International Consultant on Development of a Disaster Risk Reduction Volunt at UNDP

Tbilisi, , Georgia -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

28 Jul, 26

Salary

0.0

Posted On

29 Apr, 26

Experience

5 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Disaster Risk Reduction, Emergency Management, Gender Equality, Policy Development, Stakeholder Engagement, Capacity Building, Strategic Planning, Project Management, Research, Technical Writing, Community Resilience, Volunteer Management, Intersectionality, Advocacy, Consultation Facilitation

Industry

International Affairs

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. UN Women in Georgia supports state and non-state partners towards the achievement of substantive gender equality in Georgia. In line with international and national commitments, UN Women works on the levels of policies and legislation, institutions and grassroots, to achieve transformative results for increased gender equality and greater protection of the rights of women and girls. One of the four strategic pillars of work for the UN Women Georgia Country Office (CO) is Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action (WPSHA) supporting to the lives and livelihoods of women and girls' resilience to disasters and threats, thereby contributing to sustainable, secure, and thriving communities. This pillar is in line with UN Women Global Strategic Plan (2026–2029), Impact 4: Women, peace and security, and humanitarian action; UN Women Georgia Strategic Note (2026-2030) and biannual workplans, as well as UNSDCF of Georgia (2026-2030). In October 2024 UN Women, with the generous support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), started the project on Gender in Disaster Risk Reduction (GDRR). The impact-level goal of the project is to ensure that women and girls in Georgia have a voice and agency to be resilient to natural disasters and threats, thus contributing to the increased inclusivity and effectiveness of DRR measures in the country. When disasters disrupt the normal functioning of a community or a society at any scale as studies demonstrate, while affecting everyone, they affect vulnerable groups the most. There is an increased body of evidence that indicates about disproportionate negative effects of natural disasters on women and children. Women and girls experience a lack of access to resources and information in general and a lack of inclusion in the policy and decision-making processes across the globe. Thus, women also have limited power and resources to influence decision-making processes. Because of these limitations and constraints, women as a group are more likely to die as a result of disasters, and their life expectancy is disproportionately reduced as a result of disasters. Furthermore, women tend to take a longer time to recover from these shocks due to gender-specific barriers and exclusion. In 2025, under the GDRR project UN Women implemented a series of capacity-building initiatives for women across Georgia, laying the groundwork for the establishment of an informal Women-led Network on Gender and DRR. The purpose of this network is to foster collaboration, and advocacy among women and girls, strengthen their leadership in DRR volunteerism processes, and ensure that gender perspectives are integrated into disaster preparedness and response efforts at both community and national levels. For this assignment, UN Women Georgia CO plans to hire an international consultant who, will provide technical assistance in developing a comprehensive, gender-responsive, and inclusive DRR Volunteerism Framework for Georgia with emphasis on women and girls’ engagement, outlining institutional arrangements, operational guidelines, and mechanisms for effective engagement and management of volunteers at local and/or national levels. The consultant will work under overall supervision of UN Women Country Representative and Deputy Country Representative and day to day management and oversight of UN Women Programme Specialist and Project Analyst as relevant. Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work * Conduct a desk review of relevant international DRR, emergency management, and volunteerism frameworks, guidelines, and promising practices, with a particular focus on gender-responsive and inclusive approaches. * Analyze existing volunteer engagement mechanisms in Georgia, by identifying key actors and assessing gaps, challenges, and opportunities to strengthen structured, coordinated volunteerism in DRR. * Lead and facilitate consultations (online and/or in-person) and capacity-building sessions with key stakeholders, including government entities, civil society organizations, women's groups and UN agencies as relevant. Document findings, emerging priorities, and recommendations to inform framework development. * Develop gender-responsive DRR volunteerism framework outlining vision, principles, institutional arrangements, coordination mechanisms, capacity development pathways, and roles and responsibilities of relevant stakeholders at local and/or national levels. * Validate the gender-responsive DRR volunteerism framework with UN Women and relevant stakeholders, including facilitating a validation workshop to gather feedback and ensure national ownership. Based on the validation process, identify opportunities for piloting and testing the framework in selected contexts. Revise and finalize the framework incorporating stakeholder feedback, and provide clear, actionable recommendations for implementation, including guidance for pilot design, and testing, and potential scale-up. Deliverables Deliverable Expected completion time (due day) Inception Report - A detailed workplan for the assignment, including a stakeholder engagement strategy, proposed methodology, and clear timelines for all key activities and milestones. 1 working day, by 9 June, 2026 Desk Review Report - Summary of relevant DRR volunteerism frameworks, guidelines based on international promising practices. 3 working days, by 22 June, 2026 Training Sessions on DRR Volunteerism - Deliver up to two online or offline training/capacity-building sessions for key stakeholders, including but not limited to government entities, civil society organizations, women’s groups to build their knowledge and capacity on gender-responsive DRR volunteerism. 3 working days, by 17 July, 2026 Consultation Report - Documentation of stakeholder consultations (online and/or in-person), capturing inputs, recommendations, and lessons learned from relevant stakeholders, including mapping existing volunteer engagement mechanisms in DRR in Georgia. 3 working days, by 24 August, 2026 Draft DRR Volunteerism Framework - Comprehensive gender-responsive framework outlining vision, guiding principles, institutional arrangements, coordination mechanisms, capacity development approaches, and roles and responsibilities of relevant stakeholders, with gender-responsive and inclusive approaches integrated throughout. 3 working days, by 14 September, 2026 DRR Volunteerism Framework Validation - Share the draft framework and key findings to relevant stakeholders, facilitate discussions to gather feedback, and document recommendations and proposed revisions to inform the finalization of the framework. 3 working days, by 19 October, 2026 Finalized DRR Volunteerism Framework in line with stakeholders’ feedback and submitted to UN Women. 2 working days, not later than 6 November, 2026 Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel This is a home-based consultancy. As part of this assignment, there will be a maximum one trip to Tbilisi, Georgia with maximum 5 working and 2 travel days. 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 [https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf] for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: Functional Competencies: * Ability to think, analyze and articulate strategically on gender equality, disaster risk reduction and climate change * Ability to conduct consultations and capacity-building activities with different levels of stakeholders * Excellent research, drafting and writing skills to produce and present concise knowledge products * Knowledge in gender equality, women, peace and security, key concepts, policies, frameworks of gender, disaster risk reduction and climate change * Technical knowledge in developing guidelines, frameworks, presentations, reports and other relevant materials. Required Qualifications: Education and Certification: * Advanced (at least Master) degree in one or more following areas: gender/women’s studies, human rights, sociology, law, international development or related field. * 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: * At least 5 (five) years with master’s (seven (7) in case of bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible professional experience in disaster risk reduction, emergency management, volunteerism, community resilience, or related fields. * Proven experience in developing policy frameworks, strategies, operational tools or guidelines related to DRR volunteerism, or community-based approaches. * Demonstrated experience in designing and delivering capacity-building activities and strategic consultations for diverse audiences, including government institutions, civil society, women’s groups, and volunteer networks. * Practical experience supporting or piloting community-based initiatives, volunteer networks, or similar coordination mechanisms at local and/or national levels. * Strong knowledge of gender equality, women’s empowerment, and intersectionality within DRR and volunteerism contexts and familiarity with international frameworks and standards related to DRR and volunteerism (e.g., Sendai Framework and its Gender Action Plan) * Experience working with UN agencies, international organizations, or government counterparts is a strong asset. Languages: * Fluency in English is required. 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.

Responsibilities

The consultant will develop a comprehensive, gender-responsive, and inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Volunteerism Framework for Georgia. This involves conducting desk reviews, facilitating stakeholder consultations, and providing actionable recommendations for implementation and pilot testing.