Jobs - 31329- UN Women: International Gender Consultant on Women

UN WOMEN: INTERNATIONAL GENDER CONSULTANT ON WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
Location :	home based with travel to Albania
Application Deadline :	20-Jul-12
Type of Contract :	Individual Contract
Post Level :	International Consultant
Languages Required :	English
Starting Date : (date when the selected candidate is expected to start)	23-Jul-2012
Duration of Initial Contract :	July 23 - October 31, 2012
Expected Duration of Assignment :	30 working days in the given period (July 23 - October 31, 2012)
Background
For the Government of Albania, promoting women’s economic empowerment is of utmost importance. In Albania, compared to men, women still show lower levels of economic participation, higher unemployment rates as well as lower access to entrepreneurship and training opportunities. Women in rural areas and in the informal sector show low attainments levels in all aspects despite the crucial role they play in the economy and poverty reduction. The centrality of women’s economic empowerment is similarly stressed in the National Strategy for Gender Equality and Reduction of Gender Based Violence and Domestic Violence (2011-2015) in which it is clearly stated that the economic empowerment of women plays an important role in achieving “de facto” gender equality and addressing gender based violence. So far, few attempts were made to promote women’s economic empowerment. These efforts are still limited to pilot projects with yet limited sustained impact on macro and sectoral economic policies and programmes. As for the UN system, its support to the Government of Albania has focused mostly on improving the legal framework, with a particular focus on the Labour Code and property rights. As stated in the programme of Cooperation signed between the Government of Albania and the UN system, for the period 2012-2016 particular attention will be devoted to women’s economic empowerment. To guide UN concrete support to the Government of Albania in advancing women’s economic empowerment, UN Women and UNDP will develop a detailed programme on Albanian women’s economic empowerment. For that purpose, UN Women requires the support of an International Consultant who will also serve as a team leader who, in collaboration with National Consultants and on the basis of a country analysis of the challenges faced by women and current practices and projects, will provide recommendation of best practices that could be adopted to better support national efforts geared towards promoting women’s economic empowerment in Albania. The analysis and recommendations will build upon the efforts made by the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (MOSLAEO), NGOs and other relevant stakeholders that are currently promoting women’s economic empowerment in Albania.
Duties and Responsibilities
The overall objective of the assignment is to provide assistance to design a comprehensive Plan on Women’s Economic Empowerment to be jointly developed and implemented with UN agencies and national partners in Albania. Therefore the consultancy will aim to point out the most appropriate UN support to national efforts designed for economic empowerment of Albanian women. In developing this Plan, the International Consultant will be guided by the National Strategy on Gender Equality and Gender-Based Violence and the 2012-2016 Government of Albania -UN Programme of Cooperation; will closely examine pilot initiatives ongoing or concluded in different regions of the country; will assess Albanian’s women economic status as compared to men; will integrate the country’s economic development potentials; and make use of proven international best practices of interventions that have produced positive results in transforming women’s access to economic opportunities and assets. The International Consultant is expected to work closely with UN Women Country Programme Manager, with the National Consultants, to be hired by UNDP as part of the team and with UNDP representatives as well as cooperate and consult with team members of the UNCT and UN Gender Theme Group in Albania. Expected Outputs The International Consultant, in collaboration with the National Consultants will deliver the concrete outputs as follows: Detailed work plan for the consultancy; Updated situation analysis with main areas of concern; Mapping of current interventions and opportunities; Detailed Plan for Women’s Economic Empowerment in Albania, comprising specific recommendations from international and regional best practices that could be adopted/piloted with UN support in Albania to respond to these challenges and opportunities. Specific tasks Undertake a situation analysis of the challenges faced by women to get access to economic opportunities and assets; Conduct an assessment of current policies, programmes and projects for women’s economic empowerment implemented by national economic institutions, local governments and civil society organizations, with particular focus on lessons learned and impact of these interventions, together with potentials for replication; Develop a national plan for women’s economic empowerment based on national and international best practices. The National Consultant will support in the following tasks: Prepare the desk review study to support the situation analysis Collect information from different ongoing initiatives and interventions Identify potential local partners and entry points Accountability and Reporting System The International Consultant is expected to work closely with UN Women Country Representative, with the National Consultants, to be hired by UNDP as part of the team and with UNDP representatives as well as cooperate and consult with team members of the UNCT and UN Gender Theme Group in Albania.
Competencies
Core values: Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modeling UN values and ethical standards; Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability; Core Competencies: Demonstrated analytical skills on issues related to gender, women’s economic empowerment, women’s entrepreneurship, rural development, employment and vocational/professional training; Ability to work with a multi-disciplinary team and in a multi-cultural environment; Excellent communication, presentation and writing skills in English. Knowledge of any other official UN language would be an asset. Additional Competencies: Diverse organizational work experience is an asset; Demonstrated ability to work in an independent manner; Strong teamwork and leadership skills; Awareness of both gender equality and economic challenges of countries transitioning from centralised to market economy; Ability to organize work efficiently and deal with multiple tasks; Familiarity with the UN system, in particular with UN Women and its mandate; Experience in UN interagency cooperation, particularly on Gender and Economic Policy Processes is an asset.
Required Skills and Experience
Academic Qualifications: Post-graduate degree in gender & development, rural development, economics or relevant fields. Years of experience: At least 10 years professional experience in development, economics or relevant fields including proven experience in the field of women’s economic empowerment, preferably in the EU or the Balkans Other requirements: Previous experience in developing programmatic documents for governments, international organisations or civil society organisations on women’s economic empowerment, preferably in the EU and the Balkans Previous experience in implementing successful pilots or programmes on economic empowerment of women is considered a plus Sound and practical experience in strategic planning and operational planning Proven research and analytical skills Proven ability to work within limited time constraints in the preparation of high quality documents Evaluation of applicants: Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: Responsive to and compliant with the ToR; and Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation. Criteria: Technical Evaluation (70%) - Total points 70 Relevant education - 10 points Experience in strategic and operational planning - 20 points Experience in legal frameworks and policy formulation - 20 points Experience in developing programmes/projects, capacity development, coaching and mentoring on women economic empowerment – 20 Financial Evaluation (30%) - Total points 30 TOTAL - 100 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) Where: p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated μ = price of the lowest priced proposal z = price of the proposal being evaluated Application Procedure: Qualified and interested candidates are requested to submit their application online no later than 30 June, 2012. The application should contain: Proposal explaining why they are the most suitable for the work (to be pasted under Resume and Motivation section of the online application). Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references including contacts. CV should be submitted in the P11 format downloadable at http://www.unwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/P_11_form_UNwomen.doc Financial Proposal* - lump sum (please fill in the applicable section of the online application. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in instalments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days). Please note that failure to submit P.11 form will result in automatic exclusion of the application from selection process. UN Women applies fair and transparent selection process that would take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals. Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive* and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...). Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UN Women on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.