Individual Contract - International Consultant - Gender-Responsive Safety And Access Audit, Port Vila Reconstruction (home Based) Home Based Posting Date06/17/2026

Organizational Context

UN Women's Fiji Multi-Country Office (MCO) supports 14 Pacific countries, focusing on gender equality, women's empowerment, ending violence against women and girls, and climate/humanitarian action. In Vanuatu, following a major earthquake, UN Women is partnering with the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning on the reconstruction of Port Vila. This role supports efforts to ensure reconstruction is gender-responsive, safe, and inclusive for women and girls.

Job Purpose

This consultancy aims to conduct a gender-responsive safety and access audit of the Port Vila market and Central Business District (CBD) reconstruction efforts in Vanuatu. The purpose is to assess the safety, accessibility, and appropriateness of reconstruction plans for women, girls, and marginalized groups. It will identify risks of harassment and violence in public spaces and propose mitigation strategies through design and management. The ultimate goal is to develop a practical action plan to embed gender-responsive principles into reconstruction, ensuring a 'build back better' approach that addresses pre-existing inequalities and promotes inclusion.

Responsibilities

The consultant will lead the development of an Inception Report, including a refined gender audit framework, assessment tools, desk review findings, and a stakeholder engagement plan. They will oversee and potentially lead data collection through key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and site visits, developing a preliminary findings report. The consultant will draft a comprehensive Gender Audit Report analyzing findings against the framework, identifying safety risks and accessibility gaps, and proposing preliminary recommendations. Finally, they will finalize the Gender Audit Report and develop a practical, prioritized action plan with concrete recommendations for short-, medium-, and long-term implementation, identifying responsible actors and feasible entry points.

Work Experience

Requires a minimum of 7 years (with Master's) or 9 years (with Bachelor's) of experience in gender equality, prevention of violence against women, or gender-responsive urban planning. Demonstrated experience in conducting gender-responsive safety or gender audits is essential. Experience with government counterparts, post-disaster reconstruction, urban planning, or public space design is needed. Familiarity with UN Women Safe Cities programming and experience in the Pacific region, particularly Vanuatu, are strongly preferred.

Skills

Gender analysis, Gender-responsive safety audits, Urban planning, Public space design, Stakeholder engagement, Report writing, Project management, Data collection and analysis, Prevention of violence against women and girls.

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