UN WOMEN Jobs - 62644- UN Women - International Consultant and Lead Train

UN Women - International Consultant and Lead Trainer for Gender Mainstreaming in the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA)

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Home Based with a Mission in Tirana, ALBANIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

15-Jan-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Max 14 working days January 15th - March 18th 2016

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 inequalities are prominent in Albania and are present in all spheres of social participation, interpersonal relationships, and access to important services and resources. Despite positive developments, which include higher overall political representation of women during recent elections, as well as existing gender equality legislation, key policy debates and political discourses in general do not focus on, nor properly integrate, gender equality issues. Significant development gaps in areas such as employment, income, skill & career development, physical and psychological integrity, property, social security, and access to quality services including health, provide clear evidence of women’s discrimination and unequal benefits from ongoing reform. They also highlight that increased attention as well as concerted and coherent action is required across sectors, processes, and institutional structures.

Albania faces a significant ‘implementation gap’ regarding progress on gender equality. International treaties are ratified, national strategies and laws exist, and statistical data increasingly enables the identification of significant gender inequalities. However, commitments on paper do not yet translate adequately into priorities, programs and budgets of government institutions, and gender data are weakly used as basis for programming and planning. Despite clear evidence that gender equality and the respect of women’s human rights are a pre-condition for achieving equitable and sustainable development, gender mainstreaming is not yet systematically followed through in programming, resource allocation, and the monitoring of implementation. As a result, gains for female population remain limited.

In 2014, the European Council granted candidate status to Albania. Albania’s accession process is guided by the Enlargement Package of the European Commission, IPA II (2014-2020): following the EU Sector Wide Approach, priority areas include Justice, Employment and Social Policy, Private Sector Development and Economic governance, Public Finance Management, and Public Administration Reform. Equality - in particular equality between women and men - and accountability to female and male citizens are guiding principles within the EU, specifically reflected in the EU Gender Equality acquis.

EU funding - used for activities to increase women’s employment rate and promote quality employment; to improve reconciliation policies for both women and men; to strengthen national gender equality mechanisms; and to tackle gender based discrimination - are indispensable for reaching the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy for Gender Equality. However, delivering on the EU’s Treaty Commitment on Equality between Women and Men as a Fundamental Right goes beyond the Europe 2020 framework. To meet these important objectives, EU funding is required for combating violence against women; for promoting equality in decision-making; for improving women’s health; for empowering women’s rights organisations; and for strengthening capacity for gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting in Europe.

Considering the significant attention paid to equality concerns under the Instrument for Pre-Accession, and particularly by the EU Gender Action Plan ii 2016-2020, there is a clear need for decision-makers and civil servants to enhance their understanding of the importance of gender equality, and of the processes and strategies for achieving equitable outcomes for women and men in Albania.

Over the past years, UN Women has been providing support to national and local governments in strengthening democratic governance and advancing women’s rights through initiatives aimed at mainstreaming gender equality goals into policy, national planning, and budgeting. In the framework of the Programme of Cooperation 2012-2016 between the Government of Albania (GoA) and UN in Albania, UN Women has focused on supporting government efforts in integrating gender equality goals into the Government’s priorities and national strategies.

Through the recently established Gender Equality Facility in Albania Phase I (GEF), UN Women extends its support for gender mainstreaming to reform processes in EU IPA II structural and sector governance reform. This resounds in GEF Objective 1 “In line with EU Directives, sector strategies, and sector programmes including respective action plans are designed with Gender Sensitivity consistently”. In this context, UN Women/GEF has been invited by the Government of Albania and the EU Delegation in Tirana to provide technical expertise to ensure that gender sensitivity is established as a clear and explicit quality marker of Albania’s reform agenda.

Engaging in gender-responsive governance - i.e. prioritising, decision-making, planning, budgeting, implementing, monitoring and reporting in a manner that reflects the realities, needs, rights and entitlements of women and men - requires government representatives and staff of the public administration to engage in systematic learning.

To ensure that future resources allocated through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA), and policy dialogue between development/integration partners and national government include explicit and specific commitments and measures in support of women’s rights and gender equality, UN Women is seeking an international expert in gender mainstreaming to act as the lead trainer in delivering the “Gender Mainstreaming in the Instrument for Pre-Acession (IPA)” training to the core group of essentially involved government representatives and decision-makers.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of and in close collaboration with the Team Leader of the UN Women Gender Equality Facility in Albania, the International Gender expert will be responsible for developing and delivering a two-day training to core stakeholders, including the EU and representatives of the Government of Albania (Ministry of Integration, EU Integration Directorates, Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth, Ministry of Finance, Prime Minister’s Office, Integrated Policy Management Groups, Gender Equality Employees/Gender Focal Points, Domestic Violence Specialists).

Development of training approach, methodology, agenda, and materials will be undertaken in close communication/cooperation with UN Women and the EU Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR). The expected result of this explicitly joint effort and collaboration is the establishment of a unified approach to delivering gender trainings focusing on the Instrument of Pre-Accession in the EU accession and neighbourhood context.

Associated tasks include: preparing training agenda and materials; proposing a model for measuring change in participants’ knowledge as a result of the training; and preparing a comprehensive training report.

The training should include sessions on key gender mainstreaming concepts, address key guiding EU gender policy including EU GAP II 2016-2020, and provide practical hands-on guidance on methods and steps how to introduce gender equality considerations in the processes of IPA programming, implementation, monitoring, reporting, and evaluation. Special attention will be placed on the significance of gender-sensitive indicators. In addition, the lead trainer/consultant should propose a methodology and guidelines for mainstreaming gender equality and equal opportunities in the programming, implementation, and monitoring of IPA funds.

The training session is planned to be organized in mid-February 2016.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables:

Draft and final training agenda;
Training modules, materials, and presentations;
Outline of group-work sessions and materials;
Delivery of a two-day training to be organized in February 2016;
Pre- and post-assessment questionnaire to be used for measuring change in participants’ knowledge as a result of the training;
Short training report, including (i) a summary of the evaluation including an overview of training goals achieved; (ii) insights, conclusions; (iii) recommendations for next steps in institutionalizing gender mainstreaming in the process of IPA programming, implementation, monitoring, reporting, and evaluation;
Draft and final methodology, including guidelines for mainstreaming of gender equality and equal opportunities to programming, implementation and monitoring of IPA funds.

Institutional Arrangement

The international consultant/lead trainer will work under the direct supervision of the Team Leader of the UN Women Gender Equality Facility Phase I project, who will also be responsible for approval/acceptance of outputs and performance evaluation. Ultimate oversight rests with the UN Women National Programme Officer.

The contractor is required to submit Deliverables in a highly responsive manner and as agreed with the Team Leader of the UN Women Gender Equality Facility.

Duration of the Work

The international consultant/lead trainer will be contracted for a maximum of 14 (fourteen) days, composed of up to 9 (nine) days home-based, plus up to 5 (five) days in Albania, to perform specified tasks from January 15th until March 18th 2016.

Duty Station

The successful contractor will perform tasks from home (desk-based) and in Albania (delivery of training). Regular reporting by the contractor is not required.

Competencies

Core Values:

Demonstrates commitment to UN Women’s mission, vision and values;
Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
Demonstrates integrity by modeling ethical standards;

Functional Competencies:

The expert should be willing and capable to effectively engage in distance work;
Strong inter-personal and communications (oral and written) skills;
Specific knowledge of and proven familiarity with essential international and EU guidance on gender equality in various sectors, particularly applicable in the accession and enlargement context, and related expertise in goal setting and defining relevant indicators;
Thorough understanding of Albania’s situation in the area of gender equality and women’s empowerment;
Knowledge on mainstreaming gender into programming and stages and timelines of programming and implementation under EU funding instruments will be considered as an advantage;
Demonstrates ability to work in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds;
Ability to work and adapt to a dynamic working environment, judgment, results-orientation;
Facilitates and encourages open communication and strives for effective communication;
Excellent communication skills, including the ability to convey complex concepts and recommendations in a clear and persuasive style tailored to match different audiences;
Excellent coordination and facilitation skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced academic degree (minimum Master’s or equivalent) Economics, Gender Studies, Public Administration, Public Policy, or related field with specialization in Gender Studies and Development disciplines.

Experience:

At least 10 years of relevant professional experience in gender mainstreaming/analysis in national policies, strategic planning, programme design, national budgets, and reviewing and monitoring public policies;
Previous experience in conducting capacity development for government and other key stakeholders on gender mainstreaming in the international and EU funding context;
Experience with similar/related assignments in EU accession countries, South-East Europe, and/or in the region of Western Balkans, including Albania, is an asset

Language:

Proficiency in written and spoken English, including gender and policy terminology; and excellent drafting and presentation skills.

Evaluation of Applicants

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal as per which maximum obtainable points is 100 out of which 70 points go for technical evaluation and 30 points for financial proposal.

Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

Applications will be assessed according to the following technical criteria:

Advanced academic degree (minimum Master’s or equivalent) Economics, Gender Studies, Public Administration, Public Policy, or related field with specialization in Gender Studies and Development disciplines (weight 28.6 max. points 20);
At least 10 years of relevant professional experience in gender mainstreaming/analysis in national policies, strategic planning, programme design, national budgets, and reviewing and monitoring public policies; (weight 28.6 max. points 20);
At least 6 years of engagement in consultancy/conducting capacity development for government and other key stakeholders on gender mainstreaming in the EU funding/accession and enlargement context (weight 28.6 max. points 20);
Experience with similar/related assignments in EU accession countries, South-East Europe, and/or in the region of Western Balkans, including Albania (weight 14.3 max. points 10);

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation. For more detailed information on the technical criteria please refer to the link ref. 1496 http://www.undp.org.rs/jobs_new.html.

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion. The calculation formula applied is as follows:

p = 30 (µ/z); where: p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated; µ = price of the lowest priced proposal; z = price of the proposal being evaluated.

Recommended Presentation of Offer:

Qualified and interested candidates are asked to submit their application no later than 10th January 2015.

Applications should include:

Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability;
Brief description explaining why the individual considers her/himself as the most suitable for the assignment;
Submission of P11 including past experience in similar assignments is a MUST. Applications lacking the completed P11, which can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment will not be considered. Financial Proposal specifying the daily fee amount in US Dollar for the tasks specified in this announcement.

Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows uploading of a maximum of one document.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

Financial Proposal specifying a daily fee amount in US Dollars for the tasks specified in this announcement;
Please note that the financial proposal shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services). Travel, accommodation, and per diems incurring in the framework of the foreseen mission to Albania will be financially covered/arranged by the UN Women office in Tirana;
Payment will be made as per the payment schedule in the contract upon (i) satisfactory completion of task; and (ii) provision of deliverables specified in the ToRs, and (iii) submission of the respective training report, timesheet, and invoice.