Call for Expression of Interest – Pool of Expertise for Facility 1325

Project Description
As part of the project implemented by Expertise France, the 1325 Facility initiative, we are seeking to expand our pool of gender experts and practitioners in the Women, Peace, and Security agenda in the Syrian Arab Republic.

Project/Context Description
In Syria, more than a decade of armed conflict has led to high levels of widespread violence, massive population displacement, territorial fragmentation, and a severe deterioration of essential public services. In this context, women and girls are disproportionately affected by violence, particularly sexual and gender-based violence, insecurity linked to forced displacement, increased economic precariousness, and the shrinking of civic space. At the same time, despite their central role in community resilience, humanitarian aid, local mediation, and the maintenance of the social fabric, their participation in formal peace, governance, and security processes remains limited, and they are underrepresented in decision-making spaces.
Thus, in a context marked by still-fragile dynamics of transition and political realignment, as well as significant momentum surrounding prospects for stabilization, issues related to the protection of women’s and girls’ rights and their inclusion in decision-making processes are taking on increased importance. However, these opportunities remain hampered by persistent insecurity, institutional fragmentation, and protection and justice mechanisms, which contribute to maintaining their marginalization in political, security, and humanitarian responses.
As part of the ongoing political transition in Syria, the transitional authorities have demonstrated a commitment to more inclusive governance and the country’s institutional reconstruction. This commitment, reflected in official statements and certain frameworks supported by the international community, emphasizes the promotion of human rights, national reconciliation, and broader participation by all segments of Syrian society, including women. Efforts have also been announced to strengthen the inclusivity of political processes and consolidate transitional institutions.
Nevertheless, despite these stated intentions, women’s actual participation in decision-making bodies remains limited, and their representation in governance structures remains marginal. This persistent gap between commitments and concrete implementation highlights the structural challenges facing the transition, in a context where security, institutional, and humanitarian constraints continue to weigh heavily on its trajectory.

The 1325 Facility as a response to these challenges
In the face of these structural challenges, the implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security agenda remains fragile and insufficient. It is within this context that the 1325 Facility project, implemented by Expertise France and funded by the French Development Agency (AFD), is situated. The 1325 Facility is designed as a flexible and targeted support mechanism aimed at strengthening the implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security agenda in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. The project supports national and local actors—particularly human’s right organizations, public institutions, and civil society partners—through technical and strategic support, capacity building, and the promotion of a more inclusive participation in peace, security, and governance processes.
Drawing on a human rights-based approach, women’s leadership, and conflict-sensitive analysis, the 1325 Facility aims to contribute to more inclusive, sustainable, and effective responses to conflict prevention, the protection of populations, and peacebuilding in Syria.
The 1325 Facility aims to support actors working on the Women, Peace, and Security agenda through enhanced technical, strategic, and operational support that is, above all, tailored to local realities. Mobilizing national experts with diverse backgrounds, connections, and experiences is a key lever in implementing this support. The essential requirement is that the mobilized experts possess a mastery of international, regional, and national normative frameworks—tailored to each country—and an in-depth understanding of local, institutional, and community dynamics to ensure maximum impact.
Approach promoted by the 1325 Facility:
Through the 1325 Facility, France promotes an ambitious, integrated, and context-sensitive approach aimed at strengthening the effective implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security agenda. This approach is implemented for the benefit of national and local actors, particularly civil society organizations, public institutions, and technical and financial partners. It is based on the following guiding principles:

1. Addressing the structural determinants of gender equality and women’s empowerment in crisis and post-crisis contexts by moving beyond ad hoc responses in favor of sustainable change,
2. Promoting an integrated territorial approach based on a detailed analysis of local dynamics of conflict, power, and gender.
3. Prioritize actions in support of girls and women, while involving boys and men (with a focus on adolescents and young adults)
4. Promote an approach focused on changing behaviors and social norms generally attributed to men and women, power relations, and institutional practices—particularly in terms of representation and at decision-making levels.
5. Sustainably strengthen the capacities of local actors by prioritizing forms of technical support that promote ownership, leadership, and sustainability.
6. Adopt a conflict-sensitive approach that is mindful of the risks of tension, exclusion, or political co-optation, and aims to contribute to the prevention of violence and social cohesion.

An integrated intervention framework organized by sectoral areas:

The intervention framework of the 1325 Facility is structured around thematic and sectoral areas that are mobilized in a complementary manner and in accordance with the needs expressed by local actors and national priorities, with the aim of strengthening the key levers of the 1325 Facility agenda. For example, these areas may include governance, peace and security, prevention of and response to sexual and gender-based violence, conflict-related violence, women’s participation and leadership in decision-making processes, particularly peace negotiation mechanisms, as well as strengthening the organizational, administrative, financial, and technical capacities of civil society organizations, particularly those working for women’s rights. They may also include knowledge generation, contextual analysis, and knowledge capitalization to improve the quality and impact of interventions.

Thus, the interventions of the 1325 Facility aim to contribute to:

• Promoting sustainable changes in social and institutional norms by supporting transformative gender approaches tailored to local dynamics.
• Supporting the leadership and organizational development of human’s rights organizations by strengthening their operational and structural capacities, as well as their ability to influence and engage in dialogue with national and international authorities.
• Preventing and responding to conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence by supporting public policies, coordination mechanisms, protection systems, and conflict-sensitive and inclusive community-based approaches
• The provision of sexual and reproductive health services through the maintenance of accessible, high-quality public SRH (sexual and reproductive health) services, as well as by strengthening the capacity of women and adolescent girls to make free, informed, and responsible choices regarding SRH. This capacity is a key factor in their empowerment and in the region’s demographic transition.
• The reduction of all forms of gender-based violence, such as early marriage and pregnancy, violence in schools and hospitals, as well as all forms of violence linked to crises and conflicts.
• Systematically integrate an inclusive approach into peace and security policies, strategies, and programs through gender-based analysis, operational tools, training, and institutional support.
• Inclusive participation in economic, political, and social decision-making bodies through support for quota policies in decision-making bodies and the strengthening of women’s leadership.

Through this approach, the 1325 Facility aims to achieve sustainable outcomes such as:

• greater national and local ownership of the Women, Peace, and Security agenda;
• strengthening the technical and strategic capacities of the actors involved;
• Increasing effective inclusive participation in peace and security processes

Desired Qualifications

• At least 7 years of experience in one of the following areas: Women, Peace, and Security; gender equality; prevention of and response to sexual and gender-based violence and/or conflict-related violence; women’s participation in peace, security, and governance processes; or social cohesion in crisis, conflict, or post-conflict contexts, as an individual consultant or trainer;
• Proven experience in supporting the integration of women’s and girls’ rights and the WPS agenda into international cooperation projects, working with the public sector (ministries and decentralized state agencies) and civil society organizations;
• Proven experience in designing and implementing capacity-building and training initiatives for public actors and civil society organizations, particularly those working on women’s rights, on topics related to the WPS agenda. These initiatives may address both WPS-related content and the administrative, financial, and technical capacity-building of the organizations being supported;
• Proven experience in the design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of international cooperation projects in fragile or conflict-affected contexts in the Middle East, including Syria;
• Proven ability to coordinate multi-stakeholder activities and represent Expertise France with institutional partners and civil society organizations within the scope of assigned missions.
• Strong writing skills: developing assessments and methodologies, drafting project design and initiation documents;
• Ability to produce practical tools: guides and educational materials, and experience in training trainers.
• Fluency in Arabic (required) and fluency in English or French (at least one of the two languages required) ;
• Knowledge of AFD tools and procedures is an asset;
• Experts must become familiar with the following tools and procedures:
• Tools for analyzing and integrating gender and the FPS agenda
• Gender toolkits produced by AFD
• The “Do No Harm” approach promoted by AFD
• The project cycle according to AFD procedures.

Additional Information
We are primarily seeking Syrian national experts with in-depth knowledge of the local context and, if from the diaspora, who have already carried out missions in Syria. International candidates are not a priority for this mission.
Experts may be called upon for short-term expert assignments of varying durations (ranging from one week to several months), either in person (primarily in Damascus, depending on access conditions) and/or remotely (working from home), depending on the needs of local partners.
Please specify your areas of expertise and your availability for travel in your application.

How to apply

All applications must include the following (In English and in PDF format only) :Detailed CV and Cover Letter/motivation letter (explaining suitability for the position)

Applications should be sent to (aurelie.surget@expertisefrance.fr) & (emilie.oulaye@expertisefrance.fr), using the following subject: “Pool of Expertise for Facility 1325"

Expertise France reserves the right to close the announcement prior to the stated deadline as applications are screened on a rolling basis and only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews.

Incomplete applications and wrong title formats will not be considered.