National Consultant - Support to Women's Access to Justice and Leadership Programming (EVAW Programme, Tanzania)

About this role

UN Women is seeking a National Consultant to provide technical, programmatic, and coordination support to the Women's Access to Justice and Leadership portfolio under the Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW) Programme in Zanzibar, Tanzania. The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the EVAW Programme Specialist and collaborate closely with the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, the Ministry of Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, the Presidents Office Constitution, Legal Affairs, Public Service and Good Governance, women caucuses of Parliament, civil society organisations, and UN Women regional and headquarters teams. The position is based in Zanzibar and is offered as a full-time consultancy. The primary mandate of the role is to strengthen gender-responsive legal frameworks, enhance institutional capacity among justice sector actors, and improve women's ability to claim their rights by ensuring strong synergies between Access to Justice, Leadership, and EVAWG strategies to enhance overall programme impact and cohesion. Core responsibilities include supporting the review and implementation of laws and policies promoting women's rights and gender equality, rolling out key gender-responsive justice tools such as the Zanzibar Gender Bench Book and Judicial Sentencing Guidelines at district level, strengthening the functionality of the Women Justice Forum and other coordination mechanisms, and supporting programmes aimed at strengthening women's leadership and participation in decision-making across Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. The consultancy aims to address systemic barriers that women, particularly poor, rural, and marginalised women, face in accessing justice due to weak referral systems, limited legal awareness, social and cultural norms, and the coexistence of statutory, customary, and religious legal systems. Expected deliverables include launching and disseminating the Zanzibar Gender Bench Book and Judicial Sentencing Guidelines to justice actors across all districts in Zanzibar and to 20 District Magistrates in Mainland Tanzania, and compiling gender-sensitive education-related laws for public dissemination. The EVAW Programme is implemented by UN Women in collaboration with the European Union and aligns with the National Plan of Action