Baseline Consultant - Women Peace and Security II

• Job Identification34647
• Posting Date06/18/2026, 03:04 PM
• Apply Before06/23/2026, 06:59 AM
• Job ScheduleFull time
• Locations Mogadiscio, Somalia
• AgencyUN Women
• Vacancy TypeIndividual Consultancy
• Job FunctionPeace and Security
• Initial Contract Duration50 Working Days
• Education & Work ExperienceMaster's Degree - 7 year(s) experience
• Required LanguagesEnglish
• Vacancy CategoryConsultancies
• Vacancy Timeline1 Week

Job Description

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.

Somalia remains one of the world's most fragile states, shaped by decades of conflict, recurring climate shocks, and deep-rooted gender inequality. Women and children constitute over 80 percent of internally displaced persons, and gender-based violence, conflict-related sexual violence, and harmful practices such as female genital mutilation/cutting and child marriage remain pervasive. Despite constitutional commitments to a 30 percent women's quota, only 20.06 percent of parliamentary seats are held by women nationally, with representation in most Federal Member State parliaments falling far short of this target. Somalia ranks fourth lowest on the global Gender Inequality Index and 166 out of 177 countries on the Women, Peace and Security Index, underscoring the scale of structural exclusion women continue to face in public and political life.

Gender-based violence and conflict-related sexual violence affect women and girls across the country, with nearly one in four Somali women impacted according to the UN Secretary General's 2025 report on CRSV. The justice system remains weak, perpetuating widespread impunity. Patriarchal norms, clan structures, and entrenched socio-cultural traditions continue to limit women's mobility, political participation, and access to protection and justice. In this context, women's meaningful participation in peace and security processes is not only a rights imperative but a prerequisite for durable peace.

Despite these structural barriers, Somali women have played essential roles in community peacebuilding, mediation, and advocacy. The first phase of the Women, Peace and Protection Joint Programme (WPP, 2022 to 2025) made significant gains in advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda. It supported the launch of the National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325, the development of Local Action Plans in Federal Member States, the strengthening of Women Parliamentary Caucuses, and the engagement of women's networks in conflict prevention and governance. The programme worked across community and institutional levels, mobilizing women leaders, CSOs, and government counterparts toward more inclusive governance and protection frameworks.

The end-term evaluation of the first phase identified a number of gaps, including weak coordination mechanisms between federal and state institutions, limited inclusion of the most vulnerable groups of women, insufficient gender-responsive justice pathways, and the need for more coherent alignment with complementary peacebuilding and governance programmes. These findings, together with the extensive stakeholder consultations conducted in January 2025 and Canada's monitoring mission to Puntland, have directly shaped the design of Phase II.

The Women, Peace and Protection Joint Programme Phase II (WPPII), implemented by UN Women and UNDP with technical support from UNTMIS, builds on this foundation. It seeks to promote women's meaningful participation in political, legislative, peace, and security processes at national and community levels; create an enabling environment for women's protection and engagement through strengthened legal frameworks and social norm change; and ensure economic empowerment is embedded as a pathway to sustain women's agency in peacebuilding beyond the programme period. The programme operates across 17 districts in Banadir, Jubaland, Southwest State, Hirshabelle, Puntland, and Galmudug, over a 24-month period supported by the Somalia Joint Fund.

The programme is being implemented during a period of significant transition within the UN presence in Somalia, including the ongoing UNTMIS transition. As the configuration of UN support evolves, the modalities through which certain Women, Peace and Security activities and technical support are delivered and sustained may change over the programme period. Transition readiness is therefore a deliberate feature of the programme's design, and the baseline is expected to establish a clear picture of which coordination mechanisms, technical functions, and protection structures can be progressively embedded within government and civil society so that core Women, Peace and Security gains are sustained independently of any single UN entity's continued presence.

Before implementation begins, a baseline survey is required to establish a rigorous starting point for the programme. This survey will generate the evidence needed to track results, validate indicators, refine targets, and assess the feasibility of key transitions envisioned by the programme, including the embedding of women-led coordination mechanisms within government structures and the linking of women peace actors to economic empowerment opportunities. The baseline will serve as the foundation against which a mid-term review and final independent evaluation will be measured.

 Purpose and Specific Objectives

The purpose of the baseline survey is to establish an updated, current baseline across the key programme areas of WPPII and generate evidence-based benchmarks against which programme results can be tracked over the 24-month implementation period. The survey will validate the feasibility of programme indicators, refine targets where necessary, and provide a rigorous analytical foundation for programme management and learning.

Education and Certification:

• A master’s degree or equivalent in International Development, Human Rights, Law, or related field, with strong expertise in Gender and Governance 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.
• A project/programme management certification such as PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent would be an added advantage.

Experience:

• Minimum seven (7) years of relevant professional experience in research, monitoring and evaluation, programme assessment, gender equality, peacebuilding, or Women, Peace and Security (WPS)-related programming;
• Experience conducting baseline studies, assessments, or evaluations for UN agencies, international organizations, NGOs, or development partners;
• Experience in gender-responsive research and analysis, particularly related to women’s participation, peace and security, governance, or social norms;
• Experience engaging and consulting with diverse stakeholders, including government institutions, civil society organizations, women’s groups, and community leaders;
• Prior experience working in conflict-affected or fragile contexts, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa or Somalia, is an asset;

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of any other UN official language 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.

Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.