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. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system’s 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.

April 2025 marked two years since the deadly armed conflict erupted between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 15 April 2023 in Khartoum, before rapidly spreading across most parts of the country. The conflict has plunged Sudan into one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history. It has widened political fragmentation, deepened ethnic and tribal divisions, and claimed over 28,700 lives, including civilians (ACLED, 2024). As of 2025, an estimated 24.9 million people are in urgent need of life-saving assistance, 11.5 million have been internally displaced, and 3.4 million have fled across Sudan’s borders (IOM, 2025). Over six million people—predominantly women and girls—are at heightened risk of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

The conflict has had distinct and devastating consequences for women and girls, further entrenching pre-existing gender inequalities. Women constitute the majority of displaced populations (approximately 65%) and are disproportionately affected by loss of livelihoods, limited access to services, and heightened exposure to violence and exploitation. Reports indicate a sharp rise in conflict-related sexual violence, early and forced marriages, and economic marginalization. Many female-headed households face acute food insecurity, while the burden of unpaid care and survival labor has intensified. At the same time, women and girls face multiple barriers to participating in decision-making and peacebuilding processes, leaving their perspectives underrepresented in recovery and humanitarian planning.

While previous gender assessments have focused mainly on protection and humanitarian impacts, there remains a critical gap in understanding the gendered dynamics of conflict drivers, actors, and power relations. A Gender-Sensitive Conflict Analysis (GSCA) is therefore required to explore how gender norms, masculinities, and femininities influence participation in and response to the conflict, as well as how women exercise agency as peacebuilders and community stabilizers.

Although the conflict is often perceived as a national power struggle, it has deeply disrupted local-level peacebuilding and social cohesion, eroding community mechanisms for conflict resolution. Women and girls, who bear the brunt of displacement, SGBV, and livelihood loss, remain largely excluded from local decision-making. These dynamics are further influenced by regional and international actors, whose policies and interventions shape opportunities for gender inclusion. Understanding these complex and intersecting factors through a gender lens is critical to designing inclusive, context-sensitive, and gender-responsive peacebuilding strategies that link local resilience to national peace efforts.

It is against this backdrop that UN Women seeks to engage the services of a consultant to conduct a Gender-Sensitive Conflict Analysis, focusing on the gendered dimensions of the conflict in Sudan, women’s roles in peacebuilding, and opportunities to strengthen the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in the country. The consultant will work under the technical guidance of and report directly to UN Women Country office Women Peace and Security Specialist.

Aim of the Gender Analysis

The aim of the Gender Analysis is to systematically examine how gender dynamics influence the context, drivers, and impacts of the conflict, as well as ongoing and prospective peace and peacebuilding processes. The analysis seeks to identify the distinct needs, roles, vulnerabilities, and contributions of women, men, girls, and boys to ensure that gender perspectives meaningfully inform the design, implementation, and evaluation of peace and recovery initiatives.

Ultimately, the analysis aims to promote gender equality and women’s meaningful participation, in line with UNSCR 1325 and subsequent WPS resolutions, and to ensure that peacebuilding efforts are gender-sensitive, inclusive, and sustainable. The study will align with the UN Sudan Interim Cooperation Framework (2026–2028) and draw on ongoing WPS initiatives in Sudan and the broader region.

Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this consultancy is to conduct a comprehensive gender-sensitive conflict analysis in Sudan. The analysis will:

• Identify gendered impacts and risks, assessing how the conflict differentially affects individuals based on gender and other intersecting factors, including refugees and displaced populations.
• Analyze power relations, inequalities, and gender norms that contribute to or are reinforced by the conflict.
• Map formal and informal actors, assessing how gender shapes their roles, influence, and access to decision-making.
• Examine barriers and opportunities for women and marginalized groups to meaningfully participate in peacebuilding, governance, and recovery processes.
• Analyze gender roles in peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and resistance, recognizing both vulnerabilities and agency.
• Address intersectionality, exploring how gender interacts with factors such as ethnicity, age, displacement, disability, and socioeconomic status.
• Provide evidence-based recommendations to inform gender-responsive policy, programming, and WPS interventions in Sudan.

Objectives

The specific objectives of the assignment are:

• Analyze gendered drivers of conflict, including political exclusion, economic inequalities, social norms, and militarized masculinities.
• Identify and map key actors (state, non-state, political, military, civil society) and assess how gender shapes their roles, strategies, and influence.
• Explore the roles of women, men, and youth in both conflict escalation and peacebuilding, including participation/exclusion in formal/informal peace efforts, governance, and armed groups.
• Examine the role of women’s CSOs and networks in promoting peace in Sudan.
• Identify barriers and challenges for Sudanese women in exercising their rights to participate in peace processes.
• Assess gender-differentiated impacts of the conflict, particularly regarding protection, livelihoods, and coping mechanisms, and understand how gender roles have shifted.
• Identify practical, context-specific entry points for advancing WPS programming at policy and programmatic levels.
• Identify risks and opportunities for gender-transformative approaches in peacebuilding, recovery, transitional justice, and governance.
• Analyze climate-related risks from a gender perspective and their interaction with conflict dynamics.
• Assess the role and influence of regional and international actors in shaping gendered conflict and peace dynamics

Scope of Work

The consultant will:

• Design a gender-sensitive methodology and tools, aligned with WPS principles and UN Women’s GSCA approach, ensuring neutrality in engaging with all conflict actors.
• Conduct a comprehensive desk review of literature, assessments, and policy documents.
• Conduct KIIs and FGDs with diverse stakeholders, including women’s rights organizations, youth groups, traditional leaders, government representatives, humanitarian and peacebuilding actors, and Sudanese refugees and diaspora groups.
• Engage with regional actors (e.g., AU, IGAD) to examine their roles and influence on gendered conflict dynamics.
• Map actors and analyze gendered roles and influence, identifying barriers and opportunities for inclusive, gender-responsive peacebuilding.
• Integrate analysis of emerging issues, such as climate change, displacement, digital inclusion, and economic instability.
• Provide overall technical leadership and coordination of the GSCA, ensuring coherence across methodology, data collection, analysis, and reporting, in close collaboration with the national consultant.
• Provide technical oversight and quality assurance of primary data collection, including FGDs and KIIs conducted by national teams, ensuring adherence to GSCA methodology, ethical standards, Do No Harm, safeguarding, and PSEA principles.
• Integrate findings from the national consultant primary data and actor-mapping reports into the overall analysis and final GSCA report.
• Produce a comprehensive report with evidence-based findings and actionable recommendations for advancing the WPS agenda in Sudan.

Methodology

The consultant will apply UN Women’s GSCA methodology, emphasizing intersectionality, participation, and conflict sensitivity. The methodology will include:

• Inception Phase: Submit an inception report detailing methods, tools, objectives, and ethical safeguards.
• Preparation and Planning: Define objectives, identify stakeholders, and develop a gender-responsive framework/tools.
• Data Collection: Conduct KIIs, FGDs, and desk review, ensuring gender-segregated discussions and inclusion of marginalized groups.
• Data Analysis: Examine gendered impacts across sectors, considering norms, power relations, and intersecting identities.
• Engagement and Validation: Conduct validation workshops and maintain stakeholder engagement for accuracy and inclusivity, co facilitating validation workshop jointly with the national consultant where relevant.
• Final Report: Consolidate findings into a comprehensive GSCA report with actionable recommendations.
• Ethical Standards: Apply Do No Harm, safeguarding, and PSEA principles, ensuring confidentiality and participant safety, and ensure quality assurance of research tools, analysis, and final outputs in line with UN Women standards.

Key Deliverables

• Inception Report: Outlining the methodology, tools, workplan, ethics protocol.
• Draft Report, preliminary findings and recommendations for validation
• Validation Workshop , presentation and feedback from stakeholders
• Final report , including executive summary, gendered conflict analysis, entry points for WPS programming, actionable recommendations and annexes(data tools , stakeholders lists, analysis framework

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

• Location: The consultancy will be home-based.
• Timeline: The consultancy will last for a period of 45 Working days, starting 15^th January 2026 with the above tentative schedule

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: 

Required Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in gender studies, peace and conflict studies, international development, political science, or a related field.
• A minimum of 7 years of professional experience in gender programming within humanitarian or development contexts, with demonstrated expertise in conducting gender and conflict analyses in fragile or conflict-affected settings.
• Proven expertise in conducting gender analyses and producing gender-sensitive reports.
• Strong understanding of WPS agenda and UNSCR 1325
• Familiarity with the humanitarian context in Sudan and the specific challenges faced by women and girls in conflict and post-conflict settings.
• Demonstrated experience in gender-sensitive and intersectional analysis
• Strong research, analytical, and writing skills.
• Knowledge of how famine affects food security and the ability to adapt interventions to be inclusive and sensitive to gender dynamics.

• Experience working with UN agencies or other international organizations is an asset.

  Languages:

• Fluency in English or Arabic is required.
• Knowledge of Arabic or any other UN official language 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.