UN-Water is the United Nations (UN) inter-agency coordination mechanism for all freshwater related issues, including sanitation. It was formally established in 2003 building on a long history of collaboration in the UN family. It currently counts 33 UN agencies and organisations as Members and 40 other international Partners. UN-Water complements and adds value to existing UN initiatives by facilitating synergies and joint efforts among the implementing agencies. In doing so, UN-Water seeks to: (a) improve the coherence in UN System actions at all levels, and in particular at the country level; (b) contribute to the global policy debate on water-related issues through active participation in global policy fora and events and the production of assessments and policy briefs; (c) contribute to increased knowledge on water-related issues through relevant monitoring and reporting mechanisms and by serving as an entry point for water-related indicators, data and information; and (d) identify emerging issues related to global water challenges and provide a platform for UN system strategic discussions on how to prepare for and cope with them more effectively. For further information: www.unwater.org
With the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development under implementation and with a dedicated goal on water and sanitation, there is a need to advance global monitoring of the sector. Sustainable Development Goal 6 includes six technical targets and two targets on means of implementation, for which Member States, with support from UN-Water, have developed indicators and a monitoring framework.
One of the flagship undertakings of UN-Water is the Integrated Monitoring Initiative for SDG 6 (IMI-SDG6), an inter-agency initiative operating under the UN-Water umbrella which aims to support Member States and the international community in measuring progress towards SDG 6, based on a coherent monitoring and reporting framework spanning a total of 11 global indicators coordinated by eight UN custodian agencies. This is being done through the implementation of a set of monitoring methods, integrated into a monitoring guide to support the national processes. Given the central role of countries, an important component of the Initiative is the engagement with Member States to enhance their monitoring capacity, both through regional and national level interventions. For further information: http://www.sdg6monitoring.org
Although it is well-known that women and girls are disproportionately affected by the lack of safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services, the crucial role they play in water resource- and water use-related aspects has been only partially reflected in institutional arrangements linked to the development and management of water resources. Part of the reason may lie in the lack of robust, consistent sex-disaggregated and gender sensitive water data and related analysis that would help sustain the development of a gender baseline knowledge related to water. However, despite this, the contextualizing of the SDG 6 global indicators to gender-sensitive and inclusive analysis is still in its early stages.
During 2021, the IMI-SDG6 intends to undertake a number of activities aimed at identifying and developing tools for disaggregation and/or the contextualization by gender of the global SDG 6 indicators. Following a desk review of existing guidelines, indicators, and tools, the custodian agencies will establish indicator working groups to conduct gender reviews for each of the eleven SDG 6 global indicators. Using the results of these analyses, the IMI-SDG6 will host a global consultation with experts, seeking feedback and recommendations on draft methodologies. These methodologies will then be tested on a small number of pilot countries.
UN-Water is seeking a consultant with substantial experience in gender analysis, possibly with a focus on the impact that water-related issues have on women and minorities, to support the implementation of these gender contextualization activities. The consultant will work with the UN-Water Technical Advisory Unit under the direct supervision of the Global Monitoring Officer with close interaction with the eight UN custodian agencies involved in the IMI-SDG6. The consultant’s functional responsibilities broadly include coordination, synthesis, facilitation, and technical support on gender.
The consultant is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS. UNOPS is committed to achieving a truly diverse workforce.