Millions of women and girls worldwide suffer from some form of gender-based violence and harmful practices, be it domestic violence, rape, female genital mutilation/cutting, dowry-related killing, trafficking, sexual violence in conflict-related situations, son preference and the undervaluing of daughters, or other manifestations of abuse. In fact, for women and girls aged 16-44, gender-based violence is a major cause of death and disability (United Nations About UNiTE: Fact Sheet. Available at http://endviolence.un.org/pdf/factsheets/about_unite.pdf). Up to 70 per cent (United Nations, Violence Against Women: The Situation. Avalable at http://endviolence.un.org/pdf/factsheets/unite_the_situation.pdf.) of women experience violence in their lifetime. Violence against women persists in every country in the world as a pervasive violation of human rights and a major impediment to achieving gender equality. Such violence is unacceptable, whether perpetrated by the State and its agents or by family members or strangers, in the public or private sphere, in peacetime or in times of conflict.

In Georgia, current research points to widespread experiences of violence against women across the country. According to the 2020 UNDP and UNFPA joint study Men, Women, and Gender Relations in Georgia: Public Perceptions and Attitudes 52.5% of men believe that violence between husband and wife is a private matter and others should not intervene (UNDP and UNFPA joint study Men, Women, and Gender Relations in Georgia: Public Perceptions and Attitudes https://www.ge.undp.org/content/georgia/ka/home/library/democratic_governance/gender-survey-report.html). Intimate partner violence, as well as early and forced marriage, are among the most prevalent forms of violence against women in Georgia. These types of violence cut across all divisions of income, culture, and class. Despite its scale and socioeconomic impact, violence against women remains largely underreported and under-researched in key areas. The same study showed that 33% men agreed that in some cases, women want to be raped, and that a woman’s reputation would have to be questioned in any rape case. Importantly, half of all men and 30 percent of women still define rape in terms of women physically fighting back, ignoring fear and other forms of coercion often used in the context of sexual violence (Ibid).

UN Women has supported national partners in Georgia to end violence against women and girls and domestic violence (VAWG/DV) since 2010. Throughout the past decade, technical assistance has been provided to the Government of Georgia to align national legislation and policies with the relevant international legal frameworks and standards. To enhance implementation of the laws and policies, UN Women Georgia has supported the establishment of specialized services for survivors of domestic violence, such as the first state-run shelters, crisis centres and hotlines and rehabilitation programmes for perpetrators.

In order to further enhance compliance of the acting Georgian legislation with the Istanbul Convention and other relevant international and regional standards, as well as further improve violence against women and domestic violence services and the capacities of service providers to meet international standards, UN Women will provide technical support to the Parliament of Georgia and the Government of Georgia in the drafting as well as in the implementation of the relevant policies and legislation in the area of EVAW/DV.

Furthermore, UN Women has worked with the Government in developing the institutional and individual capacities of key service providers in the area of VAWG/DV. In order to continue supporting national partners in Georgia to end VAWG/DV, under the UN Joint Programme on Gender Equality (UNJP), UN Women aims to support relevant state agencies, such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and the Chief Prosecutor's Office of Georgia (CPOG) and other service providers, like Legal Aid Service (LAS) to VAWG/DV survivors to strengthen their capacity and to ensure efficient response to VAWG/DV cases and sexual crimes.

For this purpose, UN Women will recruit a National Consultant – Legal Expert on VAW/DV who will be responsible for engaging with relevant state and non-state stakeholders to work on the development of legislative and policy initiatives on VAWG/DV and capacity development interventions.

The duties and responsibilities of the National Consultant are:

• To develop draft amendments to VAWG/ DV related legislation, legislative initiatives, and relevant policy documents;
• To develop explanatory notes to the draft amendment and legislative initiatives;
• To lead/engage in the meetings with relevant state/non state institutions (such as Gender Equality Council of the Parliament of Georgia and/or Inter-Agency Commission on Gender Equality, Violence against Women and Domestic Violence) together with UN Women team and collect feedback expressed on the above drafts;
• To perform other duties as necessary in relation to the policy and legislative initiatives (such as further research, international practice/legislation, data collection, inquiries, etc.);
• To work with relevant state agencies on their capacity development to ensure efficient response to VAWG/DV cases, sexual crimes, and sexual harassment.
• To develop, review and update relevant training modules and guiding documents on VAWG/DV and sexual crimes for different professionals and conduct training, as necessary.

Deliverables:

Deliverables should be supported by timesheet and progress report.

• Drafts of VAWG/DV related legislative amendments, initiatives and policy documents developed and submitted to UN Women (25 working days) – by 2 February 2024;
• Explanatory notes to the draft amendments and legislative initiatives developed and submitted to UN Women (25 working days) – by 2 February 2024;
• Research, analysis, data collection related to the VAW/DV policy work performed and submitted to UN Women (20 working days) – by 2 March 2024;
• Training modules and guiding documents developed and/or updated on VAWG/DV for different professionals/service providers to VAW/DV survivors (7 working days) by 2 March 2024;
• Relevant trainings conducted (43 working days) – by 2 May 2024.

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

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Education

• Advanced University degree (Masters) in Law, Human Rights.

Knowledge and Experience

• At least 3 years of experience in legislative drafting and analysis in the area of gender equality, domestic violence and criminal justice.
• At least 5 years of experience in working in the area of gender equality, violence against women, domestic violence and criminal justice in Georgia.
• At least 5 years of experience in working with national and international domestic violence and gender equality related legislation and instruments.

Language Requirements

• Proficiency in Georgian and English.

Evaluation Procedure:

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:

• Advanced University degree (Masters) in Law, Human Rights;
• At least 5 years of experience in working in the area of gender equality, violence against women, domestic violence and criminal justice in Georgia;
• Fluency in Georgian and English.

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

Technical evaluation criteria (including minimum qualifications):

• Advanced University degree (Masters) in Law, Human Rights (max 30 points)
• At least 3 years of experience in legislative drafting and analysis in the area of gender equality, domestic violence and criminal justice (max 100 points)
• At least 5 years of experience in working in the area of gender equality, violence against women, domestic violence and criminal justice in Georgia (max 100 points)
• At least 5 years of experience in working with national and international domestic violence and gender equality related legislation and instruments (max 90 points)
• Fluency in Georgian and English (max 30 points)

Maximum total technical score amounts to 350 points. Only candidates who have passed over the minimum qualification criteria and have accumulated at least 245 points out of maximum 350 under technical evaluation will qualify for the next stage i.e. evaluation of their financial proposals.

Evaluation of submitted financial offers will be done based on the following formula: S = Fmin / F * 150

S – score received on financial evaluation;

Fmin – the lowest financial offer out of all the submitted offers qualified over the technical evaluation round;

F – financial offer under consideration.

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

Management arrangements:

The contractor will report to and work under direct supervision of UN Women Deputy Country Representative and overall guidance of UN Women Georgia Country Representative.

Financial arrangements:

The payment will be disbursed based on the consultant’s request for payment calculated per working day spent for specific activities/deliverables, and upon submission and approval of deliverables and certification by UN Women National Programme officer  that the services have been satisfactorily performed as specified below:

Application submission package:

• Duly filled in Personal History Form PHF11 that can be downloaded from https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process
• CV;
• Financial Proposal - lump sum proposal/offer* in GEL (or USD) (including breakdown of this lump sum amount, indicating all necessary costs to complete this assignment).

*The applicants are required to submit an aggregated financial offer: “aggregated financial offer” is the total sum of all financial claims of the candidate for accomplishment of all tasks spelled out in this ToR. Travel costs (ticket, DSA etc.)  should not be included and will be paid for separately by UN Women.

How to Submit the Application:

• Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11)- https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process
• Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), CV and the Financial Proposal into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded.
• Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement).
• Click 'Apply Now' button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click 'Submit Application;'
• Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above).
• You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

Notes:

• UN Women retains the right to contact references directly. Due to the large numbers of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.
• Applications without the financial offer will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
• The individual consultants should take the mandatory learning security course prior to commencement of assignment– details will follow before the issuance of contract.

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.).