Background

In support of the Arab Republic of Egypt’s Vision 2030 and the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women (NSEEW), the work of the UN Women Egypt Country Office (ECO) is grounded in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA). Under the Egypt/UN Cooperation Framework, UN Women implements its triple mandate of supporting normative standard-setting to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment, working with the Government of Egypt, civil society and the private sector on implementing international and national commitments and best practices, and strengthening UN system coordination in this regard. Since the early 1990s, UN Women ECO has consolidated its expertise, partnerships and investments around three main areas of work: women's leadership and system-wide support to advancing gender equality; women's economic empowerment; and eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls, including harmful practices.

Under the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2023-2027), the ECO’s country portfolio continues to focus on the above, utilising the following strategies: supporting regional and global normative for a and related commitments; drawing from global standards and practices; contributing to evidenced-based, nationally-led legislative reform and knowledge development; supporting all women’s access to skills, services, and networks; supporting platforms and partnerships for women’s enhanced voice and leadership, including young women, rural women and women living with disabilities; developing nationally specific innovative financing mechanisms and tools, including gender-responsive budgeting; and advancing nationally and community- owned change in the attitudes and behaviours which may limit the advancement of women and girls, with the close engagement of men and boys as champions.

To achieve the strategic and programmatic objectives, UN Women Egypt’s Communications Unit develops and executes goal-oriented communications and outreach strategies. In this regard, UN Women Egypt seeks to recruit an Arabic editor to proofread and edit content under various programmes, including “Women’s Economic Empowerment for Sustainable and Inclusive growth – Rabeha Joint programme”, and “Ending Violence against Women and Girls” programme.

The Consultant will be offered a ‘Special Service Agreement' contract, up to 82 days (will be distributed across a period of one year and workload will be coordinated with UN Women team based on respective programmes’ deadlines and priorities) for one year, however the Consultant shall respond to unexpected needs and deadlines, whenever relevant. 

Objective and Required Tasks of the Assignment:

Reporting to the Communications Unit in consultation with the programme managers of the aforementioned programmes under the overall supervision of the Country Representative, the consultant is required to proofread and edit UN Women Arabic content/ knowledge products as follow:  

  • Edit a range of high-quality Arabic content including, but not limited tobriefs, reports, publications, infographs, brochures, stories, and social media content.
  • Ensure that the style and format is consistent with UN Women guidelines and enforce the use of correct gender-sensitive terminology as per UN Women Gender Term Lexicon.
  • Proofread Arabic content to ensure that linguistically the content is well structured and that the content conveys the original meaning and tone.
  • Check the quality and accuracy of the entire document/knowledge product before submitting it back to UN Women.

Duties and Responsibilities

To complete the task effectively and efficiently, the consultant should accomplish:

  • Literature review: review of relevant programmes’ documents (e.g., annual reports, knowledge documentation, communication materials) as well as success stories and audio-video materials available, if any.
  • Meeting the assigned deadlines to ensure consistent work progress and completion of assignment.
  • Submission of edited/revised content for initial feedback and receiving feedback from UN Women team for approval.
  • Submission of final version of the revised and edited product/document.  

Duration of the Assignment:

A total of 82 days equivalent time is estimated for this consultancy work from 15 July 2023- 14 July 2024, which means that the total number of days will be distributed across a period of one year and workload will be coordinated with UN Women team based on respective programmes’ deadlines and priorities.

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. 

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

Functional Competencies:

  • Experience and understanding in gender equality and women’s economic empowerment;
  • Good communication and interpersonal skills;
  • Excellent editing/ proofreading skills in Arabic and English;
  • Ability to communicate sensitively across different focal points;
  • Aware of Egypt’s culture, social issues, social norms and values, gender equality and social inclusion;
  • Demonstrated analytical skills on issues related to gender, social, and economic aspects;
  • Strong analytical and innovative skills;
  • Ability to meet deadlines. 

Required Skills and Experience

Education

  • A minimum of bachelor’s degree in languages and translation, journalism, mass communications, literature, or related field is required.
  • Master’s degree in linguistics, journalism, media or related field is an asset. 

Experience

  • At least 8 years of extensive professional and practical experience in editing, proofreading and writing Arabic content (Applicants should submit samples of work showcasing their editorial experience) is required.
  • Experience in editing gender-related products and using gender terminologies and gender sensitive language required.
  • Experience working in varied assignments in the UN System is desirable.

Language Requirements

  • Fluency in writing and communicating in Arabic and English required.

Evaluation Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology: Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation.

Technical Weight Criteria: 70% (100 points)

  • Criteria 1: A minimum of bachelor’s degree in languages and translation, journalism, mass communications, literature, or related field. (10 points)
  • Criteria 2: Master’s degree in linguistics, journalism, media or related field. (5 points)
  • Criteria 3: At least 8 years of extensive professional and practical experience in editing, proofreading, and writing Arabic content. (20 points)
  • Criteria 4: Experience working on varied assignments in the UN System. (15 points)
  • Criteria 5: Experience in editing gender-related products, using gender terminologies and gender sensitive language. (20 points)

Financial Proposal

Financial Weight Criteria: 30% (30 points) – Daily Rate Proposal

The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula:

  • Contract will be awarded to the technically qualified consultant who obtains the highest combined score (financial and technical);
  • The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula: (Lowest Bid Offered*)/ (Bid of the Consultant) x 30;
  • 'Lowest Bid Offered' refers to the lowest price offered by Offerors scoring at least 49 points in the technical evaluation.

Application

Interested Individual Consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

  • UN Women Personal History form (P-11) signed, is required when applying including the permanent current valid e-mail and phone contact, it can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment.
  • A cover letter (no more than 400 words) explaining your suitability for the assigned task in Arabic or English.
  • Financial proposal must be submitted based on daily rate in EGP/ 8 hours per day.
  • A link to portfolio with previous work must be submitted showcasing experience (in Arabic).

The above-mentioned documents should be merged into a standalone file including all them, since the online application submission does only permit to upload one file per application. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification.

IMPORTANT: The above-mentioned documents should be merged in a standalone file including all of them, since the online application submission only permits one file upload per application. Incomplete submission can be grounds for disqualification.

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.)