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.

To further support the consolidated efforts of the government, parliament, women’s groups and civil society organizations (CSOs) to meet state commitments on gender equality and women’s rights, including the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (UNSCR 1325) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through reforms and peace and security processes,

UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325), unanimously adopted in October 2000, stressed the importance of the equal participation and full involvement of women in all efforts to maintain and promote peace and security. In the years since, seven additional resolutions on WPS have been adopted. To deliver these commitments at the national level, the United Nations has encouraged Member States to adopt National Action Plans (NAPs) to implement the resolutions and monitor the progress of the WPS agenda.

Several countries in the Arab states region have taken steps to draft and implement NAPs on UNSC resolution 1325 and its subsequent seven resolutions. UN Women in collaboration with League of Arab States conducted the first Regional Workshop “Women, Peace and Security National Action Plans in the Arab Region: Challenges and Opportunities” on 10-11 December 2017 in Amman, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The workshop aimed at supporting LAS member states in developing plans of action for the implementation of resolutions on women, peace and security at the national level by addressing some of the key challenges encountered by relevant actors in NAP development, implementation and evaluation.

Building on this important work, there is a call from Member-States in the Arab region for tailored guidance on the development and implementation of NAPs 1325. Responding to this call, UN Women and the League of Arab States are collaborating to produce this guidance for Member-States. Recognising that significant guidance on NAP 1325 development and implementation exists, the consultant will be tasked to review all existing guidance and from this produce a clear ‘how to’ guide in Arabic on the steps needed to develop and implement a NAP 1325. In addition, the consultant will support the League of Arab States to draft its annual report on Member-State implementation of the WPS agenda. 

Duties and Responsibilities

1- Draft guidance for Arab region Member States on the drafting and implementation of NAPs 1325. This guidance should build from existing guidance (see below) and good practices from Iraq, Jordan and Palestine. Guidance should be in Arabic and should clearly and simply set out ‘how to’ steps for drafting and implementation. Guidance should not exceed 40 pages. Good practices from Iraq, Jordan and Palestine can be gathered through remote interviews – in country missions will not be needed.  This while taking into consideration the following:

1. Strategy and Executive Action Plan “Protection of Arab Women: Peace and Security” adopted during League of Arab States Ministerial Meeting in September 2015
2. The outcome document for the Regional Workshop on WPS NAPS conducted in December 2017

Examples of the materials and information available are below:

1. http://wps.unwomen.org/pdf/CH10.pdf
2. http://iknowpolitics.org/sites/default/files/consolidated_reply_ikp_e-discussion_unscr_1325_arab_region_en.pdf
3. http://iknowpolitics.org/sites/default/files/arabic_consolidated_reply_1325.pdf
4. https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/SR388-UNSCR-1325-in-the-Middle-East-and-North-Africa-Women-and-Security.pdf
5. http://www.c-r.org/downloads/EPLO_UNSCR_1325_Europe.pdf
6. http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/files/un%20women/wps/highlights/unw-global-study-1325-2015.pd
7. https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/GenderFactsheet-US-Format_April%202016.pdf

2- Draft the League of Arab State (LAS) report on the status of the implementation of Women, Peace and Security agenda in the region. The League of Arab States will provide to the consultant inputs received from Member States on the status of their implementation. The consultant will be responsible for taking these inputs and consolidating them into a report, organized through country chapters. The report should be produced in Arabic. 

Competencies

Core Values

• Respect for Diversity;
• Integrity;
• Professionalism.

Core Competencies

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functional Competencies   

• Excellent communication skills;
• Excellent organization and planning skills and high attention to detail;
• Ability to meet deadlines and respond positively to feedback;
• Ability to complete multiple tasks by establishing priorities;
• Ability to manage and maintain relationships with different levels of stakeholders effectively and strategically;
• Ability to diplomatically handle sensitive situations with target audiences and cultivate productive relationships.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• University Degree, preferably in gender studies, international relation/development, peace and security or another related field.
• Advanced degree in related field is desirable.

Experience

• 5 years of experience in research and programming on issues of women, peace and security, with experience in the Arab region an asset;
• Experience in drafting guidelines on women, peace and security related issues;
• Demonstrated strong writing and research skills.

Language

• Fluency in both English and Arabic, written and spoken.

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

Evaluation Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology: Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation.

Criteria Weight Technical: 70%

• Advanced University Degree, preferably in gender studies, international relation/development, peace and security or another related fields - 10 points
• 5 years of experience in research and programming on issues of women, peace and security, with experience in the Arab region an asset - 20 points
• Experience in drafting guidelines on women, peace and security related issues - 20 points
• Demonstrated strong writing and research skills - 10 points
• Fluency in both English and Arabic, written and spoken - 10 points

Financial: Lowest Financial Proposal: 30%

• Contract will be awarded to the technically qualified consultant who obtains the highest combined score (financial and technical);
• The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula: (Lowest Bid Offered*)/ (Bid of the Consultant) x 30;
• 'Lowest Bid Offered' refers to the lowest price offered by Offerors scoring at least 49 points in the technical evaluation. 

Submission of application

Interested candidates are requested to submit the following documents:

1. Cover letter;
2. CV, including contact information for 3 references;
3. Financial proposal (broken down as a daily rate);
4. Example of previous paper/ research in Arabic.

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount per each deliverable, including any travel, per diem and administrative fees.

The above-mentioned documents (Cover letter, Methodology, UN Women P11, Personal CV and financial proposal – offering a daily rate for translation) should be merged in a standalone file including all them, since the online application submission does only permit to upload one file per application. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification. 

Selected candidates will need to submit prior to commencement of work:

1. Copy of the latest academic certificate;

2. UN Women P-11 form, available from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment.

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.

UN Women is applying fair and transparent selection process that would take into account both the technical qualification of Consultants as well as their price proposals. The contract will be awarded to the candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores.