Campaign Consultant – Advocacy on Women's Meaningful Participation in Peace Processes

Background

Women's meaningful participation in peace processes is a core pillar of inclusive and sustainable peace, as articulated under the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda and relevant international, regional, and national frameworks. Evidence shows that peace processes which meaningfully include women are more likely to result in durable outcomes and to address the needs of affected communities.

Despite these commitments, women remain inadequately included in formal and informal peace negotiations and political dialogue processes. Structural barriers, political sensitivities, restrictive gender norms, and security constraints continue to limit women's access to peace platforms and their influence over outcomes. At the same time, women peacebuilders and women-led organizations (WLOs) play critical roles in mediation, reconciliation, and community-level peacebuilding, yet their contributions remain largely invisible in public and political discourse.

In response, UN Women is implementing a strategic advocacy campaign aimed at increasing awareness, strengthening public and stakeholder support, and amplifying women's voices in relation to peace talks. The campaign seeks to create civic space in which women-led organizations (WLOs) can influence the peace discourse, counter hate speech and narratives that marginalize women's role in peacebuilding, and advocate for an inclusive peace process. The campaign will be implemented over two months, in phased form, and will be women-led, participatory, and conflict-sensitive

The purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this consultancy is to design and provide technical support to an advocacy campaign that promotes women's meaningful participation in peace talks. The campaign is intended to create civic space for WLOs to influence the peace discourse, counter hate speech, and advocate for an inclusive peace process. The consultant will ensure strong ownership of the campaign by women peace actors and coherent advocacy messaging across all campaign activities. 

Duties and Responsibilities

The specific objectives of this consultancy are to:

1.    Support the design of a three-day workshop to engage WLOs members on the campaign planning, enabling participants to shape all campaign components, including coordination among participating organizations members.

2.   Consolidate the campaign design proposal based on the results of the workshop, positioning WLOs to influence the peace discourse and advocate for an inclusive peace process;

3.   Ensure the consistency of advocacy messaging to counters hate speech and narratives marginalizing women's role in peacebuilding — and propose relevant media outlets. 

Scope of Work and Methodology

• The consultant will design a process to be applied in a three-day workshop supporting WLOs to design and take ownership of their campaign. The workshop design should apply a participatory, conflict-sensitive, and results-oriented methodology, ensuring women's ownership, neutrality, and alignment with WPS principles. The scope of work will be implemented in two phases, under the supervision of the WPS Programme Specialist and in coordination with the UN Women Programme Associate and Media Officer.

Phase I: Desk review, context analysis, and design participatory planning Workshop. 

• Conduct a rapid desk review and context analysis related to women's participation in peace processes.
•  
• Prepare the schedule and training materials for the three-day workshop with WLO  to draft the campaign components, and brief/induct the UN Women Programme Associate and Media Officer on the content of the workshop to allow them to facilitate. The workshop should produce all components of the campaign and should inform:
• Campaign objective, theory of change, results and outcomes
• Advocacy framework
• Key messaging matrix
• Key audiences and alliances
• Media strategy/plan
• Implementation plan
• Monitoring tools 

Phase II: Campaign Design, launching, and implementation

• Based on the workshop results shared by UN Women, consolidate the campaign design, formulating the objectives, messages, and materials for the different levels of audiences and targets;
• Advise UN Women on the best approaches to measure change at all levels in areas where the campaign is conducted;
• Discuss the media component — including traditional and social media — with the UN Women Media Officer, and coordinate closely to align advocacy content with media and visibility outputs;
• Identify potential risks (political, security, reputational) and propose mitigation strategies in line with do-no-harm principles;
• Identify challenges and advise UN Women on the best approaches to address challenges- propose adjustment techniques during implementation course.
• Ensure knowledge sharing among WLOs for better reach out to ensure the success of the campaign.
• Prepare a comprehensive Campaign Plan to guide implementation;
• Identify challenges and propose adaptable approaches to be considered by UN Women and campaign partners within the campaign timeframe.

Expected Deliverables and Payment Schedule Deliverable Working Days Payment Schedule

Deliverable 1 (Phase I): Desk review and context analysis on women's political participation and earlier WLO-led campaign efforts; workshop schedule and training materials prepared; UN Women Programme Associate and Media Officer inducted on workshop content to deliver the training.	5 working days	35%
Three-day participatory workshop delivered with WLOs, generating campaign purpose, theory of change, target audiences, key messages, materials, outreach strategy and indicators – the workshop should be delivered by UN Women Media officer and Program Analyst .	0	0
Deliverable 3 (Phase II): Campaign design consolidated — objectives, theory of change, key advocacy messages, and materials tailored to different target audiences	5	35%
In coordination with the UN Women team. Additionally, risk analysis and mitigation measures documented and the campaign plan .	5	30%

6. Management, Implementation and Coordination

The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the WPS Programme Specialist and in close coordination with the UN Women Programme Analyst and Media Officer. UN Women's implementing partners will use the campaign materials and integrate them into their ongoing work.

Competencies

Core Values

• Respect for Diversity;
• Integrity;
• Professionalism.

Core Competencies

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Flexibility and Adaptability;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Teamwork.

Further information on UN Women's Core Values and Competencies is available at: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

• Strong understanding of the Women, Peace and Security agenda;
• Proven facilitation, coordination, and consensus-building skills;
• Political awareness and cultural sensitivity;
• Ability to work under tight deadlines and in complex, conflict-affected environments.

Required Skills and Experience

• Advanced university degree in Communications, Advocacy, Gender Studies, Peacebuilding, Political Science, or a related field;
• Minimum 7+ years of relevant experience in advocacy campaign design and coordination, preferably in fragile or conflict-affected contexts;
• Demonstrated experience working with women's organizations and civil society actors;
• Proven facilitation, coordination, and consensus-building skills;
• Strong understanding of the Women, Peace and Security agenda;
• Excellent analytical, drafting, and communication skills.

Languages: Fluency in English required. Knowledge of Arabic required.

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application. Applicants should ensure all requested materials are provided:

• A UN Women Personal History Form (P11), including experience in similar assignments; the P11 form can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, and a signed copy should be submitted;
• A full CV listing the most relevant projects and assignments;
• A technical proposal (maximum 15 pages) outlining the applicant's understanding of the assignment and proposed methodology, in line with this Terms of Reference.

This engagement is governed by UN Women's General Terms and Conditions for Individual Contractors. UN Women will respond only to applicants who meet the minimum requirements stated above.

10. Evaluation of Applicants

Applications will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method, combining the scores of the technical and financial proposals. The applicable weighting [70% technical / 30% financial] should be confirmed in line with UN Women's applicable procurement guidance for consultancy assignments of this nature.

Applications:

Applications should be made online through the WMO e-recruitment system.

Do not send your application via multiple routes. WMO no longer accepts applications via post or email. Only applicants for whom WMO has a further interest will be contacted. Shortlisted candidates may be required to sit a written test and/or an interview.

Statements:

WMO is committed to achieving diversity and a balanced workforce. Applications are welcome from qualified women and men, including those with disabilities. The statutory retirement age is 65. Pursuant to WMO Standing Instructions, the minimum age to be eligible for consideration for vacant positions is 18, and the maximum age must enable the candidate to serve for at least the term of the contract before reaching mandatory age of separation.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

WMO does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.

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