Senior Gender Adviser, Strategic Defense and Security Review Board and the Ministry of Defense (Only for South Sudanese Nationals)

Background

On 12th September 2018, the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) was signed marking the official end to the civil war that had erupted in South Sudan since December 2013.The R-ARCSS provided important entry points for the inclusion of women’s experiences to form part of the reforms anticipated in the path to peace, including the provision of 35% Affirmative Action. One of the most important chapters of the Peace Agreement is Chapter 2 which lays out provisions for the reform of the organized forces (security sector), both as a way of bringing all the disparate fighting forces together and organizing them under a single, professional security force; and more importantly, to reforming the security sector and reduce the propensity for rebellion and civil wars. 

Security sector reform emerged in the 1980s as an arm of development practice, and while there is no one definition of security sector, the generally accepted norm is  the OECD definition which states that ‘security sector reform means transforming the security sector/system, which includes all the actors, their roles, responsibilities and actions – working together to manage and operate the system in a manner that is more consistent with democratic norms and sound principles of good governance, and thus contributes to a well-functioning security framework’.  Security sector includes all institutions responsible for the state and citizens, and made up of core security sectors like the armed/organized forces, Security management and oversight bodies, Justice and rule of law institutions; Non-statutory security forces including liberation armies, guerrilla armies and civil society organizations supporting advocacy etc.

In South Sudan, gender responsiveness in the entire conflict prevention and peacebuilding continuum including security sector reform has been emphasized not only in the UNSCR 1325 but also it is a critical part of the Secretary General’s prevention agenda.  Engendering security sector reform post conflict iis important because gender and social norms prescribe very different roles to women and men, and so security affects them differently as well as how they understand and access security.  The patriarchal and highly militarized nature of conflict in South Sudan has led to the exclusion of women in matters related to security, including as members of the armed/organized forces, and more critically, has led to high incidences of conflict related sexual violence and violence against women and girls, inflicted mostly by the warring soldiers. 

The establishment, under the Peace Agreement, of a Strategic Defence and Security Review Board (SDSR), with key responsibility to provide a far-reaching framework to reform the security sector post conflict, provides an opportunity for the engendering of the process. UN Women has been supporting women’s engagement in the implementation of the Peace Agreement in South Sudan since the outbreak of the current conflict, including women’s mobilization to develop a 7 Point Agenda to influence the Peace Agreement, supported women’s participation and engagement in negotiating the Peace Agreement and in engaging the current revitalization of the Peace Agreement, on developing gender sensitive reforms on security, constitution, elections etc., to ensure the inclusion of gender sensitive provisions and implementation.  UN Women with support of its partners, has also supported the government to develop a national plan of action on UNSR 1325.

To strengthen gender analysis within, and women’s engagement with institutions that are tasked with negotiating, monitoring and implementing the provisions of the Peace Agreement, UN Women with support of Sweden and Canada currently supports senior Gender Advisers within revitalized Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) and in the Office of Special Envoy of South Sudan who is the chief mediator and guarantor of the Peace Agreement. 

To further strengthen the overall women, peace and security agenda, and ensure the implementation of the UNSC 1325, UN Women South Sudan is seeking the services of the gender expert with expertise on engendering security sector reform, to provide technical assistance to the Strategic Defence and Security Review Board. Furthermore, following the appointment of the Chairperson of the SDSR Board as the Minister of Defense, the gender expert will provide support to both the Board and the Ministry of Defense.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Support the development of South Sudan context specific gender tools and strategies to undertake the strategic security assessment of the military and non-military                                                 security challenges in the Republic of South Sudan currently and in the future, including in undertaking an analysis of all state, state aligned and non-state, or other independent security actors and armed groups;
• Support the development of a short and long term engendered security policy framework, looking at the responsibilities of different bodies and agencies, including the management and oversight functions, in responding to the security challenges, including gender/women specific challenges;
• Provide technical gender expertise in the development of a revised defence policy, which identifies the specific roles, and mission of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces, The National Security Service (NSS) and other organized forces, outlining a vision for their modernization and professionalism;
• Support strategies on encouraging and increasing the number of women in the ranks of the organized forces;
• Support the development of capacity building programs for women in uniform including the development and implementation of strategies (based on funding availability) on how to tackle high illiteracy rates of women within the organized forces;
• Provide guidelines and mechanisms for the establishment of a Gender and Security Sector Reform Committee that will have representatives of women’s organizations, security sector, parliament, Ministry of Gender, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Justice and The Attorney General’s office to prioritize gender-mainstreaming across the Security Sector;
• Collect data (rank/file) and deployment of women within the organized forces;
• Review policies and where absent develop measures on addressing sexual and gender-based violence within the organized forces;
• Support the provision of gender-sensitive post-traumatic and post-combat services for the organized forces;
• Support the development of gender-sensitive policies in the workplace as it relates to maternity and paternity leave, childcare within the organized forces;
• Provide training for women in the organized forces on developing female networks;
• Supervise the conduct of the joint security needs assessment and joint gender analysis to identify security threats and issues facing individuals in communities, especially women and girls and other marginalized groups;
• Support the supervision of the engendering of the unified training curriculum and input into the  training curriculum and material to ensure that gender-specific needs are catered for in the organized forces; 
• Conduct gender-sensitivity trainings for the organized forces to support institutional capacity building in the organized forces;
• Support the creation of a monitoring system for gender mainstreaming in the organized forces;
• Develop specific policies for the protection of women in uniform including policies to address, combat and mitigation against women in the workplace.

Deliverables:

• A work plan prepared, indicating proposed activities and expected results, indicators, outcomes, timeframe or proportion of time to be devoted to each. The work plan will be reviewed and approved by the Co-Chairs of the SDSR Board, Ministry of Defense, in consultation with the UN Women Country Representative.

Reporting:

• Monthly monitoring report on deliverables and lessons learned.

Reports to (Title/Level):

• 1st Level: Chair; Strategic Defense and Security Review Board & Minister of Defense;
•  2nd Level:  Country Representativ.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity;
• Integrity;
• Professionalism.

Core Competencies:

• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Leading by Example.

Functional Competencies

• Excellent analytical and analytical skills;
• Excellent knowledge and experience on women, peace and security/gender and security sector reform; 
• Ability to gather and interpret data, reach logical conclusions and present findings and recommendations.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in security studies, social sciences, law, human rights, gender/women's studies, international development, or a related field is required.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible work experience in women, peace and security especially on engendering security sector reforms/DDR;
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies, bilateral partners and UN agencies;
• Possess knowledge of security sector actors (e.g. police, gendarmerie, military) and institutions (police and/or military training academies, MOI, MOD), non-state military actors;
• Experience working in South Sudan, with an understanding of the political and security climate is considered an asset;
• Experience in gender-mainstreaming in post-conflict countries’ reconstruction is considered an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Knowledge of Arabic is an asset.

Application Information:

• Interested applicants can apply online; 
• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment;
• Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, scan your documents into one single file. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and may not be considered for further assessment.

Qualified women candidates are highly encouraged to apply.

Note: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.