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.
During crises, such as conflict or disasters, women often endure extreme hardship such as increased violence and insecurity, restricted mobility, and additional care, domestic and livelihood responsibilities. International relief efforts aim to help all those affected, but when based on assumptions of cultural norms and women’s role in society, they can increase insecurity and reverse gains that women had already made. Just as crises are not gender-neutral, effective humanitarian responses cannot be either. This entails working proactively with humanitarian actors to ensure their emergency response plans adequately integrate gender equality and women’s empowerment; that women and girls are equally consulted to understand and address their needs and vulnerabilities; that gender is mainstreamed into humanitarian assessments, reporting and monitoring tools; and that gender experts are included in the humanitarian teams responding to the crisis.
The nature of the crises also requires a more integrated strategy between humanitarian and development actors to strengthen the resilience of the populations most at risk, including women and girls. Within the United Nations, a strong call has been made to further strengthen the linkages between the development, humanitarian and peacebuilding pillars through joint planning and coordinated programming.
In comparison to other regions, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is often not visible in the global discussions regarding humanitarian action given the income level of the countries and the comparatively stronger institutional mechanisms and capacities in place for crisis response.
While recognizing this, the LAC region continues to face a diversity of crisis contexts which require more analysis to understand the impact these contexts have on women’s lives and livelihoods and the role women can play in crisis response. Over the past years, UN Women has been engaged in humanitarian crisis response in very different contexts: from conflict and post-conflict in Colombia and Guatemala, to sudden natural disasters (Chile, Dominica, and Ecuador), to health epidemics like zika outbreak (Brazil, Jamaica). The extremely high levels of violence in several countries of Central America constitutes an additional challenge where both humanitarian and development are engaged.
As part of its knowledge management role, the UN Women regional office has decided to undertake a study to: 1) take stock of the responses provided by UN Women in different crisis contexts, 2) identify good practices and lessons learned, and 3) make recommendations that can help shape a regional strategy on UN Women’s crisis response in LAC.
Deberes y responsabilidades
Objective
The purpose of the consultancy is to elaborate a study, which will be divided into a thematic series of publications as follows:
Theme 1: Conflict/extreme levels of violence (e.g. Colombia, Central America)
Theme 2: Sudden natural disasters (e.g earthquake in Chile and Ecuador, hurricane in Dominica)
Theme 3: Slow onset disasters (e.g. drought in Central America and the Caribbean)
Theme 4: Health epidemics (e.g Zika in Brazil and Jamaica)
Each thematic publication will follow the following format:
- Introduction
- Mapping of the actions carried out by UN Women in that particular crisis context in LAC:
The mapping of actions will follow a harmonized format that will take the following into consideration: the particular context and its implications for women’s lives and livelihoods; what was UN Women’s response; what was UN Women’s impact and success: did it contribute to increasing women’s participation in crisis response; did it support positioning women’s rights and needs as part of the national response; what was UN Women’s coordination role and what were UN Women’s key partnerships.
3. Good practices and lessons learned by type of crisis context: which actions carried out by UN Women had a positive impact on women’s lives and their level of participation in crisis response
4. Recommendations to UN Women as a contribution to the elaboration of a regional strategy for UN Women’s crisis response: recommendations looking at the role of UN Women in strengthening women’s resilience in view of the major risks faced by the region and with the objective of upscaling and replicating these initiatives in LAC.
The study should be practical, with annexes as relevant. It is directed at UN Women staff members working in the region.
Activities and scope of work
Activity 1 - secondary data/information analysis:
- Undertake a desk review of existing documentation on UN Women’s crisis response actions in LAC, taking advantage of the consolidation of information already available through country, regional and global evaluations (e.g. Colombia for instance) and through compilation of good practices (e.g. Zika response in Brazil)
Activity 2 - Collect primary data/information
- Prepare questionnaire for interview of key informants (should be annexed to the study)
- Interview key informants (by phone/skype) from the countries listed in the TORs
- Interview other key informants (by phone/skype) in LAC and other regions as relevant for the compilation of lessons learned. An initial list of key informants will be made available to the consultant.
Activity 3 - Elaborate lessons learned document
- On the basis of the information gathered from primary and secondary sources, the consultant will elaborate an annotated table of contents for the study to be reviewed by UN Women focal point in ACRO
- The consultant will then proceed to draft the actual study in English
- Upon receipt of comments from UN Women ACRO, the consultant will then proceed with finalizing the study in English.
Expected deliverables and payment terms
Payments will be made according to the following schedule in local currency and will be disbursed within 30 days of the submission and approval of the products as follows:
1. (a) Summary of the findings from the analysis of secondary and primary information; (b) Annotated table of contents for the study including annexes. The study should follow the structure proposed in section II of the ToRs. Payment: First payment 50% of the contract. Deadline: By day 25 of the consultancy
2. Final study in English approved. Payment: Second payment 50% of the contract. Deadline: By day 60 of the consultancy (15 days left in the consultancy to incorporate final comments)
It is the responsibility of the consultant to:Responsibility of the consultant
(a) complete the activities and present the final product according to the timeline specified in section VI;
(b) obtain primary and secondary information from other sources, if required, for the finalization of the agreed products.
The consultant will work in close coordination with the UN Women focal point in ACRO
The consultant is not a staff member of the United Nations and will carry out the activities of the consultancy in his/her own working space, which will require technical equipment and the necessary technology to finalize the agreed products.
Supervision of the consultant
The consultant will be supervised by the Strategic Planning and Coordination Specialist in UN Women regional office in Panama.
Competencias
Core Values:
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.
Respect for 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.
Development and Innovation: Take charge of self-development and take initiative.
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 behavior 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.
Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.
Knowledge:
- In-depth knowledge of the international and regional norms regarding women’s rights in the LAC region
- Proven knowledge of IASC policies, guidance and tools related to gender equality
- Proven knowledge on how to develop crisis response plans and programmes with a gender equality perspective
- Fluency in both English and Spanish
Other Requirements:
- Immediate availability
- Methodological proposal for the development of the lessons learned document
Habilidades y experiencia requeridas
Minimum requirements
Academic background
University degree in International development, gender studies and/or disaster management preferred
Or
University degree in political science or social sciences, preferable with a specialization on international law, human rights or humanitarian law
Experience
- A minimum of 7 years working on women’s rights, from an intersectional perspective, with specific experience in the area of humanitarian response, including in LAC
- Experience in elaboration of comparative studies, guidance tools and manuals related to human and/or women’s rights, including in crisis contexts
- Excellent writing skills in English
- Experience working with different constituencies, including Government counterparts, humanitarian NGOs and local NGOs
- Previous experience working for a UN agency an asset
The evaluation will follow several steps as indicated below:
Evaluation
Step 1 – Preliminary evaluation
Before undertaking a detailed evaluation of each offer by the Evaluation Committee, a preliminary examination of the offers will take place. The Committee can reject any offer during the preliminary evaluation if it does not meet the minimum requirements indicated in the present terms of reference, without consulting with the candidates who submitted the offer. Offers will not be considered for further evaluation in the cases when:
They are incomplete (i.e. they do not include the information and documents according to what is specified in these terms of reference)
- The offer has not been properly signed or is no signed
- The validity of the offer does not correspond to the requirements
- The offer does not present any technical or financial details
- If the candidate does not accept correcting arithmetical mistakes
- Offers or modification to the offers sent to any other direction or an electronic email that is not the one specified in the terms of reference
Offers that are incomplete, clearly not compatible, or that contain substantive deviations from the terms of reference and conditions of the contract, can at UN Women’s discretion, be rejected or excluded from consideration at whatever time during the evaluation process, including after the preliminary evaluation.
Step 2 – Technical evaluation:
The evaluation of the technical aspects will be done according to the following methodology: meeting the requirements – most economic price. In this sense, the offers will be evaluated according to whether or not they comply with the minimum requirements specified in the terms of reference.
The consultants who pass the preliminary evaluation and the criteria of academic training and experience, will be called for an interview to check on the criteria of knowledge and other requirements.
Only those who obtain 40 out of 55 points according to the mentioned criteria (minimum requirements) will be considered eligible for a financial evaluation.
Step 3 – Financial Evaluation:
The recommendation to accept an offer will be based on the most economic price/cost, provided all the minimum requirements have been met.
The following evaluation table will be used:
Evaluation criteria
Step 1 – Preliminary evaluation
( ) Meets / ( ) Does Not Meet - Financial offer signed with a period of validity of 90 days ……….…..
( ) Meets / ( ) Does Not Meet - Presentation of the offer in English, in USD
( ) Meets / ( ) Does Not Meet - Curriculum vitae
( ) Meets / ( ) Does Not Meet - Three (3) professional references (name, title, telephone and email) with the aim of confirming the experience working with multilateral cooperation entities, Government, and NGOs
( ) Meets / ( ) Does Not Meet - Copy of the diploma(s) showing evidence that the candidate meets the academic training requirements
( ) Meets / ( ) Does Not Meet - Proposal of working methodology to be used throughout the consultancy
Preliminary result
Step 2 – Technical evaluation - Scoring (*)
Academic training
Score (___) - University degree in International development, gender studies and/or disaster management preferred Or
University degree in political science or social sciences, preferable with a specialization on international law, human rights or humanitarian law
Experience and skills
Score (___) - A minimum of 7 years working on women’s rights, from an intersectional perspective, with specific experience in the area of humanitarian response,including in LAC
Score (___) - Experience in elaboration of comparative studies, guidance tools and manuals related to human and/or women’s rights in crisis contexts
Score (___) - Excellent writing skills in either English
Score (___) - Experience working with different constituencies, including Government counterparts, humanitarian NGOs and local NGOs
Score (___) - Previous experience working for a UN agency an asset
Knowledge
Score (___) - In-depth knowledge of the international and regional norms regarding women’s rights in the LAC region
Score (___) - Proven knowledge of IASC policies, guidance and tools related to gender equality
Score (___) - Proven knowledge on how to develop crisis response plans and programmes with a gender equality perspective
Score (___) - Fluency in both English and Spanish
Other requirements
Score (___) - Methodological proposal for the development of the guidance note
Technical result: Max: 55 points
Step 3 – Financial evaluation
Most economical offer
(The consultants who pass the preliminary evaluation and the criteria of academic training and experience, will be called for an interview to check on the criteria of knowledge and other requirements)
(*) The score will be given according to the following scale: 5 points: excellent; 4 points: very good; 3 points: good; 2 points: satisfactory; 1 point: substandard
The offer that is presented needs to include the following documents (mandatory criteria):
Technical offer, that includes:
- Curriculum Vitae
- Three (3) professional references (name, title, telephone and email) with the aim of confirming the experience working with multilateral cooperation entities, Government, and NGOs. If one of the professional references is negative, the offer will be rejected.
- Copy of the diploma(s) showing evidence that the candidate meets the academic training requirements.
- Proposal of working methodology to be used throughout the consultancy.
Signed financial offer with a period of validity of 90 days (Ref. section II, objective and deliverables)
Important note:
- This consultancy is open to individuals only.
- Offers received from juridical persons will not be considered.
- Offers that are submitted late, after the closing date, will not be considered.