Expert in gender inclusion -IDEA عودة إلى الفرص

Position title: expert in gender inclusion

Type of contract: medium term consultant  

Application Deadline: 8 October 2020

Contract start date: 17 October 2020

Contract duration: End of December 2021

Place of work: in Tunis, except during the COVID 19 pandemic, the expert will be home based but must be present remotely at the project activities.

I- Background 

 The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization with a mission to advance democracy worldwide, as a universal human aspiration and an enabler of sustainable development, through support to the building, strengthening and safeguarding of democratic political institutions and processes at all levels.

Since 2016, International IDEA has been implementing a project to provide support to Yemen’s peace process.  From 2016 to October 2018, the project mainly consisted of dialogue sessions and expert meetings, and focused on Yemen’s constitutional future. During the relevant period, the following activities are planned: 

1. Dialogue sessions on Yemen’s constitutional future, including a focus on the long term constitutional arrangements as well as the short term institutional and power sharing arrangements that will be in force in the immediate post-conflict period.  
2. Working sessions with Yemen’s main political forces that will seek to deepen mid-level political group members’ understanding of the range of options on key constitutional and legal issues, and each option’s likely advantages and disadvantages.  These working sessions will enable the negotiating parties to engage with the inevitable constitutional and legal complexities that will arise when the broader political arrangements are agreed.  
3. Capacity building sessions for members of Yemen’s political groups and civil society, in particular with a view to developing their understanding of how the text of a peace agreement or a constitution should work, etc.  The outputs will include: (a) the formation of a group of skilled drafters and negotiators who can serve as a resource for all future negotiations; and (b) a series of briefing papers on all the drafting issues that will have to be considered, and that will be made available to all interested parties.  

In that context, IDEA is seeking to retain an expert in gender inclusion, democratic transition and peace negotiations who can participate in all or in the large majority of the project’s activities and integrate a gender perspective in all activities.  

II- Tasks and responsibilities:

Services to be performed by the Expert:

Preparation for activities 

1. Assisting in preparing for activities in a number of ways, including but not limited to: 

1. 1. Participating in planning for future activities, including short and mid-term objective setting 
   2. Participating in drafting activities’ agendas and background papers 
   3. Participating in drafting materials to support all the project activities 

During the activities 

1. Dialogue Sessions: Contributing substantively to the sessions through a number of means, including but not limited to delivering presentations, moderating sessions, etc.; 
2. Working Sessions: Working with participants throughout the sessions to assist their effort to develop options on specific substantive issues; 
3. Capacity building sessions: Working with participants throughout the sessions to assist their effort to develop detailed knowledge and expertise on institutional arrangements relevant to Yemen’s situation.

After each activity 

1. The expert should review and make additions to the meeting reports which will be prepared by IDEA.   In so doing, the expert will be required in all cases to provide a fully impartial perspective on the various issues that will be in discussion between the Yemenis and on the manner in which the discussions are progressing.  

Eligibility criteria:

The expert must: 

• Have an advanced degree in Law, Gender studies, Public administration, Political science, Peace building, or A related field. 
• Have at least 10 years professional experience in Gender inclusion and gender mainstreaming, and in Peace building (involvement in Yemen’s post-2011 transition or other peace negotiations would be a major asset).

• Relevant professional experience includes, but is not limited to, engagement with national or international actors on matters concerning democratic transitions and inclusion of women in peace negotiations and agreements:

• • Delivering technical advice, both in writing and orally; 
  • Acting as a technical expert or adviser to international organisations involved in constitution building processes or peace building.    
• Have a deep knowledge of the situation of women and women’s rights in the different regions of Yemen;
• Be capable of integrating a gender and diversity perspective in all activities;
• Read and write English and Arabic fluently;
• Be comfortable receiving comments to working methods; 
• Be capable of proceeding with the highest amount of sensitivity, particularly with participants and national experts who are living through armed conflict; 
• Be capable of working and sharing views with a team of experts;
• The expert being of Yemeni nationality would be a major asset;
• Publications on gender inclusion and democratic reform, including issues relating to constitutional reform will be considered an indicator of the expert’s skills.