UNDP Jobs - 109623- International Consultant to develop the Educationa

International Consultant to develop the Educational Gender Course for Civil Servants and conduct workshops for the Working Group of IAC

Location :

Home-based with mission to ASHGABAT, TURKMENISTAN

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

31-Oct-2022

Application Deadline :

24-Oct-22 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

October 2022 - February 2023

Languages Required :

English Russian

Expected Duration of Assignment :

24 working days

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The Project “Assistance in the realization of the National Action Plan of Turkmenistan in the field of human rights for 2021-2025” consolidates the established constructive relationship between UNDP and the Government of Turkmenistan in the implementation of the global Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030 (Agenda 2030) and the relevant SDGs adopted by Turkmenistan in September 2016.

The long-term goal of the Project is to assist the Government of Turkmenistan in the development of a system for the protection, promotion, and implementation of human rights in Turkmenistan by further improving the legislative framework in this area and its proper implementation in accordance with the country's obligations under international treaties in the field of human rights and the implementation of the National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP) for 2021-2025.

The Project has three main components:

Component 1: Assistance in the implementation and monitoring of the implementation of the activities of NHRAP for 2021-2025;
Component 2: Studying international experience and building the capacity of members of the Interagency Commission for the preparation of national periodic reports to the UN human rights treaty bodies to fulfil Turkmenistan's international obligations in the field of human rights;
Component 3: Promotion of human rights education at various levels of educational institutions and professional training courses;

Within the Component 1 of the Project, the project is aimed to strengthen gender mainstreaming by launching special courses for civil servants on gender mainstreaming.

Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls is at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2021-2025 National Action Plan for Human Rights promotes human rights education and brings gender education practices in line with international standards. The National Gender Equality Plan (2021-2025) mandates gender education for state employees and promotes positive social norms and a culture that is non-discriminatory and violence-free.

The assignment is aimed at development of an online course on gender equality for state service employees as well as development of a gender information package for state and public organizations to include the issues of prevention of violence against women, engagement of men, reproductive health and rights of women and girls.

The attitude and behaviour of state employees should be guided by respect for human rights and the need to safeguard the dignity and rights of citizens. However, often the engagement of state employees with communities is not gender sensitive and the traditionally patriarchal rules and practices drive coercive authoritarian behaviours, especially towards women, girls, and key population groups with vulnerabilities. Combined with the high level of acceptance of gender-based violence (GBV) in the society, this can result in state employees being insensitive to the needs of already stigmatized groups of society.

The gender course complements UNDP`s and UNFPA`s gender-transformative programmes and focuses on an improved understanding among state employees of issues of gender equality, gender mainstreaming, GBV related knowledge, gender reporting as per the country’s commitments to international human rights conventions and treaties.

The overall purpose of this consultancy is to support the project in developing a practical rights-based gender course for state employees, which will include the themes of Introduction to Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, GBV, International Cooperation and Data Collection and Reporting.

Duties and Responsibilities

Following Component 1 of the project, this Terms of Reference lays out the goals and objectives set for an international consultant who in close cooperation with the Institute of State, Law, and Democracy of Turkmenistan, and under the direct supervision of the Programme Analyst and the Project Manager of UNDP and Programme Analyst of UNFPA, will:

Phase 1:

Conduct a Desk review of the national legislation, national strategies, and practices of Turkmenistan on introducing the the Educational Gender Course for civil servants in Turkmenistan (together with the national consultant of UNDP and UNFPA);
Conduct a Desk review of the NHRAP for 2021-2025, National Action Plan on Gender Equality in Turkmenistan for 2021-2025, National Action Plan for the Implementation of Children's Rights in Turkmenistan for 2018-2022 of Turkmenistan (together with the national consultant of UNDP and UNFPA);
Conduct a Desk review the international and regional practices of introducing Educational Gender Courses for civil servant;
Deliver an hour lecture on the gender mainstreaming issues for the students at the International University for Humanities and Development in Turkmenistan;

Phase 2:

Develop the Draft of Educational Gender Course for Civil Servants to present for the Working Group of the Interagency Commission in the field of human rights and international humanitarian law (IAC);
Develop the Agenda of a two-day workshop and presentation materials for the introduction of the Educational Gender Course with the related materials and handouts based on the developed Draft of the Educational Gender Course to be presented to the workshop participants (members of the Working Group of IAC) (together with the national consultant of UNDP and UNFPA);
Conduct a two-day workshop on discussion of the Draft of Educational Gender Course for civil servants (together with the national consultant of UNDP and UNFPA);
Conduct a debriefing session for the UNDP and UNFPA Country Team in Turkmenistan;
Provide UNDP and UNFPA the Final Draft of Educational Gender Course for Civil Servants and Recommendations considering the feedback of the members of the Working Group of IAC;

Phase 3:

Conduct TOT trainings for civil servants in velayats on introduction of the digitalized Educational Gender Course for Civil Servants (together with the national consultant of UNDP and UNFPA);

Deliverables and Timing:

1st Installment (40 %) – Deliverable 1:

Desk review the national legislation, national strategies, and practices of Turkmenistan on introducing the the Educational Gender Course for civil servants in Turkmenistan conducted (together with the national consultant of UNDP and UNFPA, 3 days, home based);
Desk review of the NHRAP for 2021-2025, National Action Plan on Gender Equality in Turkmenistan for 2021-2025, National Action Plan for the Implementation of Children's Rights in Turkmenistan for 2018-2022 of Turkmenistan conducted (together with the national consultant of UNDP and UNFPA, 1 day, home based);
Desk review the international and regional practices of introducing Educational Gender Courses for civil servant conducted (0,5-day, home based);
An hour lecture on the gender mainstreaming issues for the students at the International University for Humanities and Development in Turkmenistan delivered (0,5 day, online);

2nd Installment (40 %) - Deliverable 2:

Develop the Draft of Educational Gender Course for Civil Servants to present for the Working Group of the IAC (6 days, home based);
Develop the Agenda of a two-day workshop and presentation materials for the introduction of the Educational Gender Course with the related materials and handouts based on the developed Draft of the Educational Gender Course for Civil Servants to be presented to the workshop participants (members of the Working Group of IAC) (together with the national consultant of UNDP and UNFPA) (1 day, home based);
Conduct a two-day workshop on discussion of the Draft of Educational Gender Course for civil servants (together with the national consultant of UNDP and UNFPA) (2 days with country mission);
Conduct a debriefing session for the UNDP and UNFPA Country Team in Turkmenistan (1 day with country mission);
Provide UNDP and UNFPA the Final Draft of Educational Gender Course for Civil Servants and Recommendations considering the feedback of the members of the Working Group of IAC (2 days, home based);

3rd Installment (20%) - Deliverable 3:

Conduct TOT trainings for civil servants in velayats on introduction of the digitalized Educational Gender Course for Civil Servants (together with the national consultant of UNDP and UNFPA) (7 days country mission);

Location: home-based (online) and country mission. Number of days: 24 days, October 2022 – February 2023.

Payment conditions:

This is an installment-based contract that should cover the costs of consultancy required to produce the above deliverables. The final schedule of payments will be agreed upon in the beginning of consultancy. Payment will be released in three installments: 1st installment: 40% (for Deliverable 1), 2nd installment: 40% (for Deliverable 2) and 3rd Installment: 20% (for Deliverable 3) upon timely submission of respective deliverables and their acceptance by UNDP Turkmenistan.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment;

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge of and extensive experience working with National Human Rights Institutions;
Excellent presentation, facilitation, and communication skills;
Excellent writing skills, including the ability to convey complex concepts and recommendations, in a clear style tailored to match the audience;
Proven interpersonal skills and ability to work in a multi-cultural environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity;
Diplomatic skills;

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master`s degree in Social Sciences, Gender Studies, Law, State Service, or another related field;

Experience:

At least 10 years of progressively responsible professional work experience at the national and international levels with national stakeholders, UN agencies and other international human rights organizations;
Experience in working on reviewing, developing, integrating, and presenting Educational Gender Courses for Civil Servants at the national and international level;
Experience in capacity and institution building of the international standards on gender mainstreaming and gender equality issues in line with UN agencies` requirements;

Language requirements:

Fluency in Russian. English is an asset.

Submission of applications:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

All experts applying for this position are required to provide:

A proposed methodology for the development and integration of the Educational Gender Courses for Civil Servants in Turkmenistan;
Cover Letter which contains a brief description of approach to work/technical proposal of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
Financial Proposal with the references to (1) the daily rate for the assignment and within the timing scale indicated in the present TOR, and (2) any other expenses (including transportation costs, accommodation costs, the possibility of vaccination and etc.). Financial proposal shall include 10 days of living allowance and airfare based on the results above listed. Template of the form named “Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability” can be found at https://www.undp.org/turkmenistan/procurement. The UNDP will enter an Individual Contract based on a lump sum amount. The financial proposal shall represent a detailed, justified and “all inclusive” amount. In order to assist UNDP in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount, including: a daily fee for the tasks and an estimated duration as specified in this announcement, travel (to and from the missions), per diems, any other possible costs (including vaccinations, dwelling, communication etc.);
Personal CV form including experience in similar projects and contact details of referees;

Evaluation of proposals:

Individual Consultants will be evaluated based on the combined scoring methodology. When using this method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive/compliant and
having received the highest score – out of 100 points.

Out of the maximum score, the score for technical criteria equals 70% - maximum 70 points, and for financial criteria 30%.

The technical evaluation will consider the following as per the scoring provided:

Master’s degree in Social Sciences, Gender Studies, Law, State Service, or other related field – 20 pts;
At least 10 years of working experience progressively responsible professional work experience at the national and international levels with reviewing, developing, integrating, and presenting Educational Gender Courses for Civil Servants – 20 pts;
Methodology for the assignment with the description of approaches for the development of Educational Gender Courses for Civil Servants – 15 pts;
Interview – 15 pts;
Fluency in Russian – 20 pts;
Fluency in English – 10 pts;

Financial proposal – 30% of total evaluation.

Additional requirements for recommended contractor:

Recommended contractors aged 65 and older, and if the travel is required, shall undergo a full medical examination including x-ray, and obtain medical clearance from the UN-approved doctor prior to taking up their assignment. The medical examination is to be cleared by the UN physicians and shall be paid by the consultant.