Background

As part of UN Women’s ongoing  programme “Promoting Innovations in HIV and EVAW areas”, UN Women launched a series of targeted initiatives to support the continued and increased participation of girls and women living with HIV and women- led organizations in HIV and EVAW dialogues and processes in years of 2020-2023 and to promote the gender agenda in all policies.

The overall objective of HIV project, that UN Women Kyrgyzstan Country Office is implementing, are:

1. strengthen capacity and technical expertise through strategic learning for stigma and discrimination prevention; and
2. enhance dialogue and partnerships for strategic action the various stakeholders working in the area of HIV prevention

To achieve these objectives, UN Women is recruiting two consultants to conduct participatory consultations with partners working HIV field. The consultations are expected to result in a qualitative, in-depth needs-assessment of priorities and pressing issues of women living with HIV and women from key population groups, and identify capacity and/or technical gaps to support gender actors in HIV field and participation of women living with HIV and those from key population groups in decision-making processes. It is expected that consultant will use social innovation and participatory methods, such as Design Thinking with community participation, within the need assessment.

The overall objective of the assessment is to better understand the priorities, existing capacities and solutions of women living with HIV and stakeholders working in HIV and EVAW fields to support women’s empowerment and advocate for gender equality and gender agenda in all policies.  The consultant is expected to deliver Design Thinking Workshop for partners working in the HIV field, including women living with HIV and women from key population groups. The aim is to provide relevant stakeholders with the theoretical understanding of Design Thinking and its five stages but also to empower and inspire them to strategically address the complexities and finding solutions to multi-faceted (self-stigma, stigma and discrimination) problems. The exercise is expected to contribute to the strengthening of the service delivery through fostering solution-based approach; advocating social innovation thinking; and promoting human-centred approach and gender-sensitive practices across all HIV interventions. The participants of the workshop will include the UN agencies implementing projects on HIV prevention, AIDs coordinating 

agencies, partners in HIV field and women living with HIV. Additionally, Design Thinking sessions with particular thematic focus will be delivered

Expected Results of the need assessment:

• Priorities, challenges and solutions of women living with HIV are identified
• Knowledge and capacities of women living with HIV and women from key population groups are enhanced to meaningfully engage in, offer solutions and influence HIV interventions, stigma prevention dialogues and processes shaping the inclusive programs in HIV field

Duties and Responsibilities

The contracted consultant is expected to undertake the following activities: 

Preparatory phase  

• Familiarize with the HIV programme; relevant country reports and programme documents in order to better understand the context and criticalities in applying Design Thinking
• Conduct mapping of NGOs working in HIV field and the identified actors who are to participate in the workshops
• Interview on gender dimensions in HIV area of partners working in HIV field on the issues of Implementing Partners, and their beneficiaries (women living with HIV) where relevant in order to tailor the workshop to the needs on the ground (app up to 10-15 interviews)
• Develop a tailored methodology for the Participatory Design Thinking workshop and mentoring programme (Design Thinking sessions) specifying key approaches and tools, including a user-journey exercise, to be used to the context of Kyrgyzstan
• Develop an example outline and methodology including preparation, delivery, and follow-up action plan for design thinking trainings, including workshops and follow up sessions which will be aligned to the needs of actors working in
• Produce the inception report that explains the methodology adopted and how the consultant will ensure the timely production of the deliverables.

Implementation phase  

               Co-creation workshop - 3 days

• Conduct Co-creation Workshop, 3 days for maximum 30 people.
• Provide use-journey profiles (Prototype of the Pathway of Women living with HIV, women from key population groups and NGOs working in HIV area) developed during the workshops (personal stories) for the UN Women team that will be used for development of Profiles of women living with HIV or NGOs working in HIV field.
• Prepare workshop reports upon completion of the meetings including joint plan for any follow-up actions. 

               Validation workshops – 1 day

• Conduct Validation Workshop for maximum 30 people.
• Provide hand-out summary of the identified and validated needs and solutions of the actors working in HIV field (AIDS coordinating centres, NGOs working in HIV field, including women living with HIV and key population groups) to the participants and the UN Women team.
• Prepare workshop reports upon completion of the meetings including joint plan for any follow-up actions. 

• Review phase  

• Analyse findings of the workshop (identified capacities, needs and solutions of the women living with HIV and women from key population groups) in consultation with the UN Women team.
• Present preliminary findings, namely, on inclusion of women living with HIV and women from key population groups in the promotion of gender-sensitive aspects in HIV programs, incorporate feedback, produce a final presentation.
• Develop a support framework on priority actions and programming interventions to strengthen the capacity and technical expertise of actors working in HIV field and women living with HIV for their meaningful participation in stigma and discrimination prevention, including creating learning exchanges and partnerships with actors working in HIV field.
• Develop a comprehensive Report, based on the analysis of the findings of the workshops including participatory reflections on the entire process and recommendations for a way forward with collaboration of UN Women team and other involved parties.

Key Deliverables 

1. Duration of the assignment  

The contract assignment will be from August to December 2022. The assignment will be implemented either in Bishkek or Osh cities (subject to COVID-19 situation in the country). Total duration of the assignment is 14 days. As per the initial timeframe, the co-creation workshop and validation workshop are expected to take place in August-September 2022.

1. Management procedure 

The Consultant will work under the direct supervision of UN Women Head of Osh sub office with guidance of UN Women International HIV Consultant.

The UN Women country office will provide the consultant with reference and resource materials that go beyond those that are available on the Internet or otherwise published and that the consultants needs for work.

The consultant will submit progress reports and a final report based on the results achieved in an agreed format. Progress and final reports will be approved by the designated UN WomenI staff which will serve as a justification for payments. 

1. Evaluation of the assignment 

The consultant’s work will be evaluated according to criteria as timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy and quality of the delivered products.

1. Travels and workshop costs

The Consultant is expected to deliver the co-creation workshop and validation workshop offline either in Bishkek or Osh. UN Women will cover the consultant’s travel and DSA in case of travel.

Competencies

The main values:

• Respect for diversity
• Honesty
• Professionalism

Core competencies:

• Awareness and sensitivity to gender issues
• Accountability
• Creative problem solving
• Effective communication
• Inclusive cooperation

Visit this link to get more information about the core values and competencies of UN Women:  https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional competencies: 

• Ability to work independently, under stressful conditions and in a short time;
• Good knowledge of the subject area;
• Good organisational skills and the ability to pay close attention to details;
• Experience in creating media products

Required Skills and Experience

• Proven record of successful application of Design Thinking Approach institutional development and designing innovative public policies into multiple contexts involving users, organizations, and societies.

• At least 3 years of experience on designing and facilitating of participatory training workshops, preferably in Central Asian context.
• Experience of applying social innovation approaches; strategic thinking in the field of social development preferably in the field of GEWE programming.
• Experience of working on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment and Sexual and Gender based Violence, Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls, HIV prevention especially in Kyrgyzstan Context
• Experience of working with United Nations or with other international organisations is an advantage.

Education 

Higher education in the social sciences or relevant. 

Knowledge of languages and skills: 

• Fluency in Russian and Kyrgyz, working level of English are required
• Software skills (PC user, user experience of online platforms and applications) .

Application procedure

Applications should be sent by 23:59 on August 19, 2022, to hr.kyrgyzstan@unwomen.org with subject line “National Consultant for a participatory Need Assessment” and include the following documentation package:

• Offeror's letter to UN Women confirming interest and availability for the assignment.
• Financial proposal, indicating a total lump sum to include all costs relating to the delivery of activities as per above description.
• P-11 form including experience in similar assignments. This form can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment.

Financial proposal format:

Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant during the contract period. The financial proposal should be provided in KGS. If the proposal is provided in any other currency, it would be converted as per UN exchange rate on the date of post closure.

Evaluation of applicants

The candidates will be evaluated in three stages: according to minimum qualification criteria; technical and financial evaluation.

The candidates must possess following minimum qualification criteria to be eligible for further technical evaluation: 

• At least 5 years of experience in development field
• At least 3 years of experience on designing and facilitating of participatory training workshops, preferably in international contexts 
• Experience of applying social innovation approaches; strategic thinking in the field of social development preferably in the field of GEWE programming.
• Experience of working on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment and Women Human Rights, Health and HIV prevention especially in Kyrgyzstan Context
• Higher education in the field of social science of relevant
• Fluency in Russian and Kyrgyz languages and working level of English is asset

Technical evaluation criteria (including minimum qualifications):

Maximum total technical scoring: 70

Only candidates who have passed over the minimum qualification criteria and have accumulated at least 65 points out of maximum 70 under technical evaluation will qualify for the next stage i.e. evaluation of their financial proposals.

Evaluation of financial proposal

Financial proposal should include professional fee only. The tickets will be purchased by UN Women if necessary.

Financial evaluation will be conducted according to the method described below:

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion.

A suggested formula is as follows: p=30 (µ/z)

Where:

p - points for the financial proposal being evaluated;

µ - price of the lowest priced proposal;

z - price of the proposal being evaluated

The candidate achieving the highest cumulative score for both Technical and Financial evaluations will be recommended by the Evaluation Committee for contracting.

Winning candidate

The candidate achieving the highest cumulative score for both Technical and Financial evaluations will be recommended by the Evaluation Committee for contracting.

The Consultant shall promote a client-oriented approach consistent with UN Women rules and regulations and commits to high standards of quality, productivity and timeliness in the delivery of tasks. The volunteer will meet and apply the highest standards of integrity and impartiality.

The volunteer must be fully dedicated to the mandate and the values of UN Women, particularly to promoting Gender Equality as a strategy to reduce conflict, improve livelihoods and ensure fairness and justice; to Women Empowerment underpinning Gender Equality promotion efforts; to inter-ethnic tolerance and concord; and to respect for diversity.

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, colour, 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.)