Background

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. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women plays an innovative and catalytic role in the State of Palestine since its inception in 1997 (as UNFEM). UN Women Palestine Office focuses its activities on one overarching goal, namely, to support the implementation at the national level of existing international commitments to advance gender equality in line with the national priorities. In support of this goal, and thoroughly taking into consideration the specificities of the Palestinian context, UN Women concentrates its efforts and interventions toward the realization of following strategic goals:  Mainstreaming gender in governance, peace and security; Supporting women's economic security and rights; and Promoting women’s rights and protection against violence.

In line with the Palestinian Government’s commitment to  achieve gender equality and to fight Violence Against Women (VAW), and in full partnership with the Justice, Security and Social  Sectors, including the Public Prosecution (PP), the Palestinian Civil Police (PCP), the High Judicial Council (HJC) the Supreme Judge Department (SJD), and Ministry of Social Development UN Women, within its joint programme with UNDP and UNICEF- “Promoting the Rule of Law in Palestine- SAWASYA II” is supporting the Justice, Security  and Social institutes to mainstream gender into  their procedures and policies, and develop and provide  gender responsive services to women victims and survivors of violence, through providing institutional capacity building and policy level interventions amongst others.

UN Women supported the Attorney General Office (AGO) in establishing the Specialized Prosecution on VAW, which included amongst others, the development of a Standards Operating Procedures (SoPs) on investigating and litigating violence against women cases, the development and roll out of  risks assessment tools. Further to that, UN Women has provided VAW Specialized Prosecutors (SPPs) with capacity building programmes to strengthen their capacity in providing gender responsive services to women victims and survivors of violence.  In support of mainstreaming gender responsive services within the work of the public prosecution, UN Women is planning to target Chief Prosecutors and Public Prosecutors with raising awareness and capacity building interventions on  VAW and the VAW SoPs that is used by  VAW SPPs. Based on this, UN Women is planning to recruit an expert in the field to conduct raising awareness and capacity building interventions (3 workshops) targeting Chief Prosecutors and Public Prosecutors.

Objective of the assignment:

The main objective of the assignment is to increase the awareness and strengthen the knowledge of Chief Prosecutors and Public Prosecutors on VAW and the VAW SoPs by developing and delivering three workshops on these topics. It is anticipated that these workshops will unify understanding and concepts around VAW at the public Prosecution services and increase capability of Chief Prosecutors in ensuring adherence of prosecutorial procedures in cases of VAW with VAW SoPs.  

Issues to be addressed in the workshops include the following:

• Different types of violence that victims and survivors usually face, the cycle of violence, perceptions and attitudes towards victims and perpetrators, particularly in sexual violence cases.  
•  The role of public prosecution in enhancing protection for women victims and survivors of violence, and ensuring accountability for perpetrators of crimes against them, with focus on Palestine’s commitment under international treaties in this regard.
• The content of the SoPs on investigating and litigating VAW cases with special focus on protection mechanisms, risks assessment tools, and case conferences.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Special Representative in the State of Palestine, the direct supervision of SAWASYA UN Women Programme Specialist, and working in close cooperation and coordination with UN Women Programme Analyst on Gender Responsive Prosecution, the selected consultant will undertake the following tasks, duties, and responsibilities:

1. Inception phase:

Develop an inception report that includes a detailed description of the work plan, and methodology, and share it with UN Women for review and approval, following the below tasks:

• Meet with UN Women’s technical team, and AGO focal points on VAW to discuss the assignment’s objectives, methods and tools that will be used, and the main deliverables.

• Develop a methodology and a detailed work plan and share with UN Women for feedback. The workplan should include the main objectives of the assignment, deliverables, time frame and initial outline of the workshops.

2. Implementation phase:

Develop and deliver the workshops:

• To meet with UN Women’s technical team and AGO focal points on VAW to identify the needs and the priorities.
• Based on the discussion with UN Women and AGO focal points on VAW, and related analysis,  to prepare  3 workshops programmes ( 3 days each), and the pre and post assessments and share with UN Women for review and inputs.
• To conduct the following set of workshops:

Conduct 3 days workshop targeting Public Prosecutors

Conduct 3 days workshop targeting the first group of Chief Prosecutors

Conduct 3 days workshop targeting the second group of Chief Prosecutors.

3. Final report:

To submit a final narrative report that includes a description of the assignment, the achievements, used methodology, main findings, including pre and post assessment,  lessons learned and recommendations for future interventions.  Pre and post assessment templates, the developed material and list of participants should be annexed. 

Deliverables: 

Deliverable 1: An approved inception report that includes the work plan, the methodological framework, and the timeline for the deliverables, in English. (Expected delivery date:  two weeks after the signing of the contract)

Deliverable 2: A final approved report on the delivery of all workshops that includes description of the assignment, methodology used, target groups, lessons learned, recommendations for future interventions. (Expected delivery date:  8 weeks after the signing of the contract)

Competencies

Core Values

• Respect for Diversity;
• Integrity;
• Professionalism.

Core Competencies

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender,
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:  https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to conduct needs  assessment through consultation with stakeholders;
• Very strong background on gender;
• Ability to manage time and meet tight deadlines;
• Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
• Proven networking, organizational and communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• A BA degree in law, criminology or other related fields. Master’s degree is considered an asset.  

Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience in the area of violence against women
• At least 5 previous assignments related to training / capacity building on VAW or women access to justice. Experience with the justice or security sectors is an asset.
• At least 2 previous experiences in developing research, guidelines, or legal analysis on the topic.
• Previous experience with UN or international organizations is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Professional knowledge of English, and fluency in Arabic

Evaluation Criteria:

This SSA modality is governed by UN Women General Terms and Conditions. UN Women will only be able to respond to applicants who meet the minimum requirements.

Candidates should clearly indicate how they meet the above-mentioned criteria in their applications.

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials:

• UN Women P11 including experience in similar assignments; the P11 form can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted;

Note: Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Please upload as one attachment of the documents as mentioned above online through this website.

Candidates should have the ability to quickly submit degree certificates, medical certification (of good health) expression of Interest (EoI).

Evaluation of applicants

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications mentioned above, and financial proposal. A contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer receives the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 50/70 points in the technical evaluation will be considered for financial evaluation. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 35/55 in desk review will be invited for technical Interview.

Technical Evaluation (70%) – max. 70 points:

• A BA degree in law, criminology or other related fields. Master’s degree is considered an asset (Max 10 points).
• At least 5 years of experience in designing and delivering training on violence against women (Max 15 points).
• At least 2 previous assignments related to VAW or women access to justice, including developing research or guidelines, or legal analysis on the topic (Max 15 Points).
• At least 2 previous experiences in delivering training to the justice or security sectors on GBV or women access to justice (Max 10 points).
• Previous experience with UN or international organizations is an asset (Max 5 points).
• Technical Interview (Max. 15 points)

Financial Evaluation (30%) – max. 30 points.

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion. A suggested formula is as follows:

p = 30 (µ/z)

Using the following values:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Only long-listed candidates will be contacted.

Financial proposal. Shortlisted candidate will be requested to submit a financial proposal. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount breaking down a daily professional fee, proposed number of working days and any related expenses, i.e. travel and communications expenses.