Background/Context

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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. 

Women’s leadership and decision making is central to UN Women’s mandate; UN Women will prioritize enhancing women’s influence in public life across sectors and impact areas. To promote the leadership and participation of women in all levels of decision-making processes, UN Women works with a range of stakeholders including women leaders and aspiring candidates, national parliaments and parliamentarians, political parties, media, civil society organizations, and electoral management bodies, in coordination with UN partner Entities, through a wide range of interventions which include: i) support gender responsive legal reforms, and institutional processes to advance women’s participation and representation (including initiatives to address violence against women in politics); ii) build capacities of women leaders, office holders and aspiring candidates; iii) promote change of gender norms through advocacy and outreach initiatives targeting communities, political leaders and the media; iv) and support women leaders in gender responsive political institutions.

In Liberia, UN Women works to advance gender-sensitive laws and policies, raise awareness about women’s equal participation in politics and public life, strengthen the capacity of women aspirants, and support efforts to prevent and respond to violence against women in elections and politics (VAWE/P). Ahead of the 2023  elections, UN Women, in partnership with UNDP and local partners including the National Elections Commission (NEC), supported efforts to advance a mandatory gender quota bill through the electoral reform process, facilitated the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) committing political parties to at least 30% women’s representation, and engaged political parties to promote women’s representation as candidates and in leadership positions within political parties. Although initiatives strengthened political commitments; they did not lead to an increase in women’s representation in the Legislature after the 2023 elections. The gap between public commitments and actual practice highlights the need for deeper analysis as well as stronger data to support advocacy efforts. 

With this background, UN Women, under the Liberia Electoral Support Project (2020–2026), led by UNDP and implemented by NEC, and the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD), will conduct a Gender Audit of Political Parties in Liberia. The audit will examine how party structures, rules, leadership pathways, and decision-making processes affect women’s participation. It will assess representation in leadership and nominations, review the gender sensitivity of party statutes and policies, and identify barriers to inclusion. The process will generate baseline data and practical recommendations for reform. For parties that express readiness, the audit will support the development of tailored Gender Action Plans to strengthen gender equality in leadership and candidate selection, contributing to more inclusive political processes in Liberia.

Objective

The gender audit of political parties will serve as both a diagnostic and a learning tool to support more inclusive political practices. It focuses on how internal party systems, rules, culture, leadership, and resource allocation, affect the participation of women and the broader goal of gender equality. The audit will:

• Generate baseline data on the representation of women and men across leadership structures, decision-making bodies, and nomination processes.
• Review party statutes, manifestos, internal policies, and resource allocation to assess how gender equality is addressed in party frameworks.
• Identify both structural and informal barriers to women’s full and equal participation in political parties.
• Encourage dialogue and reflection through participatory methods, including interviews, focus group discussions, and workshops.
• Where parties express interest, support the development of Gender Action Plans to guide internal reforms.

Description of Responsibilities / Scope of Work

The International Consultant is expected to have strong expertise in gender equality, political participation, and organizational assessment, with a proven track record in designing and implementing gender audits. Serving as the lead technical expert, the consultant will oversee the coordination, methodology design, data collection, analysis, and reporting of the Gender Audit of Political Parties.

The International Consultant will lead the audit process with 12 targeted political parties represented in the legislature (The Senate and The House of Representatives) coordinating directly with party leadership and designated focal points. The consultant will work under the supervision of the Programme Specialist, Women Political Participation, in close collaboration with the UN Women Liberia Country Office, UNDP (under the Liberia Electoral Support Project), and relevant national stakeholders including the National Elections Commission. 

The International Consultant will supervise and work with a national consultant. The lead consultant will be responsible for overall methodology design, quality assurance, and synthesis of findings, while the support consultant will focus on tasks such as data gathering, transcription, preliminary analysis, and workshop facilitation. The lead consultant will ensure alignment of all outputs with agreed methodology and project timelines.

Task 1: Overall coordination and delivery of the Gender Audit of Political Parties

• Develop a detailed workplan and timeline for the implementation of the audit
• Lead and coordinate the audit process across all targeted political parties, ensuring consistency in approach and alignment with agreed methodology.
• Provide regular progress updates and convene coordination meetings with the Technical Team, composed of UN Women, UNDP, NIMD and the National Elections Commission (NEC) and others where applicable. 
• Ensure quality assurance for all deliverables.

Task 2: Preparation and kick-off of the audit process

• Conduct a desk review of party constitutions, statutes, manifestos, policies, budgets, and electoral procedures.
• Assess alignment with gender equality principles and identify initial gaps.
• Develop structured questionnaires to collect factual and numerical data on membership, leadership structures, and nomination processes.
• Design and conduct a short membership survey to capture perceptions and attitudes on gender equality within each party.

Task 3: Audit roll-out and data cross-referencing

• Facilitate one participatory workshop with each political party to validate preliminary findings, clarify data, and discuss challenges and opportunities for advancing gender equality in party structures and processes.
• Conduct one-on-one interviews with senior party leaders (e.g., party leaders and women’s wings) to gain leadership perspectives and commitments.
• Organize small, role-specific or thematic focus groups, ensuring gender balance and creating safe spaces for women-only sessions where necessary.

Task 4: Reporting

• Draft party-specific audit reports (12) during the data collection phase, synthesizing evidence, identifying strengths, and proposing actionable recommendations in line with international and national standards.
• Share draft reports with each party for validation and verification, incorporating their feedback to ensure ownership and accuracy.
• Finalize each party-specific report (maximum 3 pages) including findings and tailored recommendations. 
• Prepare a consolidated synthesis report (approximately 25–30 pages) summarizing cross-party trends, systemic barriers, and common recommendations for broader dissemination.

Task 5: Presentation of findings and recommendations

• Present finalized reports to each political party’s leadership and relevant structures.
• Facilitate a multi-party workshop bringing together all participating parties to present findings, share experiences, and encourage peer learning.
• Facilitate discussion on next steps, including the development of party-specific Gender Action Plans.

Task 6: Support for Gender Action Plan development

• Provide technical guidance in drafting a Gender Action Plan aligned with audit recommendations, for parties demonstrating readiness.
• Ensure action plans include objectives, activities, timelines, responsible bodies, and monitoring indicators.
• Draft a brief lesson learned note and advisory brief on follow-up actions for key stakeholders. 

The consultant will ensure that all activities are conducted in line with UN Women’s ethical guidelines, including obtaining informed consent from all participants, ensuring confidentiality of sensitive information, and safeguarding the anonymity of respondents where appropriate. All data collection, storage, and sharing will comply with UN Women’s data protection protocols, UN system standards, and applicable Liberian laws.

Deliverables & Payment Schedule

Institutional Arrangement

The consultant will report to and work under the direct supervision of the Programme Specialist, Women Political Participation, in close collaboration with the UN Women Liberia Country Office, UNDP (under the Liberia Electoral Support Project), and relevant national stakeholders including the National Elections Commission of Liberia.

Duration of the Work 

The duration of this assignment will be for up to 70 days within a 5-month work assignment, tentatively from 1 November 2025 to 31 March 2026.  The estimated number of days is a guideline only and does not determine the assignment completion. Completion and payment depend solely on the submission and approval of deliverables by the UN Women designated official.

Duty Station and Official Travel:

This is a home-based consultancy with travel to Liberia. At least two missions to Liberia are expected. Specific locations and dates will be confirmed during the inception phase. UN Women will arrange and cover the costs of approved travel in line with its policies and procedures.

Performance Evaluation

The Consultant’s performance will be evaluated based on timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.

Financial Arrangement

Payments will be disbursed to the consultant on a deliverable-based arrangement aligned to the “Expected Deliverables” of section of the ToR and certification by the Programme Specialist, Women Political Participation that services have been satisfactorily performed.   

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree in law, human rights, development studies, gender studies, political science, sociology, or related field.
• A bachelor’s degree and additional 2 years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of a master’s degree.

Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible work experience in gender research or related areas with political institutions including electoral management bodies, political parties etc. 
• Proven experience conducting gender audits for political parties.
• Experience in facilitating dialogues, round table discussions, consultations, with political party leaders and other multi-stakeholders.
• Excellent analytical skills with strong drive for results and capacity to work independently.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.

V. How to Apply (submit all in a single file)

• Personal CV  
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)
• Sample of a published report authored or co-authored by the applicant.