Background

The purpose of this assignment is to support UN Women in delivering an advanced training module to the media on specific gender aspects concerning Occupational Safety and Health as part of the project “Gender component in promoting decent work through occupational safety and health management” led by International Labor Organization and implemented by UN Women.

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. Placing women's rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

Under the framework of strengthening strategic partnership component, UN Women provides technical assistance and capacity building support to national partners (government, non-governmental institutions) and international partners 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.

UN Women is implementing the Project “Gender component in promoting decent work through occupational safety and health management” under the management and agreement with International Labour Organization. The long-term goal of the programme is set against Sustainable Development Goal 8 for ‘decent work and economic growth’ and its particular target 8.8 to ‘protect labour rights, promote safe, and secure working environments for all workers’. In this light, the gender component implemented through this project’s activities will focus on gender responsive promotion of decent work and OSH standards focusing on fostering women’s economic empowerment in the workforce. In addition, it will provide detailed knowledge regarding women specific working conditions, including maternity leave protection, work organization as well as protection from gender-based discrimination and/or violence and sexual harassment at the workplace.

The legal and policy framework related to gender-based discrimination and labor in Kosovo is rather comprehensive, with much of the law being drafted in accordance with European Union (EU) law and international standards. The Constitution, as well as several specific laws,[1] contain protections and deal with gender-based discrimination in relation to labor, while “Employment and Social Welfare Strategy 2018-2022”, is the main strategic policy document addressing employment. The right to equal employment opportunities for men and women are governed by the Law on Labour, Law on Gender Equality and deriving relevant secondary legislation.  A recent study on gender-based discrimination at the workplace and labour laws in Kosovo noted that the inharmonious legal framework, with overlapping and differing definitions and sanctions, as well as the various possible procedures for filing a gender-discrimination claim, may contribute to significant confusion and legal uncertainty[2]. Another similar study assessed that “employers, both in the private sector and in the public sector, use gender profiling when announcing job vacancies, usually preferring women for lower positions in the work hierarchy, and favoring men for managerial positions”.[3]

To address the working conditions and broader issues of gender equality it is necessary to ensure the active participation of women in all decision-making practices concerning occupational health and safety at all levels; and women’s active involvement in developing and implementing targeted OSH strategies and solutions. In promoting women workers in the formal economy and recognizing gender issues on OSH, a gender responsive approach is needed while working on OSH standards to address safety, health and welfare risks faced by both women and men workers. A gender perspective recognizes that because of the different jobs women and men do and the different societal roles, expectations and responsibilities they have, women and men may be exposed to different occupational risks and hazards (including physical and psychological) at the workplace. These differences include amongst others, work in specific sectors and specific types of work; balance dual responsibilities at work and home; underrepresentation in managerial positions etc. Often these differences are not recognized in safety and health practice. What’s more, workload and stress-related risks to women in the workplace are often underestimated. These will therefore require gender differences to be incorporated into policies and prevention strategies, and differing monitoring and control measures, through training and capacity-building of labour inspectorates to deal with OSH cases. In Kosovo, some of those specific risks mainly faced by women relate to poor working conditions with violations of rights to sick leave and days off, absence of protection during pregnancy, violations of pregnancy and maternity leave, and sexual harassment.

Continuously, International Labour Organization and World Health Organization report on OSH issues and recent data show that 2 million people die each year with their death cause being interrelated to their occupation. The universal threat to the fundamental human rights of life and security of person posed by unhealthy working conditions has been characterized in international human rights instruments and ILO standards therefore, improvement of the conditions of living and work is a fundamental component of universal rights. Further, recognising diversity, including gender differences, in the workforce is vital in ensuring the safety and health of both men and women workers. Gender differences should be considered in the development of occupational safety and health (OSH) policies and prevention strategies. This approach acknowledges and makes visible the differences that exist between men and women workers in order to identify OSH risks and implement effective solutions.

2. Purpose of the assignment:

Safety and health at work are an inevitable part of the journalistic discussion not only within reporting on workers’ rights, but on human rights in general. Therefore UN Women Project Office in Kosovo aims at working closely with the media to strengthen the capacities of journalists in the area of reporting on Occupational Safety and Health issues. The agency is looking to engage and international media expert who will work on developing and delivering a module for media representatives in Kosovo as part of the project titled “Promoting decent work through occupational safety and health management” led by International Labour Organization and implemented by UN Women and partners.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Project Office in Kosovo, the engaged international expert is expected to provide the following expert services:

• Conduct desk research to familiarize with the legal infrastructure of Kosovo concerning labor relations and provide an overview of the media approach on OSH issues within the Kosovo context;  
• Develop the training module on specific gender aspects concerning safety and health at work and decent work issues on journalistic reporting in close consultation with UN Women;  
• Ensure the training module delivers gender-sensitive journalistic reporting guidance;
• Highlights the importance of the media in tackling human rights issues with special attention to gender and labour rights & the potential of traditional news media to improve safety and health by highlighting fundamental issues through in-depth reporting;
• Specific and clear guidelines on building a gender-sensitive journalistic story treating OSH and decent work issues.
• Deliver a two-day training for media representatives – editors and journalists – from Kosovo
• The two-day training will be delivered to one (1) group of 25 media representatives physically present;  
• Prepare final consultancy report on the assignment and the training delivered with recommendations.

[1]Law On Health and Safety at work, Law on Labour Inspectorate and its amendment, Law against Discrimination, Law on Vocational Training, Vocational Retraining and Employment of People with Disabilities, Law on Protection of Breastfeeding, ILO Convention 81, and other relevant regulations and administrative instructions.

[2] Kosovo Women’s Network, Gender-based discrimination and labour in Kosovo, p. 5.

[3] The GAP Institute. Discrimination in the labour market - the impact of contests on gender inequality. May 2017. Source: http://bit.ly/2qIjwCP

Duration and remuneration:

The duration of the contract will be from 24 April until 31 of May 2023.

The payment will be made in two installments upon satisfactory completion of all tasks and deliverables in the assignment, and submission and approval by UN Women.

Expected Deliverables

The Consultant will be expected to complete the tasks within the indicative timeframe:

Evaluation of applicants:

Applicants will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of expertise and financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the bidder whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

1. Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
2. Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

Financial Evaluation (30%) – max. 30 points:

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)

Using the following values:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Scope of Price proposal and schedule of payments

• Financial Proposal specifying the total consultancy in USD for the tasks specified above (to be paid in two instalments). 

Please note that the financial proposal does not include other expenses related to travel incurred by the consultant during the contract period. Those will be provided separately.

Payment will be made as per the above deliverable schedule in the contract upon (i) satisfactory completion of tasks; (ii) provision of deliverables specified in the ToRs; (iii) submission of and approval by UN Women; and (iv) submission of the respective invoice/s.

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.)  

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:

• Thorough knowledge of international standards in relation to media, labour laws and occupational safety and health;
• Strong analytical, presentation, facilitation, reporting and writing abilities in English.
• Diverse organizational skills in various settings;
• Proven ability to work within limited time constraints in the preparation of high-quality documents;
• Strong ability to interact effectively with various partners and stakeholders such as media representatives;  
• Possesses the ability to work independently;
• Good computer skills in Windows environment, knowledge of internet communications and command of MS Office applications.

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in media and communication is a requirement. 
• A bachelor’s degree in Communication and Media plus 2 extra years’ experience will be accepted in lieu of a master’s degree.
• Additional trainings and certifications on Occupational Safety and Health and/ labor related fields and gender equality are considered an asset.

Work Experience

• At least 7 years of demonstrated work experience as a journalist/editor in the mainstream media;
• Strong expertise and knowledge in conducing due-diligence journalistic reports;
• Expertise and experience in the field of media and gender issues;
• Experience in delivering training in the field of media and gender issues;
• Experience with Western Balkans specifically Kosovo regarding human rights, gender issues and labour rights considered an asset;
• Experience working with dynamics of digital journalism and its impact on gender issues and labour rights considered an asset;

Language

• Fluency and proficiency in spoken and written in English is required;

Qualified and interested candidates are asked to submit their application no later than 07 April 2023:

• A Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability including a brief description explaining why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment.
• UN Women Personal History Form (P11) including previous experience in similar assignment. Can be downloaded at: UN Women Personal History Form (P11)  or http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment
• Financial Proposal specifying the total fee in USD ( 11 working days)  for the tasks specified in this assignment.