Background

Background 

UN Women, 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.

The Fiji Multi Country Office (MCO) covers 14 Pacific countries, with field offices/presence in 6 countries, and six ‘focus countries’ (Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Tonga and Samoa). Each field presence is led by a national Country Programme Coordinator with a Programme Officer in Tonga. UN Women, in partnership with Pacific Islands Governments, regional organizations, CSOs, donors and UN agencies, focuses on delivering within four interlinked programme areas:

• Women’s Political Empowerment and Leadership (WPEL)
• Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE)
• Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG)
• Gender and Protection in Humanitarian Action (GPiHA) and Disaster Risk Reduction

UN Women MCO is implementing the Women’s Resilience to Disasters (WRD) Programme in the Pacific. Disaster risks converge with critical socio-economic vulnerabilities, environmental degradation and climate change making the Pacific a disaster hotspot.  Disasters and climate change are widening inequalities and undermining poverty reduction in the region.  Threats such as COVID-19 are further exacerbating the inequalities and hardships faced by women and girls including those with disabilities.  Women and girls face greater vulnerability and exposure to disasters, yet women remain largely ignored and their capacities unleveraged in conventional resilience building processes. As a result, women are generally absent in the development of resilience strategies and decision-making processes for prevention, preparedness, and recovery.

This is compounded by significant gaps at the global, regional and country level in relation to the availability and use of sex, age and disability disaggregated data (SADDD), knowledge sharing on women’s resilience; an enabling environment for building women’s resilience (including capacities, leadership and funding); translation of commitments into action; coordination and private sector partnership; and a need for transformative change to tackle the underlying drivers of disproportionate risk.

UN Women’s WRD programme proposes a comprehensive package for building women’s resilience to disasters, climate change and threats.   The aim of the WRD Programme is to render women’s and girls’ lives and livelihoods disaster-resilient, contributing to sustainable and secure communities, by promoting gender responsive prevention, preparedness, and recovery systems, plans and tools; and by enabling targeted action to help women and girls withstand hazards and threats, recover fully from disasters, and increase their resilience to future risks. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the assignment

UN Women Fiji MCO is seeking the services of an individual consultant to work with the Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) to review and strengthen a 5-year development Strategy for the Humanitarian and Resilient Development Unit (HRDU) of the organisation.  The HRDU of PDF was established in 2018 to focus solely on the provision of technical support to the PDF and Organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDS) across the Pacific on humanitarian situations and emergencies. 

The Strategy will contain thematic areas such as climate change sciences, climate adaptation and mitigation, disaster risk reduction (DRR), and disability inclusive early warning systems.  The Strategy will consider relevant legal and policy frameworks, disaster risk and climate change financing, gender responsive actions, capacity building, communication and monitoring and evaluation.  The consultant will be required to:

• Convene a regional consultation with all OPDs in Fiji to inform the development of the strategy.  This consultation will include a capacity building component and discussion on resource mobilization for the implementation of the Strategy.
• Review the draft Strategy and strengthen the thematic areas, and priorities based on information gathered from the regional meeting, working in close consultation with PDF. 
• Undertake bilateral follow-up consultations (virtual and in-person) with OPDs and partners in Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
• Finalize and submit Strategy for endorsement to the Pacific Disability Forum and UNW.

For this purpose, the Consultant will work under the overall leadership and guidance of the Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Disability Forum and direct supervision of the UN Fiji Multi-Country Office Gender and Resilience Specialist in close coordination with the Women’s Resilience to Disasters Programme Regional team.

Scope of Work/Duties and Responsibilities

The scope of work for the Consultant will be to:

• Consult with Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) to develop a workplan for the assignment deliverables.
• Consult with PDF’s regional and international stakeholders to inform the Strategy ensuring that the key thematic areas are disability inclusion and gender responsiveness. 
• Convene a regional consultation with all OPDs and relevant stakeholders on PDF’s humanitarian and resilient development objectives and gather information and data on gender and inclusion to enhance the Strategy.  This consultation will include a capacity building component and discussion on resource mobilization for implementation of the Strategy.
• Revitalise the draft Strategy based on information gathered and submit first updated draft to PDF for review.
• Submit second draft to PDF and UNW for further review.
• Conduct follow-up consultations with Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu on the draft Strategy.
• Submit final draft Strategy and report for approval.

Duration of the Assignment

The duration of this assignment will be up to 120 working days over 8 months work assignment as per the schedule of deliverables.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

The Consultant is expected to deliver the following outputs:

Upon receipt of the final deliverables and prior to the payment of the instalment, the deliverables, related reports and documents will be reviewed and approved by UN Women at least within 10 business days of submission.

All the deliverables should be agreed with UN Women and be provided in English hard and electronic copy.

All the documents and materials utilized need to be returned to UN Women in electronic format. Any printed materials utilized to be referenced and returned. 

Inputs

• UN Women and PDF will provide the Consultant with background materials.
• UN Women will cover Consultant’s travel outside of Suva only should the need arise and upon prior approval by UN Women.
• Access to the PDF or the UN Women Office for printing of relevant documents or provide facilities for the Consultant to work on-site for a brief period should the need arise at any point during the assignment.

Performance evaluation

The Consultant’s performance will be evaluated based on timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.

Financial Arrangements

Payments will be disbursed to the consultant upon submission and approval of deliverables set forth in the section “Expected Outputs and Deliverables” above, and certification by the UN Women Gender & Resilience Specialist that the services have been satisfactorily performed.

Travel

Some travel may be required for the implementation of the current assignment which will need to have prior approval from UN Women MCO.

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

Functional Competencies:

• Good programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
• Good knowledge of Results Based Management
• Ability to gather and interpret data, reach logical conclusions and present findings and recommendations
• Good analytical skills

Required Skills and Experience

Required experience and qualifications.

The Consultant should fulfil the following requirements:

Education:

• Master’s degree in social sciences, international development, disaster risk reduction or climate change with specific academic or professional experience in working with persons with disabilities, social minorities or underrepresented populations or a related field is required. 
• A first-level University Degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience and Skills:

• At least 5 years (with Masters’ degree) or 7 years (with first-level university degree) of experience related to disability work, advocacy and capacity building, disability inclusion in disaster risk reduction, climate resilience or other closely related fields.
• Proven knowledge and experience in the development capacity assessment tools or capacity building frameworks.
• Strong writing and communication skills, and a demonstrated track record of working in climate change and disaster risk reduction or disability inclusion.
• Have experience working with UN Women or other UN agencies.
• Strong networks with CSOs, OPDs and regional organizations in the Pacific
• Prior experience conducting workshops and trainings with OPDs.

Language and other skills:

• Fluency in command of written and spoken English is required.
• Computer literacy and ability to effectively use office technology equipment, IT tools, ability to use internet and email.

Evaluation

Initially, individual consultants will be short-listed based on the following minimum qualification criteria:

• Master’s degree or Higher level of qualification in social sciences, international development, disaster risk and climate change with specific academic or professional experience in working with persons with disabilities, social minorities or underrepresented populations or a related field is required. 
• A first-level University Degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• At least 5 years (with Masters’ degree) or 7 years (with first-level university degree) of experience related to disability work, advocacy and capacity building, disability inclusion in disaster risk reduction, climate resilience or other closely related fields.

The shortlisted individual consultants will be further evaluated based on a cumulative analysis process, with a total score being obtained upon the combination of weighted technical and financial attributes.

Cost under this method of analysis is rendered as an award criterion, which will be 30% out of a total score of 100 points.

Evaluation of submitted offers will be done based on the following formula:

where:

Technical evaluation will be done through desk review of applications. Interviews and/or written tests will be organized if needed only, depending on the short-listed candidates’ qualifications.

Technical Qualification Evaluation Criteria: The technical part is evaluated on the basis of its responsiveness to the Terms of Reference (TOR).

Financial Qualification Evaluation Criteria: In the Second Stage, the financial proposal of candidates, who have attained minimum 70% score in the technical evaluation (at least 49 points), will be compared.

WINNING CANDIDATE

The winning candidate will be the candidate, who has accumulated the highest aggregated score (technical scoring + financial scoring).

Submission of application

Interested candidates are requested to submit fully completed application on the UNDP Vacancy Site. 

Submission Package:

1. Cover letter explaining the suitability of the consultant: applicants are encouraged to address experience and qualifications listed in the ‘criteria for technical evaluation’.
2. Duly filled Personal History Form (P11) and/or Curriculum Vitae (CV) of consultant including records of past experience in similar assignments and specific outputs obtained; P11 can be downloaded at: https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment
3. Financial proposal – specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference.  The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (daily rate and number of anticipate working days and any other possible costs).
4. Please read, use and complete ANNEX I and ANNEX II below to provide your financial proposal.

Applications without a complete financial proposal will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.  UN Women reserves the right to accept or reject any bid.

The consultancy recruitment process will be governed by the rules and regulations of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).

UN Women Statement on Diversity and Inclusion:

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).

Deadline of all submission: 26th May 2023

Annex I

Price Proposal Guideline and Template

The prospective Individual Contractor should take the following explanations into account during submission of his/her price proposal.

1.Lump Sum Amount

The price proposal should indicate a "lump sum amount" which is "all-inclusive"; All costs (professional fees, living allowances, communications, consumables, etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Individual Contractor needs to be factored into the proposed price.

UN Women will not withhold any amount of the payments for tax and/or social security related payments. UN Women shall have no liability for taxes, duties or other similar charges payable by the Individual Contractor in respect of any amounts paid to the Individual Contractor under this Contract, and the Contractor acknowledges that UN Women will not issue any statements of earnings to the Individual contractor in respect of any such payments.

Contract price is fixed to activities/deliverables indicated in the ToR, regardless of the changes in the cost components (such as days invested for completion of the deliverables).

2.Travel costs

Some travel may be required for the implementation of the current assignment but may not be necessary to be included in this financial proposal submission, as this requires prior approval from UN Women Fiji MCO.

3.Daily Subsistence Allowance

Not applicable.

4.Currency of the price proposal

The applicants are requested to submit their price proposals in FJD.   

In case of proposals in other currency, these shall be converted into FJD using the official UN exchange rate for currency conversion at the date of applications’ submission deadline.

Annex II

Price Proposal Submission Form

[ Mandatory document for the Consultant to complete and submit]

To:         United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

Ref:        Individual National Consultant – To be seconded to the Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) Office

(Suva, Fiji) and provide technical support of the 5-year Development Strategy for the Humanitarian

and Resilient Development Unit (HRDU).

Dear Sir / Madam,

I, the undersigned, offer to provide professional consulting services to UN Women within the scope of the referred Assignment.  Having examined, understood, and agreed to the Terms of Reference and its annexes, the receipt of which are hereby duly acknowledged, I, the undersigned, offer to deliver professional services, in conformity with the Terms of Reference.

My maximum total price proposal for the assignment is given below:

Estimated Costs (in FJD$)

*** Please be informed that for shorter assignments than a full day, the daily rate will be pro-rated into hourly rate.

I confirm that my financial proposal will remain unchanged.  I also confirm that the price that I quote is gross, and is inclusive of all legal expenses, including but not limited to social security, income tax, pension, etc., which shall be required applicable laws.

I agree that my proposal shall remain binding upon me for 60 days.

I understand that you are not bound to accept any proposal you may receive.