Family Law and Legal Reform Expert, National Consultant,NOC, Sarajevo, BIH, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

## Family Law and Legal Reform Expert, National Consultant,NOC, Sarajevo, BIH, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Organization:UN Women - United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women - Country:Bosnia and Herzegovina UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the initiatives contributing to these goals is the Gender Equality Accelerator Joint Programme, implemented jointly by UN Women, UNICEF, UNDP, and UNFPA, in partnership with the Agency for Gender Equality of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Gender Center of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Center for Equality among Women and Men of Republika Srpska, and with support from the Governments of Sweden and Denmark and the Delegation of the European Union. The programme focuses on three strategic areas: eliminating violence against women and girls, empowering women economically, and advancing women's leadership and participation in governance. This integrated, cross-sectoral approach aims to support more effective, inclusive, and sustainable gender equality outcomes. Within the Women's Economic Empowerment Pillar, the BiH Gender Equality Accelerator aims to economically empower women by transforming the care economy, labour market, and entrepreneurial ecosystem to be more gender-responsive. It focuses on strengthening policy frameworks, reducing barriers to women's workforce participation and entrepreneurship, and enhancing access to finance, tailored business support, and digital skills. By building the capacities of institutions, CSOs, and the private sector, the initiative supports inclusive policies, promotes gender-responsive workplaces, and empowers women and girls to thrive in the digital age - aligning with SDGs 1, 5, 8, and 10, and strategic priorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. UN Women Bosnia and Herzegovina is implementing activities aimed at strengthening the legal and policy framework for gender equality and improving the protection of women in vulnerable situations through gender-responsive legislative reforms. As part of these efforts, UN Women will support the review of existing family law frameworks to strengthen the legal recognition and protection of single mothers. The assignment contributes to improving the alignment of family legislation with international human rights and gender equality standards, including the principles of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention), while promoting stronger linkages between family legislation, social protection systems and the care economy. The assignment will focus on conducting a gender-responsive legal review of applicable family laws, identifying legal and policy gaps affecting single mothers, and supporting the preparation of recommendations for legislative amendments. The Consultant will also facilitate consultations with relevant institutions, civil society organisations, women's rights organisations and other stakeholders to ensure that proposed legal reforms are evidence-based, inclusive and responsive to the needs of women. In recognition of the fact that the rights and socio-economic position of single mothers are shaped by a broader set of interconnected legal and institutional frameworks, the assignment will also consider relevant labour, social protection, anti-discrimination and care-related legislation and policies. This broader perspective will support the identification of gaps between legal entitlements and their practical implementation and inform more comprehensive and actionable reform recommendations. The consultant will report to the WEE Programme Coordination Specialist, under the overall oversight of the Programme Management Specialist, and will be supported by the WEE Programme Associate and WEE Programme Assistant, who will serve as points of contact for contractual and administrative matters. Description of Responsibilities/Scope of Work The overall objective of this assignment is to strengthen the legal recognition and protection of single mothers in Bosnia and Herzegovina through gender-responsive legal analysis, evidence-based policy recommendations and technical support for the development and consultation of proposed amendments to applicable family laws. Specifically, the Consultant will: - conduct a gender-responsive review of applicable family legislation and other relevant legal and policy frameworks affecting single mothers; - identify legal, policy and implementation gaps related to the recognition, protection and socio-economic position of single mothers; - assess relevant linkages between family law, labour rights, social protection, anti-discrimination frameworks and care policies; - prepare recommendations for legislative and policy amendments aligned with international human rights and gender equality standards; - undertake comparative legal and policy analysis to identify relevant international, in particular EU, and regional good practices and assess their potential applicability in Bosnia and Herzegovina; - assess selected aspects of practical implementation of relevant legal rights and protections, including through institutional procedures and employer-level policies and practices; - integrate social protection and care economy considerations into proposed legal and policy reforms; - facilitate consultations with institutions, civil society organisations and other relevant stakeholders; - support the finalisation and presentation of draft legislative amendments; and - provide targeted legal and policy advisory support related to the subject matter of the assignment throughout its implementation. The immediate objective is to produce a comprehensive legal review and a technically sound package of legislative recommendations and draft amendments; validate the proposed reforms through inclusive stakeholder consultation; and provide targeted technical support for institutional consideration and further legislative processes. Based on the above-described objectives and under the supervision of the WEE Programme Coordination Specialist, the Consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks and responsibilities: Result Area 1: Gender-responsive Legal Review and Policy Analysis - conduct a comprehensive gender-responsive review of applicable family legislation and relevant labour, social protection, anti-discrimination and care-related legal and policy frameworks affecting the legal status, rights, protection and socio-economic position of single mothers; - analyse relevant legal provisions, definitions, rights, obligations, procedures and implementation arrangements, and identify gaps or inconsistencies affecting women's access to rights, social protection and services; - assess alignment with relevant international human rights and gender equality standards, including CEDAW and the Istanbul Convention and EU legal provisions for single mother; - assess linkages and policy coherence between family legislation, social protection systems and care policies; - identify priority areas for legal and policy reform based on the findings of the review; and - prepare recommendations for strengthening implementation, institutional coordination and policy coherence. Result Area 2: Comparative Legal and Policy Analysis - undertake a targeted comparative review of legal and policy approaches in selected European and other relevant jurisdictions concerning the protection and socio-economic position of single mothers and single-parent households; - identify relevant legislative, institutional and policy solutions related to family law, social protection, employm