UN Women: Technical Lead and Drafter, Papua New Guinea National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAP WPS), Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, National Consultant Contract

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.

Papua New Guinea is advancing a Government-led process to develop its first National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAP WPS). The process builds on national and sub-national WPS consultations, including provincial dialogues, the National WPS Summit held in June 2026, its Outcome Document, and the proposed roadmap for development of the NAP WPS. The process is intended to translate nationally identified WPS priorities into an implementable, results-based national framework with clear institutional responsibilities, monitoring and reporting arrangements, timelines and resource requirements.
The NAP WPS will be developed under Government leadership through an interdepartmental coordination/drafting mechanism, with inputs from relevant Government institutions, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, civil society, women peacebuilders and other stakeholders. As requested by the Government, UN Women will provide technical assistance, quality assurance and specialist support.
UN Women therefore seeks a National Consultant to serve as Technical Lead and principal Drafter of the NAP WPS. The consultant will bring strong knowledge of WPS and the Papua New Guinea context and will translate agreed Government priorities, evidence and stakeholder inputs into a coherent and technically robust NAP WPS. Substantive policy direction and decisions will remain Government-owned.
Under the overall leadership and guidance by the UN Women Country Representative, the consultant will report to the Deputy Country Representative and work closely with the Government-led interdepartmental coordination/drafting mechanism and UN Women PNG. Technical assistance and quality assurance will be provided by UN Women PNG. Dedicated M&E/RBM and costing specialists will support the results framework, monitoring arrangements and costing. The consultant will integrate their agreed technical outputs and the results of relevant workshops into successive drafts of the NAP WPS.

Description of Responsibilities/Scope of Work:
Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Country Representative, and working under DFCDR with technical support from UN Women Governance, peace and security Programme Manager Specialist, the consultant will:

• Conduct a desk review and synthesis of relevant national, regional and global WPS frameworks; national policies and strategies; available evidence and analysis; the
• National WPS Summit Outcome Document; previous consultations; and other relevant materials agreed with Government and UN Women.
• Refine, with Government and UN Women, the proposed structure and annotated outline of the NAP WPS and prepare a detailed drafting methodology and workplan.
• Serve as principal national technical drafter, ensuring the NAP is evidence-based, nationally grounded, results-based, coherent and implementable.
• Draft the NAP progressively, chapter by chapter, and prepare concise materials to present each section to the Government-led interdepartmental mechanism.
• Present draft chapters in technical meetings, explain the evidence and drafting rationale, facilitate substantive discussion, capture Government feedback and decisions, and revise each chapter accordingly.
• Maintain a structured comment and decision matrix throughout the drafting process.
• With the M&E/RBM specialist, integrate the agreed results framework, indicators, baselines and targets where feasible, institutional responsibilities, timelines, and monitoring/reporting arrangements.
• Integrate agreed outputs of the costing process/workshop and indicative resource requirements into the NAP.
• Draft and refine coordination and implementation arrangements, including the proposed TOR for the interdepartmental coordination mechanism, based on Government decisions.
• Draft the financing and resource mobilisation section with Government guidance and technical inputs.
• Ensure successive drafts reflect relevant stakeholder inputs while preserving Government ownership of policy decisions.
• Consolidate reviewed sections into a complete draft and incorporate Government comments and UN Women technical quality assurance.
• Prepare a clean consolidated NAP WPS package for the subsequent national validation and finalisation process.
• Annexes, including the TOR for the interdepartmental coordination mechanism and other technical annexes as agreed.

Deliverables:

The assignment is deliverable-based. Exact meeting dates will be aligned with the Government-led drafting process.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel:
This is an office-based consultancy in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Office presence is required because the assignment involves continuous coordination with UN Women and regular in-person technical engagement with the Government-led interdepartmental coordination/drafting mechanism during the iterative drafting process. Any official travel outside Port Moresby, if subsequently required and approved, will be arranged in accordance with UN Women rules and procedures and agreed in advance.

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 technical knowledge of the WPS agenda and its application in national policy and planning processes.
• Strong understanding of PNG’s governance, gender equality, peace and security context and institutional environment.
• Excellent policy analysis, synthesis and drafting skills.
• Strong RBM skills and ability to work collaboratively with specialist inputs on M&E, costing and financing.
• Strong facilitation and presentation skills for senior Government technical discussions.
• Strong stakeholder engagement, judgement and diplomacy in multi-institutional and politically sensitive processes.

Required Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in gender studies, peace and conflict studies, political science, international relations, public policy, development studies, law, social sciences or a related field 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 professional experience in policy development, strategic planning, peacebuilding, WPS, gender equality, governance or a related field is required.
• Demonstrated professional knowledge and experience of PNG governance, gender equality, peace and security context is required.
• Demonstrated experience drafting national policies, strategies, action plans, results frameworks or comparable Government policy instruments is required.
• Demonstrated technical knowledge of the WPS agenda is required.
• Experience working with Government institutions and facilitating multi-stakeholder policy or planning processes is required.
• Experience synthesising consultations, research and diverse stakeholder inputs into high-quality policy documents is required.
• Experience developing or integrating results-based frameworks, implementation arrangements, monitoring frameworks and/or financing considerations is desirable.
• Experience working with women’s organisations, civil society, peacebuilders or sub-national stakeholders in PNG is desirable.
• Excellent analytical, facilitation and policy-writing skills and ability to work independently and meet deadlines are required. Relevant policy/strategy writing samples will be requested.

Languages:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.
• Working proficiency in Tok Pisin is required.
• Knowledge of additional PNG languages 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.