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. Men, boys, women, and girls are differently affected by crises and have different needs, vulnerabilities, capacities and coping mechanisms. Women and girls, however, are disproportionately affected by crises due to compounded factors including the breakdown of key services which are critical to their health, protection, and recovery; weakened formal and informal protection mechanisms; disrupted livelihoods and limited access to resources; increased displacement; and power imbalances; while pre-existing inequalities, discrimination, and risks are by far exacerbated. With this background, UN Women seeks to strengthen the capacities of national and regional clusters, NGOs and CSOs on Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) and protection from Sexual exploitation and Abuse (PSEA). Somali region experienced severe droughts, worsened by climate change, conflicts and poverty, resulting chronic food insecurity and displacements. 3.9 million people in the region will require emergency food assistance in 2023 (WFP).  According to DTM R34, there are over 1 million IDPs in the Somali region, 49% of them are women and girls. In the Somali region, 85% of population depends on climate sensitive livelihoods, particularly pastoralism and rainfed crop production. Women constitutes 45.6% of the Somali region’s population, nearly 85.6% of whom live in the rural areas as per the FDRE CSA population projection of Ethiopia 2014-2017. The contribution of rural women to the Somali regional state economy is enormous, as women constitute 70% of the workforce in agriculture, a sector that contributes, the largest contributor (69.6%) of the Somali region’s IDP as per the ten year’s development plan of Somali region 2021-2030. According to a gender study conducted by Oxfam in 2017 in the Somali region, the loss of livelihood and increased debt had a greater impact on women compared to men. Gender norms hinder women’s resilience capacity, as they face challenges in accessing finance and assets. Moreover, Deyr rains started in the zone in October, but the heaviest fall occurred on 27 to 29 of Oct 2023 and again on the 2nd of November 2023 heavy rainfall which covered all woredas of the zone recurred. Floods have caused widespread destruction and displacement in Somali, Oromia, Southern Nations Nationalities & Peoples’, Southwest Ethiopia Peoples’ and Afar regions. More than 35,000 households are displaced whereby over 80% of them were women and girls including others with protection needs (PSN), 45 human lives lost, over 23,000 livestock perished, and more than 99,000 hectares of farmland destroyed in Somali Region alone. (OCHA, 12 MAY 2023).

Thousands of people displaced by floods brought on by the Belg/Gu rains from March to May 2024 are still waiting for assistance in the Somali Region. Furthermore, very limited response (ESNFI) has reached communities (about 2,000HHs) out of 37,000 (F27,750&M9,250) flood affected households in the region. Shabelle Zone, is heavily impacted by recent floods with over 67,000 hectares of crop land damaged, the pause in food aid, and inflated food prices especially in cereals (by an estimated 35 per cent) 

due to growing imbalance between supply and demand among affected populations, are negatively affecting those struggling to recover from consecutive droughts. ().

Objective

UN Women aims to enhance WLOs/WROs, and government stakeholders’ that includes DRMC, agriculture Bureau, development agents, BoWCYA and others relevant agencies in the region on disaster preparedness and contingency planning by incorporating gender-sensitive strategies based on the Sendai Framework. This involves:

1. Understanding Disaster Risk: Engaging with women-led organizations (WLOs/WROs) and humanitarian actors to identify specific vulnerabilities faced by women and marginalized groups.
2. Strengthening Governance: Enhancing disaster risk governance to ensure that gender considerations are integral to decision-making processes.
3. Investing in Resilience: Prioritizing disaster risk reduction initiatives that specifically address the needs and contributions of women and girls.
4. Improving Preparedness: Developing effective response strategies that consider gender dynamics, ensuring equitable access to resources and support during emergencies.
5. Building Back Better: Implementing recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction efforts that not only restore but also enhance the resilience and empowerment of women in affected communities.
6. Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborating with various stakeholders to align humanitarian efforts with the gendered aspects of peace and development in the Somali region.

By focusing on these areas, UN Women aims to ensure a more inclusive and effective humanitarian response that recognizes the critical role of gender in disaster risk management.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action Programme Specialist at UN Women ECO, the Consultant will be responsible for delivering the below:

1. Deliver 5-day in-person training on gender-responsive disaster preparedness and contingency planning based on the Sendai Framework and the Regional Gender Strategy. The program incorporates modern and engaging learning techniques and provides for bilingual delivery (English and Amharic).
2. Provide a briefing note/facilitator in English that explains in detail the methodology for each gender-sensitive disaster preparedness and contingency planning based on the Sendai framework and the regional gender strategy in the HDP and coordination framework.  
3. Develop a pre- and post-training survey to measure the improvement of participants’ knowledge and skills in gender-sensitive disaster preparedness and contingency planning, based on the Sendai framework and the gender strategy within the Human Development and Coordination framework.
4. After delivery of the training, submit a draft disaster preparedness plan report, including key pre- and post-training survey results, to the UN Women ECO and an overall one-page summary of the trainings including demographics of the humanitarians trained.

Competencies

Core Values: 

• Respect for Diversity 
• Integrity 
• Professionalism 

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 Core Values and Competencies:  

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES: 

• Experience, awareness and sensitive to different cultural contexts and social norms
• Experience of interactive / innovative training approaches that engage humanitarian workers effectively.
• Evidence of having undertaken similar assignments

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Gender studies, Humanitarian, general protection, child protection, safeguarding, Development Studies, Social Sciences, or another relevant field.

Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in Humanitarian Action or gender equality, especially in Disaster risk management (DRR).
• Experience in delivering training or working in areas such as disaster risk management (DRR), gender and protection mainstreaming, protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), with a strong understanding of rights-based approach to gender and protection issues.
• Demonstrated experience in delivering training on Gender in Humanitarian Action and PSEA, as well as gender in Humanitarian development peace nexus and coordination framework.
• Familiarity with the context of Ethiopia is highly desirable, particularly in delivering training on gender and protection strategies within the country.

Languages:

• Fluency in oral and written English is required.
• Knowledge of Amharic and Somali or any other UN official language is an asset.

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.)