UN WOMEN Jobs - 50610- Consultant to Devise Marketing Strategies and Busi

Consultant to Devise Marketing Strategies and Business Plans for Income Generating Projects in Northern Iraq

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Erbil, Kurdistan, IRAQ

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

20-Oct-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

3 months

Languages Required :

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

As the nature of the conflict in Iraq is becoming more apparent and its impact on local communities more severe, there is an increasing recognition among all partners that the humanitarian and development challenges arising from the crisis need accelerated action and enhanced capacity in order to be addressed. In this respect, UN Women is contributing to the UN Country team and Humanitarian Country team processes to support the UN humanitarian response to the crisis of the Iraqi displaced population and its impact on Iraqi host communities both in Iraqi Kurdistan and elsewhere in Iraq. Part of UNWomen’s response has been to set up income generating projects amongst displaced, refugee and host communities. In the short term the market for the product of these projects has been humanitarian agencies but in the longer term a more sustainable approach is needed. UNWomen are therefore looking for a marketing or sales expert who can help identify local market opportunities and create business plans to help ensure the sustainability of ongoing projects. The consultant would also be expected to identify new options for future income generating activities.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant(s) is expected to produce and deliver the following outputs:

Review existing income generating projects for displaced and refugee women run by UN Women and other humanitarian actors and identify markets to ensure sustainability;
Develop business plans for existing UNWomen economic empowerment projects;
Identify at least 3 new market opportunities and develop business plans for their exploitation;
Deliver short training sessions for at least 5 groups of potential entrepreneurs amongst existing project beneficiaries on business planning;
Work with the Kurdish business women’s association and other civil society organisations to ensure complementarity in business skills and to identify potential sources of mentoring;
Produce a final report for UN Women with recommendations for sustainability of projects and future approaches.

Competencies

Core values and Guiding principles:

The consultant will be expected to demonstrate the following key competencies:

Integrity:

Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Professionalism:

Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity:

Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Development and Innovation:

Take charge of self-development and take initiative.

Work in teams:

Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Communicating and Information Sharing:

Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.

Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:

Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others.

Functional competencies:

Consistently approach work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrate good oral and written communication skills;
Programme development and writing skills;
Good communicating and presenting skills;
Computer literacy and ability to effectively use office technology equipment, IT tools.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

Formal education requirements are desirable but not necessary in the case of evidence of years of business experience;
A degree in business administration, accountancy, economics or other social science is desirable

Experience

At least 6 years of business experience, including hands on experience of setting up a business.
Knowledge of markets in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Experience of working with women entrepreneurs including with start ups would be an advantage.

Language:

Fluency in Kurdish. Ability to write in English. Oral fluency in Arabic would be an asset.
Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
Project management and project writing skills

Interested applicants should send a CV, cover letter explaining their proposed approach and including their rates.

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis:

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

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

Technical Criteria weight; 70%

Financial Criteria weight; 30%.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Criteria Weight Technical: 70%

Criteria: At least five years of relevant experience in women rights and legislation (Weight: 30%. Maximum obtainable Points: 30);
Criteria: Knowledge of gender issues and women rights in Egypt (Weight: 30%. Maximum obtainable Points: 30);
Criteria: Relevant education in social science, including gender, law, political science etc. (Weight 5%; maximum obtainable points 5);
Criteria: Excellent written and spoken English and Arabic. (Weight 5%; maximum obtainable points 5).

Financial: Lowest financial proposal: 30%.

Contract will be awarded to the technically qualified consultant who obtains the highest combines score (financial and technical). The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula:

(Lowest Bid Offered*)/(Bid of the Consultant) x 30
*"Lowest Bid Offered" refers to the lowest price offered by Offerors scoring at least 49 points in technical evaluation.

Applications

Documents to be included when submitting the proposal:

Interested Individual Consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

Proposal:
To be included as part of the proposal:

A cover letter with a brief presentation of your consultancy explaining your suitability for the work;
A brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work (limit to under 1500 words).
UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment; and
Personal CV.

Financial proposal:

Proposed daily fee.

The UNWOMEN is an equal employer. Women and men with special needs or disabilities are highly encouraged to apply.