UN WOMEN Jobs - 64248- UN Women - National Consultant to support the work

UN Women - National Consultant to support the workshop on Gender Sensitive Indicators on Media

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Tirana, ALBANIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

07-Mar-2016

Application Deadline :

02-Mar-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

25 working days within March-June 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

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; the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development; human rights; as well as humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women's rights at the centre 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.

The Platform for Action emerging from the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing (BPfA) in 1995 was the first official document to highlight the critical importance of media in the attainment of gender equality and women’s empowerment. Section J of the BPfA focused attention on Women and Media as one of the 12 critical areas of concern for the advancement and empowerment of women. It stressed the need to “increase the participation and access of women to expression and decision-making in and through the media as well as new technologies of communication,” and “promote balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women in hthe media.”

A number of subsequent, internationally endorsed documents have recognised and affirmed the right of both women and men to be informed and to have their voices heard.

It is increasingly acknowledged across the world that, in order to enjoy freedom of expression, human rights and gender equality, people – including women, men and members of sexual minorities – must be equally able to participate in the media (in multiple roles and at multiple levels), express themselves through the media, and determine the nature and content of the media.

UNESCO has been pursuing the objective of promoting women’s participation in the media through several initiatives over the years. Its annual Women Make the News (WMN) initiative has two goals: to promote gender equality in media operations at all levels of the organisational structure; and to ensure equality in news reporting on women and men. The Gender Sensitive Indicators for Media (GSIM), a global framework to gauge gender sensitivity and promote greater diversity in the media, represent another UNESCO initiative in this context.

UNESCO’s Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, together with UN Women and two international experts, will facilitate a workshop in Tirana in March 2015 to familiarise a range of stakeholders in the media, academia and civil society with the Gender Sensitive Indicators for Media. The GSIM handbook has already been translated into Albanian and is ready to be delivered.

The primary purpose of the workshop will be to examine how the GSIM can be incorporated into the curricula of institutions of higher learning offering media/journalism education and training in Albania, as well as the editorial and human resources practices of media houses in the country – in both the public as well as the private sector. In addition, the workshop may help in the process of reviewing and refining the media-related indicators included in the National Harmonized Indicators on Gender Equality and the Status of Women in Albania, introduced in 2011 by the Ministry of Social Welfare with the support of UN Women.

Accordingly, the workshop will be open to media scholars/educators/trainers, senior media professionals and managers, members of civil society engaged in media/freedom of expression and/or gender/women’s rights issues, and any others with a special interest in promoting gender equality and balance in the media.

Within this framework, UN Women Albania is requesting the support of a National Consultant to facilitate the work and provide substantive contribution in the successful organization of this workshop.

Overall objective:

The overall objective of the national consultant will be to focus primarily on the implementation of the below tasks, which may be adjusted and agreed based on discussions with two international experts and UNESCO and documented accordingly throughout of the duration of the consultancy

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the UN Women, National Project Manager on Women Political Empowerment, the National Consultant will focus primarily on the following. Further revisions to the below actions will be adjusted and agreed based on discussions with the International Experts throughout of the consultancy:

Activities:

Preparation of work plan after discussions with UN Women, UNESCO and two international experts – 1 day
Identify potential participants based on the specifics of the workshop. The participants need to be from different fields as specified above and adequate for the objectives of the workshop. Prepare brief profile/background on each of the participants. A total of no more than 20 participants is requested. Agree on the final list with two UN Agencies and international experts and ensure full participation of the final approved list – 5 days
Provide continuous support to the two International Experts in preparing materials by providing inputs on the Albanian context and organizing the workshop and provide translation when needed – 2 days
Capture main issues discussed during the workshop and prepare a final report in collaboration with the two International Expert to be share with all the participants and the organizers– 4 days
Follow up with the main recommendations coming out from the workshop especially when the discussions on National Harmonized Indicators on Gender Equality and the Status of Women in Albania (NHIGESWA) will be opened and any follow up with University of Journalism and other journalists (a separate plan will be prepared with details of concrete follow up steps such as meetings or presentation to specific stakeholders will be discussed after the workshop and with the International Expert) – 5 days
Prepare a cover letter and a distribution list for the GSIM after the finalization of the workshop to main partners and stakeholders targeting especially media and university (UN Women will support with delivery) – 1 day
Ensure visibility through different media outlets on (i) the GSIM, (ii) workshop results and the need to have (iii) updated indicators on NHIGESWA on media, by preparing at least two articles, one TV show and broad distribution in social media. In collaboration with UN Women staff prepare shares for UNW FB and twitter – 7 days

Expected Outputs and Deliverables:

The following products and deliverables are expected to be completed by the National Consultant according to the agreed schedule:

Work plan agreed and discussed with UN Agencies and International Experts
Participants list and personal profiles
Final Report and presentations provided during the Workshop and meeting minutes from the follow up activities (in English).
Distribution list of the GSIM together with Cover Letter
Two articles, one TV show and social media posts.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Communication: Excellent communication skills, including the ability to pose questions, listen, evaluate and capture opinions, suggestions and comments, both orally and in writing, in a clear and persuasive style tailored to match different stakeholders;
Client orientation: Ability to establish and maintain productive partnerships with national partners and pro-activeness in identifying of beneficiaries and partners’ needs, and matching them to appropriate solutions;

Functional Competencies:

Proven records of strong connections with media and capacity to mobilize different key stakeholders as per the requirements of the ToRs within very short period of time;
Strong leadership skills, note-ably mentoring and coordinating skills;
Ability to communicate and co-ordinate with local and international partners and stakeholders;
Strong analytical, writing and communication skills on issues related to gender and media, human rights, etc.;
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds, gender and diverse views, while maintaining impartiality and objectivity.

Required Skills and Experience

Education/Academic Qualification:

Master’s degree in one of the following areas: social sciences, media and journalism, gender studies, etc.

Work Experience:

A minimum of 6 years of professional experience in leading and managing projects, organizing workshop and similar, responsible to prepare reporting and writing in media, gender equality, women empowerment, human rights or similar, etc;
Proven knowledge of GSIM or other types of work related to gender equality and media will be considered an asset;
Strong background in interacting and coordinating activities with media and public relation experience;
Previous proven experience in different media outlets through participation in different TV shows, social media and print will be considered an asset;
Good computer skills in Windows environment, knowledge of internet communications and command of MS Office applications (Word, Excel, Power Point);

Language requirement:

Proficiency in written and spoken English and Albanian, 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. 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:

Master’s degree in one of the following areas: social sciences, media and journalism, gender studies, etc. (weight 5, max. points 5);
Proven records of strong connections with media and capacity to mobilize different key stakeholders as per the requirements of the ToRs within very short period of time; (weight 15, max. points 15);
Proven knowledge of GSIM or other types of work related to gender equality, women empowerment and media will be considered an asset; (weight 15, max. points 15);
A minimum of 6 years of professional experience in leading and managing projects, organizing workshop and similar, responsible to prepare reporting and writing in media, gender equality, women empowerment, human rights or similar, etc; (weight 10, max. points 10);
Strong background in interacting and coordinating activities with media and public relation experience; (weight 10, max. points 10).
Previous proven experience in different media outlets through participation in different TV shows, social media and print will be considered an asset; (weight 10, max. points 10).
Strong analytical, writing and communication skills on issues related to gender and media, human rights, etc. (weight 5, max. points 5).

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.

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 follow:

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.

Financial Weight 30% Max. Point 30

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

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 and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services). In the framework of this assignment, neither travel nor accommodation costs are foreseen to occur.

Payment will be made as per the payment schedule in the contract upon (i) satisfactory completion of tasks; (ii) provision of deliverables specified in the ToRs; (iii) submission of and approval of final report; and (iv) submission of the respective time-sheet and invoice.

Application procedures:

Interested individual consultants are requested to apply electronically through the following link: http://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_jobs.cfm no later than March 2nd, 2016 and to submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

A Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability including a brief description explaining why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment, and a methodology, if applicable, on how the assignment will be approached and completed.
P11 form including past experience in similar assignment. Can be downloaded at: http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment
Financial Proposal specifying the daily fee and the overall amount in Albanian Lek for the tasks and anticipated number of days specified in this assignment.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.