Ethiopia has entered into various international and regional commitments aimed at guaranteeing gender equality and women’s empowerment. These include the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. As part of these commitments, Ethiopia is expected to periodically report on the achievements and challenges encountered in the process of implementation.

CEDAW adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination. The Convention provides the basis for realizing equality between women and men through ensuring women's equal access to, and equal opportunities in, political and public life -- including the right to vote and to stand for election -- as well as education, health and employment. States parties agree to take all appropriate measures, including legislation and temporary special measures, so that women can enjoy all their human rights and fundamental freedoms. Government which have ratified or acceded to the convention are expected to submit periodic reports to the CEDAW committee every four years.

Ethiopia has ratified the CEDAW in 1981 and has submitted four periodic reports so far. The combined I-III reports were submitted in 1993; the IV and V report in 2002; the VI and VII reports in 2006 and the VIII report was submitted in 2017 and considered during the Committee’s 72nd session with the Concluding Observations and Recommendations published in February 2019. Ethiopia has also submitted a follow-up report to the Committee in 2021. As per the timeline indicated in the Concluding Observations and recommendations, Ethiopia is due to submit its 9th Periodic Report on the CEDAW in March/April 2023.

The Ministry of Women and Social Affairs (MoWSA) will lead the preparation of the 9th Periodic Report with financial and technical support from UN Women and taskforce to be established composed of relevant stakeholders from government, CSOs and partner organizations. As per the experience from other reporting cycles and reports, the MoWSA and UN Women have recognized the need for recruiting a national consultant who can provide technical support and lead the data collection, compilation and write up of the 9th Periodic Report which will be submitted to the CEDAW Committee in March/April 2023.  This TOR is therefore prepared to guide the recruitment and to inform the consultant on the deliverables.

The consultant will have the following main tasks:

• Provide an inception report on the blueprint of the assignment and conduct an initial joint planning and discussion with the task force;
• Compile and produce first draft of the report based on the inputs collected from relevant institutions and other information sources;
• Identify gaps in the information compiled and collect data to fill gaps in the information;
• Facilitate feedback sessions with the task force on the draft report;
• Present the draft report and facilitate consultations with relevant stakeholders from the government, civil society organizations, women and youth associations, the private sector, academia and the media;
• Present the draft report and facilitate a validation workshop; and
• Incorporate comments on the first draft, finalize the draft report and submit a quality report to the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs as per the reporting guidelines and by the specified deadline

Deliverables

• Inception report which clearly depicts the understanding of the ToR, details the agreements made between MoWSA, UN Women and the consultant undertaking the assessment regarding the proposed research methodology and core tasks to be undertaken for this assignment
• Reports of interviews, FGDs and Consultations with relevant stakeholders
• Draft 9th Periodic Report on the CEDAW
• Briefing and Consultations with the Task Force established to provide technical support to the process
• Validation of the draft report
• Final 9th Periodic Report on the CEDAW

Core Values and Guiding Principles

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling UN Women values and ethical standards.
• Demonstrates a commitment to UN Women’s mission and vision.
• Able to work effectively within a team.
• Displays cultural and gender sensitivity and adaptability.
• Able to multi-task and juggle competing demands.
• Can assess and prioritize work needs quickly.
• Able to relate to external partners, including other international organizations and agencies, NGOs, grassroots community groups, etc.

Functional Competencies

• Sound expertise in gender equality and women’s empowerment
• Experience in preparing international and regional reports
• Academic and practical research experience.
• Capacity to work with diverse partners including governments, donors and civil society.
• Ability to work effectively and harmoniously with people from varied cultures and professional backgrounds
• Ability to produce well-written documents
• Demonstrating excellent interpersonal communication skills.

Educational Background

• A minimum of post graduate degree in gender and development studies, human rights, law, international relations, political science or related field.

Professional Background

• At least 5 years of professional experience on similar or comparable assignments, particularly in preparing international and/or regional country reports;
• Strong knowledge of international and regional legal and policy issues and particularly on gender equality and women’s empowerment is essential;
• Experience in socio-economic analysis and research on gender issues in the Ethiopian and African context;
• Experience in qualitative and qualitative data collection and analysis; and
• Demonstrated skill in report writing of similar nature that meets international   standards.

Language

• Fluency in spoken and written English and Amharic.

Application:

• All applications must include (as an attachment) a completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment.