Background

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women will work 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 will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

Women’s leadership and participation is one of UN Women’s primary areas of work as mandated in its inception, recognizing the integral role of women in strong and stable democratic processes. In order to promote the leadership and participation of women in decision-making processes, UN Women works to promote gender equality in parliaments, electoral bodies, political parties, media, and other institutions. 

UN Women has a proven track-record in supporting women’s political participation through its projects across various regions, under the guidance of UN Women’s founding resolution (GA resolution 64/289) and its Strategic Plan. UN Women is increasingly being called upon by UN partners, civil society partners, donors and governments to provide specific and often short-term gender expertise for capacity building and policy support on women’s political rights, participation and leadership. 

To achieve its objectives, and ensure a high quality rapid response capacity on women’s political rights, participation, leadership and influence, UN Women supports the adoption and implementation of constitutional reforms and other measures in laws and policies, (including temporary special measures), gender-responsive electoral processes, and institutional change to enhance women’s engagement on leadership positions.

Since its independence, Timor-Leste has continued to develop its legal framework, including through the Administrative, Economic and the Legal Harmonization Reforms initiated under the VIth Constitutional Government (2015-2017). Although equal rights for women and men are guaranteed in Timor-Leste’s Constitution and the country has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the reality is far from it. The Concluding observations on the Fourth Periodic Report of Timor-Leste (2023) recommended the Government of Timor-Leste to increase women’s capacity in political participation and leadership, as well as to raise awareness amongst politicians, religious and community leaders and the general public on the importance of the full, independent and democratic participation of women on an equal basis with men in political and public life as a requirement for achieving political stability and sustainable development of the country.

UN Women, as part of the United Nations in Timor-Leste, contributes to the Government’s legislative and policy commitments on gender equality including addressing violence against women and girls (VAWG), and promotes advancement of national agenda on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and increases women’s leadership in sustaining peace and development of Timor-Leste as outlined in its Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030, Sustainable Development Roadmap, and international human rights obligations. Furthermore, to address the global challenges of VAWG, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations commenced a multi-year programme - the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative (1st January 2020 – 31st December 2023).

UN Women, as a UN Agency as well as in its capacity as the technical coherence agency for the EU – UN Spotlight Initiative has been working with key stakeholders, including but not limited to - civil society organisations, Ministry of Justice, Secretary of State for Equality and Inclusion and National Parliament, to ensure that the country’s policies and laws are grounded in a women’s rights perspective. Progress has been made that has led to the inclusion of measures for women, for example the quota for women in the Suco (Village) Law. UN Women and Spotlight will continue to support gender analysis of the legal and policy framework, especially focus on policies and laws in the areas of decentralization, mediation and conflict resolution, as well as the civil service and economic reforms.

UN Women, through the WPS programme, has been working to promote women’s participation and leadership in politics and public affairs, contributing to the building of a representative governance structure created to bring to the table voices of women and girls in the country. UN Women will continue to support and strengthen capacity of women parliamentarians, women caucus (Grupo das Mulheres Parlamentares de Timor-Leste), and women diplomatic leaders in increasing their gender awareness and skills in analysing issues from a gender perspective, and addressing needs of girls, women and other marginalized groups in legislation and policies planning. UN Women will also provide capacity development support to increase their understanding in implementing national commitments in NAP 1325, NAP GBV, CEDAW and UNSCR 1325 and other international and regional normative frameworks promoting women’s rights. In preparation for Timor-Leste’s accession to ASEAN and implementation of its road map for obtaining the full membership in ASEAN, UN Women will provide technical support to strengthen capacity of the women parliamentarians, women caucus and women diplomatic leaders in understanding the ASEAN policy frameworks and strategies on gender equality and women’s empowerment, including the ASEAN Regional Action Plan on WPS.

In this regard, UN Women is seeking a national consultant to provide technical support in gender-responsive legislation and capacity development support to the women caucus (Grupo das Mulheres Parlamentares de Timor-Leste) and Parliamentary Committees when required to strengthen the policies and legislative frameworks, as well as, relevant institutions on compliance of the legal frameworks to CEDAW and UNSCR 1325, among other gender equality commitments.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Overall objective of the assignment

The overall objective of the proposed consultancy is to provide technical support on gender-responsive legislation and capacity development on CEDAW-compliant policy drafting and analysis to National Parliament, especially women parliamentarians, Committee F and women caucus, building on UN Women’s and EU – UN Spotlight Initiative’s existing efforts.

• Scope of work/Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the UN Women Head of Office in Timor-Leste, and in coordination with the Technical Specialist EVAW SI and Coordinator for Women Peace and Security and the UNDP Parliament Project team, the Consultant will perform, but will not necessarily be limited, to the following:

• Develop a compendium of key laws and policies in Timor-Leste, approved and still in draft, which are crucial for gender equality and women’s empowerment, including Identification of relevant laws and policies that will be developed/amended/approved on decentralization, mediation and conflict resolution, civil service, economic reforms, among other areas identified.
• Facilitate legal analysis from a gender perspective through the Women Caucus, Committees when required and/or any work group on Gender and Legislation, of draft laws and policies and provide recommended revisions/inputs, regarding decentralization, mediation and conflict resolution, civil service, economic reforms from a women’s rights perspective.
• Synthesize comments from consultations and provide recommendations clearly articulating the thought process, and link to CEDAW and women’s human rights, drawing on international best practice.
• Support capacity development of partners (including Members of Parliament, CSO, Members of Working Groups, women caucus and women diplomatic leaders) on CEDAW, UNSCR 1325, and women’s rights, with the organization of regular trainings or knowledge building events. Develop tools and materials, and deliver training to aforementioned partners to increase their gender awareness and skills in analysing issues from a gender perspective, and promoting rights of girls, women and other marginalized groups in legislation and policies planning, in line with the national commitments in international and regional legal and policy frameworks.
• Support advocacy of civil society partners to influence policy development on key laws identified in relation to Women Peace and Security and CEDAW. This includes support to development of key messaging for effective advocacy and organization of submission of recommendations to National Parliament and Government.
• Support development of tools and knowledge products that will help the Committees, as well as other stakeholders (Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Social Solidarity, Ministry of State Administration, SEII) to assess the compliance of laws from an international perspective.
• Draft recommendations on key gender components to be included in relevant legislation regulating dispute resolution processes, and how it might improve existing practices in the targeted communities.
• Support organization of a regional knowledge-sharing event on gender-responsive policies and legislation from Timor-Leste and other countries in Asia.
• Coordinate the office of the Women Caucus in the National Parliament, that includes two Parliament staff and a legal advisor in managing the day-to-day workload of the office.

• Duration of the assignment

The total duration of the contract will be from 1st August 2023 – 31st July 2024.

• Expected Deliverables

• The consultant is expected to work with the prospect to deliver the following results:
• Monthly Workplan along with clear timelines for identified areas of support for Women Caucus and individual Parliamentarians or through the Standing Committees.
• Periodic progress reports against proposed work plan.
• Documentation of the process of legislative changes
• Logistics support and coordination required for meetings/discussions with Parliamentarians and/or government partners
• Workplan, tools and materials developed for the capacity development activities and trainings, and reports with the detailed results on the trainings delivered to partners.

• Inputs

• The Parliament will provide the Consultant with a desk & Chair and necessary documents for desk reviews and asks from Members of Parliaments.
• UN Women will provide transportation to the municipalities for activities required in the duty of its function.
• UN Women will cover Daily Subsistence Allowance to cover for expenses outside of Dili when applicable, and upon reception of a Travel Authorization.
• The consultant is expected to use her/his own computer, presentation equipment and software for related tasks.
• The cost of telecommunication and transportation within Dili will be covered by the consultant.

Competencies

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• 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:

• Strong commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women, with demonstrated experience of researching or working on gender issues;
• Strong research and writing skills, with strong analytical skills and creative thinking;
• Ability to think and work logically and work precisely with attention to detail;
• Initiative, sound judgment and demonstrated ability to work harmoniously with staff members of different national and cultural backgrounds;
• Previous experience (also volunteer experience) from the non-profit sector is an advantage.
• Ability to multi-task and address competing priorities
• Ability to produce quality deliverables in a timely manner
• Strong computer skills, including Word, Excel, and Power Point

Required Skills and Experience

• Performance evaluation:

Contractor’s performance will be evaluated against such criteria as: timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.

• Required skills and experience

Education:

• Master’s degree in political science, Public Administration, Social Science, Law, Gender and Development or other relevant field, or bachelor’s degree with 9 years of experience

Experience:

• 7 years of experience (or bachelor’s degree, 9 years) of work on gender equality in the field of law or women’s rights and public policy including (20 points);
• Proven experience with gender analysis of legal policy frameworks, especially on Ending Violence Against Women, Women, Peace and Security; informal justice; land law and decentralization (20 points);
• Proven experience in capacity development of government institutions and civil society organizations on CEDAW, UNSCR 1325 and Women’s Human Rights (15 points);
• Experience with facilitation of high-level dialogues, trainings, consultations, including with Government counterparts (10 points).
• Familiarity with the legal framework in Timor-Leste (15 points).

Language and other skills:

• Proficiency in oral and written English and Tetum, knowledge of Portuguese is an advantage (20 points).
• Computer literacy and ability to effectively use office technology equipment, IT tools, ability to use Internet and email.

Submission of application

Interested candidates are requested to submit electronic application to UNDP Job Site no later than 17th July 2023.

• Submission of package:            

• Cover letter & Copy of the latest academic certificate
• CVs or P11, including contact information for 3 references;
• Financial proposal. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount per month and/ or the daily professional fee in USD and other related admin & travel costs.

Please note that the submission package needs to be uploaded in one file/ document to UNDP Job site

Selected candidates will need to submit prior to commencement of work:

• UN Women P-11 form, available her from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment
• A statement from a medical doctor of ‘good health and fit for travel’.
• For any travel outside of Dili, UN Women will require the consultant to provide the certificate proving completion of BSafe training (see trip.dss.un.org).

• Evaluation

Applications will be evaluated based on the Cumulative analysis.

• Technical Qualification (100 points) weight; [70%]
• Financial Proposal (100 points) weight; [30%]

A two-stage procedure is utilised in evaluating the proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposal being completed prior to any price proposal being compared. Only the price proposal of the candidates who passed the minimum technical score of 70% of the obtainable score of 100 points in the technical qualification evaluation will be evaluated.

• Technical qualification evaluation criteria:

The total number of points allocated for the technical qualification component is 100. The technical qualification of the individual is evaluated based on following technical qualification evaluation criteria:

Only the candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% of total points will be considered as technically qualified candidate.

• Financial/Price Proposal evaluation:

• Only the financial proposal of candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% score in the technical evaluation will be considered and evaluated.
• The total number of points allocated for the price component is 100.
• The maximum number of points will be allotted to the lowest price proposal that is opened/ evaluated and compared among those technical qualified candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% score in the technical evaluation. All other price proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.

• Payments

Payments for this consultancy will be based on the achievement of each deliverable and certification that each has been satisfactorily completed. Payments will not be based on the number of days worked but on the completion of each stated deliverable within the indicated timeframes.

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.