Background

Background:

UN Women (UNW), 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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women plays an innovative and catalytic role in the State of Palestine since its inception in 1997. UN Women Palestine Office focuses its activities on one overarching goal, namely, to support the implementation at the national level of existing international commitments to advance gender equality in line with the national priorities. In support of this goal, and thoroughly taking into consideration the specificities of the Palestinian context, UN Women concentrates its efforts and interventions toward the realisation of following strategic goals:  Mainstreaming gender in governance, peace and security; Supporting women's economic security and rights; and Promoting women’s rights and protection against violence.

In March 2021, the State of Palestine adopted its second National Action Plan (PALNAP) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). The PALNAP, which was developed by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in cooperation with UN Women and with generous funding from the government of Norway, is based on four pillars: (i) prevention/protection, (ii) accountability, (iii) participation, (iv) relief and recovery and which constitutes the main national accountability framework on the WPS agenda in Palestine, was endorsed by the State of Palestine in March 2021. To bolster its implementation and monitoring, a PALNAP costing exercise was concluded and the development of the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning System for the NAP is underway. The adoption of the PALNAP was recognized as a landmark achievement by the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Office during its April 2021 briefing to the Security Council.

After its adoption, a costing exercise of the PALNAP was conducted. The exercise was undertaken as part of UN Women and MoWA’s joint efforts to ensure adequate resourcing for the PALNAP implementation through the development of a financing mechanism; this will further strengthen this national accountability framework. National partners, including members of the higher national committee and the 1325 National Coalition developed the costing exercise with the support of an expert on gender responsive budgeting.

Objective of the assignment:

The main objective of this assignment is to design a pooled financing mechanism and its governance for the implementation of the Palestinian National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security.  

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of UN Women special representative and direct supervision of the UN Women Head of Gaza Sub-Office, the consultant is expected to deliver on the following specific assignments:

• Get familiarized with  the Palestinian National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (2021-2024) and its related costing exercise and consult with UN Women and MoWA on the scope of the exercise.
• Review regional and international experiences and best practices on pooled NAP financing.
• Based on the above, develop a short inception report detailing proposed methodology, workplan and timeframe.
• Conduct consultation meetings with various national and international stakeholders, on the pooled funding mechanism and its governance modality in cooperation with UN Women and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
• Design the financing mechanism and its governance and present it to different actors including donors to facilitate the process of pledging contributions for the implementation of the specific outcomes mentioned in the National Action Plan.

Deliverables:

Competencies

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.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and  Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

• Sound knowledge of gender and women’s human rights’ national and international frameworks and policies.
• Sound knowledge of financing and governance at a national, international level or within international organizations.
• Excellent organization and planning skills and high attention to detail.
• Ability to meet deadlines and respond positively to feedback.

Ability to complete multiple tasks by establishing priorities.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in international relations, economics, law, gender studies or other relevant fields.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience at national or international level in gender equality, gender responsive budgeting  and/or WPS.
• Proven track record in strategic planning and capacity building with national partners from government and CSOs Demonstrated experience in conducting similar tasks and developing governance and financing mechanisms.
• Familiarity with the Palestinian context on Women, Peace and Security.

Language:

Fluency in English and Arabic is required

Evaluation criteria:

This SSA modality is governed by UN Women General Terms and Conditions. UN Women will only be able to respond to applicants who meet the minimum requirements.

Candidates should clearly indicate how they meet the above-mentioned criteria in their applications.

Candidates should have the ability to quickly submit degree certificates and medical certification (of good health). Candidates will also be invited for a technical exam and an interview.

Evaluation of applicants:

Candidates will be evaluated based on the applicants’ qualifications mentioned above and the result of the technical evaluation, including the interview, and financial offer. A contract will be awarded to the individual consultant who scores the highest score out of 100. Below conditions of passing scores:

Technical evaluation: 70/100

• Master’s degree in international relations, economics, law, gender studies or other relevant fields. (10 marks)
• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience at national or international level in gender equality, gender responsive budgeting  and/or WPS.  (20 points)

• Proven track record in strategic planning and capacity building with national partners from government and CSOs. (15 points)
• Demonstrated experience in conducting similar tasks and developing governance and financing mechanisms. (10 points)
• Familiarity with the Palestinian context on Women, Peace and Security. (5 points)
• Sample of previous work (10 points)

Financial Evaluation: 30/100

Criteria for financial evaluation:

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal:
µ=price of the lowest priced proposal:
z = price of the proposal being evaluated:

The award of contract will be made to the individual consultant who receives the highest combined score out of the weighted technical and financial criteria as specified above.

Application:

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials:

• UN Women P11 including experience in similar assignments; the P11 form can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted;’
• Letter of Interest containing the statement on candidate’s experience and qualification against required qualification, experience and competencies.
• Sample of previous relevant work.

All-inclusive financial proposal indicating the daily fee. Please note that this is a home-based assignment.