Background

The COVID-19 crisis has put a tremendous challenge to the transition government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in the Philippines, which has been newly established. The Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) and BARMM Ministries have yet to fully configured its administrative apparatus, and the region as a whole is still navigating a delicate normalization process, including peacebuilding, conflict prevention and resolution.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in the Philippines, there has also been a general rise in tension and violent conflict in communities across BARMM[1]. Skirmishes between the Armed Forces of Philippines (AFP) and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), armed confrontations between Moro MILF and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) groups, local clashes between identity groups over land, and armed lawless elements risk derailing the fragile peace process and highlight the additional constraints on the region’s peace and security efforts.

Prior to COVID-19, the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law in 2019, following the agreements set forth in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in 2014, led to the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). This heralded a potential era for peace in the region. The Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) assumed its role as the interim governing body soon after and is currently leading the BARMM through a three-year transition ahead of elections in 2022. However, the establishment of the BARMM has inevitably added another layer of borders, identities, and alterities, in which there are opportunities for both peace and conflict. The adoption of the CAB sought to address some of the underlying causes of the Moro conflict, however there are still broader conflicts that go beyond the peace agreement’s initial scope. Conflict between identity groups, disputes between clans and factions, contentious political contests between status quo and new political actors in the run-up to the 2022 elections, as well as an overarching prevalence of violent extremism, continue to burden the region’s nascent steps towards stability. The current burdens and constraints leave the region facing stark scenarios. On the one hand, the confluence of the administrative restructuring, the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 elections could motivate warring groups to arrive at political settlements that end longstanding insurgencies in Mindanao. On the other hand, it could also provoke a more violent interlude of rising crime and community-level violence magnified by the loss of livelihoods, as well as a scramble for scarce economic and political resources on the eve of the 2025 national elections.

The creation of an implementation team to support the Bangsamoro Women’s Commission (BWC) is among the agreements outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding between UN Women  and BWC for modalities of cooperation and convergence.

UN Women seeks to hire a consultant to support the communication and advocacy of the Women,  Peace and Security (WPS) Unit to deliver communication and advocacy materials, support the development and dissemination of the knowledge products and support the WPS advocacy network in BARMM and across Mindanao materials and knowledge products, lead the conduct of some C4D activities and manage the WPS Advocacy Network in BARMM and all of Mindanao.

Under the overall supervision of National Programme Officer, the consultant will support a coherent communication and advocacy work across the WPS portfolio of UN Women, including five projects with a particular focus on BARMM. This includes the UN-Peacebuilding Fund (PBF)Phase 3 project, Normalization and Women, Peace and Security Phase 2, Advancing the WPS in ASEAN Regional Programme, PVE and Hate Speech in the BARMM through Women Empowerment, among others.

[1] Peace remains fragile in the BARMM in the context of COVID-19. During ECQ, several conflicts have transpired in Maguindanao. From the period of 16 March to 23 April, there were 37 clashes recorded by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The violence resulted in the death of a 10-year old girl, and her seven-year old sister, and injuries to their pregnant mother, and 13 others, during Eid’l Fitr marking the end of Ramadan. 

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultancy assignment includes the following duties and responsibilities:

• Develop a Communication and Advocacy Plan for UN Women-WPS Unit for all Projects to be implemented in 2022
• Organization of WPS Advocacy Network composed of BARMM agencies, CSOs, academic and youth organizations who will host quarterly online or in-person caucus discussing WPS issues and challenges
• Prepare monthly one (1) Press Release, three (3) Photo Stories and three (3) Social Media Cards with snapshots of WPS milestones for the activities planned or implemented.
• Facilitate or host UN Women team in radio/ TV programs or via Zoom or MS Teams to discuss the gains and milestones of WPS implementation in BARMM, Mindanao or even at the national level.
• Develop quarterly knowledge products such as Good Practice in the implementation of the WPS Action Plans, Guidelines for Developing Key Messages for WPS Projects and Guidelines for development of IEC Materials and Scripts for Radio and TV Programs.
• Conduct of quarterly caucus of WPS Advocacy Network to discuss updates on  WPS Concerns and also provide capacity-building to the members of the network. Ideally, this will be done using two (2) in person event, and two (2) online modality.
• Develop Semi- Annual Session Guides for the Capacity Development of WPS partners on C4D which includes BARMM agencies and ministries, formal and informal Security Sector, Women Community Leaders and national and BARMM CSOs.

Expected deliverables and timelines

Contract period and work location

The consultant will be working at home but is occasionally required to provide direct support and report to the activities and workshops of UN Women implemented in BARMM or any location in the Philippines.   The duration of this contract is from January 15, 2022 to December 21, 2022.

Competencies

Knowledge and experience:

• Demonstrated strong competencies and knowledge on Communications, Journalism, Capacity Building and  Media Networking;
• Excellent organizing and coordination skills;  
• Fluency in English and Tagalog.

Corporate competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the United Nations’ values and ethical standards;
• Promotes vision, mission and strategic goals of the UN and UN Women;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Ability and willingness to work as part of a team to meet tight deadlines and produce high quality work.

Required Skills and Experience

Required qualifications:

• At least Masters degree on Communications, Journalism, Social Sciences, Political Science with a special focus on Gender and Women, Empowerment;
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Minimum five (5) years on of relevant work experience in Communications and conduct of training workshops or related to developing communication products.
• Published written work in the area of gender and peace, security and governance is a plus
• Excellent command of English and Tagalog.  Knowledge of BARMM dialects is highly desirable.

Evaluation

Applications will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis:

• Technical qualification (100 points); weight: (70%)
•  Financial proposal (100 points): weight (30%)

A two-stage procedure is utilized in evaluating the applications, with evaluation of the technical application being completed prior to any price proposal being compared. Only the price proposal of the candidates who passed the minimum technical score of 70% of the obtainable score of 100 points in the technical qualification evaluation will be evaluated.

Technical qualification evaluation criteria:

Only the candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% of total points will be considered as technically-qualified candidates who may be contacted for validation interview.

Financial/Price Proposal evaluation:

• Only the financial proposal of candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% score in the technical evaluation will be considered and evaluated.
• The total number of points allocated for the price component is 100.
• The maximum number of points will be allotted to the lowest price proposal that is opened/ evaluated and compared among those technical qualified candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% score in the technical evaluation. All other price proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.

Submission of application

Interested candidates are encouraged to submit electronic application to hr.bangkok@unwomen.org, with cc to rosemarie.delacruz@unwomen.org, not later than 10 December 2021, 1700H Philippine time.

Submission package includes: 

1. Cover letter;
2. Curriculum vitae including contact information of at least 3 referees;
3.  A sample of similar work done previously;
4. A copy of the latest academic certificate;
5. UN Women P-11 form, available via  http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/about-us/jobs; and
6. A financial proposal. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount per each deliverable, including any administrative fees (internet cost, etc), based on the template in Annex 1. The lump sum costs must be accompanied by a detailed breakdown of costs calculation.

Applications without any of the items listed above will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further processing.

The Consultant might be requested to travel on mission within Indonesia for face-to-face meetings, for which travel costs and Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) will be provided. Travel Authorization will be granted to the Consultant prior to the travel date

DSA and terminal allowance for domestic travel costs will be paid to the Consultant based on UN Women's travel rules and regulations.

UN Women Indonesia will provide travel cost for airfare and any other transportation.

Upon completion of missions, the Consultant shall be responsible for submitting a mission report, F10 form, boarding passes and other travel stubs.

Payments

Payments for this consultancy will be based on the achievement of each deliverable and certification that each has been satisfactorily completed. Payments will not be based on the number of days worked but on the completion of each stated deliverable within the indicated timeframes.

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.)