Antecedentes

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.  This consultancy will be conducted under the joint auspices of the UN Women Training Centre in Santo Domingo and the Ending Violence against Women section in New York.

The UN Women Training Centre (TC) in Santo Domingo is dedicated to supporting the UN and other stakeholders to realize commitments to gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s rights through transformative training and learning. The UN Women TC offers training for gender equality and women’s empowerment to UN Women staff, UN agencies, as well as personnel of governments, civil society and partners. The gender capacity development programmes range from basic and introductory levels to specialized and advanced levels for diverse audiences with different backgrounds. In terms of capacity development strategies and techniques, the TC makes maximum use of on-line training techniques, paying special attention to e-learning courses and an active learning approach.

The UN Women Ending Violence against Women section in New York is dedicated to providing knowledge-based policy and programming guidance to a diverse array of stakeholders at international, regional and country levels; provides substantive support to intergovernmental processes; and leads global initiatives to address violence against women and girls, often partnering with other UN agencies and stakeholders. UN Women’ work is broadly focused on prevention, services, research and data, and safe public spaces covering all forms of violence against women and girls and various harmful practices, including female genital mutilation/cutting.

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) also referred to as female genital circumcision, involves all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.  According to the latest figures, more than 130 million girls and women alive today have been cut in the 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East where FGM/C is concentrated.  FGM/C, however, is also practiced by certain ethnic groups in Asia and Latin America and in many western countries to which practicing communities have migrated. Around one in five girls subjected to FGM/C were cut by a trained health-care provider. In some countries, this can reach as high as three in four girls. FGM/C has no health benefit, but rather has detrimental consequences on the bodily integrity and sexual and reproductive health of girls and women. FGM/C can also cause infertility and creates challenges at childbirth, including prolonged labours that can result in foetal death.

Efforts have been undertaken at international, regional, national and local levels to address the practice, including through legislation, policies, programmes and large-scale advocacy and awareness-raising campaigns. FGM/C is a recognized practice of gender discrimination and a violation of the rights of girls and women.  International and regional instruments throughout time, from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) to the most recent General Assembly Resolutions in 2014 “Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilations” and “Intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls”, have provided an important normative basis for its abandonment. At the national level, efforts include: the passing of legislation to ban the practice; development of policies for prevention, protection and response; capacity building for the delivery of health, justice and protection services; and together with civil society, initiatives in communities to change the social norms that condone and perpetuate the practice.

In 2008, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched a joint programme to support governments, communities, and girls and women in abandoning the practice. UN Women, given its normative, coordination and operational mandate in gender equality and women’s empowerment and its dedicated work on violence against women and girls, was invited to join the joint programme as a collaborating partner in phase II in order to strengthen the gender equality and women’s empowerment component of the programme at global, regional and country levels, initially through the development of policy guidelines and a training on gender and FGM/C.

The objective of this consultancy is to develop technical content for a training course in English that addresses gender and FGM/C that will form part of the broader UNFPA/UNICEF Manual on Social Norms and Change. The consultant, together with a training specialist consultant, will work as a team to design, develop, test, deliver, and finalize the training course.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Under the direct guidance of the EVAW Knowledge Management Specialist based in UN Women HQ in New York in close consultation with the Training and Capacity Development Specialist based in the UN Women Training Centre in Santo Domingo, the consultant will be responsible for the following activities and deliverables:

• Activity - Review the existing compilation of literature, training materials, initiatives and institutions related to gender and harmful practices, with particular attention to FGM/C and complement with additional resources to ensure a most comprehensive up-to-date compendium on the topic; and review the existing UNFPA/UNICEF Manual on Social Norms and Change to ensure continuity and cross-referencing;
• Deliverable - Excel spreadsheet of resources and summary report of mapping analysis; due by 20 Sept 2015;
• Activity - Develop a detailed outline for a self-paced course on understanding the linkages between gender, violence against women and harmful practices, in particular FGM/C and for a face-to-face training course on embedding gender into FGM/C prevention programming;
• Deliverable - Detailed outlines of: 1) self-paced course and 2) face-to-face training course;
• Activity - Draft content for a face-to-face training course to embed gender into FGM/C prevention programming; Deliverable - First draft of content for face-to-face training course; due by 10 Sept 2015;
• Activity - Revise draft content of face-to-face training based on feedback and comments from the peer-review meeting; Deliverable - Second draft of content for face-to-face training course; due by 10 Nov 2015;
• Activity - Draft of online self-paced course on understanding the linkages between gender, violence against women and harmful practices, in particular FGM/C;
• Deliverable - First draft of online self-paced course content; due by 15 Nov 2015;
• Activity - Attend and participate in the in-person peer review meeting (location TBD);
• Activity - Revise draft content of online self-paced course and face-to-face training based on feedback and comments from the peer-review meeting; Deliverable - Third draft of content for face-to-face training and second draft of online self-paced course content; due by 20 Jan 2016;
• Activity - Pilot test online self-paced training course;
• Deliverable - Focus group conducted (virtually) with summarized findings from the pilot recorded;
• Activity - Pilot test a face-to-face training course on addressing FMG/C in selected sites. This includes prepare teaching plan and resource materials, deliver the training, and draft report to draw lessons learned;
• Deliverable - Pilot training delivered and pilot training report; due by 30 Apr 2016;
• Activity - Finalize the face-to-face training manual on understanding and addressing gender and FGM/C; Deliverable - Final content for the self-paced course and training manual on addressing gender and FGM/C;
• Activity - Provide technical guidance to the eLearning company to package the online self-paced course to ensure technical accuracy;
• Deliverable - Set of comments to guide the eLearning company; due by 20 Aug 2016.

The consultant will work closely with the Training Specialist Consultant to be contracted to design, develop, deliver, and finalize the training course. The consultant will liaise and work closely with relevant UN Women staff members to ensure effectiveness and efficiency of the course planning, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

The consultancy is expected to work approximately 125 days of work over a 12 month period.

The consultant is expected to travel to the peer review meeting (location TBD) and the pilot tests in selected sites (locations TBD). All travel-related costs will be borne by UN Women.

Competencias

Core Values and Guiding Principles:

Integrity:

• Demonstrate the values of United Nations and UN Women;
• Act without consideration of personal gain;
• Resist undue political pressure in decision-making;
• No abuse of power or authority;
• Stand by decisions in the organization’s interest; and
• Take action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behavior.

Professionalism:

• Show pride in work and achievements;
• Demonstrate professional competence and mastery of subject matter;
• Conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments and achieving results;
• Motivated by professional rather than personal concerns;
• Show persistence when faced with challenges; and remain calm in stressful situations.

Respect for Diversity:

• Work effectively with people from all backgrounds;
• Treat all people with dignity and respect;
• Treat men and women equally;
• Show respect for and understand diverse opinions by examining own biases and behaviours to avoid stereotypical responses; and do not discriminate against any individual or group.

Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values:

• Promoting Ethics and Integrity / Creating Organizational Precedents.

Organizational Awareness:

• Building support and political acumen.

Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring:

• Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation.

Working in Teams:

• Building and promoting effective teams.

Communicating Information and Ideas:

• Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication.

Self-management and Emotional intelligence:

• Creating an emotionally intelligent organization.

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent level of conceptual and analytical capacity;
• A strong understanding of gender, gender-based violence and harmful practices;
• Demonstrated organizational skills and ability to establish priorities and work independently;
• Ability to write in a clear and concise manner and to communicate effectively in English;
• Demonstrates use of initiative and ability to make appropriate linkages in work requirements;
• Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
• Meets deadlines for delivery of products or services;
• Able to work virtually, using communication technologies;
• Strong interpersonal skills;
• Proven skills in desktop computer software such as Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:

• Advanced degree in sociology, gender and women’s rights, public health, or related disciplines is required;
• A Masters or PhD on gender and development with specific focus on gender with some knowledge of FGM/C is highly desirable.

Experience:

• Minimum of 12 years of extensive experience in design theory- and evidence-based programmes and policies to prevent violence against women and girls and harmful practices, including FGM/C;
• Proven record of extensive engagement programmatically and academically in the field of addressing issues from a human rights and gender perspective;
• Experience in facilitating multi-cultural training for adults and in teaching;
• Familiarity with the UN system and specifically on gender equality and women’s empowerment within the UN system.

Language:

• Excellent command of written and spoken English;
• Knowledge of another UN languages will be a strong asset.