Background

BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, UN Women, is the global champion for gender equality, working to develop and uphold standards and create an environment in which every woman and girl can exercise her human rights and live up to her full potential. We are trusted partners for advocates and decision-makers from all walks of life, and a leader in the effort to achieve gender equality.

UN Women has a three-pronged mandate focusing on normative, coordination and programmatic engagement. Through its programmes and projects, UN Women is supporting national partners (governmental and non-governmental) in the implementation of existing international and national commitments to women’s rights and gender equality, it facilitates networking and exchange of good practices and advocates for women’s rights and gender equality in all areas of life. Programmatically, UN Women works in five thematic areas, such as leadership and participation, women’s economic empowerment, ending violence against women, women peace and security, and gender responsive governance. UN Women also invests significantly in the coordination within the UN, with the national institutions, with the civil society organizations and with the international development partners. In 2021 UN Women is commencing implementation of its Strategic Note for the period 2021 – 2025, which is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF 2021 – 2025) and is looking to further develop normative engagement with the key partners in the country. 

Under the supervision of the UN Women Governance and Leadership Coordinator, and overall supervision of the UN Women Representative, in close collaboration with UN Women designated staff, National Normative Consultant, International Normative Consultant, as well as representatives of gender institutional mechanisms, the consultant will be responsible for supporting implementation of normative activities for gender equality and women’s empowerment in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE 

The overall objective of this consultancy is to contribute to improvement of national normative framework for gender equality and women’s empowerment in Bosnia and Herzegovina, based on international normative standards and commitments.

IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE 

The immediate objective of this consultancy is to conduct a legal impact analysis of BiH Gender Equality Law, develop a checklist for alignment of policy and legislation with BiH GEL, develop frameworks fo monitoring and official and alternative/shadow reporting on international and national GEWE normative commitments, support adoption of the Action Plan for the implementation of CEDAW Committee recommendations at the level of BiH, build capacities of gender institutional mechanisms and CSOs and facilitate their dialogue, produce a Progress note on Action Coalitions in BiH, and update Country Gender Equality Profile published in 2020.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the UN Women Governance and Leadership Coordinator and overall supervision of UN Women Representative, the consultant is expected to deliver the following results: 

• Develop a detailed workplan with timeline, outline and methodology to conduct the tasks outlined in this TOR; two selected National Normative Consultants will contribute equally to this task
• Conduct legal impact analysis of BiH Gender Equality Law on gender equality and women’s empowerment in BiH and a develop a checklist for alignment of policy and legislation with BiH GEL for use by legislators and other interested parties; two selected National Normative Consultants will contribute equally to this task
• Develop a monitoring and reporting framework for international and national GEWE normative commitments (namely CEDAW, Beijing DPfA, GAP BiH); two selected National Normative Consultants will contribute equally to this task with expert support from International Normative Consultant
• Provide support in validation, finalization, and preparation for adoption of the previously drafted Action Plan for the implementation of CEDAW Committee recommendations at the level of BiH; two selected National Normative Consultants will contribute equally to this task
• Support establishment of a continuous CSO shadow monitoring and reporting framework for international and national GEWE normative commitments (namely CEDAW, Beijing DPfA, GAP BiH); two selected National Normative Consultants will contribute equally to this task with expert support from International Normative Consultant
• Prepare and deliver 2 capacity building trainings for CSOs to regularly use the established shadow monitoring and reporting framework, and to advocate with the government and engage in a strategic manner; two selected National Normative Consultants will contribute equally to this task with expert support from International Normative Consultant
• Prepare and facilitate 2 joint consultative meetings with gender institutional mechanisms and CSOs in order to strengthen government - CSO dialogue in regard to monitoring and reporting on normative standards and commitments; two selected National Normative Consultants will contribute equally to this task
• Prepare and deliver 2 capacity building trainings for gender institutional mechanisms, line ministries and institutions with the objective to improve their capacities for data collection, monitoring, implementation, and results-based reporting on international and national normative commitments; two selected National Normative Consultants will contribute equally to this task
• Produce a Progress note on Action Coalitions in BiH and develop recommendations for future engagement; two selected National Normative Consultants will contribute equally to this task
• Update Country Gender Equality Profile from 2020 to include developments in 2021-2022 and focus on SDG 5 progress; two selected National Normative Consultants will contribute equally to additional research and consultations with UNCT towards finalization of the update.
• Provide regular updates on the status and progress of implementation through monthly email reports and weekly meetings 
• Final consultancy report in English not exceeding 5 pages developed and approved by UN Women

To facilitate delivery of the above outputs, UN Women will provide the consultant the following: 

• Country Gender Equality Profile
• Normative Overview and Milestones for 2022-2025, reviews of existing processes led by government and CSOs, dedicated to monitoring of implementation of local and international normative commitments
• UNSDCF 2021-2025 and Joint Work Plan 2021-2022
• Socio-economic assessments produced by UN Women and UN in BiH
• Other documents and contacts as necessary 

DELIVERABLES AND TIMEFRAME 

The consultant will be expected to submit the following deliverables within the indicative timeframe: 

The consultancy will last up to 75 consultancy days, in the period from 15 March 2022 – 15 December 2022. The assignment will not require presence on UN Women premises. 

REPORTING 

All deliverables should be submitted to the UN Women Governance and Leadership Coordinator in English unless agreed otherwise in the workplan. Monthly status reports are due on the 1st day of every month starting from 01 May 2022. The final consultancy report should be delivered by 5 December 2022 and should not exceed 5 pages. Approval time required to review the deliverables before authorizing payments is 7 days.   

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/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637 

Functional Competencies: 

Knowledge Management and Learning: 

• Shares knowledge and experience; 
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside UN Women; 
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills; 
• Development and Operational Effectiveness; 
• Demonstrates excellent written and oral communication skills. Communicates sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies; 
• Demonstrates very good understanding of and experience in communications and outreach/advocacy; 
• Ability to perform a variety of standard specialized and non-specialized tasks and work processes that are fully documented, researched, recorded and reported; 
• Ability to review a variety of data, identify and adjust discrepancies, identify and resolve operational problems; 
• Uses Information Technology effectively as a tool and resource; 

Leadership and Self-Management: 

• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback; 
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude; 
• Remains calm, in control and good humoured even under pressure; 
• Proven networking skills and ability to generate interest in UN Women’s mandate; 
• Identifies opportunities and builds strong partnerships with clients and partners; 

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications: 

• Master’s degree in social sciences, law, humanities, political science, or related field.
• Bachelor’s degree in in social sciences, law, humanities, political science, or related field is acceptable in lieu of a master’s degree with additional 2 years of relevant experience.

Work Experience: 

• At least 7 years of demonstrated work experience in gender mainstreaming, policy analysis in the fields of gender equality, political science, social sciences, or related field; 
• At least 5 years of demonstrated work experience with developing or implementing international and national legal, policy frameworks regarding gender equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina; 
• At least 3 years of demonstrated work experience with relevant stakeholders in the country, including gender institutional mechanisms, national institutions, civil society and the international organizations; 
• Previous experience working/consulting for international projects/programmes;
• Fluency in English and B/H/S, excellent spoken and written skills;

EVALUATION OF OFFERS 

UN Women applies a fair and transparent selection process that takes into account both the technical qualification of potential consultants as well as the financial proposals submitted in support of consultant applications. Candidate applications will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of applicant experience, qualifications and a financial proposal. The contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• responsive/compliant/acceptable,
• and having received the highest score out of technical and financial criteria defined below.

Based on a desk technical evaluation, only candidates receiving a minimum of 50 points at technical evaluation will be considered for validation interview.  

Criteria: 

Technical Evaluation (70%) – 70 points

• At least 7 years of demonstrated work experience in gender mainstreaming, policy analysis in the fields of gender equality, political science, social sciences, or related field – 20 points
• At least 5 years of demonstrated work experience with developing or implementing international and national legal, policy frameworks regarding gender equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina – 20 points
• At least 3 years of demonstrated work experience with relevant stakeholders in the country, including gender institutional mechanisms, national institutions, civil society and the international organizations – 20 points
• Previous experience working/consulting for international projects/programmes – 5 points
• Fluency in English and B/H/S, excellent spoken and written skills – 5 points

Financial Evaluation (30%) – 30 points 

• Evaluation of submitted financial offers will be done based on the following formula: S = Fmin / F * 30 
• S - score received on financial evaluation
• Fmin - the lowest financial offer out of all the submitted offers qualified over the technical evaluation round
• F - financial offer under the consideration. 

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS 

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents: 

1. Expression of interest and confirmation of immediate availability 
2. Detailed financial proposal in BAM inclusive of all costs (which includes consultancy fees, travel, accommodation)  
3. Completed UN Women Personal History (P11) form, that can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment 

Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered (all documents indicated above need to be uploaded).

Please note that any envisaged travel and accommodation costs should be covered by the consultant.  

For any additional information, please contact unwomen.bih@unwomen.org 

How to Submit the Application: To submit your application online, please follow the steps below: 

• Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11)- http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment 
• Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), the Financial Proposal, and Expression of Interest into a single file; The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded
• Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement)
• Click 'Apply Now' button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click 'Submit Application' 
• Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above)
• You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system

Qualified women and men and members of minorities are encouraged to apply. UN Women applies fair and transparent selection process that would take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals.  

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process. 

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.)

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.