UN WOMEN Jobs - 58852- Consultant for the Prepation of Two Policy Papers

Consultant for the Prepation of Two Policy Papers On Trade Unions and Professional Associations

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Amman, JORDAN

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

15-Aug-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

Arabic English

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. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

The uprisings sweeping the Arab States region after December 2010 have dramatically challenged the socio-political and economic frameworks of the region. The central role that women took within the uprisings has created new momentum for meaningful citizenship and political empowerment in a region with the lowest levels of political and labour force participation among women globally. In support of this, the European Union provided support to UN Women under a regional programme, Spring Forward for women. The programme supports a greater ability of civil society actors and political actors to encourage and increase women’s participation in the political and economic spheres, as well as governments’ capacity to put the systems and resources in place to serve women’s needs and priorities and ensure that their rights are realised.

Within the context of this programme, and specifically under the political participation and leadership component, the UN Women Jordan Country Office is hiring a consultant to produce two policy papers; 1) on the status of Jordanian women in professional associations; 2) on the status of Jordanian women in trade unions. Increasing women’s participation in these areas contributes not only to their empowerment but also to the development of Jordanian citizenship. The policy papers should illustrate the current situation in the trade unions and associations regarding women’s participation and gender equality goals, and propose recommendations on a) how to increase women’s membership, b) how to enable women to reach decision-making levels, and c) how to further support gender mainstreaming in these bodies. The policy papers should shed light on any feasible mechanisms that can help in bridging the gaps and challenges that hinder women to participate in the public sphere.

In this context, the two papers will serve as important tools in informing programming on how to empower women politically in order to assure their active engagement in political space, which associates directly with increasing the capacity of governing bodies, political parties and CSOs to promote women’s participation in electoral processes, both as candidates and as voters, particularly tackling measures to address factors preventing women from participating in politics.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance and supervision of the Recovery Specialist, the consultant will achieve the following:

Prepare two policy papers on the following; a) the status of Jordanian women in professional associations in Jordan, b) the status of Jordanian women in trade unions in Jordan. The papers should cover the following:

Assess the actual situation of women’s representation in those associations/unions. This should include data on the number of women in these associations and the positions they hold. It should also include in depth interviews with men and women in each body (at least 15 interviews per organization) to undertake a qualitative assessment of the situation of women’s representation in these organisations;
Gauge the most prominent challenges that impede women to reach to the decision-making levels;
Propose concrete recommendations that can boost women’s representations in those public spheres – prioritized in terms of immediate needs.

The policy papers should be provided in English and Arabic and should be no longer than 30 pages in length. Annexes can be attached.

Two associations will be reviewed as case studies for the paper on women’s engagement in associations in Jordan. These will be chosen in discussion with UN Women.

This process should be done through a desk review of existing publicly available literature, interviews with key staff in all organizations targeted and a review of policy documents from each body. The review should also compile good practices from other countries in gender mainstreaming through these organisations, which can be translated into recommendations.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards.
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals.
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

Proven excellent skills in analytical approaches and research;'
Demonstrate excellent oral and written communication skills in both English and Arabic;
Consistent ethical approach and Do-No-Harm conduct;
Demonstrate strong conflict resolution skills;
Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Demonstrated ability to work in an independent manner;
Ability to organize work efficiently;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills;
Ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure;
Knowledge of gender dimensions in humanitarian action is an asset.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Bachelor of Arts in Women studies, international relation, political science, international development, or a related social science subjects.

Experience:

3 years relevant experience in research and in Jordan;
Proven experience in statistical analysis and research within social science context;
Proven experience in writing reports.

Language:

Fluency in both spoken and written English and Arabic languages is required.

Payment:

The consultant will be remunerated a lump-sum divided in to two installments. The consultant will receive the first payment upon delivering the workplan plan for drafting the papers and an annotated outline/contents page for each paper (30%). The second payment will be received upon the completion and approval by UN Women of the final two papers (70%).