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.

UN Women’s mandate (GA resolution 64/289) is to lead, coordinate and promote accountability of the UN System to deliver on gender equality and women empowerment with the primary objective of enhancing country-level coherence, ensuring coordinated interventions, and securing positive impacts on the lives of women and girls, including those living in rural areas.

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 commits itself to the Leaving No One Behind principle, by intentionally supporting targeted actions aimed at addressing obstacles that marginalized and vulnerable groups of women and girls face in exercising their rights.

UN Women’s mandate is to support and strengthen the leadership, visibility, and impact of Women-Led Organizations (WLOs) and Women’s Rights Organizations (WROs) as central actors in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in Somalia. These organizations are often the first responders in humanitarian crises, key advocates in development processes, and essential voices in peacebuilding and governance. They bring deep contextual knowledge, trusted community networks, and a strong commitment to serving marginalized women and girls. However, in recent years, WLOs and WROs in Somalia have faced a combination of growing challenges. These include shrinking civic space, limited access to flexible and direct funding, underrepresentation in formal coordination and decision-making structures, and exclusion from key localization and partnership frameworks. Organizational capacity limitations ranging from leadership development and financial management to proposal writing further constrain their ability to scale or sustain their work. Critically, despite the increasing reliance on local actors, there remains no centralized or verified mapping of WLOs and WROs in Somalia that clearly documents their geographical presence, areas of specialization, institutional capacity, and priority needs. This lack of visibility has resulted in fragmented engagement by development and humanitarian actors, missed opportunities for partnership, and duplication of efforts across thematic areas such as gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health, economic empowerment, and peacebuilding.

One of the ongoing challenges is the lack of a shared understanding of what defines a Women-Led or Women’s Rights Organization. While these organizations are generally expected to have women in leadership and a strong focus on promoting women’s rights, some local groups may be led by women but do not have a clear gender equality agenda. This has led to confusion about which organizations qualify for specific support, with some being overlooked and others included even if they don’t fully align with the intended focus. As a result, it becomes more difficult for donors and partners to engage consistently and -equitably with genuine women-focused organizations. Through this mapping, an initiative led by the Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) Working Group, UN Women aims to provide greater clarity, equity, and structure to how WLOs and WROs are identified, supported, and engaged, ensuring that those at the forefront of advancing women’s and girls’ rights in Somalia are fully recognized and meaningfully included in national and international development and humanitarian agendas.

Duties and Responsibilities Under the guidance of the UN Women Somalia Country Representative and the direct supervision of the Planning and Coordination Analyst, Program Specialist and GiHA Co-chairs, the Consultant will be responsible for the following specific tasks:

• • To document the current status of local NGOs and CSOs across Somalia particularly Women-Led Organizations (WLOs), Women’s Rights Organizations (WROs), and Youth-Led Organizations (YLOs) including their thematic focus, operational presence, programmatic work, and the challenges and opportunities they face in the current humanitarian and development context.
  • To understand the current goals and strategic priorities of WLOs, WROs, and YLOs, and identify the types of technical, financial, and institutional support they require to effectively achieve those priorities, particularly considering shifts in focus, funding flexibility needs, and changing operational realities.
  • To assess their expectations and needs from UN agencies, donor institutions, and development partners, including how these actors can more effectively engage with, fund, and support local women- and youth-led organizations in a manner that is inclusive, equitable, and aligned with the localization agenda and gender equality commitments.

Deliverables:

• • A comprehensive inception report detailing the consultant’s understanding of the assignment, proposed methodology, data collection tools, timeline, and expected outputs. This report will guide the overall approach and ensure alignment with UN Women’s expectations;
  • A detailed report presenting the assessment findings, that details the geographic presence [geographic coverage of where they work], thematic scope of work, national or sub-national presence of Women-Led Organizations (WLOs), Women’s Rights Organizations (WROs), Youth-Led Organizations (YLOs), and organizations led by persons with disabilities and minority groups. Additionally, the report will detail information on, each organization’s leadership/governance structure, , organizational capacities, and provide actionable recommendations;
  • Develop and share a user-friendly Excel sheet compiling key data points from the mapping exercise such as organization name, type, thematic focus, location, contact details, and capacity indicators designed for easy use by UN Women and partners;
  • A clear and concise PowerPoint presentation summarizing key findings, insights, and recommendations. The consultant will deliver the presentation to UN Women and the Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) Working Group for validation and discussion

Deliverables

Expected completion time

Payment Schedule

Prepare an inception report

5th October 2025

30%

Submission of revised draft of the assessment

And

Final submission of the report along with a user-friendly Excel sheet and PowerPoint presentation

10 November 2025

70%

Methodology

• • Comprehensive desk review of relevant resources secondary data- press and academic articles, observational data collection, relevant resources. A special focus should be on Women Led/ Women rights Organisations;
  • Assessment: Interviews will be conducted with representatives of local NGOs and CSOs, particularly Women-Led and Women’s Rights Organizations (WLED). In addition, FGDs or KIIs will be carried out with selected beneficiaries to triangulate the data and assess how organizations are involving local women in the design and implementation of interventions funded through the grants they have received;
  • Scope of interview: a broader all women CSOs in country in gender equality and empowerment for women and girls in the country such as GiHA, Governance area etc.;
  • Engage with relevant line ministries at federal and state level to cross check their existence, registration and scope of work;

Based on the analysis of the secondary data and primary data gathered in the assessment, the consultant will document and report on:

• What is the current organization structure, number and qualification of their staff, including the head of the organization and contact details, their field office location
• What programme and currently under implementation?
• What are the impacts of the Conflict & Political Instability, Climate & Humanitarian Shocks on Women CSOs working on GiHA, Governance, gender equality and empowerment of women and girls in the country?
• What are the top 3 challenges they are currently facing?

Apart from funding sources, what are their immediate needs, and what type of support do they require from development partners, donor agencies, or UN agencies to ensure they can operate safely? The findings from this study will be used to create content that can be adapted and used for a variety of purposes such as briefing and policy papers, and future programs development for the GiHA Work

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• 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:

• Strong commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment;
• Strong organizational skills and self-direction;
• Ability to prioritize and work under pressure with colleagues at all levels;
• Strong communication and interactive facilitation skills;
• Have excellent analytical, writing and synthesis skills;
• Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multiethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds;
• Demonstrate an ability to produce quality results on time outsourced and work under pressure.

Required Qualifications:

Education:

• Master’s degree in international relations, gender, sociology, demography, economics, law or other relevant disciplines 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 of 7 years of progressively responsible work experience in conducting research, assessments, and studies, including design of methodologies, data collection, analysis, and reporting, with a focus on gender equality and women’s empowerment is required;
  • Proven track record in conducting organizational assessments and mapping exercises, with the ability to analyze geographic coverage, thematic areas of work, governance structures, and institutional capacities of NGOs/CSOs is required;
  • Demonstrated expertise in producing high-quality analytical reports, data visualization tools (Excel databases), and concise presentations (PowerPoint) for diverse stakeholders, including UN agencies and development partners;
  • Extensive experience in gender equality and women’s empowerment programming, particularly with Women-Led Organizations (WLOs), Women’s Rights Organizations (WROs), Youth-Led Organizations (YLOs), and organizations led by persons with disabilities and minority groups is required;
  • Solid understanding of the East and Southern Africa region, including proven experience engaging local organizations at both national and sub-national levels;
  • Experience with the United Nations system, good knowledge of the UN Women mandate and its programmatic frameworks and rules and United Nations procedures would be an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English;
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish);
• Fluency in Somali is desirable

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:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: 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.