UNDP Jobs - 54807- International Consultant: Study on the Impact of

International Consultant: Study on the Impact of Women’s Parliamentary and Sub-National Governance Structures on Gender Equality Outcomes in Europe and CIS

Location :

Istanbul, no travel required, TURKEY

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

28-Mar-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Estimated April-June 2015

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Approximately 30 working days

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

Gender equality and women’s empowerment are key to sustainable human development. Building resilient, representative, responsive and democratic institutions based on gender equality and respect for human rights are central to UNDP’s mandate to promote gender-responsive democratic governance.

The transition and institutional reforms in post-Soviet states and former socialist republics in Central and Eastern Europe did not result in gender parity in parliamentary representation. But women have seen their status in decision-making improve over the last decade (e.g., the proportion of seats held by women in single and lower houses and national parliaments in Caucasus and Central Asia countries has risen to 19 per cent from seven per cent in 2000) (1). Legislative and policy reforms have made institutions more inclusive, and more women now participate in decision-making processes as parliamentarians and members of political parties. However, their growing numbers have not necessarily resulted in effective integration of a gender perspective in policy formulation. While gender parity is an important objective, achieving gender equality outcomes in public policy requires more than just a higher number of women in visible and responsible positions. It calls for greater capacity and commitment of women and men in parliaments and decision-making structures to enact and implement policies that promote gender equality.

Recent research suggests that collaborative efforts of women in different political structures in parliaments are overwhelmingly geared towards lobbying for policy and legislation from a gender perspective and advocating for gender equality. There is a need to better understand the work of such collaborative initiatives and structures of women parliamentarians and decision-makers at sub-national levels: the way they are organized and the strategies they use to lobby for political consensus on gender equality.

The UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub (http://europeandcis.undp.org/) supports UNDP Country Offices in Europe and Central Asia in their initiatives to reduce gender inequalities, promote women’s empowerment, and foster transparent and inclusive democratic institutions. The regional hub offers Country Offices technical assistance and policy advice to help them strengthen national capacities, institutions and systems for gender-responsive governance. A key objective of the UNDP regional programme, “Supporting voice for citizens, development, rule of law and accountability in governance systems in ECIS”, is promoting women’s participation at all levels of decision-making. Towards this end, UNDP in the region supports advocacy, policy and legal reforms to accelerate the equal participation of women, including young women and women from marginalized groups, in national institutions and decision-making processes across all branches of the state.

The Istanbul Regional Hub will hire an expert to help formulate a strategy to strengthen UNDP efforts to foster women’s political participation and gender equality outcomes in decision-making.

(1) - Source: Millennium Development Goals Report 2014. http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2014%20MDG%20report/MDG%202014%20English%20web.pdf

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will work under the supervision of the Regional Gender Advisor and the Cluster Leader for Governance and Peacebuilding.

The consultant is expected to formulate a strategy to strengthen UNDP efforts to foster women’s political participation and gender equality outcomes in decision-making. The consultant will be expected to draft a strategic paper that will 1) review existing research on women’s parliamentary and sub-national structures and assess the extent to which they have promoted gender equality outcomes and in what areas, through legislative and policy changes in the Europe and CIS region; 2) highlight challenges faced and identify mechanisms and infrastructure needed to allow all parliamentarians and sub-national decision-makers – men and women – to work on gender equality issues and outcomes (with illustrative examples from other regions); and 3) organize a workshop to validate the findings of the study and present UNDP with concrete policy and programming recommendations and strategic actions to strengthen such bodies in gender-sensitive policy-making.

The assignment will begin in April 2015 and is expected to be completed over a period of four months of the contract being agreed. It is estimated that the assignment will take a maximum of 30 working days.

In addition to desk reviews, the consultant will be required to conduct:

In-depth interviews (via Skype, phone) with representatives of women’s caucuses, parliamentary committees and sub-national structures from at least four countries in the region to identify enabling actions/interventions that will help them to promote legislative and policy changes for gender equality;
In-depth interviews with the managers/coordinators of the UNDP programmes supporting women and gender equality in decision-making in such bodies.

The consultant will keep the supervisors informed on a regular basis of the progress made on the strategic paper. The deliverables will be developed in the order described below with proper coordination for input and feedback and approval on completion of each of them.

Key deliverables:

A written report presenting:

An overview of relevant research on the extent to which existing parliamentary and sub-national structures have enabled gender equality outcomes (in specific areas) in the region and current UN(DP) programming initiatives supporting them;
Mechanisms, infrastructure and strategies that would allow all parliamentarians and sub-national decision-makers – men and women – to address gender equality issues and outcomes (including examples from other regions);
Concrete policy and programming recommendations/strategic actions for UNDP in light of its comparative advantages aimed at strengthening the capacities of such bodies in gender-sensitive policy-making and promoting women’s rights in the political agenda.

Organization of a workshop involving country participants, external partners and other experts to validate the draft report;

Completed report of a maximum of 25 pages (excluding annexes), with recommendations finalized on the basis of feedback received and the results of the workshop.

Competencies

Strong interpersonal and communications skills;
Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities;
Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines;
Strong results orientation, strategic thinking, flexibility and responsiveness with a client-oriented approach;
Excellent analytical and writing skills in English.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in a relevant field; e.g., development studies, gender studies, sociology, public administration, public policy and management, international affairs, political science, law or other related discipline is a requirement.

Experience:

At least eight years of proven experience in areas related to governance and gender equality in international development; experience with UNDP an asset;
Proven experience in designing programming guides;
Proven ability to conduct research and in-depth interviews and produce clear reports with recommendations;
Familiarity with good practice in women’s participation in decision-making, including in the countries of the Europe and CIS region, and knowledge of the terminology, definitions and procedures (European/international standards).

Language skills:

Excellent writing and communications skills in English.

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, and
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (P11 desk reviews and interviews) and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only highest ranked candidates who are found qualified for the job based on the P11 desk review will be invited for an interview.

Evaluation criteria:

Technical Criteria – 70% of total evaluation (max. 35 points)

Criteria A - Educational and related background including experience with UNDP (max. 10 points);
Criteria B - Proven experience in designing programming guides (max. 10 points);
Criteria C - Proven ability to conduct research and in-depth interviews and produce clear reports with recommendations (max. 5 points);
Criteria D – Interviews - Familiarity with good practice in women’s participation in decision-making, including in the countries of the Europe and CIS region (max. 10 points).

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

Application procedures:
Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:

Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application;
Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc ); please upload the P11 instead of your CV;
Brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work;
Financial Proposal* - specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this announcement. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (number of anticipated working days, travel, per diems and any other possible costs);
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor 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 upon confirmation by UNDP of satisfactory delivery of the contract obligations.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org.

General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.