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. . Afghanistan is one of the world’s most complex emergencies, and one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. Afghan people are grappling with the impact of chronic, poverty, climate change, economic decline, and natural disasters. Afghan women and girls face unique and amplified vulnerabilities particularly the series of restrictions and bans that restrict their access to education, health, workplaces and public spaces. In this context, it remains urgent that Afghan women and girls are provided targeted support and that they can continue to shape the development of their country, and that their gains are protected. UN Women remains fully committed to supporting Afghan women and girls and to putting them at the center of the global response to the poly-crisis in Afghanistan. UN Women has been in Afghanistan for two decades. UN Women’s programming approach is informed by analysis of the political, economic and humanitarian situation, risks to and capacities of partner organizations, and needs of Afghan women and girls. UN Women Afghanistan currently has five key programme priorities: (1) Integrated Programming and Localization, (2) Women’s movement building through core grant making; 3) Policy and Research; 4) Economic Resilience and Private Sector and 5) Coordination, Access and Humanitarian Response. UN Women Afghanistan operates through its main office in Kabul and five sub-offices located in the provinces of Balkh, Bamyan, Herat, Kandahar and Nangarhar. The consultant will be providing interim leadership support to the Coordination, Access and Humanitarian Response Unit. Within the Gender in Humanitarian Action coordination mandate, UN Women is the permanent co-chair of the Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group (GiHA WG). The group is transitioning into a Gender Coordination Group (GCG) which will cover both Basic Human Needs (BHN) and humanitarian areas of work. The consultant will provide support to the humanitarian stream of the GCG, and work to provide technical, advisory and programmatic support to the HCT and the Inter-Cluster Coordination Team (ICCT), clusters and technical working groups, in Kabul and in the regions, to ensure gender analysis and gender mainstreaming. In addition, the consultant will support emergency scale up of UN Women programming during emergencies, as well as coordination of UN Women’s response to access challenges across the office.

The Coordination, Access and Humanitarian Response Unit currently has four team members who will be providing support to the consultant. Under the overall guidance of the Special Representative and working closely with Deputy Special Representative, the Gender Advisor at the Resident Coordinator Office, the programme managers and heads of sub-offices, the consultant will lead the work of the GCG and provide UN Women programmes with emergency scale up and access support, including through supporting engagement with de facto authorities. 

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

• Provide leadership and secretariat support to the GCG and ensure the transition from GiHA WG to GCG, including leading outreach to BHN actors in coordination with RCO, finalizing the 2026 GCG work plan and leading monthly meetings of the group
• Provide support to local GCGs at the regional level to ensure their continued operationality across Afghanistan
• Provide actors including women-led organizations, clusters, and donor representatives, with relevant information on gender issues in humanitarian action and gender and access restrictions
• Provide capacity-building support to the Humanitarian Country Team, ICCT and clusters, technical working groups, and humanitarian partners
• Together with GiHA coordination team, develop data-driven knowledge products and ensure knowledge management for a gender-responsive humanitarian response:
• During emergency response, provide scale up support to programmes, UN Women field offices and partners through guidance on engagement with the de facto authorities, setting up and implementation of emergency SOPs and coordination across units in Kabul to provide emergency support as well as linkages with clusters
• Provide support to programme teams and field offices to understand humanitarian coordination structures and response and link up UN Women’s efforts to the humanitarian response
• Ensure the implementation of UN Women’s engagement strategy, aligned to local contexts, for the expansion of UN Women’s access in Kabul and in provinces across Afghanistan
• Monitor and support reporting of access issues faced by partners and use the analysis to inform entry points for principled access and programming
• Establish and maintain contact with the de facto authorities and relevant stakeholders to facilitate UN Women’s programming interventions.
• Provide inputs to policy recommendations and guidance to strategic planning and positioning on humanitarian action;

Deliverables

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is an office-based consultancy. In person presence is needed for field travel and attendance in coordination meetings, as well as engagement with the de facto authorities.

As part of this assignment, there will be a maximum of 3 trips to Kabul as well as travel to provinces depending on emergencies occurring, to provide support to field offices and regional GCGs.

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:

• Strong knowledge related to current policies and practices in the fields of gender equality, protection, and humanitarian action, including humanitarian coordination; 
• Strong knowledge of programming in emergencies including humanitarian response coordination structures and gender in emergency programming
• Strong networking skills
• Ability to interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities, and threats to fundraising
• Ability to perform qualitative and quantitative policy research
• Ability to advocate and provide policy advice
• Strong analytical skills;
• Ability to write policy papers, speeches, and briefings;
• Strong knowledge of programme development, implementation, results-based management, and reporting.

IV. Required Qualifications

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in human rights, gender, international relations, international development, international law or other social science fields 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.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in designing and managing humanitarian programmes, with a particular focus on gender and protection in emergencies is required.
• Technical experience in inter-agency coordination, preferably gender related coordination, some of which should include work around access, is required
• Experience working with, and building partnerships with de facto authorities, governments, donors and civil society organizations internationally and in the field is required.
• Experience working in complex humanitarian and emergency contexts is required
• Experience working with the UN is desirable.

Language Requirements:

• Working knowledge of English
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

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.