National Gender Expert

UNIDO•Palestine, TX

11d•Remote

About The Position

UNIDO seeks a National Gender Expert for the project “Developing an energy-sustainable shoe village in Hebron for the decarbonization and sustainable development of the footwear value chain in the State of Palestine.” The assignment will analyze gender dimensions of the Sustainable Shoe Village (SSV) intervention and the Palestinian leather and footwear value chain, then develop a practical Gender Mainstreaming Strategy and Gender Action Plan. The work is intended to support equitable access to project opportunities, strengthen women’s participation and representation, advance women’s economic empowerment, and integrate gender considerations into implementation, monitoring, stakeholder engagement, and institutional development in line with UNIDO standards and international good practices. The assignment is limited to the specified project and does not carry an expectation of renewal. It is a temporary appointment of project personnel. Only nationals or permanent residents of the duty-station country are eligible. Work is primarily home-based, with meetings as required and travel as required for some activities. The expert works under the direct supervision of the Project Manager and in close cooperation with the project team at headquarters and in the field. The listed task durations total 20 days: 2 days for inception and methodology, 9 days for gender analysis, 5 days for the strategy, and 4 days for the action plan. The required outputs are an inception report with draft methodology and workplan; a gender analysis report; a Gender Mainstreaming Strategy for the SSV project; and a Gender Action Plan with an implementation matrix, gender-responsive indicators and targets, monitoring recommendations, and practical mainstreaming tools.

Requirements

Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Gender Studies, Sociology, Social Sciences, Development Studies, Public Administration, Business Administration, Economics, Human Rights, International Development, Political Science, Law, or another relevant field; alternatively, a first-level university degree or advanced technical college diploma in a relevant field combined with five additional years of directly relevant professional experience.
At least five years of professional experience in gender equality, women’s economic empowerment, gender mainstreaming, social inclusion, community development, or a related field.
Demonstrated experience conducting gender analyses, social inclusion assessments, gender audits, baseline studies, needs assessments, or similar analytical assignments.
Experience developing gender mainstreaming strategies, gender action plans, social inclusion strategies, women’s economic empowerment programmes, or similar strategic frameworks.
Fluency in written and spoken Arabic.
Working knowledge of English.
Must be a national or permanent resident of the country of the duty station.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with development projects funded by international organizations, bilateral donors, UN agencies, international NGOs, or government institutions.
Experience in industrial development, MSME development, entrepreneurship development, value chain development, workforce development, vocational training, or private sector competitiveness programmes.

Responsibilities

Hold a kick-off meeting with the Project Manager and relevant project team members to clarify assignment objectives, scope, methodology, deliverables, and implementation arrangements.
Review relevant Sustainable Shoe Village project documentation and UNIDO policies, strategies, and guidance on gender equality, women’s empowerment, and inclusive industrial development.
Develop the analytical framework, methodology, consultation approach, and workplan for the gender analysis and Gender Mainstreaming Strategy and Action Plan.
Assess women’s participation across the Palestinian leather and footwear value chain, considering laws, policies, cultural norms, gender roles, and control over assets and resources.
Assess barriers, constraints, and opportunities affecting women’s participation, advancement, and leadership in the leather and footwear sector.
Assess how planned SSV interventions and services may create opportunities or risks for women, and identify measures to maximize positive outcomes and mitigate barriers.
Conduct consultations, interviews, and focus group discussions with project stakeholders, including the Ministry of Industry, HCCI, PFLI, Palestine Polytechnic University, Shoe Village Company, women entrepreneurs and workers, industry associations, women’s organizations, training providers, and other relevant stakeholders.
Identify priority gender gaps, challenges, opportunities, and entry points for mainstreaming gender throughout project implementation.
Define the strategic vision, objectives, guiding principles, and expected outcomes for gender mainstreaming in the SSV project.
Develop a strategic framework for integrating gender considerations into implementation, stakeholder engagement, infrastructure development, Common Facility Centre and enterprise support services, skills development, market access, institutional development, communication, and visibility activities.
Identify strategies to address institutional, social, cultural, operational, and economic barriers to women’s participation, and recommend gender-responsive service delivery models for the future Common Facility Centre and other project-supported institutions.
Propose stakeholder engagement and partnership mechanisms and identify risks associated with gender inclusion interventions, with mitigation measures.
Translate the Gender Mainstreaming Strategy into an implementation framework with activities, responsibilities, timelines, and expected results, including practical actions under each project component and output.
Define gender-sensitive participation targets, outreach measures, consultation mechanisms, and beneficiary-selection considerations appropriate to project interventions.
Identify institutional capacity-building needs and recommend actions to strengthen gender mainstreaming capacities among project stakeholders.
Recommend a gender-responsive monitoring framework, including indicators, targets, means of verification, data collection, and reporting aligned with the project’s M&E system.
Produce the inception report, gender analysis report, Gender Mainstreaming Strategy, and Gender Action Plan with implementation matrix, monitoring recommendations, and practical tools.