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.

The Fiji Multi Country Office (MCO) covers 14 Pacific countries, with field offices/presence in 6 countries, and six ‘focus countries’ (Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Tonga and Samoa). Each field presence is led by a national Country Programme Coordinator with a Programme Officer in Tonga. UN Women, in partnership with Pacific Islands Governments, regional organizations, CSOs, donors and UN agencies, focuses on delivering within four interlinked programme areas:

• Women’s Political Empowerment and Leadership (WPEL)
• Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE)
• Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG)
• Gender and Protection in Humanitarian Action (GPiHA) and Disaster Risk Reduction

The UN Women Pacific Multi-Country Office is based in Suva, Fiji and works alongside the 19 other UN agencies in the region and in 14 countries: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

The incidence of violence against women and girls in the Pacific Islands is amongst the highest rates in the world. For example, 64% of women in Fiji who have ever been in an intimate relationship have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a husband or intimate partner over the course of their lifetime[1]. Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is a central barrier to gender equality and a cause of widespread violation of human rights across the Pacific. To respond to the rates of violence in the Pacific, UN Women has developed a comprehensive EVAWG programme which takes a transformative approach to prevent violence against women and girls at multiple levels (regional, national and community), and to improve survivors’ access to quality response services. 

UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office’s (MCO) EVAWG programme is implemented primarily under the Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls (hereafter referred to as ‘Pacific Partnership’).  The Pacific Partnership brings together governments, civil society organizations, communities and other partners to promote gender equality, prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG), and increase access to quality response services for survivors. The programme aims - through innovative approaches to education, access to essential services, and policy development - to transform the social norms that allow violence against women and girls to continue and to support national and regional institutions meet their gender equality commitment. The EUR 22.7 million programme is funded primarily by the European Union (EUR 12.7m) with targeted support from the Governments of Australia (EUR 6.2m) and New Zealand (EUR 3.2) and cost-sharing with UN Women (EUR 0.6m).

[1] The Situation of Women in Fiji, Governments 2nd, 3rd and 4th report to the CEDAW Committee

Objectives of the assignment

UN Women Fiji MCO is looking for an individual to support specific monitoring and evaluation activities in support of the Pacific Partnership partners; to coordinate and manage information management requests, especially during emergency response, and to catalogue and archive media and other monitoring.

For this purpose, the selected consultant will work under the overall coordination of the Pacific Partnership Programme Manager, and direct supervision of the Deputy Programme Manager, the Prevention and Services Specialists and the Communications Advisor.

Scope of Work / Duties and Responsibilities

UN Women therefore seek the services of an Individual Consultant who will provide monitoring and evaluation, reporting as well as information management support on key areas such as:

• Organise and lead the process for the Pacific Partnership Annual report;
• Collect and analyse contributions from the Pacific Partnership team in relation to country M&E and reporting, including high quality inputs into the UN Women Results Based Reporting System;
• Lead Information management, documentation and record keeping of all the processes, meetings and correspondences of EVAWG Team meetings & Fiji GBViE meetings;
• Provide direct support to the Pacific Partnership partners to manage M&E, reporting, country reflections in relation to the implementation of the Pacific Partnership;
• Catalogue, organise and track media monitoring.

Duration of the Assignment

The duration of this assignment will be up to 200 working days over a 12 months’ assignment, as per the tentative schedule of deliverables under Section V. 

Expected Deliverables

The incumbent being responsible for delivering the following outputs:

• Monthly reports on major tasks performed and the results, including related to support provided to the Pacific Partnership programme.
• Final report on carried out activities, achievements and challenges.
• Information, analytical work papers, relevant to the assignment. 

The reports must describe the progress of the achievements under the deliverables table as per below:

All deliverables should be agreed by the UN Women Fiji MCO and provided in the form of final word documents and appropriately referenced data, as well as direct inputs into UN Women results based reporting system.  The above is a draft timetable.

Upon receipt of the final deliverables and prior to the payment of the instalment, monthly timesheet, the deliverables, related reports, and documents will be reviewed and approved by UN Women at least within one week of submission.

All the documents and deliverables should be agreed with UN Women, and reports should be submitted in written English language. Note that all materials, including images will remain property of UN Women and cannot be used without UN Women’s permission.

Inputs

UN Women will provide the consultant with necessary information on the activities and materials for a better understanding of the context and for the successful fulfilment to above mentioned tasks.

The Consultant will work remotely.

UN Women will cover the costs of any associated travel and expenses, that may be required to complete the required components of the assignment.

Management Arrangements:

The Consultant will work under the overall coordination of the Pacific Partnership Programme Manager and direct supervision of the Deputy Programme Manager, in close collaboration with technical specialist based in Suva and  country coordinators in Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.

Performance evaluation

The Consultant’s performance will be evaluated based on timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.

Financial Arrangements

Payments will be disbursed to the consultant in monthly instalments, upon submission of timesheet and approval of deliverables set forth in Section “Expected Outputs and Deliverables” above and certification by the Deputy Programme Manager that the services have been satisfactorily performed.

Payment will be made within 30 (thirty) days after receipt and acceptance of the specified deliverable and corresponding invoice but only after UN Women have certified that the services have been satisfactorily performed by the Consultant.

No DSA or relocation costs will be provided for the position, unless otherwise authorised, of which the standard UN Travel Rules and Guidelines will apply.

Travel

This is a home-based consultancy.

As such, it is anticipated that no travel will be required for this assignment i.e. outside of duty station (Suva, Fiji); unless authorised by UN Women, which will follow UN Travel Rules and Guidelines. However, pending COVID-19 travel restrictions, up to 3 monitoring and evaluation visits may be required to Suva, Fiji and/or another country in the region. In that case, travel costs will be supported by UN Women separately (travel by air and DSA) and pre-approved by the line manager. The position is otherwise home-based/remote.

Core Values

• Respect for Diversity;
• Integrity;
• Professionalism.

Core Competencies

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Functional Competencies

• Ability to think conceptually, strategically and analytically;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Results oriented, flexible and problem-solving skills.

The Consultant should fulfil the following requirements:

Location:

Home based consultancy.

Education:

• Master degree or equivalent in social science, human rights, gender/women’s studies, international development, or other related fields is required.
• A first-level university degree with 2 additional years of progressively responsible experience at the national and/or international level may be accepted in lieu of Master’s degree.
• Other formal education relevant for the assignment will be an advantage.

Experience and Skills:

• At least 2 years (with Masters’ degree) or 4 years (with first-level university degree) of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in monitoring, evaluation and reporting work.
• At least minimum of 2 years on proven record in working on M&E of EVAWG programmes, information management in emergency contexts.
• Experience working with diverse group of people with sensitivity and inclusivity.
• Experience with UN Women reporting systems and documentation is an asset.
• Experience in working with international organizations in the Pacific is an asset.

Language and other skills:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.
• Computer literacy and ability to effectively use office technology equipment, IT tools, including ability to use internet and email.
• Experience using UN Women results based reporting and management system will constitute an advantage

Evaluation

Initially, individual consultants will be short-listed based on the following minimum qualification criteria:

• Master degree or equivalent in social science, human rights, gender/women’s studies, international development, or other related fields is required.
• A first-level university degree with 2 additional years of progressively responsible experience at the national and/or international level may be accepted in lieu of Master’s degree.
• At least 2 years (with Masters’ degree) or 4 years (with first-level university degree) of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in monitoring, evaluation and reporting work.

The shortlisted individual consultant will be further evaluated based on a cumulative analysis process, with a total score being obtained upon the combination of weighted technical and financial attributes.

Cost under this method of analysis is rendered as an award criterion, which will be 30% out of a total score of 100 points.

Evaluation of submitted offers will be done based on the following formula:

where:

Technical evaluation will be represented through desk review of applications. Interviews and/or written tests will be organized if needed only, depending on the short-listed candidates’ qualifications.

1. Technical Qualification Evaluation Criteria: The technical part is evaluated based on its responsiveness to the Terms of Reference (TOR).

Financial Qualification Evaluation Criteria: In the Second Stage, the financial proposal of candidates, who have attained minimum 70% score in the technical evaluation (at least 49 points), will be compared.

WINNING CANDIDATE

The winning candidate will be the candidate, who has accumulated the highest aggregated score (technical scoring + financial scoring).

Submission of application

Interested candidates are requested to submit fully completed application on the UNDP Vacancy Site. 

Submission Package:

1. Cover letter explaining the suitability of the consultant: applicants are encouraged to address experience and qualifications listed in the ‘criteria for technical evaluation’.
2. Duly filled Personal History Form (P11) and/or Curriculum Vitae (CV) of Consultant including records of experience in similar assignments and specific outputs obtained; P11 can be downloaded at: https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment
3. Financial proposal – specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference.  The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (daily rate and number of anticipate working days and any other possible costs).
4. Please read, use and complete ANNEX I and ANNEX II below to provide your financial proposal.

Applications without a complete financial proposal will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.  UN Women reserves the right to accept or reject any bid.

The consultancy recruitment process will be governed by the rules and regulations of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).

UN Women Statement on Diversity and Inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided?on the basis of?qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.? 

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.? 

UN Women?has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United  Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.? All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check).

Deadline of all submission: 3rd December 2021

Annex I

Price Proposal Guideline and Template

The prospective Individual Contractor should take the following explanations into account during submission of his/her price proposal.

1.Lump Sum Amount

The price proposal should indicate a "lump sum amount" which is "all-inclusive"; All costs (professional fees, living allowances, communications, consumables, etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Individual Contractor needs to be factored into the proposed price.

UN Women will not withhold any amount of the payments for tax and/or social security related payments. UN Women shall have no liability for taxes, duties or other similar charges payable by the Individual Contractor in respect of any amounts paid to the Individual Contractor under this Contract, and the Contractor acknowledges that UN Women will not issue any statements of earnings to the Individual contractor in respect of any such payments.

Contract price is fixed to activities/deliverables indicated in the ToR, regardless of the changes in the cost components (such as days invested for completion of the deliverables.)

2.Travel costs

No travel is envisaged for the implementation of the current assignments, unless otherwise advised by UN Women. 

UN Women will apply UN Travel Rules and Guidelines, if travel is envisaged.

3.Daily Subsistence Allowance

Not applicable.

4.Currency of the price proposal

The applicants are requested to submit their price proposals in USD.   

In case of proposals in other currency, these shall be converted into USD using the official UN exchange rate for currency conversion at the date of applications’ submission deadline.

Annex II

Price Proposal Submission Form

[ Mandatory document for the Consultant to complete and submit]

To:          United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

Ref:         Individual Consultant – To Support M&E, Pacific Partnership, UN Women Fiji MCO

Dear Sir / Madam,

I, the undersigned, offer to provide professional consulting services to UN Women within the scope of the referred Assignment.  Having examined, understood, and agreed to the Terms of Reference and its annexes, the receipt of which are hereby duly acknowledged, I, the undersigned, offer to deliver professional services, in conformity with the Terms of Reference.

My maximum total price proposal for the assignment is given below:

Estimated Costs (in USD$)

*** Please be informed that for shorter assignments than a full day, the daily rate will be pro-rated into hourly rate.

I confirm that my financial proposal will remain unchanged.  I also confirm that the price that I quote is gross, and is inclusive of all legal expenses, including but not limited to social security, income tax, pension, etc., which shall be required applicable laws.

I agree that my proposal shall remain binding upon me for 90 working days.

I understand that you are not bound to accept any proposal you may receive.