NATIONAL CONSULTANT TO DEVELOP THE KENYA THIRD GENERATION NATIONAL ACTION PLAN ON WOMEN, PEACE, AND SECURITY

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. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, the UN WOMEN leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. UN WOMEN provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, the UN WOMEN leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. UN WOMEN provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

In Kenya, the UN Women Country Programme contributes to the development objectives of Kenya’s blueprint- the Vision 2030, the SDGs particularly, SDG 5 and is aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2022-2026 as well as UN Women Global Strategic Plan. UN Women Kenya Strategic Note 2023-2026 aims to achieve the following results: (i) Increased women’s leadership and participation in governance; (ii) Strengthened women’s economic empowerment; (iii) Increased protection of women against gender-based violence & access to justice for women; and (iv) Strengthened women’s leadership in peacebuilding and humanitarian response.

Context

In 2016, Kenya developed its first National Action Plan (KNAP) on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325), demonstrating a profound interest in the implementation of women peace and security (WPS) agenda at the country level. The KNAP is the overarching national framework that provides guidance on the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions on WPS. Many results were achieved during the first KNAP including the increase of women in the peace committee from 14% to 29 %, and the development of the Ministry of Défense Gender Policy. However, as recommended by the comprehensive review conducted in 2018; engagement of the county governments was required to fully implement the KNAP on UNSCR 1325 (2016-2018) to build an inclusive society where women’s rights were protected.

Kenya is currently implementing its second KNAP (2020-2024) on WPS, which was adopted in May 2020. It integrates lessons learned from the first KNAP and is building on previous the gains and achievements. In addition, the second KNAP strives to highlight the imperative role women play in advancing peace and security and emphasizes visibility. It also highlights the vulnerability and mitigation strategies through an implementation structure consisting of robust pillars (Participation, Protection, Prevention and Relief and Recovery) and coordination mechanism. 

UN Women Kenya is committed to supporting the Government of Kenya and non-state actors to effectively implement the second KNAP. The main objectives of UN Women’s work with the Government under WPS is to support; 1) the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions and 2) women and girls in target counties to take leadership in WPS agenda, improve their resilience and participate in disaster risk management. 

Considering the above, noting that the second KNAP ends in 2024, and with the aim of developing a highly relevant third KNAP, UN Women Kenya seeks to hire a national consultant to support the Government of Kenya to carry out a review of the second KNAP.

Rationale for Gender-Responsive Conflict and Disaster Analysis

Since the second KNAP was adopted in May 2020, Kenya has been implementing different components of the KNAP II. The endorsed KNAP II will be coming to an end in December 2024. UN Women supported the State Department for Gender for gender to conduct a review. The review report identifies a number of achievements, challenges, new emerging issues, priority areas of concern and recommendations that will inform the development of the KNAP III. 

Objectives of the Assignment:

The main objective of the consultancy is to support the Government of Kenya to develop a focused and concise KNAP III 

Duties and Responsibilities: 

Under the overall guidance and management of the UN Women Peace and Security Team Lead and supervision from the Deputy Director and Focal Point for the Women Peace and security in collaboration with the Principal Secretary State Department of Gender and Affirmative Action (SDfGAA), the Consultant will perform the following tasks.

Task 1: Desk Review and Development of Inception Report 

• Conduct a desk review of existing relevant documents. 
• Conduct preliminary consultations with, SDGA, NSC and UN Women to develop a draft plan of consultancy activities. 
• Develop a detailed inception report explaining the approaches, schedules of the detailed activities/work-plan and expected time of delivery of the assignment.

Task 2: KNAP III Development Work-Plan 

• Together with SDGA, NSC and UN Women and in coordination/collaboration with the National Steering Committee, the consultant is to develop a detailed work plan towards the successful design and delivery of Kenya’s 3rd Generation National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325.

Task 3:  Participate in National and County Consultations On Content For KNAP III

• Together with SDfGAA and UN Women and in coordination/collaboration with the National Steering Committee, the consultant is to develop a detailed work plan towards the successful design and delivery of Kenya’s 3rd Generation National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325.
• Support the development of a consultation plan and schedule together with National Steering Committee
• Collaboratively develop (resulting in a detailed agenda) and assume the lead in organizing / implementing a 1-day priority setting consultation workshop in Nairobi with members of the National Steering Committee and key stakeholders working on peace and security in Kenya. 
• Participate in the consultations in select counties.
• Develop comprehensive consultation report that details key priority issues coming out the consultations. 
• Support in presenting the consultation report to National Steering Committee with specific guidance on how findings will feed into KNAP III

Task 4: Development of The Third-Generation Kenya National Action Plan On Women Peace And Security

• Draft the third-generation Kenya National Action Plan on Women Peace and Security which is aligned to national frameworks/priorities, which also includes a concise context analysis of the peace and security situation in the country in relation to the women, peace and security agenda, develop a clear implementation, monitoring and reporting structure/mechanism. (to be done with the KNAP Core Team) 
• Draft a logical framework with clear interventions, SMART indicators, targets, baseline, responsible institutions and costing of KNAP III (Budget)
• Develop terms of reference for the proposed implementation structure
• Submit the draft KNAP III to SDfGAA and UN Women for review and inputs. 
• Support in presenting the KNAP III to National Steering Committee for validation before presenting at the final validation workshop.

Task 5: Conduct Final Validation Workshop

• Develop concept notes and agenda for the final KNAP III validation workshops in Nairobi.
• Facilitate validation workshops and input feedback into draft KNAP III.

Task 6: Finalize and Submit the Third Phase of the National Action Plan on Women Peace And Security 

• Incorporate inputs and recommendations from validations workshops into the draft KNAP III
• Finalize and submit the final version of the KNAP III to SDfGAA and UN Women. 

Deliverables:

• A detailed Inception Report with work plan for the consultancy including schedule of activities, a tentative plan for meetings with key WPS stakeholders at the National level
• KNAP III Development Roadmap 
• Consultation Materials (concept note, agenda, presentations and final reports with key priorities and recommendations)
• Draft KNAP III, including narrative section and logical framework. 
• Validation workshop report
• Final draft of KNAP III on UNSCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions

Inputs:

• SDfGAA and UN Women will provide the Consultant with background materials relevant to the assignment.
• The Consultant is expected to work using his/ her own computer.
• UN Women will cover travel expenses to the select counties.

Duration of the Assignment:

The total duration of the assignment will be for three months from 6th January to 6th April 2025.

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:

• Expert knowledge in Women, Peace, and Security.
• Proven ability to advocate and provide policy, substantive and strategic advice in women, peace and security.
• Ability to develop and maintain strong partnerships.
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making.
• Excellent analytical and communication skills required.
• Strong knowledge of UN programmes management systems.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in development studies, gender, conflict prevention, peace building, law, human rights or any other related area is required.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in managing complex and multi-component programme interventions related to Women, Peace and Security, including policy advice and technical assistance.
• Prior experience in developing and implementing National Action Plans on UNSCR 1325 will be an asset. 
• Experience in facilitating high level consultative workshops with Government officials, Development partners and none-state actors. 
• Practical knowledge on Results Based Management
• Experience working on inclusive politics in a fragile context, with demonstrated ability to deliver;
• Proficiency in oral and written English

Submission of Application:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents / information to demonstrate their qualifications: -

• Cover letter explaining why they are the most suitable for the work and CV including contact information for 3 references.
• Copies of Certified academic certifications

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.)