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UN Women-Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) Coordination Specialist-P3-Amman, Jordan (oPt response)
Amman, AmmanPosition Title: Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) Coordination Specialist
Receiving Agency: UN Women
P Level: P3
Location: Amman, Jordan (oPt response)
Duration: 3 months (until March 31)
Language: Fluency in English required.
Receiving Agency: UN Women
P Level: P3
Location: Amman, Jordan (oPt response)
Duration: 3 months (until March 31)
Language: Fluency in English required.
Background information/reason for request
Terms of Reference for the Stand-by personnel
Other relevant information
| · Current situation in country · Existing programme strategies and mechanism · Current internal staffing capacity · Staffing plans · Other relevant information |
Current situation in country: Despite the unprecedented suffering in Gaza, the new ceasefire agreement1 in Gaza, though still fragile, offers a promise to scale up humanitarian assistance and transition to recovery and reconstruction. The Sharm el-Sheikh Conference on Gaza, held on 13 October 2025 in Egypt, brought together leaders and representatives from more than twenty countries and international organizations to address the urgent situation in Gaza. Co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and U.S. President Donald Trump, the conference aimed to consolidate efforts toward a ceasefire, promote stability, and lay the groundwork for early recovery and reconstruction following the devastating conflict. As a key outcome, Egypt announced its intention to host a Cairo Reconstruction Conference in November 2025 to operationalize pledges and establish mechanisms for recovery coordination. While violence persists in Gaza and there remains a lot of uncertainty about the peace plan, peacebuilding and the transition process, the time to include women and girls is now or never. The immediate needs of women and girls in Gaza are unprecedented and must be prioritized. For years, Palestinian women, including women in Gaza, furthermore struggled to participate in reconciliation and peacebuilding efforts which have been systematically exclusionary. The risk of seeing similar dynamics in the current context are extremely high considering the recent increased militarization of Gaza with the appearance of multiple armed factions and replacement of traditional local governance structures by new strength and tribal based de facto security arrangements. If women were to be once again excluded from peacebuilding efforts and from humanitarian and early recovery planning, then it will result in gender-blind humanitarian and recovery efforts that fail to respond to women and girls’ immediate needs and to integrate their priorities into national recovery frameworks and responses. In the long run, it will result in a reconstructed Gaza in which women and girls’ roles are marginalized at best. For two years, the war on Gaza has had a devastating and disproportionate impact on Palestinian women and girls, deepening existing vulnerabilities and exacerbating gender inequalities. In just one year, 2024, Gaza accounted for 7 in 10 women killed in conflict globally.2 33,000 women and girls have been killed to date and tens of thousands more have been injured. Life expectancy for women and girls declined by 30 years3. Most women living in Gaza have been displaced at least four times. The crisis has created a new generation of widows, with 16,000 more4 new widows, resulting in over 57,200 female headed households, who now lead families often alone, grieving, and without support.5 The crisis has left countless women and girls with conflict-related injuries6, including with new disabilities requiring urgent rehabilitation.7 The destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure, collapse of essential services such as healthcare, education, and water and sanitation, and near-total blockade on aid, fuel and commercial goods since 18 March 2025 have created catastrophic conditions. On 22 August 2025, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) announced that Famine had reached Gaza governorate, the first time a Famine has been confirmed in the Middle East. 1 million8 women and girls experienced crisis-level hunger in the first half of October 2025 including 500,000 women and girls faced starvation/at the edge of famine.9 Current internal staffing capacity The main humanitarian team of UN Women was based in Gaza, with the current situation, many of the team has become displaced with some having now relocated outside of Gaza. The further deterioration of a very complex humanitarian situation in a demanding peace and security context, in a stretching humanitarian architecture, requires UN Women to maintain its sustained response, advocacy and coordination role. Reason for request and exit strategy In 2025, the GiHA Specialist has invested substantial effort in building strong partnerships with key humanitarian stakeholders and coordination bodies. Sustaining this momentum is critical to maintaining UN Women’s strategic positioning, influence, and leadership within the humanitarian response architecture, particularly given the ceasefire in Gaza. As such, PALCO urgently requests this deployment with a stronger focus on Humanitarian Action, gender responsiveness and inclusivity. This deployment has helped to position UN Women in the humanitarian space and to sustain the GiHA WG at the national level at this critical juncture of the Gaza ceasefire. Work is ongoing including support to clusters and to the upcoming humanitarian fund allocation, mapping of women led organizations, and development of knowledge products including a gender bulletin which has been published on the impact of the Israeli aid blockade. UN Women is currently moving forward with the establishment of sub-national GiHA WGs in the West Bank and in Gaza, which will be led by UN Women colleagues, with initial support from the deployee. UN Women is also taking the role of co-chair of the AAP WG in Gaza, and the technical and coordination support provided by the deployment will ensure that UN Women builds on the synergies of both WGs, especially when it comes to women’s role in strengthening AAP and CFM. To ensure continuity and sustainability, UN Women will develop and implement a transition strategy to continue to develop stronger capacities on GiHA and humanitarian coordination within the team. Planning to fund a fully fledged staff position of GiHA specialist is underway. |
Terms of Reference for the Stand-by personnel
| Objectives and expected output: The objectives of the work of the Programme Specialist will be to support the Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action area in the context of the Gaza ceasefire, humanitarian response and early recovery to ensure an inclusive and gender responsive framework. The specialist will focus on Humanitarian Action, ensuring that the distinct needs of women, girls, boys and men of all ages are taken into account in the humanitarian action implemented in Gaza as well as West Bank (including East Jerusalem). This will require experience and in-depth understanding of humanitarian coordination mechanisms, humanitarian action programming, gender equality and women’s empowerment issues, as well as leadership and understanding of the Women, Peace and Security Transformative Agenda. Priority Areas of Intervention: Specifically in the context of the ceasefire, and building on the key deliverables achieved to date, the GiHA Specialist will focus on the following priority areas during the extension period: 1) Provide technical and strategic guidance on the integration of gender equality across humanitarian, early recovery and reconstruction planning, implementation and monitoring processes, including the 2026 Flash Appeal, UN Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza, UN Women Humanitarian Response and Early Recovery Offer for Gaza, Palestine GiHA Accountability Framework, and the country-level Humanitarian Reset process. 2) Reinforce and sustain the GiHA Working Group coordination structures including tailored capacity-strengthening support to UN Women national staff and WLO/WRO co-chairs and members. 3) Promote greater leadership and accountability for gender equality commitments in Palestine, including support for the establishment of a Women’s Advisory Board to the Humanitarian Country Team, to ensure women’s voices and priorities are effectively reflected in humanitarian, early recovery and reconstruction decision-making and policy processes. Main duties and responsibilities: 1. Technical support and results-based management: • Contribute to providing thorough analysis of the specific consequences of the current crisis on women and girls, prepare substantive inputs to country strategy documents, project proposals, and annual workplans and other documents for UN Women’s Women Humanitarian Action programming. • Support the implementation of coordination related interventions in response to the impact of the recent crisis on women and girls; • Support the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT/HCT+) and the inter-cluster coordination group (N-ICCG) with gender analysis, capacity building and technical assistance throughout the humanitarian programme cycle, including with support for the implementation of the Gender and Age Marker. 2. Coordination, partnership and resource mobilization support: • Support UN Women’s participation in the humanitarian architecture including through the work of the GiHA WG. • Lead the work of the GiHA WG at national level including participation in ICCG • Support with the set of the Gaza and West Bank local GiHA WGs • Develop work plans, strategies and indicators for the GiHA WG • As designated, represent GiHA WG across the humanitarian coordination architecture • Continue to lead the implementation of the GiHA and HCT accountability framework • Provide gender mainstreaming support with clusters and to joint coordination processes such as flash appeal, assessments, response plans, etc • Provide short briefing notes for the office ahead of HCT/HCT+ • Liaise with humanitarian financing unit to advocate for gender-responsive programming and funding to WLOs, including through reviewing allocation strategies • Build collaborations and partnerships with clusters, WLOs and other humanitarian actors contributing to gender mainstreaming across the response • Support UN Women communication team with any specific GiHA messages that can support outreach. 3. Capacity Building and Knowledge Management: • Contribute to the identification of challenges, lessons learned and good practices for the implementation of gender-responsive humanitarian programming and support the elaboration of knowledge products reflecting them. • Develop gender alerts, rapid gender analyses and lead the design of assessments and analyses shedding light on the gendered needs of women and girls, and men and boys • Identify needs and opportunities to provide inter-agency and gender focused capacity building support across clusters, working groups and their partners • Facilitate capacity building activities on concepts related to gender-responsive humanitarian action. • Support country staff capacity development to engage in needs assessments and in supporting coordination and response from a gender perspective. Reporting and supervision: The Programme Specialist will be under the overall guidance of the UN Women Head of Gaza Sub-Office, who will provide strategic leadership and oversight. |
Other relevant information
| Key Performance Indicators · Timely and quality technical advice and support · Leadership in area of expertise in the region · Quality reports and other strategic documents drafted and submitted in a timely manner. · Strong relationships with various partners and stakeholders · UN Women is well represented in important meetings on topics related to expertise. · Contributions to resource mobilization · Timely and quality knowledge products Competencies Core Values: · Respect for Diversity · Integrity · Professionalism Core Competencies: · Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues · Accountability · Creative Problem Solving · Effective Communication · Inclusive Collaboration · Stakeholder Engagement · Leading by Example Functional Competencies · Strong background in humanitarian action, mixed migration and refugee response, gender equality, and human rights/women’s rights;. · Strong understanding of Do No Harm principles; · Excellent research, analytical and writing skills; · Ability to think and work logically and work precisely with attention to detail; · Initiative, sound judgment and demonstrated ability to work harmoniously with staff members of different national and cultural backgrounds; · Ability to work independently and meet tight deadlines in a high-pressure environment. Qualifications Education: · Master’s degree or equivalent in gender, international relations, humanitarian action, international development, or other social science fields 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. · A project/programme management certification would be an added advantage. Experience: · At least 7 years progressively responsible experience in humanitarian settings with a focus on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls · Substantive and technical experience in inter-agency humanitarian coordination contexts · Experience in resource mobilization, especially with humanitarian financing mechanisms, desired · Experience in policy analysis and capacity building · Experience working with, and building partnerships with governments, donors and civil society organizations internationally and in the field; · Experience working with the UN is an asset; and · Experience working in the region is an asset. Language Requirements: Working knowledge of English required. |
CANADEM and its partners have a no-tolerance policy for inaction to prevent, respond to and follow up on alleged cases of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (SEAH). For this reason, we adhere to all policies, procedures and training of the United Nations on The Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (PSEAH). CANADEM mandates all deployees successfully complete the PSEA online course. This e-learning course is composed of a set of lessons designed to raise awareness about SEAH, become familiar with a range of measures to combat SEAH, understand the impact on victims and the consequences for UN Personnel who commit Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment.