Background

• Identifying gender inequalities and quantifying them in each sector.
• Strengthening the knowledge base on the situation of women in Zimbabwe.
• Documenting and analyzing support to promotion of women's empowerment and gender equality during the period 2005 to date.
• Analyzing lessons learned and best practices for future programming and sharing with partners.
• Providing concrete conclusions and recommendations (short-term, medium-term and long-term) to guide Government of Zimbabwe, UN, Donors, Civil Society in undertaking strategic and high impact interventions aimed at accelerating women's empowerment and gender equality.

Duties and Responsibilities

1.- Conduct a desk review, which would identify and summarise the main findings of relevant work conducted over the last 3-5 years and this will include but not specific to:

• A review of selected GoZ documents specific to the situation of women and gender equality, published since 2005, such as the, MDGs, macro-economic policies such as the Medium Term Plan (MTP), sector studies and CEDAW reports among others.  The consultant should liaise with the Inter-ministerial Committee on Human Rights for pertinent information and documents in this regard.
• Examination of the current GoZ and donor programmes in Zimbabwe (existing, pipeline) to assess existing areas of focus in terms of gender and identify gaps and opportunities.

2.- Undertake a gender analysis documenting women's situation, including analysis of constraints and promising approaches to overcoming these constraints.  The role of culture and tradition should also be interrogated in as far as it has contributed to influencing the current gender inequalities: 

• Including rationale for addressing gender in sectors, identify key gender issues per sector in rural and urban; and linkages to cross sectoral issues such as poverty, education, VAW.
• Identify key players/mapping of the stakeholders, partners.

3.- Review the situation of women in the following thematic area/sectors:

• Economic cluster: Assess the extent to which women are participating in the economy and identify quantifiable gaps including access and control over resources/assets and opportunities in the following sectors:
  - Agriculture.
  - Mining.
  - Tourism.
  - Industry/Manufacturing.
  - Trade (both formal and informal).
  - Small  and Medium Enterprise sector.
• Social Cluster:
  - Education specifically looking at education policy; literacy; school enrolment and completion, cost and delivery of education and training including access to training in science and technology.
  - Health with specific reference to: HIV/AIDS and rights and other communicable diseases; health and nutrition status; reproductive rights: access to and cost and delivery of health services; wellness and disability issues.  Water and sanitation are a key issue within the health sector and should be assessed.
• Rights and interests cluster:
  - Domestic violence: the extent to which the Domestic Violence Act has been institutionalized and assesses enforcement using quantifiable data.
  - Women's access to justice within VAW context.
  - Peace and security: identify specific threats to women's peace and security and the involvement of women in peace building.
  - Assess rights issues in women's world of work and their participation in business and worker's representation bodies such as ZCTU and EMCOZ.
• Political participation and decision-making: assess the gender gaps at both central, local levels.  Examine the local governance structures and service delivery with regards to women's participation and benefits. In addition identify gaps in public administration including public enterprises specifically appointment to public boards.
• Infrastructure cluster:
  - Energy is critical for women's reproductive roles; women are responsible for ensuring that the energy needs of the household are met. It is important to assess their access and control over energy resources and critically evaluate the impact of climate change and other environmental issues on women.
  - Transport.
  - Water:  the study should assess access, control and management issues around water.

6.- Research methodology:

• As the lead researcher develop and present a methodology to conduct research and produce the documentation in collaboration with other team members. This could include development of a work plan and book outline (table of contents) as well as to propose clear research support that shall be required for the completion of the work, within the first week of the assignment. The methodology will be presented to the Reference Committee chaired by the Ministry of Women's Affairs, Gender and Community Development for approval.
• Undertake a desk review of existing literature and available information and data pertinent to the research, liaising with UNWOMEN GSP team, Ministry of Women's Affairs, UNGTG, GSP donor partners and implementing partners and other relevant actors.
• In close coordination with Ministry of Women's Affairs, ZIMSTATS and other relevant government institutions tasked with collecting and analyzing data, analyze  (a) the available demographic data of women in key sectors, (b) identify gaps and opportunities.
• For each thematic area/sector, provide both qualitative and quantitative data to help map out the major players, assess the capacity of government machineries to mainstream gender and identify gender gaps.  Work with Zim Stats to collect and verify latest statistics in each of the sectors.  Where no statistics exist, extra effort should be made to collect primary data to come up with the statistics.
• Within each sector, it would be important to assess the participation of women in the decision-making processes; the legal framework guiding the operation of each sector. It would also be important to assess government policies or institutions that are creating an enabling or inhibiting environment for gender equality in each sector.
• Identify and hold consultation meetings and interviews with key UNWOMEN partners and other relevant sources.
• Conduct and lead the validation workshop of the draft publication to check the accuracy of the findings and to collect comments and initial reactions from UNWOMEN, Ministry of Women's Affairs, UNGTG, GSP partners and other relevant stakeholders on the findings.
• Incorporation of comments and key ideas arising from the validation workshop and eventually from a reviewing panel to be set up by UNWOMEN and Ministry of Women's Affairs.

• Write and produce a publish-ready manuscript, of 80 - 90 pages (or as agreed with UNWOMEN).
• Present first draft of the manuscript to UNWOMEN and Ministry of Women's Affairs by 15 October 2011.
• Present draft version of the manuscript at a UNWOMEN/Ministry of Women's Affairs validation workshop on 30 October 2011.
• Provide a final product on a CD and a printed copy on 15 October 2011.
  

Competencies

• 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. 

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modeling the UN's values and ethical standards, commitment to UN WOMEN's mission, vision, Core Values and strategic goals.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, and age sensitivity and adaptability.
• Ability to establish and maintain strategic partnerships with government institutions, donors, civil society partners and other UN agencies.  
• Excellent interpersonal and professional communication and presentation skills and abilities.
• Has the ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and work independently within the area of responsibility and achieve planned results. 
• Strong teamwork spirit and interpersonal skills demonstrated by the ability to gain the assistance and cooperation of others in a team endeavour.
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity. 
• Sound judgment and decision-making skills, with the ability to make effective timely decisions.
• Foster Innovation and Empowerment/Performance Management.
• Team Work/Communications/Self-Management.
• Strategic Thinking/Results Orientation and Commitment to Excellence.
• Knowledge Sharing/Continuous Learning.

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent writing skills with demonstrable ability for preparing UN and donor reports.
• Excellent oral presentation, research, written and fact-checking skills.
• Strong gender analytical skills and strong understanding of the application of CEDAW, CRC and other human rights instruments in programming.
• Strong analytical skills and research background on result-based program management and familiarity with donor reporting requirements.
• Strong analytical and research background on result-based program management and familiarity with donor reporting requirements.
• Analytical and communication skills.
• A high level of professionalism and integrity to be demonstrated at all times.
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills.
• Must be able to work with minimum supervision.
• Knowledge of computer software programs such as the Microsoft Office suite.

Required Skills and Experience

• Advanced university degree in Social Sciences and related fields.
• Strong knowledge of the socio-economic and political context of women in Zimbabwe.

Experience:

• Over fifteen years of practical field experience as a professional writer of manuscripts, books, journals and other publications at international level. 
• Writing experience with UN, international organizations and/or research institutions with specific emphasis on gender and development issues in Africa. 
• Demonstrated published materials at high international standards. 
• Strong understanding of the socio-economic and political context of women in Zimbabwe.
• Extensive years of experience in conducting field research on gender equality, women's empowerment and other social and political issues in Africa.

Language:

• Proficiency in English.