UN Women: National Consultant - Capacity Development for Beitunia Emergency Shelter, Home-Based, West Bank, State of Palestine

UN Women (UNW), 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 centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action globally. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women’s triple mandate, along with its global network and deep policy and programming expertise, endows the Entity with a unique capacity to: (i) support Member States to strengthen global norms and standards for gender equality and women’s empowerment, and mainstream gender perspectives in other thematic areas; (ii) promote coordination and coherence across the UN system to enhance accountability and results for gender equality and women’s empowerment; and (iii) undertake operational activities to support Member States, upon their request, in translating global norms and standards into legislation, policies, and strategies at the country level.

UN Women plays an innovative and catalytic role in the State of Palestine since its inception in 1997 (as UNIFEM). In line with national priorities, the work of UN Women for the period 2023-2025 is aligned with three of the Palestine United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework’s (UNSDCF) outcomes:

• Palestinians have greater access to economic opportunities that are inclusive, resilient, and sustainable, including decent employment and livelihoods opportunities in an empowered private sector.
• Palestinians, including the most vulnerable, have equal access to sustainable, inclusive, gender-responsive, and quality social services, social protection, and affordable utilities.
• Palestinian governance institutions, processes, and mechanisms at all levels are more democratic, rights-based, inclusive, and accountable.

Its three-year Strategic Note supports efforts to achieve measurable results in Palestine in terms of four UN Women global Strategic Plan impacts (2022-2025): Governance and participation in public life; Women’s Economic Empowerment; Ending Violence Against Women and Girls; and Women, peace, and security, Humanitarian & Disaster Risk Reduction.

In line with the Palestinian Government’s commitment to achieve gender equality and combat violence against women (VAW), and in full partnership with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD), the Ministry of Health (MoH), and civil society organizations (CSOs) in Gaza and the West Bank, UN Women is implementing the programme “Strengthening the Protection and Leadership of the Furthest Left Behind Women and Girls Survivors of Violence (Shaml): A Pathway to Peace and Security.” This programme empowers the most marginalized groups of Palestinian women, including women with disabilities, women sex workers, and women users of drugs, among other groups.

Under this framework, UN Women delivers targeted, high-impact technical support to institutions to strengthen protection and reintegration systems and services for these marginalized groups. This includes enhancing the availability and quality of safe shelters, comprehensive legal aid, integrated psychosocial and medical services, gender-responsive referral pathways, and robust case management frameworks—alongside tailored rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for sustainable recovery and social inclusion.

Building on UN Women’s ongoing efforts in supporting the operationalization of Beitunia Emergency Shelter and the achievements of the previous phase—including the establishment and launch of the shelter and the development of its functional plan and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)—this assignment aims to improve the quality, consistency, and responsiveness of services provided to women victims and survivors of violence.

About the role

UN Women, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) and Beitunia Emergency Shelter’s management, seeks to recruit a qualified national consultant to provide specialized capacity-building training to the shelter’s staff and women social counsellors. The training will focus on the efficient and responsive implementation of the shelter’s SOPs and the effective management of cases involving women associated with suicide attempts.

Objectives

• Strengthen the capacities of Beitunia Emergency Shelter’s staff and women social counsellors to provide gender-responsive, inclusive, and survivor-centered services to women.
• Strengthen staff capacities in the effective implementation of SOPs, case management procedures, and service provision standards.
• Enhance staff knowledge and skills in managing cases of women users of drugs and women sex workers associated with suicide attempts.
• Improve staff understanding of relevant medical terminologies, medical examinations, and medical referral pathways related to these groups.

The consultant will report to UN Women’s Rule of Law and Protection Specialist and will be supported by the Prosecution and Inclusion Analyst, as well as the CSO Support and Finance Associate, who will serve as the point of contact for contract and payment issues.

Responsibilities

Inception Phase

• Develop an inception report including a detailed work plan, methodology, training approach, and timeline for UN Women’s review and approval.
• Design a practical capacity-building training programme tailored to the needs of the shelter’s staff and social counsellors working with women users of drugs and women sex workers. The training should address key areas, including:
  • Human rights principles and survivor-centered approaches.
  • Violence against women (VAW) and intersecting forms of discrimination.
  • Gender-responsive and inclusive case management in line with SOPs.
  • Risk markers, including suicidal risks and suicide attempts.
  • Admission and health screening procedures.
  • Medical terminologies and examinations.
  • Referral mechanisms.
  • Substance abuse treatment approaches relevant to service provision within the shelter.
• Meet with UN Women’s technical team, the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD), and Beitunia Emergency Shelter representatives to discuss the assignment’s objectives, methodology, priority training needs, and key deliverables.

Implementation Phase

• Develop training materials and pre- and post-training evaluations.
• Deliver a six-day capacity-building training for the shelter’s staff and women social counsellors on:
  • Application of SOPs and case management.
  • Gender-responsive and inclusive service provision for women users of drugs and women sex workers.
  • Suicidal risks and suicide attempts.
  • Admission and health screening procedures.
  • Referral mechanisms.
  • Medical terminologies and examinations.
  • Substance abuse treatment approaches relevant to service provision within the shelter.
• Submit a training report including key findings from pre- and post-training evaluations and recommendations.

Final Report

• Submit a final narrative report describing the assignment, achievements, methodology used, lessons learned, and recommendations, along with relevant annexes, including a list of meeting dates and participants.

Deliverables

• Inception report including a detailed work plan, objectives, methodology, and training approach (due two weeks after contract signature).
• Successful completion of a six-day training and submission of the approved final narrative report (due three months after contract signing).

Workplace

This is a home-based consultancy with frequent field visits to partner institution main offices in the West Bank, Palestine.

Requirements

Education and Certification

• A master’s degree in social science, public health, gender, development, human rights, criminology, sociology, or a related discipline 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 3 years of working experience in the field of violence against women, protection, and women’s rights.
• Experience in the management of cases of women survivors of violence.
• Experience in delivering capacity-building training, preferably in case management for women survivors of violence.
• Experience with at least one of the two targeted groups (women users of drugs or women sex workers) is desirable.
• Experience with the UN system or International Organizations is desirable.
• Experience with the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) or the justice system is desirable.
• A sample of capacity-building training material and a report, preferably related to the protection of women survivors of violence, must be attached as part of the application.

Languages

• Fluency in Arabic is required.
• Working knowledge of English is required.

Skills

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

For more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies, visit this link.

Functional Competencies

• Sound knowledge of international standards on human rights, gender justice, and women’s rights.
• Proven experience in the field of protection, access to justice, and security.
• Strong capacity to establish, build, and sustain effective relationships with clients, demonstrating an understanding of their perspective; anticipates client needs and addresses them promptly.
• Strong ability to interact effectively with technical and non-technical end users in a cooperative and helpful manner.