UN WOMEN Jobs - 66294- National Consultant to Develop the Cross-Sectoral

National Consultant to Develop the Cross-Sectoral National Gender Strategy (2017-2022)

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Home-based Assignment- with Frequent Visits to Ministry of Women Affairs, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Jun-2016

Application Deadline :

29-May-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

04 months (50 estimated working days)

Languages Required :

Arabic English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

04 months (50 estimated 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

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

UN Women plays an innovative and catalytic role in the State of Palestine since it began its operations in Palestine in 1997 (as UNIFEM). UN Women focuses its activities on one overarching goal, namely to support the implementation at the national level of existing international commitments to advance gender equality in line with the national priorities. In support of this goal, and thoroughly taking into consideration the specificities of the Palestinian context, UN Women concentrates its efforts and interventions toward the realization of following strategic goals: Engendering governance, peace and security; Supporting women's economic security and rights; and Promoting women’s rights and protection against violence.

UN Women in Palestine works to enhance Palestinian women’s transformative leadership to participate in decision-making processes in all walks of life, and to support the incorporation of a women’s rights agenda and gender equality (GE) in legal, policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks. UN Women works very closely with the Palestinian Ministry of Women's Affairs (MoWA) as the principal National Women’s Machinery for coordinating national efforts towards the integration of gender equality and women’s empowerment (GE/WE) in national agenda and in sectoral and national strategies. In that regard, UN Women has been supporting MoWA since its establishment in 2003 to fulfil its mandate in advancing the status of women in all aspects of life at the national level and in providing support to other government institutions on gender mainstreaming, including capacity building and technical assistance to state institutions for the promotion of gender mainstreaming. This support included assistance to MoWA to develop the first-ever Cross-Sectoral National Gender Strategy 2011-2013 and the subsequent one 2014-2016 (CSNGS), with the purpose of placing gender equality and women’s empowerment at the core of the successive sectoral strategies and Palestinian National Plans.

The Ministry of Women’s Affairs is currently reviewing its existing strategy 2014-2016 with support by UN Women, andin preparation for kicking start the process of the development of the next Cross Sectoral National Gender Strategy 2017-2022. As part of their joint efforts to initiate and strengthen gender mainstreaming within national strategies, policies and processes, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs has requested from UN Women support in recruiting a national consultant that will, in close collaboration with national counterparts, lead the development of the new Cross-Sectoral National Gender Strategy 2017-2022.

The main objective of this assignment is to develop the new Cross Sectoral National Gender Strategy 2017-2022 that will serve as the national reference strategy document on Gender Equality in the State of Palestine and will feed into the upcoming sectoral strategies, thereby ensuring that women’s needs and priorities are properly reflected in these framing documents.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of UN Women’s Special Representative and the direct supervision of UN Women National Program Coordinator and in close cooperation with MoWA, the consultant will undertake the following duties and responsibilities:

Conduct a thorough desk review of all relevant documents, reports and strategies, including the Cross Sectoral National Gender Strategy 2014-2016 Review Report;
Lead the development of the new Cross Sectoral National Gender Strategy 2017-2022 in close collaboration with MoWA, and through adopting a participatory process with all relevant stakeholders;
In the process of developing the new Strategy, supporting a) The development of an Action Plan for the Strategy’s implementation including implementing agencies. (and b) Adhering to the approved strategies form the Ministry of Finance and Planning, as part of the strategy development; and
Ensure that during the Strategy development process, informative workshops, consultation meetings and field visits are carried out with the relevant parties and stakeholders (national, international and civil society organisations).

Specific tasks to support the delivery of the assignment include:

Work directly with Ministry of Women's Affairs throughout the entire development process of the new Cross Sectoral National Gender Strategy 2017-2022 and hold regular meetings with UN Women and MoWA to outline the progress of work throughout the duration of the consultancy;
Support the Ministry of Women's Affairs in the selection of the Assigned MoWA Team and the National Team necessary to be engaged throughout the whole development process;
Provide technical support to the Ministry of Women's Affairs and coaching the Assigned MoWA Team on supporting the development of the Strategy;
Prepare the Assigned Team by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to present the identified gender priorities at the national and sectoral levels;
Coordinate with the Ministry of Women's Affairs’ (the Assigned MoWA Team) and the National Team regarding timing and arranging the required consultations and discussion meetings;
Support MoWA on facilitating the planning and Strategy development process, and facilitate meetings of the National Team and other relevant groups, as needed and requested, and attend the meetings as a resource person;
Support MoWA in organizing workshops with different ministries (in the West Bank and Gaza Strip) and with different stakeholders during all stages of the development process;
Fully aligning the process of the Strategy development with MoWA’s instructions and with National Planning Entity’s general requirements in relation to guidelines, timelines, and procedures;
Preparing documents or any other related reports and presentations to be presented at workshops for the National Team and with other involved parties;
Drafting the new Strategy in Arabic and a summary in English to be discussed with and reviewed by relevant stakeholders;
Revising the draft Strategy as required, based on the inputs of relevant stakeholdersand feedback; and
Finalizing the new Cross Sectoral National Gender Strategy 2017-2022.

Time frame:

The assignment is expected to be executed within 04 months period (50 working days) starting from May 2016 and until September 2016.

Key deliverables/results:

Detailed methodology and action plan for the development of the new Cross Sectoral National Gender Strategy (2017-2022);
A first draft of the Cross Sectoral National Gender Strategy (2017-2022) including an action Plan for the Strategy’s implementation including implementing agencies;
Final Cross Sectoral National Gender Strategy in Arabic (2017-2022), including all relevant annexes with an executive summary in English; and
A central workshop to present the new Cross Sectoral National Gender Strategy (2017-2022) to Local Aid Coordination Secretariat members.

*All deliverables are only considered final following the approval of UN Women.

Competencies

Core Values/Guidling Principles:

Integrity:

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

Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity:

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

Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values:

Demonstrating / safeguarding ethics and integrity.

Organizational Awarerness:

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring:

Initiative-taking; coaching and mentoring ability.

Working in Teams:

Acting as a team player and facilitating team work.

Communicating Information and Ideas:

Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively.

Self-mangement and emotional intelligence:

Creating synergies through self-control

Conflict Management / Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements:

Managing conflict.

Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning:

Learning and sharing knowledge and encouraging the learning of others.

Functional Competetncies:

Ability to lead strategic planning, change processes;
Ability to lead formulation of development strategies, including on GEWE;
Strong organizational skills;
Ability to coordinate the work of others, work on tight deadlines and handle multiple concurrent projects/activities. Strong analytical and organizational skills and attention to detail;
Substantive knowledge and experience in the provision of coordinated support to advance gender equality;
Ability to think conceptually, strategically and analytically;
Excellent leadership, networking and interpersonal skills, including ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries;
Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
Ability to lead effectively, strong facilitation skills as well as conflict resolution skills;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Ability to make decisions under pressure and to deal with matters that are politically and cultural sensitive;
Sound understanding of issues related to development in crisis and post-crisis situations;
Results oriented, flexible and problem solving skills;
Knowledge of the current political and legislative governmental framework is an asset;
Knowledge of Result Based Management and Human Rights Based Approach development is an asset; and
Good interpersonal and diplomacy skills

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced degree in gender studies, social and developmental studies, business administration and/or relevant fields

Experience:

At least 5 years of relevant experience in the provision of technical assistance to different beneficiaries, including government institutions;
Proven experience in the preparation of studies and/or strategies in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment (2 cases at least);
Demonstrated experience in designing and delivering capacity development initiatives to different institutions (2 cases at least); and
Previous professional experience within the UN system or related field of work will be an asset.

Language Requirements:

Fluency (both oral and written) in Arabic and English.

Longlisted candidates need to provide 2 written samples of previous work that they have prepared entirely and without external support. The written samples may including surveys, strategies, training modules, programme/ strategy evaluations, reports, etc.

UN Women will only be able to respond to those applications who will meet minimum requirements.

Candidates should clearly indicate how they meet the above mentioned criteria.

Application procedure:

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials:

Cover letter to include a brief overview about which of your previous experiences makes you the most suitable candidate for the advertised position; and
P11 or CV including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted

Candidates should have the ability to quickly submit degree certificates, medical certification (of good health) should they be short-listed in consideration of the consultancy.

Evaluation of applicants:

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. A contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer receives the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 50 points in the technical evaluation will be considered for financial evaluation.

Technical Evaluation (70%) – max. 70 points:

Relevant education: 05 points
At least 5 years of relevant experience in the provision of technical assistance to different beneficiaries, including government institutions: 15 points
Proven experience in the preparation of studies and/or strategies in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment (2 cases at least): 15 points
Experience in designing and delivering capacity development initiatives to different institutions (2 cases at least): 10 points
Previous professional experience within the UN system or related field of work will be an asset: 10 points
Written samples 15 points

Financial Evaluation (30%) – max. 30 points:

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. A suggested formula is as follows:

p = 30 (µ/z)

Using the following values:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated
µ = price of the lowest priced proposal
z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Only long-listed candidates will be contacted.