The project was established in 2006, as a result of the work in IASC, The Inter Agency Standing Committee, where UN-Agencies and NGO’s coordinate humanitarian activities and exchange experiences. GenCap has the objective to focus wither gerater strength on and ensure a gender sensitive and equal approach in UN’s humanitarian operations based on the Security Council Resolution 1325 about women, peace and security.

On behalf of IASC, NRC has the responsibility to establish and maintain an international stand by roster of gender experts. They can be deployed as Gender Advisers to crisis areas on short notice, when acute need occurs in order to assist, among others, the Humanitarian Coordinators in the field. The roster is composed of fifteen stand-by members and two fulltime employed Gender Advisers on continuous rotation to different UN-missions.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the GenCap?
The IASC Gender Capacity Stand-by Project (GenCap) is a pool of gender advisers at a P-4/ P-5 level to be deployed on short notice to support the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator/Resident Coordinator (HC/RC), the humanitarian country teams (UNCT) and gender networks in the initial stages of humanitarian emergencies. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is administering the project.

What is the primary role of the GenCap Advisers?
The primary role of the gender advisers is to facilitate the establishment of sustainable inter-agency mechanisms and build capacity to ensure that the needs and capabilities of women, girls, boys and men are taken into consideration in the planning and implementation in all sectors/clusters of emergency response. The GenCap Advisers can provide technical leadership and support on Gender Equality Programming through close collaboration with humanitarian actors and building on existing resources in the following main areas of work: information collection and analysis; programme planning; capacity building; coordination and advocacyThe expected output of the gender advisors work is an effective gender equality programme in the first phases of an emergency.

How many gender advisers are available on the GenCap roster?
GenCap will consist of two full-time and fifteen standby gender advisers.

How long is each deployment?
Each deployment will be made for 3-6 months. Extensions can be made but one deployment should not exceed 7 months. In cases of new emergencies, one of the full-time gender advisers could be deployed for the initial period and then hand over to one of the gender advisers on the standby roster. However, if an office needs a more permanent gender adviser presence it should go through its regular recruitment procedures.The GenCap is an initiative of the IASC Sub-working Group on Gender and Humanitarian Action.

How does GenCap differ from ProCap?
The Protection Standby Capacity Project (ProCap) is a roster of protection advisers and GenCap is copying many of ProCap’s governing structures. GenCap will also have a separate page on ProCap online. While protection issues such as GBV is a part of the GenCap advisers’ ToRs they will have a broader role in facilitating gender equality programming in all sectors/ clusters of humanitarian response. GenCap will remain a separate roster for an initial period of 2-3 years after which a merge with ProCap will be considered.

Who can make requests for a GenCap Adviser?
All UN agencies with a MoU with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) can make a request for a GenCap adviser to the HC/RC’s office or to another UN entity.

How do I make a request for a GenCap Adviser?
Requests must be made from a country office to the agency’s standby partner focal point as well as its gender focal point (or GenCap steering committee representative in cases where the two are not the same) at headquarters. The standby partner focal point will forward the request to NRC. In order to ensure that all actors on the ground are aware that this resource is coming in and what it will be used for, the UNCT should take part in the discussions on adapting the standard ToR and the HC and the headquarters desk officer should approve the request before submission. Requests with an inter-agency scope of work will be given priority. Questions can be directed to the GenCap secretariat in OCHA (gencap@un.org). The inter-agency GenCap Steering Committee can be consulted on how to develop the request before it goes to the NRC, and formally approves the request before a deployment is made.

Can a request be made for a GenCap Adviser to work on a specific agency’s programme or do they need to sit with the HC?
The requester must adhere to a minimum of the elements in the generic ToR, which includes several tasks related to inter-agency functions and the role of the HC. However, gender advisers could also sit with another UN entity to support inter-agency processes or be deployed to agencies/programmes needing specific gender equality programme support if there is capacity available on the roster. The entities with MOUs with NRC are: IOM, OCHA, OHCHR, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNRWA, WFP and WHO.

Who does the gender adviser report to?
The gender adviser follows two lines of reporting: one to the Humanitarian Coordinator; and one to NRC. As the nature of deployments may vary, additional reporting lines - for example reporting through the deploying agency to the HC - will have to be decided on by the UNCT in consultation with the GenCap steering committee on a case-by-case basis. The gender adviser will also send regular progress reports to an independent consulting firm in charge of monitoring the GenCap project. The HC and relevant cluster leads will sign off on the reports.

What is the responsibility of the requesting agency?
The requesting agency is responsible for providing the adviser with an office space, computer, vehicle and interpreter (if necessary); and for covering internal travel. The HC’s office is responsible for the gender adviser’s safety and security. NRC covers the gender advisers’ salary, insurance and travel to and from the place of deployment.

What is the role of the GenCap Steering Committee?
The Steering Committee is made up of a core group of UN agencies and NGOs and oversees the operations of the GenCap. The Steering Committee considers and approves requests for deployments and has the final responsibility for monitoring and evaluation of the project.