UN WOMEN Jobs - 50072- International Consultancy for Content Development

International Consultancy for Content Development of an Online Self-Paced Course on CEDAW for UN Staff

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Home-based

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

15-Oct-2014

Application Deadline :

30-Sep-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

3 months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

3 months

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

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.

The UN Women Training Centre (TC) in Santo Domingo is envisioned to become the UN leading centre in training for gender equality. The TC offers training for gender equality and women’s empowerment to UN Women staff, UN agencies, as well as to government, civil society and partners. The gender capacity-development programmes range from basic and introductory levels to specialized and advanced levels, aimed at diverse audiences with different backgrounds. In terms of capacity-development strategies and techniques, the TC makes maximum use of on-line training techniques, paying special attention to e-learning courses and an active learning approach.

The Training Centre also promotes articulation and knowledge exchange among gender training specialists and other relevant groups and the development of tools and materials in the area of training for gender equality. Additionally it supports the documentation of existing good practices and innovative processes, as well as discussion and analysis of training methodologies and approaches aiming to contribute to ongoing capacity development as a concrete means for achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment.

One of the outcomes of the training needs assessment survey carried out by the TC in 2012 is that a course on CEDAW (i.e., how to review legislation from a CEDAW perspective) was identified as priority number 1 for UNCT/UN System by UN Women programme staff. Additionally, the need for specific training on “how to deliver support from UN country offices during the CEDAW reporting cycle” has been repeatedly requested to the UN Women Human Rights Unit over the past few years.

These identified needs, correspond to the orientations given by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the strengthening of the human rights bodies in its report presented by the Secretary-General in the Sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly in 20121. In this report, the High Commissioner mentions as one of its proposals: “Establishing a structured and sustained approach to capacity building for States parties for their reporting duties” (p11).

More specifically, the High Commissioner highlights in sections: 4.2.7 “Further institutionalization of engagement with other United Nations partners” and 4.5.3 “Capacity-building activities relating to reporting” of its report, the need to strengthen States parties’ capacities and to create better collaboration between the Office of the High Commissioner and United Nations agencies.

In this regard, considering that the UN System requires both generic and specific practical programmatic information and guidance to give support through the full cycle of CEDAW reporting process, the UN Women Training Centre will develop a course whose added value will lie in the fact that it will respond to concrete staff needs and will be based on lessons learned and good practices in all regions.

Existing information, experiences, studies, resources, workshops, audiovisual materials, training manual related to CEDAW, as well as the institutions working on these issues; have already been mapped and be shared with the consultant along with a concept note and other documents developed by the peer review group that may be useful. The peer review group is responsible for the quality assurance process in the development of the CEDAW course, by ensuring that its content and methodological approach: 1) is up to date with current trends and developments; 2) is in line with UN Women´s mandate and objectives; 3) responds to the objectives of the Training Centre and the HQ Human Rights Unit; and 4) responds to the needs of the audience. The functions of the peer review group are to: 1) share information with the consultant to enrich the deliverables; 2) participate in peer reviews, discussions and readings; and 3) review the deliverables produced by the consultant and provide feedback.

The course must respond to the concrete needs of UN Staff, mostly at the national level, and be linked to the latest UN policies related to CEDAW and gender mainstreaming. The participation and endorsement of key actors and experts must be ensured throughout the entire development process (concept note, content draft, peer reviews, pilot testing) to guarantee successful dissemination, implementation and impact of the course in UN System.

Thus, the objectives and contents of the course should be discussed and defined with key partners. This course should be sensitive to the variety of contexts, cultures, etc. existing worldwide. Therefore, it needs to include globally relevant examples, cases, and good practices as well as tips on how to adapt them to specific realities.

Duties and Responsibilities

The objective of this consultancy is to develop the content of an on-line self-paced course on CEDAW for UN programme staff, using the Training Centre participatory methodology and quality assurance road map.

Under the supervision of the Training Associate, the consultant will be responsible for the development and delivery of the following outputs:

Output 1 - Detailed Outline of the course resulting from the following activities: Based on previous documents and comments of the peer review group, prepare agenda and talking points for an online meeting with peer reviewers; Participate in the online meeting; Develop a draft outline (Objectives, added value of the course, audience, characteristics, content, format, implementation, etc.) to be validated by the group;
Output2 - First draft of the course content. The course will contain, as a minimum, the following contents: (a) Prologue (background of this course, UN Women’s work in alignment with international instruments, etc.); (b) Introduction (presentation of the course, overall objectives of the course and of each module); (c) Contents organized in modules (based on the agreed detailed outline); (d) Glossary; and (e) Annexes (relevant materials and hand-outs for the participants, case studies from different regions, additional suggested readings, reference list, and bibliography and webography;
Output 3 - Final version of the course content resulting from the following activities: Synthetize comments of peer reviewers on the first draft; Prepare agenda and talking points for an online meeting with peer reviewers; Participate in an online meeting with peer reviewers; Integrate changes in the new version to achieve satisfactory validation.

Timeline for expected deliverables:

Detailed Outline of the course: 3 weeks after the beginning of the contract;
First draft of the course: 7 weeks after the beginning of the contract;
Final version of the course: 12 weeks after the beginning of the contract.

Competencies

Core Values and Guiding Principles

Integrity:

Demonstrate the values of United Nations and UN Women, act without consideration of personal gain, resist undue political pressure in decision-making, no abuse of power or authority, stand by decisions in the organization’s interest, and take action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behavior.

Professionalism:

Show pride in work and achievements;
Demonstrate professional competence and mastery of subject matter, conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments and achieving results;
Motivated by professional rather than personal concerns;
Show persistence when faced with challenges; and
Remain calm in stressful situations.

Respect for Diversity:

Work effectively with people from all backgrounds;
Treat all people with dignity and respect;
Treat men and women equally;
Show respect for and understand diverse opinions by examining own biases and behaviours to avoid stereotypical responses; and
Do not discriminate against any individual or group.

Core Competencies

Ethics and Values:

Promoting Ethics and Integrity / Creating Organizational Precedents.

Organizational Awareness:

Building support and political acumen.

Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring:

Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation.

Working in Teams:

Building and promoting effective teams;
Able to work virtually using communication technologies;
Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback.

Communicating Information and Ideas:

Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication;
Strong interpersonal skills;
Able to write in clear and concise manner and to communicate effectively orally.

Self-management and Emotional intelligence:

Creating an emotionally intelligent organization.

Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning:

Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master degree, preferably in Social Sciences, Development Economics, Public Policy, Development Studies, or similar areas.

Work Experience:

Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in the field of human rights, women rights and CEDAW;
Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience with the UN;
Work experience in knowledge management and capacity development projects;
Work experience in coordinating participatory processes;
Experience working with civil society, NGOs and other development and cooperation organizations at national level;
Proven skills in desktop computer software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and Power Point.

Languages:

Excellent command of written and spoken English;
Working knowledge of French and/or Spanish is an asset.