (GRPB) These policies frameworks, among others, integrate gender considerations into government planning and budgeting to ensure that resources are allocated according to the specific needs of women, girls, boys, men and other marginalised groups.  

Assessments under the Spotlight Initiative also recommended the integration of gender perspectives into budgetary processes at both national and sub-national levels to enhance transparency and accountability in governance. Furthermore, the assessments highlighted the importance of creating opportunities for capacity building on GRPB for civil society, churches and other key stakeholders. Strengthening their capacity is critical to ensuring that public budgets reflect the diverse needs of women, girls, boys, the marginalised groups, while also enabling stakeholders to hold the government accountable.  

Against this backdrop, UN Women PNG seeks to engage a National GRPB Consultant who will work closely with the International Consultant to provide technical expertise and support in institutionalizing gender mainstreaming in key line ministries, agencies and departments. The consultant will also play a key role in strengthening the civil society to effectively integrate gender mainstreaming strategies into their programmatic planning, budgeting and monitoring processes.  

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Under the overall guidance of the Deputy Country Representative and direct supervision of the EVAW Programme Technical Coordinator, the National Consultant will work closely with the International Consultant on GRPB. The Consultant will primarily provide facilitation, contextual expertise, and coordination support with government counterparts at national and sub-national levels, civil society, and other stakeholders.

Deliverables

The National Consultant, Gender Responsive Planning and Budgeting will undertake the following tasks including additional roles that may be required during the consultancy and, delivery of expected results.  

Task 1: Provide contextual inputs to inform the desk review being led by the International Consultant

• Facilitate access to relevant GRPB policy documents, reports, and government data sources.
• Support organization of preliminary consultations and meetings with government representatives, UN Women, and other stakeholders.
• Contribute local perspectives and insights to enrich the inception report prepared by the International Consultant. 

Task 2: Support the International Consultant to conduct institutional GRPB assessment for parliamentarians, Government key stakeholders and Civil Society, including institutional and individual capacity needs assessment to identify the status and capacities and identify entry points and good practices 

• Facilitate engagement with parliamentarians, government institutions, and civil society actors by arranging meetings, interviews, and consultations.
• Provide contextual inputs to guide the International Consultant in assessing institutional and individual GRPB capacities.
• Support the International Consultant in identifying entry points, capacity gaps, and existing good practices at both institutional and community levels.
• Ensure timely provision of background information, contacts, and logistical support to enable the smooth conduct of the assessment.
• Contribute local insights and feedback to the draft capacity assessment report developed by the International Consultant.

Task 3: Support the International Consultant in organising tailored gender responsive planning and budgeting, capacity building activities for Parliamentarians (with focus on the Permanent Parliamentary Committee), Key government line Ministries and selected civil society representatives.  

• Support the International Consultant in planning and organizing tailored GRPB capacity-building workshops for parliamentarians, key government line ministries, and civil society representatives.
• Facilitate coordination with targeted parliamentary committees, government ministries, and CSOs at national and provincial levels (Eastern Highlands Province and National Capital District).
• Provide contextual inputs to adapt training materials and tools to the PNG context, based on assessment findings.
• Coordinate logistics for the delivery of three workshops (one for each target group) in collaboration with UN Women.
• Facilitate participant engagement during workshops, ensuring inclusion of diverse voices, including vulnerable groups.
• Support the International Consultant in conducting a Training of Trainers (TOT) for CSOs, with attention to organizations representing marginalized groups.
• Provide feedback and local insights to strengthen the capacity-building report prepared by the International Consultant, ensuring it captures outcomes, challenges, and recommendations from a national perspective.

Task 4: Support the International Consultant with preparation and submission of a final report  

• Support the International Consultant in gathering inputs, data, and feedback from national and sub-national stakeholders to inform the final report and recommendations.
• Provide contextual analysis and local perspectives to strengthen the concept note on future GRPB interventions in Papua New Guinea.
• Facilitate validation meetings with government representatives, civil society, and UN agencies to ensure findings and recommendations are grounded in local realities.
• Contribute inputs to the final assignment report prepared by the International Consultant, particularly on stakeholder engagement, implementation challenges, and opportunities for sustainability.
• Ensure that lessons learned and recommendations reflect the perspectives of stakeholders from both Eastern Highlands Province and the National Capital District.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

The assignment requires an intermittent presence on UN Women premises and therefore is both an office-based consultancy and a home-based consultancy. This assignment is based in Port Moresby with expected travel to the field. The consultant will be required to travel to the field to facilitate meetings and workshops with key stakeholders such as the civil society, churches, youths and women’s networks as well as the government officials. The duration of these intermittent visits to the field will be a maximum of 20 days. 

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:

• Programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills 
•  Capacity building, facilitation skills l skills 
• Knowledge and expertise in public finance management processes and policies 
• Networking and coordination skills 
• Knowledge of Results Based Management 
• Analytical skills 
• Good knowledge of UN grant management systems 
• Knowledge of CSO role in working to prevent and respond to Gender based violence in a developing country context 
• Inter-personal skills, communicate effectively with staff at all levels of the organization 
• Ability to work in a highly pressured environment

Required Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in public administration, social sciences, human rights, gender/women’s studies, international development 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 project/programme management certification (such as PMP®, PRINCE2®, or MSP®) would be an added advantage 

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years relevant experience in working on central government finance policies and processes – including the medium-term development plan at national or sub-national level, budgeting methodologies and approaches.
• 3 years of relevant professional experience in gender responsive budgeting application either at the national or regional level.
• Previous experience in designing and delivering training and/or mentoring programmes on gender equality and gender mainstreaming in policy making and budgeting. 
• Experience at the policy framework/advocacy and inter-ministerial coordination, of gender-related issues and engaging with the gender mainstreaming process in development plan, is considered an asset.
• Familiarity with country and regional context on gender equality is considered an asset.
• Experience working in the Pacific region, Papua New Guinea
• Experience working in the UN System is an asset 

Languages:

• Excellent verbal and written English. Proficiency in Pidgin (PNG) is an asset. 

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.