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.

UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to implement these standards. It stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on five priority areas: increasing women’s leadership and participation; ending violence against women; engaging women in all aspects of peace and security processes; enhancing women’s economic empowerment; and making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting. UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality.

In East and Southern Africa, UN Women covers 25 countries through twelve country offices, a programme presence, as well as support to the UN Country Team where we do not have an office.[1]  The UN Women Liaison Office serves the African Union and UN Economic Commission for Africa, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In accordance with the UN Women Strategic Note (2026-2029) and in support of global and regional commitments for advancing gender equality, UN Women works to advance social, economic, and political rights of women and girls, including the right to live free of all forms of violence and the right to meaningfully engage in all aspects of peace and security across the humanitarian, development and peace nexus.

Ending violence against women and girls (EVAWG) remains a priority area for UN Women in East and Southern Africa, as the most widespread violation of human rights. Regional prevalence estimates of women and girls’ experiences of different forms of violence are often higher than global averages.[2] For example 35% of women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) in their life time and 20%  in the past year, above global average ( 27%vs 13%).[3] Over 50 million girls in ESA were married before age of 18.[4]  seventeen countries have IPV prevalence data, eight reported femicide data and six track technology-facilitated-VAWG. Despite high IPV costs on GDP ( 0.9% in Ethiopia, 5.5% in Lesotho), funding gaps, weak legal implementation, shrinking civic space and perpetrator impunity hinder accountability. Despite these legal reforms, investment in prevention and survivor services is growing, offering opportunities or accelerated action.

Established by UN General Assembly Resolution 50/166 in 1996, the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) is the first and remains the only global UN funding mechanism dedicated exclusively to providing direct grants to civil society organizations working to prevent and end all forms of violence against women and girls (EVAWG). Since 2010, UN Women has administered the UN Trust Fund on behalf of the UN system, providing a strong institutional foundation and field support through a global infrastructure of country and regional offices.

With nearly three decades of experience, the UN Trust Fund has become a key global mechanism for funding initiatives that aim to eliminate violence against women and girls (VAWG). It plays a critical role in fostering collaboration across governments, UN agencies, and civil society to address the root causes and consequences of violence, aligning its work with broader international policies and frameworks. The UN Trust Fund focuses on providing long-term grants to organizations that work in diverse contexts, particularly those representing marginalized groups, such as indigenous women, women living with disabilities, and women from rural or conflict-affected areas. Its investments are survivor-centered and aim to have sustainable, long-term impacts. To date, the UN Trust Fund has funded over 700 initiatives in over 140 countries and territories, significantly contributing to global efforts to end VAWG.

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) remains pervasive human rights violation globally, and the East and Southern Africa region remains off course from reaching the 2030 SDG 5 targets. It occurs in various forms and takes place in all settings, both physical and virtual spaces. Decades of advocacy and other efforts by feminist and women’s rights organizations and networks have elevated public attention and increased State commitments to address the issue, with actions identified to counter the immediate and long-term consequences and costs of VAWG. This includes the adoption of dedicated laws and policies for ending VAWG, with 18 of the 25 countries in East and Southern Africa having dedicated action plans or strategies to  address VAWG. However, challenges persist, including insufficient feminist financing, and structural barriers that limit the capacity of women’s rights organizations to deliver sustainable, high-quality services and advocacy.

Since 2024, UN Women in East and Southern Africa, in collaboration with the UN Trust Fund under the Advocacy, Coalition Building and Transformative Feminist Action (ACT) Programme, has convened annual regional dialogues on Feminist Funding for Women’s Movements in the region. Conceived as an iterative process, these dialogues have progressively built a shared understanding of the regional resourcing landscape, strengthened relationships and trust among stakeholders, and fostered greater alignment across women’s rights organizations (WROs), feminist funders, UN agencies, and development partners. The 2024 Dialogue established a common analysis of existing investments and financing mechanisms for EVAWG work, highlighting systemic barriers that limit equitable, accessible, and quality funding for women’s movements. Building on this foundation, the 2025 Dialogue advanced collective learning by identifying promising feminist funding practices, exploring coordination mechanisms, and aligning stakeholders around shared advocacy priorities, while also examining how emerging geopolitical and socio-economic shifts are shaping the resourcing environment.

While these engagements strengthened collaboration, solidarity, and knowledge exchange, significant challenges persist. Funding remains largely short-term, project-based, and unpredictable, constraining organizations’ ability to plan strategically, retain staff, invest in institutional sustainability, and deliver long-term systemic changes. Grassroots, community-based, and marginalized groups continue to face disproportionate barriers to accessing resources, limiting their reach, resilience, and impact. At the same time, opportunities remain underexplored to diversify and expand the funding base through deeper collaboration with governments to advance co-financing models, stronger partnerships beyond traditional donors, including private sector actors and regional financing mechanisms, and leveraging peer-learning and exchange via platforms established under Regional Economic Communities (RECs), toward more sustainable EVAWG efforts. Addressing these opportunities requires more deliberate coordination, dialogue to align funding strategies, and enhanced shared accountability across all actors.

In support of these efforts, UN Women, in collaboration with the UN Trust Fund, is seeking to recruit a Senior EVAWG Facilitator to provide technical facilitation, strategic process design, and analytical guidance for the planning, facilitation and reporting of results of two regional convenings under the ACT to EVAW Programme (namely the third Regional Dialogue on Funding Feminist  Movements and an exchange between Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and civil society on EVAWG). The Facilitator will be responsible for designing and facilitating pre-dialogue consultations, leading a three-day multi-stakeholder regional dialogue on feminist funding and a two-day exchange with RECs, and guiding discussions toward concrete outputs, commitments, and accountability mechanisms. The consultant will ensure participatory and feminist facilitation practices, cultivate a safe-space and support consensus-building across diverse stakeholders, and identify insights and key decisions. Additionally, the consultant will synthesize and document dialogue outcomes based on drafts prepared by rapporteurs and provide guidance for post-dialogue action planning.

Description of Responsibilities / Scope of Work:

The consultant will play a critical role in ensuring that regional dialogues on feminist funding and exchange with RECs are not only well-facilitated but also result in actionable outcomes, measurable commitments, and a clear roadmap for advocacy and increased investments. The consultant will operate under the supervision of the UN Women Regional EVAW Coordinator and is expected to provide strategic facilitation, process design, and knowledge synthesis. The consultant will go beyond logistical facilitation to ensure outcome-driven engagement, accountability, and the consolidation of lessons for future programming.

The role requires both technical expertise in facilitation and substantive knowledge on financing and accountability for EVAWG, including the ability to guide discussions toward consensus, identify gaps, and generate actionable recommendations that enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of women’s rights organizations (WROs) and networks.

Key Responsibilities:

Pre-Dialogue Preparation and Facilitation with WROs for the Regional Dialogue on Funding Feminist Movements

The consultant will design and facilitate preparatory meetings to reflect on progress, identify gaps, and ensure that dialogues build on prior commitments. Specific responsibilities include:

• Conduct a reflection session on progress, gaps, and lessons learned from the 2024–2025 dialogues, 2025 roadmap, particularly focusing on areas where commitments have not yet translated into action.
• Design, facilitate, and document each preparatory session, capturing insights, stories, and key recommendations from participants. Stories may include success cases, challenges, and innovative practices in feminist funding and advocacy.
• Finalize the concept note for the Regional Dialogue and pre-dialogue strategizing meeting with WROs based on preparatory consultations  
• Develop clear facilitation materials, including agendas, PowerPoint presentations, summarizing preliminary findings, and a brief highlighting key insights and recommendations.

Co-Design and Facilitation of the Regional Dialogue

The consultant will lead the design and facilitation of the multi-stakeholder regional dialogue and related events, ensuring discussions generate concrete outcomes, commitments, and strategic insights. Responsibilities include:

• Lead the planning and facilitation of:
  • 1 pre-Dialogue session with WROs/CSOs
  • 2-day multi-stakeholder regional dialogue
• Ensure inclusive, participatory, feminist, facilitation practices creating a safe-space.
• Guide discussions toward concrete outputs, decisions, and measurable commitments, not only knowledge exchange.
• Capture real-time insights, key decisions, and actionable outcomes.

 Synthesis, Documentation, and Strategic Knowledge Management

• The consultant will be responsible for consolidating and documenting dialogue outcomes in a manner that informs future 
• learning, advocacy, and resource mobilization efforts. Responsibilities include:
• Develop templates and guidance for capturing insights and actionable recommendations from all dialogue sessions.
• Produce and submit draft and final reports synthesizing findings, strategic insights, and recommendations,

Pre- dialogue preparation and facilitation of multi-stakeholder conversation between RECs and CSOs. 

The consultant will design and facilitate preparatory meetings to reflect progress, identify gaps, and ensure that dialogues build on prior commitments and roadmap developed in 2025. Specific responsibilities include:

• Conduct a reflection session on progress of actions in the roadmap from 2025 meeting gaps, and lessons learned, particularly focusing on areas where commitments have not yet been translated into action.
• Develop clear facilitation materials, including agendas, PowerPoint presentations, and a brief highlighting key insights and recommendations.
• The consultant will lead the design and facilitation of the multi-stakeholder dialogue with RECs and CSOs, ensuring discussions generate concrete outcomes, commitments, and strategic insights. 
• The consultant will be responsible for consolidating and documenting dialogue outcomes in a manner that informs future learning
• Develop templates and guidance for capturing insights and actionable recommendations from all dialogue sessions.
• Produce and submit draft and final reports synthesizing findings, strategic insights, and recommendations

Deliverables and Timelines:

The consultant will be engaged for a period of 45 working days.

Payments for this consultancy will be based on the achievement of each of the following deliverables, and certification that each has been satisfactorily completed. 

Payments will not be based on the completion of each stated deliverable within the indicated timeframes.

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 programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and skills and experience facilitating high level dialogues
• Ability to synthesize programme performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Strong Facilitation skills.
• Demonstrates excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to review a variety of data, identify and adjust discrepancies, identify and resolve operational problems.
• Proven networking skills and ability to generate interest in UN Women’s mandate.
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside UN Women.

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• A master’s degree in international relations/development, Sociology, Social Work, Community Development, Human Rights, Gender and Development, or similar field.
• 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 would be an added advantage.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in diverse contexts related to EVAWG programmes, including evidence-based approaches to financing VAWG and women’s and feminist movements, particularly in middle and low-income countries.
• Demonstrated experience in facilitating substantive meetings and dialogues with diverse stakeholders related to EVAWG or gender equality, including WROs, government institutions, development partners, private sector and UN agencies, both virtually and in-person
• Experience with feminist funding ecosystems, including familiarity with challenges and opportunities in resourcing WROs and the use of donor/funder coordination mechanisms to strengthen sustainable funding models.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with an ability to translate technical concepts into clear and accessible language for diverse audiences.
• Experience working with or advising women’s rights organizations, feminist movements, or civil society coalitions in East and Southern Africa or comparable contexts.
• Previous experience with the UN system on EVAWG programmes would be highly desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of 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.