UN Women Civil Society Advisory Group on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women in Liberia

Deadline: 15-May-21

UN Women and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is pleased to announce the Civil Society Advisory Group (CSAG) on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women in Liberia.

UN Women looks to civil society for support to achieve its strategic goals and fulfill its mandate on gender equality and women’s empowerment. It seeks inspiration from the dynamic and creative side of civil society, which can forge collective identities and alliances, and create formal and informal networks, initiatives, and social movements to articulate new social concerns. Together, UN Women and civil society advocate for the importance of advancing policy and dialogue on women’s rights and empowerment, development, peace, and security.

Objectives

The CSAG will be a consultative forum for strategic dialogue between civil society and UN Women. More specifically the objectives will be to:

Foster dialogue and engagement between UN Women and civil society on national development issues and trends related to gender equality, women’s rights, and empowerment in line with the international commitments/frameworks.
Inform UN Women Programs and key priorities through civil society’s expertise, experience, perspective, and knowledge.
Serve as an interface/conduit between UN Women and key stakeholders including policy makers, marginalized communities, and youth groups to strengthen its mandate in taking forward development agenda such as the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Beijing Platform for Action, Security Council resolutions on Women, Peace and Security, Commission on the Status of Women (csw) outcomes and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
To serve as a consultative forum to agree on Liberia’s priorities and develop joint strategies to inform UN women’s programmes.
To serve as gender advocates and solicit support for the empowerment of women and girls as it relates to the global and national development agenda.

Duration: The duration of membership will be for two years with the possibility of extension.

Role and Responsibilities

The CSAG is an advisory body and an advocacy platform, with no technical mandate, to ensure that UN Women is connected to the real needs and issues that affects Liberia’s women and girls and to its civil society. The roles and responsibilities of the CSAG are as below:

Provide strategic perspectives to UN Women’s leadership, on its current advocacy agenda, thematic priorities, and policy positions.
Assist UN Women to strengthen its engagement with civil society at all levels and enhance the dialogue between UN Women and civil society for partnership and learning.
Contribute to the analysis on the socio-economic and political environment in the country and how it impacts on gender equality and women’s rights issues.
Highlight gender equality issues (including emerging issues), analyses and lessons learnt that need to be addressed in future programme.
Highlight issues/concerns on the effectiveness of government, donors, UN, and international civil society organizations working around gender equality.
Facilitate and spearhead strategic exercises for capacity development, with particular focus on building and strengthening the second and third tier generations of the women’s movement.
Be responsible and accountable for sharing information from CSAG meetings to the broader civil society and women’s movement across Liberia. Members will also ensure that concerns and priorities expressed by these groups are reflected within the CSAG meeting agenda.

Selection Process

The selection of the members of the CSAG involves several steps and will follow a transparent and an inclusive process. The finalization of the members of the CSAG will involve the following steps:
- Applicants will be invited through an Expression of Interest published in the media and shared with a wide range of stakeholders including all UN Women partners and networks/alliances of CSOs.
- After the receipt of the application, a Selection Committee established by UN Women Liberia will review and finalize nominations in consensus.
- To reflect and be representative of the demographic profile of Liberia, the Selection Committee will endeavour to include at least 33% young women and young men’ advocates in the final nominations.
- A review grid will be used capturing the selection criteria and each application / CV will be marked / reviewed by each Selection Committee member.
- Based on the recommendation of the Selection Committee, UN Women Management will make final decision in constituting the CSAG.
The following criteria will guide the selection of the members of the CSAG:
- Strong connection to national or regional women’s organizations and networks, concerned with matters within the competence of UN Women and with extensive experience in national and/or regional advocacy and policy development.
- Thematic expertise/experience in one or more UN Women priority areas.
- Demonstrable understanding of the needs and interests of diverse groups of women.
- Experience in policy, legislation and/or human rights treaties is valued, particularly at the regional/international level.
- Members must not be engaged in active politics.
The applications should include the following:
- Name, organization, and contact details of the applicants.
- A short description (1-2 paragraphs) on why the applicants would be a suitable candidate for the CSAG.
- Detailed CV of the applicants.