Jobs - 23855- UN Women: Rural Women's Economic Empowerment Consu

UN Women: Rural Women's Economic Empowerment Consultant

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

24-Jun-11 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

4 months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women will work 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. Placing women's rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

In accordance with its multi-year programme of work (2010-2014), the 56th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in 2012 will consider 'The empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges' as its priority theme.

In order to contribute to a full understanding of the issue and to assist the Commission in its deliberations, UN Women in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Food Programme (WFP) will convene an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on 'Enabling rural women's economic empowerment: institutions, opportunities and participation' from 20 to 23 September 2011 in Accra, Ghana [TBC]

The objective of the consultancy is to assist UN Women in preparing for the EGM on 'Enabling rural women's economic empowerment: institutions, opportunities and participation'. The EGM will assess the situation in different sectors and across the world, identify good practices and formulate concrete recommendations for policymakers to support the economic empowerment of rural women. The findings and recommendations of the meeting will provide input to the Secretary-General's reports to the CSW on the priority theme and to the draft agreed conclusions of the CSW.

The Consultant will work between 1 July 2011 and 31 October 2011 under the overall supervision of the Economic Adviser of the Economic Empowerment Cluster and the National Planning Adviser of the Governance Cluster in consultation with gender advisors at FAO, IFAD and WFP.

Duties and Responsibilities

The EGM will focus on key measures taken by different stakeholders for enhancing rural women's position in the family and community, and improving women's role in poverty and hunger eradication in the following critical areas:

Rural women's strengthened role in agriculture;
Rural women's access to productive resources, markets, technology and financing;
Non-farm income-generating opportunities for rural women;
Infrastructure and service-delivery that benefit rural women;
Rural women's role in natural resource management and climate change adaptation;
Effective institutions and enabling policy environment that promotes gender responsive rural development

The consultant will prepare a background paper (20-35 single-space pages) for the EGM, based on strong factual evidence. The paper is expected to develop the issues covered in the concept note and provide an overview of the up-to-date research produced by Governments, academics, NGOs and the private sector, policy papers of major international and regional institutions, and intergovernmental policy frameworks/mandates. The background paper will identify key global and regional trends in rural women's economic status, identify key challenges and strategies to overcome them, lessons learned and good practices.

The following activities will be undertaken by the consultant in close collaboration with UN Women and its partners:

Draft the background paper for the EGM;
Attend the EGM and present the background paper;
Participate in the EGM discussions and provide substantive support to the meeting;
Draft the EGM report, based on the presentation and discussions as well as policy recommendations developed by a group of 10-12 experts during the EGM.

Location of assignment: The consultant will undertake the assignment off-site.

Remuneration: The applicant is requested to submit a financial proposal as a lump sum by deliverables (see below) and travel expenses (including airfare, per diem, visa, etc.).

Travel: The consultant will travel to attend the EGM that will take place from 20-23 September 2011, and present the background paper. Travel expenses of the consultant should be included in the financial proposal for the consultancy (see above).

Expected Outputs/Deliverables:

Outline of the technical background paper submitted for comments and clearance - 15 July 2011.
Annotated outline of the technical background paper - 25 July 2011.
Full version of the technical background paper developed and submitted for technical clearance - 15 August 2011.
Revision of background paper - 10 September 2011.
Draft report on the EGM submitted for technical clearance - 31 October 2011.

Competencies

Core Values/Guiding Principles:

Integrity: Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity: Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Specific Competencies:

Expertise and knowledge of thematic issues related to rural women's economic empowerment.
Strong analytical, organizational, reporting and writing abilities.
Capacity to plan, prioritize and deliver tasks on time.
Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback.
Ability to work under pressure.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree in economics or social sciences or related fields.

Experience:

A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience on gender and socio-economic analysis related to economic development, rural development, agriculture, and/or rural employment.
Knowledge of gender equality issues/approaches and their relevance in relation to economic growth and empowerment.
Demonstrated experience in gender analysis of economic and social policies.
Demonstrated experience in quantitative and qualitative data analysis.

Language Requirements:

Excellent English written skills for diverse audiences (demonstrated through publication record).
Excellent presentation skills.
Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable.

Selection criteria: The candidates will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria: (i) educational background and work experience (based on the CV); (ii) proposal for the background paper; (iii) interview; and (iv) financial proposal.

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.