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.

Somalia faces overlapping pressures from conflict, climate shocks, and protracted displacement, with over 3.5 million internally displaced people, mostly women and children. In Dolow, approximately 142,000 IDPs live alongside 1.2 million host community members. The population is extremely young, with 70 per cent under 18. Women and youth face limited livelihood opportunities, restricted access to finance, protection risks, and persistent social barriers. Rapid and unplanned urban growth has further strained land, services, and livelihood systems, increasing competition over scarce resources and weakening social cohesion.

The Strengthening Resilience of Displaced and Host Communities in Dolow (SRDHT) Project, funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and jointly implemented by UNHCR, UN Women, FAO, IOM, and UN-Habitat, aims to advance durable solutions through women’s and youth economic empowerment, climate-resilient livelihoods, infrastructure support, and institutional strengthening. UN Women leads the Women’s and Youth Economic Empowerment and Gender Equality components, ensuring gender-responsive and youth-inclusive approaches across all pillars.

To inform implementation, a rapid context assessment will be conducted to provide a practical overview of the economic empowerment and gender equality landscape in Dolow. The assessment will map partners working on women empowerment also those delivering livelihoods, entrepreneurship, and TVET services for women and youth across targeted IDP locations (Kabasa, Qansexley, Ladan, and Kaxareey) and host communities. It will document available TVET courses (types, duration, certification, costs, accessibility), incentives, and linkages to start-up support, financial institutions, and market opportunities.

The assessment will also profile WLOs/WROs, youth groups, community structures, women empowerment centers and safe spaces, and analyze the operational environment, including security, access constraints, social norms, market saturation, and protection risks. Findings will provide a concise snapshot of existing actors, services, gaps, and opportunities to guide partnership selection and realistic program planning.

Purpose of the Assignment

Under the supervision of the Country Programme Manager, and in close coordination with Programme Specialist, the Consultant will undertake the following tasks:

I. Inception, Desk Review & Rapid Context and Community Systems Analysis

• Develop a brief inception report outlining methodology, workplan, data collection tools, and risk mitigation measures for undertaking the assignment.
• Conduct rapid data collection on women’s and youth economic empowerment and employment conditions across targeted IDP locations (Kabasa, Qansexley, Ladan, and Kaxareey) and host communities
• Undertake FGDs, KIIs, stakeholder consultations, labour market scans, and community profiling
• Assess displacement dynamics, service availability, access constraints, security, social norms, and operational risks
• Identify key social, economic, protection/GBV-related and market barriers affecting women’s and youth participation, including barriers to employment, access to finance, start-up capital, climate-smart livelihoods, and leadership participation.

II. WLO/WRO Mapping and Capacity Snapshot

• Identify and map active women-led and women’s rights organizations operating in Dolow and targeted IDP settlements
• Document core services (economic empowerment, GBV prevention/response, leadership, advocacy, community mobilization)
• Identify partnership potential and priority capacity-strengthening needs
• Assess capacity of WLOs/WROs to support delivery of TVET outreach, GBV referral, women’s entrepreneurship support, and GEWE community forums

III. Economic Empowerment, TVET & Labour Market Ecosystem Mapping

• Map actors delivering TVET, market-oriented skills training, entrepreneurship support, financial literacy, and business development services  and assess alignment of existing TVET trades e.g., tailoring, mobile repair, carpentry, bakery, electrical systems, handicrafts, small business development).
• Conduct a rapid market-based assessment to identify viable microbusiness and value chain opportunities for women and youth in the four IDP sites and host communities.
• Identify opportunities for green businesses, eco-friendly production, climate-resilient agriculture, and environmentally sustainable income generation.
• Document available TVET courses, including trade types, duration, certification, costs/rates, incentives, and accessibility for women and youth
• Identify linkages to start-up kits, grants, business networks, financial institutions, and value chains
• Identify private sector actors, cooperatives, VSLAs, and financial service providers
• Highlight skills gaps, market saturation risks, employment barriers, and financial access constraints
• Identify duplication, service gaps, and partnership opportunities

IV. Gender & Youth Brief – Economic Empowerment and Employment

• Develop a concise Gender & Youth Brief synthesizing key findings on livelihoods, employment, skills, protection risks, and leadership participation
• Identify gaps and opportunities in employability, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and skills development
• Map resilience assets, support systems, and enabling conditions across IDP and host communities
• Provide recommendations on beneficiary targeting criteria consistent with project prioritization of female-headed households, at-risk women, youth aged 18–35, and persons with disabilities.

V. Social Cohesion & Community Structures Analysis

• Map formal and informal community structures, including elders, camp committees, women’s groups, youth groups, religious leaders, and peace committees as well as physical convening structures such as safe spaces and women empoerment centres
• Analyze community decision-making processes and representation of women and youth in these mechanisms 
• Identify sources of tension and existing conflict resolution mechanisms
• Assess inclusion and exclusion patterns affecting women, youth, minorities, and persons with disabilities
• Identify opportunities to strengthen peaceful coexistence, community dialogue, youth participation in peacebuilding, and durable local integration in line with the SRDHT Theory of Change.

VI. Coordination & Stakeholder Engagement

• Coordinate closely with UNHCR, FAO, IOM, UN-Habitat, and relevant government counterparts
• Coordinate with INGOs and other actors working with displaced communities to understand ongoing interventions, avoid duplication, and ensure complementarity during implementation.
• Engage district authorities, line ministries, CSOs, WLOs/WROs, youth networks, and private sector actors
• Ensure inclusive, participatory consultations throughout the assessment process

Deliverables

Methodology

A mixed-method, participatory, gender-responsive and conflict-sensitive approach will be used.

1. Desk Review: Review of SRDHT documentation, UN partner reports, labour market and TVET assessments, gender and youth analyses, and displacement studie ( Rapid value chain and market opportunity analysis aligned to women’s and youth enterprise development)
2. Primary Data Collection: FGDs, KIIs, structured tools, stakeholder consultations, market observation, and WLO capacity snapshots.
3. Labour Market & TVET Mapping: Rapid assessment of viable skills areas, training modalities, course availability, and market demand.
4. Social Cohesion & Community Mapping: Identification of active structures, conflict drivers, inclusion dynamics, and local resolution mechanisms.
5. Coordination & Harmonization: Alignment with UN agency standards, government frameworks, and existing coordination mechanisms.
6. Data Analysis & Reporting: Triangulation of findings, dataset cleaning, and development of practical, implementation-oriented recommendations.

Consultant’s Workplace and Travel

The assignment will be a  field-based in Dolow, with community engagement in IDP settlements and host communities. Periodic consultations may be conducted with UN Women, UNHCR, FAO and UN-Habitat and IOM and government ministries.

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 commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment 
• Strong organizational skills and self-direction
• Ability to prioritize and work under pressure with colleagues at all levels
• Strong communication and interactive facilitation skills
• Have excellent analytical, writing and synthesis skills
• Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multiethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds
• Demonstrate an ability to produce quality results on time outsourced and work under pressure

Required Qualifications:

Education

• Master’s degree in Gender Studies, Development Studies, Economics, Sociology, Labour Market Studies, Youth Development, Statistics, Public Policy, or another relevant social science field is required;
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of relevant qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree.

Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years of relevant professional experience conducting rapid assessments, context analyses, labour market scans, socio-economic studies, and stakeholder mapping in humanitarian or development settings, with demonstrated expertise in gender and youth economic empowerment;
• Proven experience designing and implementing mixed-method data collection methodologies, including FGDs, KIIs, stakeholder consultations, TVET and service mapping, labour market assessments, and community profiling;
• Strong analytical experience in mapping economic empowerment ecosystems, including TVET providers, entrepreneurship support services, financial inclusion actors, value chains, and market opportunities;
• Demonstrated experience producing high-quality analytical reports, policy briefs, mapping matrices, datasets (including sex- and age-disaggregated data), and presentations for UN agencies, donors, and government counterparts;
• Substantive experience working with displacement-affected populations, including IDPs and host communities, with a strong understanding of protection risks, social norms, and barriers affecting women, youth, and vulnerable groups;
• Experience engaging and coordinating with UN agencies, government institutions, CSOs/WLOs/WROs, youth networks, and private sector actors in multi-stakeholder or joint-programme environments;
• Strong knowledge of Somalia’s socio-economic and labour market context, gender dynamics, and youth vulnerabilities; experience working in Dolow or Jubaland is highly desirable;
• Experience working on AfDB- or other major donor-funded resilience, livelihoods, or durable solutions programmes is considered an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English required;
• Knowledge of Somali Language is Desirable

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.