Organizational Context
The war in Gaza has had a devastating and disproportionate impact on Palestinian women and girls, deepening existing vulnerabilities and exacerbating gender inequalities. Between October 2023 and December 2025, an estimated 38,000 women and girls were killed and over 11,000 sustained lifelong injuries. The crisis has created over 16,000 new widows, resulting in over 58,000 women headed households, who now lead families often alone, grieving, and without support. 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. Despite the unprecedented suffering in Gaza, the ceasefire agreement, though fragile, offers a promise to scale up humanitarian assistance and transition to early recovery and reconstruction. The priorities, needs and voices of crisis affected women and girls need to be centered in the recovery. The United Nations, together with the Palestinian Authority, has created a multi-donor trust fund – Horizon. The Horizon Fund has three windows, with window 1 focussing on early recovery in Gaza, through joint UN programmes.
Under the overall guidance and direction of the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, reporting to the Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator, and with matrix reporting to the UN Women Special Representative, the Gender Advisor will strengthen the capacities of the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator’s Office, United Nations Country Team and Humanitarian Country Team by supporting analysis on the gendered dimensions of political, social and economic trends, and inputs to the design and preparation of joint UN programmes focussed on the humanitarian response and early recovery in Gaza, ensuring the needs and priorities of crisis affected women and girls are met.
The Gender Advisor will provide technical assistance on developing and the implementation of collaborative and joint programmes (with a focus on the Horizon Fund) to ensure their gender-responsiveness, support mobilization for resources, and monitoring of progress on gender equality commitments, including the application of the gender marker for Horizon Fund contributions. The Gender Advisor will also provide technical support and expertise to engender the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), Joint Work Plans and monitoring plans to track gender equality and women’s empowerment measures. Additionally, the Gender Advisor will provide technical support and guidance to the Office of the Resident Coordinator in the roll-out of the UNCT System-Wide Action Plan Gender Equality Scorecard tool and follow up actions to support the implementation of the recommended action recommended actions.
Key Functions and Accountabilities
1) Provide technical support and interagency coordination on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) across the humanitarian response and early recovery in Gaza
Provide substantive support to the RCHCO on inter-agency coordination on GEWE, with particular emphasis on the Gaza humanitarian response and early recovery.
Provide technical support to engender the humanitarian response and early recovery efforts in Gaza, including through the integration of analysis and through designing and engendering joint programming opportunities under the Palestine Recovery Trust Fund, Horizon, and support joint resource mobilization efforts.
Actively engage in and support key relevant humanitarian coordination groups, including the Gender in Humanitarian Action Groups.
Promote a focus on GEWE in the Horizon Trust Fund, joint programmes, joint response plans, Flash Appeals, National Action Plans, development frameworks and other planning and implementation mechanisms, including national frameworks.
Provide technical support to apply the gender marker to Horizon Trust Fund resources as a member of the Technical Coordination Working Group of the Horizon Trust Fund.
Provide substantive support to mainstream gender in humanitarian action and recovery, in coordination with the lead UN agency on GEWE, including the collection and use of sex, age, disability disaggregated data.
Take part in UNSDCF processes and similar exercises related to the RC system ensuring that GEWE concerns are clearly reflected and mainstreamed across the humanitarian and peace/security engagements of the UN in Palestine.
Support the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of the UNSDCF Results Matrix and the corresponding UNSDCF M&E Plan to promote the effective monitoring and reporting on GEWE related results,
Support the roll-out of the UNCT System-wide Action Plan Gender Equality Scorecard and other accountability tools and processes, to ensure that the UN tracks and is accountable for GEWE during the UNSDCF implementation, in coordination with the lead UN agency on GEWE.
Coordinate capacity building efforts on gender mainstreaming at all stages of the UNSDCF implementation (biennial work planning, monitoring, annual reporting and evaluation), in close consultation with other UN agencies.
2) Coordinate the development of interventions, including supporting the design, formulation and resource mobilization for joint UN initiatives on GEWE
Support the meaningful participation of women, including women-led organizations, in joint programming and advocacy in Gaza and the West Bank – with particular focus on women headed households, women and girls with disabilities and survivors of gender-based violence.
Develop concept notes and project proposals for locally tailored resource mobilization efforts to address the needs of crisis affected women and girls in the Gaza humanitarian response and early recovery.
Provide inputs to policy documents and finalize briefs and other strategic papers/materials for the use in the development and presentation of policy and programmatic positions in Gaza and the West Bank on GEWE, in coordination with the lead UN agency on GEWE.
Provide advisory support to the RCHCO within the thematic areas assigned.
3) Support advocacy, facilitate knowledge building and resource mobilization for gender equality and the empowerment of women in the humanitarian response and early recovery in Gaza:
Support the RCHCO to identify and engage with women, women-led organizations and women’s rights organizations in Gaza, to support their effective engagement and participation in leadership and decision-making processes that shape lives of women and girls in Palestine, with a focus on humanitarian response and early recovery in Gaza.
Support the RCHC, HCT and UNCT in forging strategic partnerships at the national and local levels to promote GEWE on emerging issues, in coordination with the lead UN agency on GEWE.
Analyze and research information on member states/donors, prepare substantive briefs on thematic areas.
Proactively and substantively support the RCO to implement relevant, high-impact advocacy activities and campaigns with key partners- in close collaboration with the UN Communication Group, the UNCT and HCT.
Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learned directly linked to the Palestine policy goals on GEWE in specific sectoral/thematic areas, according to priorities set by the RCHC and UNCT and HCT.
4) The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.
Recruitment Qualifications
Education and Certification:
Master’s degree or equivalent in gender, women’s studies, social sciences, international development, international relations or other development-related 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 of progressively responsible work experience in development, focused on providing policy advice, technical assistance and/or programming on gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s rights issues is required.
Experience in inter-agency coordination is required.
Experience working on humanitarian action and crises response, as well as peace and security is required.
Experience with implementing gender mainstreaming agendas across a variety of sectors, including experience gender mainstreaming in governmental bodies is desirable.
Experience working with women’s movements, and civil society and familiarity with women's rights organizations and networks in the region and globally is desirable.
Field experience working in conflict/post-conflict environment is desirable.
Languages
Fluency in English is required.
Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).
Competencies
Functional competencies:
Excellent programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of gender equality and women’s empowerment issues and the international development agenda
Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them
Ability to establish and maintain broad strategic networks and partnerships with UN agencies and other international partners to promote partnerships and build alliances to advance organizational interests and competencies
Ability to produce/write programme proposals, concept notes, project documents, progress reports
Ability to develop budget, work plans, participating in programme development
Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
Excellent analytical skills
Excellent knowledge of Results Based Management
Strong knowledge of UN programme management systems
Ability to lead formulation of strategies and their implementation
Strong networking skills
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
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