Jobs - 31805- UN Women: International Expert to lead the Gender

UN Women: International Expert to lead the Gender budget analysis of National Programme Rural Development (NPRD) and beneficiary assessment of subsidy schemes (2009-2011)

Location :

Home-based (with travel to FYR Macedonia)

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

10-Oct-2012

Application Deadline :

21-Sep-12 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

10 September – 30 November, 2012

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

22 working days in the given period (10 September – 30 November, 2012)

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. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Over the past years, UN Women has provided support to national and local stakeholders in strengthening democratic governance and advancing women’s rights through initiatives aimed at mainstreaming gender in policy planning and budgeting. Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) has been identified as important tool for advancing gender equality in key national policy documents on social inclusion and gender equality in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYRoM).

In FYR Macedonia, the Law on Equal opportunities between women and men (2012), Article 11 (3) obliges state authorities in the framework of their strategic plans and budgets to incorporate the principle of equal opportunities of women and men; to follow the effects and impact of their programs on women and men and report in the framework of their annual reports. The Government Strategy for incorporation of GRB 2012-2017 on the other hand obliges line Ministries to select programs for gender budget analysis and produce recommendations and indicators to improve their gender responsiveness.

Under the Regional Project “Promoting Gender Responsive Polices in South-East Europe” financed by the Austrian Development Agency and UN Women, UN Women has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management (MAFWM) in FYR Macedonia to support the Ministry in meeting these legal and policy obligations. The MoU respectively sets up the framework for cooperation and support to the application of GRB tools in the work of the MAFWM. It foresees technical support: 1) to build capacities of civil servants involved in strategic planning and budgeting to integrate gender into policy design and budgetary process, including EU supported programmes/funds (IPARD); and 2) to assess the impact of the affirmative actions aimed at empowering young farmers and women through the agriculture/rural development subsidy schemes and the NPRD. The asessement of those iniatitives shall serve as base to enhance the understanding of gender perspectives of rural development programmes among relevant stakeholders and rural women.

To this effect, UN Women would recruit: 1) an International Expert to develop the methodology and lead the development of gender budget analysis of the NPRD and beneficiary assessment of the subsidy schemes (2009-2011) and 2) local civil society or think-thank organisation to carry out the field research and collection of data as per the methodology developed by the International Expert; and support the International Expert in the development of the gender budget analysis and beneficiary assessment of the respective programs.

With this call, UN Women is seeking to recruit the International Expert that will lead the development of Gender budget analysis of the National Programme Rural Development and beneficiary assessment of the subsidy schemes (2009-2011) with the support of a local civil society or think-thank organisation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Tasks and Responsibilities:

Working under the supervision of the GRB Regional Project Manager and the UN Women National Project Coordinator on GRB in FYR Macedonia, the International Expert, will be responsible for the following:

Develop methodology for GRB analysis of the NPRD and beneficiary assessment of subsidy schemes (2009-2011) in consultation with the MAFWM and UN Women;
Provide instructions to and monitor the local of civil society or think-thank organisation in the collection of data;
Based on the data provided by the civil society or think-thank organisation, lead the preparation of draft and final version of analysis/assessment (incorporating feedback received from MAFWM, UN Women and relevant experts);
Using the findings, in consultation with the local civil society or think-thank organisation develop recommendations on how to increase the gender responsiveness of NPRD and subsidy schemes;
Present the findings of the analysis to high-level officials of the MAFWM and at a roundtable organised by MAFWM and UN Women on the occassion of International Day of Rural Women.

Deliverables:

The International Expert shall provide the following deliverables:

Detailed methodology for GRB analysis of the NPRD and beneficiary assessment of the subsidy schemes (2009-2011);
Production of a draft and final version of the GRB analysis of the NPRD and beneficiary assessment of subsidy schemes (2009-2011);
Recommendations on how to increase the gender responsiveness of NPRD and subsidy schemes;
Presentation of findings of analysis to high-level officials of the MAFWM and beneficiary assessment at the roundtable on the occassion of International Day of Rural Women;
Final report on the assignment (with focus on lessons learnt and possible future steps).

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.
Display cultural, gender, nationality, religion and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Core competencies:

Strong expertise in the application of gender responsive budgeting methodologies and gender mainstreaming in the area of agriculture and rural development.
excellent communication and writting skills,
experience in designing research methodologies;
experience in carrying out GRB analysis and beneficiary assessments; and
experience in delivering trainings for civil servants.

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications Education:

Advanced degree in economics, international law, development studies, and/or gender studies and/or international relations, or similar. Masters or PhD would be an advantage.

Experience:

A minimum of 7 years of relevant professional experience;
Recognised expertise and experience in GRB, gender mainsteaming, public policy, rural development or similar fields;
Experience in producing substantive gender analysis and assessments of public policies and programs for Governments and/or International organisations;
Knowledge on CSEE region, local government policies, status of women and gender equality would be an asset;
Demonstrated ability to lead a research team;
Strong analytical, writing and communication skills in English;
Good computer skills in Windows environment, knowledge of internet communications and command of MS Office applications (Power Point, Word, Excel).

Evaluation of Applicants:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

responsive/compliant/acceptable
having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical criteria – 70% of total evaluation – max 35 points:

Criteria A – Relevant education max points: 10
Criteria B – Recognized expertise and experience in GRB, gender mainsteaming, public policy, rural development or similar fields; max points: 10
Criteria C - Experience in producing substantive gender analysis and assessments of public policies and programs for Governments and/or International organisations max points: 10
Criteria E – Knowledge on CSEE region, local government policies, status of women and gender equality max points: 5

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 15points

Remuneration:

UN Women will provide a lump sum to cover costs of travel and accommodation to FYR Macedonia, which will be released upon start of assignment. The remaining payment will be made upon satisfactory completion of all tasks in the assignment, and submission and approval by UN Women of final report.

Application procedure:

The application should contain:

Short Letter of interest, including financial proposal, indicating a total lump sum for the delivery of outputs as per above description. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (consultancy fee per number of anticipated working days, travel and any other possible costs).
Completed UN Women Personal History (P11) form, that can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment/

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.