1. 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.
Gender inequality in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is severe, with the country ranked 169 out of 170 globally. Women and girls face high rates of gender-based violence (GBV) and low literacy levels. The DHS 2016-2018 indicates that 54% of women have experienced GBV in the past year, and nearly 23% of women aged 15-49 have no formal education. Structural barriers, cultural norms, and weak protection systems worsen the situation. Tribal conflicts, sorcery accusation-related violence (SARV), and small arms proliferation, especially in the Highlands, increase violence. Despite policies to reduce discrimination, comprehensive strategies are urgently needed to address these issues and achieve gender equality. Additionally, ongoing conflicts have displaced communities, further exacerbating GBV incidents. The persistence of these challenges highlights the critical need for targeted interventions to promote social stability and human rights and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly 05 on gender equality, 10 Reduce Inequality and 16 Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions.
Building on the gains of the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative to Eliminate Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and its commitment to several international and regional frameworks including the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, Universal Periodic Review, UN Women, UNFPA and UNOPS (Agencies) have commenced implementation of a joint initiative entitled “Soim Wokabout: Gender-Based Violence Referral Pathways Programme”, financed under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI Global Europe). The joint programme aims to reduce the incidence of GBV in communities in target provinces, including in and out of schools (Eastern Highlands and the National Capital District). This will capitalize on existing programmes addressing specific forms of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHRs) while supporting prevention and protection efforts for GBV survivors, strengthening access to justice, and ending violence against women and girls at national, provincial, district, and community levels. It seeks to scale up effective integrated approaches to deliver quality coordinated services, strengthen referral pathways, mobilize communities and networks to address harmful gender and social norms fuelling GBV and SARV and promote implementation of laws and policies to reduce GBV and SARV while mobilizing national, provincial and community leadership on the programme’s investments to enhance sustainability.
The joint programme’s specific objectives are: 1. To increase access of women, men, girls and boys in all their diversity, experiencing gender-based violence, to essential quality services, protection and justice. 2. To improve advocacy and agency of civil society organisations, women’s rights organisations, social movements and communities to end gender-based violence (GBV). 3. To make more effective the engagement of community leaders, male advocates and influential groups and actors in society in changing discriminatory social norms, gender stereotypes, GBV and harmful practices.
Within the program, UN Women leads the outcome on strengthening civil society engagement and improving engagement with communities, male advocates and influential leaders. Through the Spotlight Initiative, a CSO capacity building and advocacy strategy was developed to meet the following objectives: i) increase a CSOs' effectiveness and viability on advocacy for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE); ii) build CSOs and community resilience for the prevention and mitigation of GBV and other harmful practices such as SARV in all contexts by 2028; iii) To advocate with duty bearers and other non-state actors for the enforcement of the rule of law, and access to justice to reduce the vulnerability of women, men, boys and girls to GBV and all other forms of violence; iv) To strengthen coordination of CSOs’ collective action to promote gender equality, women and girls' rights in all development, humanitarian, and peace building program and initiative by 2028; and to establish and promote a functional Feminists approaches to the national development and humanitarian agenda, on Issues affecting every gender and sex of all the populations and groups. Assessments of the Spotlight Initiative highlighted the need to improve the collective strength of civil society in identifying human rights issues and recommendations aligned to GEWE polices and demanding social accountability for sustainable financing of prevention and response to violence against women and girls.
UN Women PNG seeks a National Consultant with specialized expertise in enhancing the capacity of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and relevant GEWE stakeholders and sectors. This consultancy aims at two specific objectives: i) Strengthen technical capacity of beneficiaries on reporting and implementation of human rights recommendations regarding GBV and SARV through a strategic blend of technical legal knowledge, advocacy, and institutional process management. ii) Enhancing capacity on the use of social accountability mechanisms and tools on GEWE among HRDs, CSOs, and relevant stakeholders. The consultancy will adopt a human rights-based, survivor-centered, gender-responsive and culturally sensitive approach aligned with international human rights standards and the principle of “leaving no one behind.”
2. Scope of work
This assignment is based in Port Moresby with expected travel to the field. The National Consultant will work in close collaboration with the CSO Specialist UN Women, and will be responsible for strengthening the capacity of Human Rights institutions, building the capacity and resilience of CSOs, and national mechanisms such as the Government of PNG through Department of Community Development and Religion (DfCDR) to effectively advocate for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE). This includes identifying and tracking key recommendations from international mechanisms such as Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), and the Beijing Platform for Action, as well as domestic priorities like Temporary Special Measures (TSM). Empower partners to jointly advocate for the elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) at local, national, regional, and global levels. Provide specialised training and ongoing mentorship to Women’s Human Rights Defenders. Focus will be placed on monitoring and reporting human rights violations and ensuring the delivery of survivor-centered, child-friendly, and quality-standard services.
3. Duties and responsibilities
Under the overall leadership of the Country Representative and direct supervision of the Deputy Country Representative, the National Consultant will provide expert technical assistance and guidance by integrating the integration of human rights monitoring indicators and survivor-centered accountability mechanism through performing the following key tasks and delivery of the expected results. Throughout the consultancy, the consultant will receive technical support from the CSO Specialist UN Women with input from the implementing agencies – UN Women, UNFPA and UNOPS.
Task 1: CSO capacity needs assessment and capacity building on identifying key issues and recommendations as well as use of social accountability mechanisms:
These tasks focus on transferring knowledge to government sectors and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) including women human rights defenders/institutions regarding international human rights frameworks:
1.1 CSO Capacity needs assessment:
• Leverage the existing database of CSOs mapped by UN Women including HRDs, CSOs, and GEWE stakeholders working on GBV and SARV at national and sub-national levels under Outcome 2 to assess current capacities, gaps, and needs regarding understanding of international human rights mechanisms (CEDAW, UPR, Special Procedures, Treaty Bodies); knowledge of national legal frameworks on GBV and SARV; skills in documenting and reporting human rights violations ; capacity to track and implement recommendations from international and national human rights bodies; advocacy and institutional process management skills.
• Conduct a mapping of existing social accountability mechanisms and tools used in PNG for GEWE, including: - Community scorecards - Citizen report cards - Public hearings and community forums - Social audits - Budget tracking and analysis - Right to information mechanisms - Complaint and redress mechanisms - Assess effectiveness, gaps, and opportunities for strengthening these mechanisms for GEWE outcomes.
• Collaborate with UN Women’s CSO Partners on Outcome 2 to identify specific capacity needs of marginalized and excluded groups (women with disabilities, rural women, LGBTQI+ persons, survivors, youth) and the elderly women.
• Assess institutional barriers affecting access to justice, protection services and participation of women and marginalized groups and conduct an analysis of existing institutional capacities, coordination mechanism, current knowledge gaps within CSOs.
• Conduct a desk review the state obligations under the international human rights treaties and mechanisms and develop specialized training with practical guidance on reporting and implementation for CEDAW, CRPD, UPR, NAP 1325 (Women, Peace and Security), others.
• Facilitate technical sessions on identifying gaps in referral pathways and addressing GBV and SARV through a rights-based lens.
• Facilitate dialogues on the responsibility of duty bearers to prevent, investigate and respond to GBV and SARV in accordance with the human rights obligation.
1.2 CSO Capacity development:
• Strengthen the capacity of CSOs to effectively advocate for survivor protection, lobby for advancement of GEWE.
• Develop and/or adapt context-appropriate social accountability tools for GEWE to strengthen monitoring, accountability, and citizen engagement, including gender-
• responsive community scorecards for GBV and SARV services, citizen monitoring tools for CEDAW and UPR recommendations, and tools to assess the accessibility and quality of services for marginalized groups.
• Ensure the social accountability tools are simple and user-friendly; culturally appropriate; accessible to women with disabilities and those with low literacy; compatible with mobile/digital platforms where appropriate.
• Conduct training/workshops on concepts and principles of social accountability; practical application of social accountability tools; data collection, analysis, use for advocacy; using social accountability for GEWE policy influencing.
• Develop CSO capacity building training module and materials such as PowerPoint presentations, pre-and post-test tools among others covering international human rights standards and mechanisms relevant to GBV and SARV; National legal and policy frameworks (Family Protection Act, Lukautim Pikinini Act, Criminal Code, SARV Strategy); Shadow reporting to international treaty bodies (CEDAW, UPR, CRC).
• Ensure all training materials mentioned above are: Human rights-based, survivor-centred, gender-responsive, culturally sensitive, accessible (considering language, disability, literacy levels) and aligned with the principle of “leaving no one behind”.
Task 2: Mentorship and capacity building for Women Human Rights Defenders’ Institutions
This is more hands-on, interpersonal deliverable aimed at supporting frontline human rights defenders:
• Deliver targeted technical assistance and capacity-building to Women’s Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs).
• Enhance understanding of protection mechanisms available under national, regional and international human rights systems.
• Provide safe and confidential information management practices to protect survivors, witnesses and defenders from reprisals and secondary harm.
• Support WHRDs to develop evidence-based shadow reports, submissions and advocacy briefs for engagement with international human rights mechanisms
Task 3: Advocacy, lobbying and joint action
These tasks are aimed at influencing policy and public opinion at national and subnational levels:
• Facilitate the development of provincial and sectoral roadmaps for implementing human rights recommendations on GBV and SARV.
• Support the establishment of monitoring and tracking frameworks for recommendations.
• Conduct Training of Trainers (ToT) for selected HRDs and CSO representatives to create a sustainable pool of national trainers
• Produce a comprehensive plan that integrates human rights accountability frameworks for CSOs and CSO networks to lobby for key reforms/mechanisms/initiatives such as the Temporary Special Measures (TSM), and gender-responsive planning and budgeting.
4. Deliverables and timeframe
All deliverables must demonstrate integration of human rights principles, including participation, accountability, non-discrimination, empowerment and protection. All reports and tools developed under the consultancy must apply survivor-centred, child-friendly and disability-inclusive approaches.
The selected Consultant will be expected to complete the following key-deliverables within the indicative timeframe:
The due dates for each of the deliverables will be agreed upon following further discussion with the selected consultant. The consultant will be expected to review and finalise the detailed workplan and timeline in consultation with UN Women for all deliverables. All deliverables will be presented in electronic version in English.
5. Duration of the assignment
It is expected that the selected consultant shall begin work by July 1, 2026, with work being completed by 31 December 2026 in conformity with the Deliverables and Timeframe described in Section 3.
6. Management arrangements
The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Deputy Representative and Program and technical guidance from UN Women CSO Technical Specialist, will conduct regular briefings on the progress at each stage of the assignment. During the field work baseline study, the consultant will be supported by members of the UN Women PNG team.
7. Performance evaluation
The Contractor's performances will be evaluated against such criteria as timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.
8. Financial arrangement
Payment will be disbursed upon submission and approval of deliverables and timesheets with actual days worked and certification by the Deputy Country Representative that the services have been satisfactorily performed. UN Women PNG will cover the cost of all field work including travel.
9. 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:
- Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
- Accountability
- Creative Problem Solving
- Effective Communication
- Inclusive Collaboration
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Leading by example
10. Qualifications, Skills and Experience required
Education:
- Master’s degree or equivalent in Law, human rights, gender/women’s studies, international development, social sciences, or a related field 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:
- Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible experience in legal support to strengthening social accountability mechanism, address gender equality and women’s empowerment, with a strong focus on ending violence against women, particularly in community mobilization and movement building/strengthening.
- Familiarity with identifying, reporting and/or tracking key recommendations from international mechanisms such as Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), and the Beijing Platform for Action, as well as domestic priorities like Temporary Special Measures (TSM).
- Experience and familiarity with the GEWE Policy 2026-2035, related legislations and regulations in Papua New Guinea.
- Familiarity with analysis of human rights and gender-related factors and other social determinants that affect the performance of survivors of GBV service utilization.
- Experience in facilitating high-level events with government representatives, Women’s Rights Organizations, CSOs (Civil Society Organizations), and a diverse range of actors;
- Experience building strong partnerships with civil society organizations;
- Experience working with civil society around VAW, including, coordination, developing advocacy strategies, capacity building, mapping exercises, gap analyses, etc.;
- Supporting organizational capacity strengthening of CSOs and feministic CSO’s networks on VAW
- Experience working with Government of PNG or Human Rights Institutions/CSOs.
- Experience working in the UN System is an asset.
Language skills:
- Excellent verbal and written English. Proficiency in Pidgin (PNG) is an asset.
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:
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