Antecedentes

IELD is a global programme, which builds upon the strategic comparative advantages of UNCDF, UNDP and UNWomen, with the aim of supporting local governments to design, plan, implement and sustain local investments that take into consideration the differentiated and specific needs and priorities of poor women and men, with a particular emphasis on unlocking barriers to women’s economic opportunities and empowerment.

With the objective of achieving gender equality and empowerment of women as mandated by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the forthcoming Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the IELD programme - using its Local Economic Assessment tool (LEA) – identifies, in consultation with the local communities, the most pressing bottlenecks faced by women at the local level, and support local authorities in the LDCs to lift these barriers, by creating the enabling environment necessary to achieve and sustain inclusive and equitable socio-economic development, and to enable women’s access to local economic opportunities, entrepreneurship, and public services.

 In its inception phase, the UN entities are working coherently together to finalize the necessary tools which will be necessary for the roll out of the programme in 2015. In this context, The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) are collaborating on engendering UNCDF’s financing instruments which will be the backbone for delivering the programme.

Within this framework, the two agencies are seeking a consultant to support this work through specific inputs into IELD tools but also, at a more general level, by strengthening the work in Economic Empowerment of Women. This is of particular importance in the context of the 20 year review of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Post-2015 development agenda debates. The successful candidate will report to the Director of UNDP Gender Team based in HQ on day to day basis with a secondary reporting line to the IELD Progamme Manager, based in UNCDF HQ in New York.

UNCDF is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 48 least developed countries. It creates new opportunities for poor people and their small businesses by increasing access to microfinance and investment capital. UNCDF programmes help to empower women, and are designed to catalyze larger capital flows from the private sector, national governments and development partners, for maximum impact toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

UNCDF aims to enhance its development activities in strengthening countries’ capacities for effective local economic development, by 1)supporting local governments to design, plan, implement and sustain local investments that take into consideration the differentiated and specific needs and priorities of poor women and men, with a particular emphasis on unlocking barriers to women’s economic opportunities and empowerment; 2) Supporting the mobilization of domestic resources for an investable pipeline of entrepreneurial projects that promote women’s economic empowerment.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is the UN’s Global Development Network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life on the ground in over 170 countries. Addressing gender equality and women’s empowerment is a key aspect of UNDPs approach to achieving its core vision. Gender Equality and Women’s empowerment are seen as goals in their own right and are also central to the achievement of UNDPs development mandate. UNDP is guided in its work by its Gender Equality Strategy 2014-2017 which details how UNDP works towards gender equality in each of the goals and key results set out in the UNDP Strategic Plan 2014-2017.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Provide technical and operational support for the global programme “Inclusive and Equitable Local Development” (IELD) Initiative:

Support UNCDF and UNDP in the implementation of the joint initiative through a gender perspective, including, but not limited to:

• Technical backstopping for project-related documents and knowledge products;
• Procurement and coordination of technical experts;
• Quality assurance, production and dissemination of knowledge products;
• Support the adaptation and inclusion of Gender Economic Policy and Management Initiative (GEPMI) as necessary.

Provide support on Economic Empowerment of Women:

Support the activities in the framework of the Beijing+20 review and the post-2015 development agenda process, to benefit the work of UNDP on Gender equality and empowerment of women as well as the strategic outcomes of IELD, including, but not limited to:

• Support for organizing and coordinating high-profile events;
• Procurement and coordination of technical experts, quality assurance, production and dissemination of knowledge products;
• Technical research and drafting support for knowledge products as necessary, as well as support for technical briefs, speeches and talking points for senior management as required.

Support the updating of roster of technical experts in gender and economic empowerment

Competencias

• Excellent interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills;
• Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop herself or himself professionally;
• Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
• Demonstrates comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools and utilizes these regularly in work assignments;
• Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in the office.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:

• MA Degree in Gender Studies, Economics, International Relations, or a related field.

Experience:

• 2-3 years of experience in work related to gender and development, specifically a good understanding of gender and economic empowerment of women is a must;
• In-depth grasp of the relevance of gender in conceptualizing, articulating and debating issues relating poverty and economics in general;
• Good computer research and network management skills;
• Prior knowledge and experience of the UN system highly desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency and excellent analytical writing skills in English;
• Second official UN language an asset.

Payments

 Contract will be based on a daily rate basis in US dollar. Payments are made to the Individual Consultant based on receipt of the Certificate for Payment (CoP) and acceptance of the work by the UNDP Responsible Staff that will be attached to the agreed deliverables.

Travel

If travel is necessary UNDP will arrange and cover expenses as per UNDP travel policies.

Evaluation Method:

• Cumulative Analysis - The financial quote will account 30% and technical assessment will account for 70% of the total evaluation score;
• Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 (70%) points on technical part will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

 Criteria for technical evaluation (70 points maximum):

• MA Degree in Gender Studies, Economics, International Relations. At least 2-3 years of experience in work related to the Gender Equality and Economic Empowerment of Women. (25 points);
• Familiarity and experience in Gender Equality and Economic Empowerment of Women (25 points);
• Language, research, writing and analytical skills (20 points).

Criteria for financial evaluation (30 points maximum):

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

• p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated;
• y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal;
• µ = price of the lowest priced proposal;
• z = price of the proposal being evaluated.