Background

Women’s equal participation in political life plays a pivotal role in the general process of the advancement of women. Equal participation of women in decision making is not only a demand for simple justice or democracy but can also be seen as a necessary condition for women’s interests to be taken into account. Without the active participation of women and the incorporation of women’s perspectives at all levels of decision making, the goals of equality, development and peace cannot be achieved. Until gender parity is reached in governance, women cannot reach full equality with men in any sphere. The absence of women’s voices in shaping the most fundamental political instruments—the most critical of which is the national budget—has ensured the preservation of gender inequity even with regard to women’s health and security in their own homes.

In Montenegro, women are not underrepresented I politics and decision-making bodies. Despite the fact that more and more women are highly qualified and labor market participation of women is on the increase, women are still largely outnumbered by men in positions of responsibility in politics and business, particularly at the top level. According to the database of the Department of Gender Equality within the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, 39.5% of all employees are women, out of whom only 7.2% are performing managerial tasks.

Given the slow speed at which the number of women involved in Montenegrin politics is growing, there are increased calls for more efficient methods to reach a gender balance in political institutions. The introduction of electoral quota systems for women represents a qualitative jump into a policy of exact goals and means. Because of its relative efficiency, specifically in the countries of the Western Balkan Region, there is strong hope for a dramatic increase in women's representation by using this system.

The last general elections were held in Montenegro on 29th March 2009 and resulted in a very poor participation of women in Parliament despite the fact that Montenegro that year re-ratified CEDAW and reassured a number of International Organizations that there would be more women on the lists and more women in Parliament.

Gender Program IPA 2010, run by the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights-Department for Gender Equality , Delegation of European Union to Montenegro and UNDP, aims to improve the status of women as reflected in personal integrity, economic advancement and political representation. The specific objective of the project is to strengthen capacities, improve mechanisms, advance policies and improve the conditions for the implementation of the NAP for Gender Equality in following three areas:  Fight against Violence in Family, Political Empowerment of Women and Economic Empowerment of Women. This project will make the best use of the time up until the next general election in 2013 to address some of the aforementioned issues. The direct beneficiaries of the action will be individuals participating in the educational and lobbying processes while indirect beneficiaries will benefit from the catalytic effect of the work of political parties and sensitized politicians.

In area of Political Empowerment, the project has a three-fold approach: a) empowerment of women in politics and sensitization of male politicians; b) strengthening of political party structures by introducing gender-sensitive policies and programs and c) improving legislation by introducing gender-sensitive provisions in the Electoral Law, the Law on Political Parties and the Law on Financing of Political Parties. Each of these three components is accompanied by awareness raising and lobbying activities. Women/political candidates are directly targeted in order to ensure their full commitment to and support for this process. Political parties are the ones represented in Parliament and the most direct beneficiaries of this action, besides women candidates, will be party leaders. The intervention simultaneously requires an institutional approach, which will again be specifically addressed towards Parliamentary Committees (i.e. Gender Equality, Human Rights and European integration) and in the Government towards the relevant ministries. CSOs and NGOs are self-evident partners in this work, and are included in Advisory Teams, lobbying, training, assessments and other activities.

This demanding task will be conducted with advocacy activities of the women’s political network at the grassroots level and local political party level and furthermore with the support of international organizations and the Parliamentary Committee for Gender Equality at the national level. Party leaders have always been the most powerful and influential figures on the political scene, therefore special attention and an advocacy programme will be developed to gain their support. In this process both governing and opposition political party leaders have been targeted as partners to gain.

Making sure that advocacy work fully relies on the in-depth assessments and complex political and social analyses of the overall political and social system, the two studies have been conducted in the first Programme year: 1) a desk survey of best EU practices, that shows a politically popular and justifiable path for the empowerment of women, and 2) assessment of Montenegrin political parties’ platforms, architecture, programmes and statutes, as well as educational needs. Also the Programme decided to undertake assessment of gender sensitivity and responsiveness of political programs to needs of voters, which is expected to be completed by the end of June 2012. Those tree instruments will serve as a base for advocacy for effective and substantial way of reaching the target of 30% participation of women in politics before the next parliamentary elections.

As a part of the campaign, the Programme plans to help building internal capacities of political parties to understand significance of gender-balanced leadership and to benefit from gender-sensitive approach to politics. To fulfill this goal, the Programme will hire 4 experienced and certified trainers to design and conduct 5-days training for trainers for political parties

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the assignment:

  • To establish the group of trainers from different political parties that will be able to further organize trainings for members of their political parties;
  • To strengthen internal capacities of political parties to overcome gender stereotypes and to benefit from gender-balanced leadership and gender-sensitive approach in politics;
  • To strengthen political knowledge and skills of female members of political parties;
  • To strengthen presentation skills of female politicians and their ability to successfully participate in internal and external  debates.

Job content:

Under the direct supervision of Gender Program Manager, 4 trainers will perform the following duties:

Each trainer is expected to develop a training plan for two 5-days trainings for trainers for political parties, that include the following topics:

  • Gender and gender stereotypes;
  • Institutional, political and social aspects of work towards gender equality;
  • Political skills for female members of political parties - politics from the female point of view;
  • Building arguments and participating in debates;
  • Work in political party (through organization, during pre-election, election and post-election periods);
  • Public presentation skills;
  • Advocacy skills;
  • Networking.

Each trainer is expected to prepare and conduct 2,5 training days for political parties in Montenegro, which, together with 2,5 days for preparation and reporting (home-based), altogether makes 5 working days per trainer during the assignment period. Trainers will work in pairs. Topics to be covered and precise job division will be agreed upon finalization of the recruitment, in close cooperation with the Gender Programme manager;

Each trainer is expected to evaluate results of training and to prepare final report for Gender Programme. The report should contain specific recommendations for Gender Programme regarding further development of capacities of Montenegrin political parties.

Expected results/deliverables/reporting:

  • Developed plan for 5-days training that include all topics listed above. The plan should contain precise description of every working day, methods to be used, materials needed, etc.
  • Develop written guidance of the each thematic workshop with description and instructions for trainers included;
  • Conducted 2,5 training days per trainer;
  • Final report on training, containing recommendations regarding further development of training skills for the group of trainers. 

Time duration and travel:

The trainers will be engaged under short-term Individual Contract (IC) on part-time bases, for estimated time of 5 working days each, including one field trip to Montenegro, in duration of 2.5 days. The tentative date of the assignment will be during the month of May 2012. During the assignment, each trainer is expected to spend 2.5 days to do preparatory work from home, and additional 2.5 days to conduct training in Montenegro. Precise schedule of the training will be developed in agreement with the Programme Manager. The trainers are expected to cover their transport cost to and from homecountry to Montenegro, as well as local transport costs, while the full board and accommodation during the 2,5 days of training in Montenegro will be provided by the Gender Programme. 

Competencies

  • Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
  • Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UN/UNDP;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
  • Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
  • Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
  • Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
  • Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
  • Demonstrates ability to manage complexities and work under pressure, as well as conflict resolution skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • University degree.

Experience:

  • Minimum 5 years of relevant working experience in the field of Gender equality;
  • Certified trainer for trainers for political parties;
  • Excellent communication and presentation skills and ability to operate under pressure.

Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in English language (both written and spoken);
  • Fluency in Montenegrin/Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian language is a distinctive asset.

Application Process:

Interested applicants are requested to submit their applications to UNDP Office in Podgorica by e-mail to
consultancy.me@undp.org by Thursday, April 19, 2012.

The application should contain:

The short-listed candidates only would be requested to submit a letter of interest including a price quotation indicating the lump sum (in EUR) requested for the work and travel envisaged in the section "Duties and Responsibilities”.

UNDP is an equal opportunity employer

****** Procurement Note related to this vacancy announcement can be found on: http://www.undp.org.me/files/jobs/index.html (post reference: MNE-12-028)