Jobs - 25464- UN Women: Rio+20 Consultant: Progress made and rem

UN Women: Rio+20 Consultant: Progress made and remaining challenges

Location :

Home based

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

15-Oct-2011

Application Deadline :

07-Oct-11 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

3 months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

3 months

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.

The 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (The ‘Earth Summit’), held in Rio, led to worldwide recognition that the current development model is not sustainable and that economic and social development needs to be decoupled from resource depletion and environmental pollution, and that inequitable systems perpetuating poverty need to be restructured. Agenda 21, adopted at this conference, devoted a full chapter to “Global Action for Women Towards Sustainable and Equitable Development” and recognized women as one of nine major and critical groups for the formulation and implementation of policies for sustainable development.

However, twenty years later it has become evident that efforts to address sustainable development are fragmented and too weak to ensure real change. A Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) is scheduled to take place in Brazil in 2012, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the 1992 Earth Summit, and the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).

The objective of the Rio+20 Conference is to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development, assessing the progress made and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development, and addressing new and emerging challenges. The focus will be on two themes: (a) a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication; and (b) the institutional framework for sustainable development.

The Rio+20 provides an opportunity to renew commitment and strengthen attention to gender equality and women’s empowerment in sustainable development, assess progress made and remaining gaps on gender equality and women’s empowerment, and highlight the gender perspectives of the two themes of the conference.

UN Women will recruit four consultants to prepare four papers that will feed into the preparations for Rio+20:

Progress made and remaining challenges in the implementation of the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21, the Beijing Platform for Action and the Millennium Declaration.
The critical role of women as leaders, contributors and beneficiaries of social and economic development and environmental protection, and the triple win of reinforcing the linkages between the three pillars of sustainable development.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment through an effective and coherent institutional framework for sustainable development.
Empowerment of women in a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.

The papers should build on country evidence, experiences and lessons learned; highlight good practices and emerging policy issues at the national level as well as global challenges.

Duties and Responsibilities

The objective of the paper on “Progress made and remaining challenges in the implementation of the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21, the Beijing Platform for Action and the Millennium Declaration” is to assess progress, gaps and challenges in the implementation of internationally agreed commitments on sustainable development from a gender perspective at all levels. Specific attention will be given to the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21 (in particular Chapter 24), the Beijing Platform for Action and the Millennium Declaration.

The paper will consist of four main parts:

1. The implementation of the internationally agreed commitments on sustainable development. - This part will analyze a range of documentation and processes, including, but not limited to:

Rio Declaration and Agenda 21: (i) Rio+20 preparatory documents (e.g. the Synthesis Report to the Second Preparatory Committee for Rio+20 and responses to the Rio+20 Questionnaire); (ii) Reviews of the implementation of Agenda 21 by the Commission on Sustainable Development; (iii) Sustainable development action plans for the implementation of Agenda 21 at the national and local levels.
Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA): (i) Report of the Secretary-General for the 15-year review of the BPfA (Beijing+15); (ii) responses to the questionnaire for Beijing+15; (iii) Priority themes of the Commission on the Status of Women (1997 and 2002); and National and local action plans for the implementation of the BPfA, in particular with reference to the Critical Area of Concern on Women and the environment.
Millennium Declaration: national reporting on the Millennium Development Goals.

2. Lessons learned and good practices, and emerging policy issues and challenges.

3. Emerging issues that require attention at Rio+20: issues relevant for gender equality and women’s empowerment not reflected in these internationally agreed commitments.

4. Conclusions and recommendations for further action by Governments, bilateral and multilateral organizations, including the UN and the International Financial Institutions, civil society and the private sector.

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.

Expected Outputs/Deliverables:

Outline of paper
Annotated outline of paper
First draft paper for circulation to key stakeholders and peer reviewers for comments, inputs and suggestions (through UN-Women)
Second draft incorporating comments, inputs and suggestions received by UN-Women
Final paper

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 on gender equality and sustainable development.
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, social and/or environmental sciences.

Experience:

A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience on gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of sustainable development.
A good understanding of multilateral policy processes and the institutional framework for sustainable development.

Language Requirements:

Excellent English written skills for diverse audiences (demonstrated through publication record).
Excellent conceptual, writing and presentation skills;
Fluency in oral and written English is required.
Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable.

Selection criteria: The candidates will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

Educational background and work experience (based on the CV)
Proposal on the paper
Interview
Financial proposal.

Proposal:

Please include your financial proposal as a lump sum.
Please specify how you would tackle the issue of ‘Progress made and remaining challenges in the implementation of the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21, the Beijing Platform for Action and the Millennium Declaration’ in the paper. What key issues would you address? (not more than 500 words).
Explain why you would be the most suitable candidate for undertaking this consultancy. (not more than 500 words)
Please indicate at least 3 reference persons.