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 is implementing a joint project with UNFPA and OHCHR titled “Accelerating Digital Opportunities for Youth Civic Participation as a lever for Building and Sustaining Peace in Liberia” as part of the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) Youth Promotion Initiative. The project goal is to increase opportunities for youth participation in decision making processes through the digitalization of existing youth and women-led informal platforms, networks, and organizations. This will be achieved by transforming the youth-led "Atayee centers" and women-led Peace Huts into spaces where youth can meaningfully participate in political and intergenerational dialogues, interact with political actors, women leaders, mentors, traditional and religious leaders and other state actors, and connect to formal civic platforms using a digital interface. 

Youth constitute a significant proportion of Liberia’s population and play a critical role in national development, peacebuilding, and democratic governance. The National Youth Policy (NYP) provides a strategic framework for promoting youth empowerment, participation, and inclusion across social, economic, and political spheres. However, despite its importance, the policy remains largely inaccessible to many young people and communities due to its technical language, limited awareness, and inadequate dissemination at the grassroots level.

Youth-led and women-led civil society organizations (CSOs) and networks remain key actors in bridging this gap. These organizations are well positioned to translate policy commitments into community-level awareness, dialogue, and action. However, they often require technical and financial support to effectively engage young people, women, and marginalized groups on policy content and implementation.

In this context, UN Women in collaboration with relevant national stakeholders, seeks to engage a National Consultant to:

• Work closely with youth groups and relevant stakeholders to develop an abridged, simplified, and youth-friendly version of the National Youth Policy; and
• Provide technical support to youth-led and women-led CSOs and networks to disseminate and sensitize communities on the revised National Youth Policy through regional workshops, dialogues, and community engagements.

This consultancy contributes to strengthening youth civic engagement, inclusive governance, and policy ownership at the community level, with a particular focus on young women and marginalized youth.

The overall objective of the consultancy is to increase awareness, understanding, and ownership of the National Youth Policy among young people and communities through simplified policy tools and inclusive dissemination mechanisms.

Specific objectives include:

1. To support youth groups and stakeholders to develop an abridged, simplified, and accessible version of the National Youth Policy.
2. To strengthen the capacity of youth-led and women-led CSOs to disseminate and sensitize communities on the National Youth Policy. 
3. To facilitate inclusive regional workshops and dialogues that promote youth participation, feedback, and accountability around the policy.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance and management of the UN Women Deputy Country Representative and the direct supervision of the Programme Specialist Governance, Peace & Security, the National Consultant will undertake the following tasks:

1. Stakeholder Engagement and Desk Review

• Conduct a desk review of the National Youth Policy and related youth governance frameworks.
• Engage relevant stakeholders, including youth groups, youth-led and women-led CSOs, government counterparts, and networks, to identify key priority areas for simplification.

      2. Development of an Abridged and Simplified National Youth Policy

• Facilitate consultative sessions with youth groups to co-develop a simplified and youth-friendly version of the National Youth Policy.
• Ensure the abridged version uses clear, non-technical language and incorporates visual and participatory elements where possible.
• Integrate cross-cutting issues such as gender equality, inclusion of young women, persons with disabilities, and marginalized youth.

      3. Technical Support to Youth-Led and Women-Led CSOs 

• Facilitate a one day workshop with the youth & women led CSOs to develop roll out plan for abridged version
• Design simple guidance notes to support CSOs in disseminating and explaining the National Youth Policy at community level.
• Provide technical support to selected CSOs and networks on facilitation approaches, policy dialogue, and community sensitization.

       4. Support to Regional Dissemination and Sensitization Activities

• Support the planning and implementation of three regional workshops led by youth-led and women-led CSOs.
• Provide technical and financial coordination support to ensure effective outreach and documentation of engagements.
• Ensure participatory approaches that allow youth and community members to provide feedback on policy priorities and implementation.

Prepare and submit all required reports in a timely manner.

All deliverables, including annexes, tools, and reports, shall be submitted in English.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy in Monrovia, Liberia. Local travel within Liberia may be required. 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 Arrangements

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 UN Women Programme Specialist, Governance & Women Political Participation that services have been satisfactorily performed.

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:

• Timely and quality implementation of program activities against set work plans, timelines and budgets
• Quality and timely reporting
• Strong relations with partners and stakeholders
• Regular and timely monitoring of activities 
• Timely and quality implementation of advocacy events in line with work plan
• Enhanced best practices and lessons learned documented and circulated 

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.