UN WOMEN Jobs - 70441- Consultant - Gender Responsive Budgeting (Open to

Consultant - Gender Responsive Budgeting (Open to Indian Nationals Only)

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Home Based (with travel to states), INDIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

20-Feb-2017

Application Deadline :

12-Feb-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

50 days (spread between 20 February 2017 to 5 May 2017 )

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

50 days (spread between 20 February 2017 to 5 May 2017 )

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 Responsive Budgeting (GRB) has been endorsed by the Government of India as a pragmatic tool for advancing women’s rights. Formally adopted in 2004-05 with a roadmap, suggested by the expert group that submitted its report in July 2004, broadly prescribing the norms under which ministries/departments needed to report the respective allocations benefitting women and girls; GRB has been institutionalized at various levels since then. The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) adopted “Budgeting for Gender Equity” as a mission statement in 2004-05. A Strategic Framework of Activities to implement this mission was also framed and disseminated to all departments and ministries of the Government of India (GOI). That same year the Ministry of Finance initiated the process for creating an institutional mechanism for mainstreaming gender by mandating the setting up of gender budgeting cells (GBCs) in all ministries/departments. These GBCs were envisaged as focal points for mainstreaming gender through GRB. Moreover, the year 2005-06 was a landmark one for GRB in India, with the introduction of the gender budget statement (GBS) in the union budget, to re?ect the quantum of budgetary allocations for programmes/schemes that substantially bene?t women.

Akin to the Union Government, GRB has been adopted as a strategy towards achieving gender mainstreaming across several states. As per the latest count, 19 states have institutionalized GRB in some form or the other and are at different stages with respect to their engagement with GRB.

Recognizing the gender disparities that exist, the State Government of Maharashtra identified GRB as a key strategy in the state policy for women (2014)[1]. The separate section on gender budgeting in the state policy clearly outlines the processes that need to be institutionalized in the planning, implementation and audit continuum to make the sectoral policies and programmes more gender responsive. In fact, Maharashtra was among the first few states to mandate GRB at the local level. Post the issuance of a government resolution in 2006, the Government of Maharashtra mandated that after meeting the expenditure committed to by the municipal corporation, 5 per cent of the balance be kept reserved for the work done by women and child welfare committees.

Likewise, for the State Government of Jharkhand, decision was taken by the Cabinet in the State Budget 2016-17 that such schemes in which 30 per cent or more has been earmarked for women, would be taken up as Gender Budget. This was a major step forward to ensure accountability to gender equality outcomes.

To further strengthen GRB in both the states, UN Women seeks to hire services of a consultant to support the two governments in conducting a scoping study to identify the possible entry points for GRB in the states as well as recommend state specific roadmap.

[1]YASHADA (2014). Maharashtra Human Development Report 2012: towards inclusive development. Retrieved from http://www.undp.org/content/dam/india/docs/human-development/MHDR%20English-2012.pdf

Duties and Responsibilities

UN Women is seeking the services of a consultant to conduct a scoping study to identify potential entry points for GRB in Maharashtra and Jharkhand and provide recommendations to make planning and budgeting processes at the state and local level more gender responsive.

The following key components of work are envisaged for the Consultant:

Undertake desk review to document the efforts made by the state governments thus far to make planning and budgeting processes gender responsive;
Conduct an inception meeting with the relevant government officials and partners to develop a collective understanding of the nature and scope of the scoping study;
Design and present the methodology to the government and other key stakeholders to conduct the scoping study;
Conduct the scoping study;
Prepare the report on the scoping study that captures possible entry points for strengthening gender responsive planning and budgeting in the two states;
Based on the findings of the scoping study, develop a roadmap (with clearly defined milestones and timeframe) to strengthen GRB – each for Maharashtra and Jharkhand;
Present the recommendations to UN Women, the state government and key stakeholders for endorsement and implementation of the roadmap.

Key Deliverables:

Inception meeting reports (one each for Maharashtra and Jharkhand) - (40% payment);
Methodology to conduct the scoping study- (40% payment);
Report (each for Maharashtra and Jharkhand) with key findings and specific recommendations (roadmap for each state) - (20% payment).

Competencies

Core Values / Guiding Principles:

Integrity:

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

Professionalism:

Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity:

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

Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values:

Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Work in teams:

Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Communicating and Information Sharing:

Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.

Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:

Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behaviour towards others.

Conflict Management:

Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.

Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Functional Competencies:

Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
Focuses on impact and result for the partners and responds positively to feedback.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree or an advanced degree in Gender Studies or related field.

Experience:

Minimum five years of experience in working on GRB at the national and/or state level;
Demonstrable experience of working with governments.

Language:

Excellent analytical and writing skills in English.

Application:

Interested applicants should apply to this announcement through UNDP jobs site: jobs.undp.org

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment;
Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment;
Applications received after the close date will not be accepted;
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Evaluation and Selection Criteria

Criteria for shortlisting of CVs will be based on the following assessment:

Required Degree and Qualification (5 points);
Minimum Experience relevant to the assignment (5 points);
Working knowledge and experience of working on Gender Responsive Budgeting (5 points);
Working knowledge and use of computers and its programmes / applications. Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advance knowledge of spread sheet and database packages (5 points).

The evaluation process for selection of the candidate will be based on the following assessment:

Technical & Financial Evaluation;

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.