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 UN Women Georgia Country Office supports state and non-state partners towards the achievement of substantive gender equality. In line with national and international commitments, UN Women works on the levels of policies and legislation, institutions and grassroots, in order to achieve transformative results for increased gender equality and greater protection of the rights of women and girls. 

 

UN Women Country Office (CO) Georgia with the generous support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) is implementing the “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus” (WEESC) project. The overarching goal of the project is to ensure that women, particularly the poor and socially excluded, in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are economically empowered and participate in relevant decision-making. To reach this goal, WEESC applies a holistic approach, enabling linked interventions at three levels: grassroots, policies and legislation, and institutions. The chosen approach and the implementation of the WEE agenda in the South Caucasus during WEESC Phase I (2018-2021) served as a catalyst for action at all levels and supported the state and non-state partners to enhance progress towards the achievement of substantive gender equality in all three countries. In August 2021, UN Women started implementing the second main phase (2021-2024) of the WEESC project. Phase II of the project plans to leverage UN Women and its partners’ joint results in Phase I and further prioritize alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia with a view to improving the three countries’ progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals as well as the compliance to their international human rights commitments under CEDAW and other legal instruments, particularly in terms of equitable economic development and addressing women’s rights. 

Within the “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus” (WEESC) project, UN Women has supported a review of the implementation of the Armenia Gender Strategy Action Plan and plans to provide further technical assistance to the Government of the Republic of Armenia in delivering its priority activities. UN Women will support the government, and in particular the Professional Orientation and Capacity Development Centre (POCD), to develop a targeted intervention to support women’s economic empowerment.

The POCD operates under Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MLSA) and is recognized as a bridge between the MLSA and the Ministry of Education, which leads on developing career guidance programmes with qualified counsellors in  vocational education and training (VET) institutions. Building on the experience and lessons learned from a pilot women’s mentoring programme for university graduates in Armenia, and the UN Women “Mentoring for Women´s Empowerment: Guide for Workplace Mentoring” manual the POCD plans to pilot a similar programme for women students of VET colleges, linking students with role model women in their communities in a structured mentorship scheme.

Under the overall coordination of UN Women, the National Consultant in cooperation with staff of the POCD will be responsible for developing a methodology and toolkit to respond to the following objectives:

  1. Design a structured mentorship scheme to support women students in their professional development;
  2. Strengthen the capacity of Careers Counsellors to pilot the mentorship scheme;
  3. Deliver a monitoring and evaluation plan to guide quality assurance and capture the learning of the pilot mentorship scheme.

Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of the National Consultant are:

  • Review and adapt the UN Women “Mentoring for Women´s Empowerment: Guide for Workplace Mentoring” manual to deliver a methodological manual for professional mentorship of VET students in Armenia;
  • Develop simple two-page guides for each party involved in the mentorship scheme (Mentee, Careers Counsellor, Mentor);
  • Design and deliver a three-day “training of trainers” module for Careers Counsellors who will implement the mentorship scheme;
  • Deliver a monitoring and evaluation plan for POCD to assess progress and impact of the mentorship scheme;
  • Participate in an evaluation workshop of the pilot scheme and revise the mentorship toolkit (manual, user guides, training module) according to lessons learned;
  • Two-page summary report of assignment in the English language.

Deliverables:

The timeframe for the work of the National Consultant is planned for the period of 14 August, 2023 to 31 May, 2024, for up to 32 working days.

  1. Draft methodological manual describing all components of the VET student mentorship scheme, (15 working days) submitted to UN Women by 01 September, 2023.
  2. Pilot methodological manual incorporating feedback from UN Women and POCD, (2 working days) submitted to UN Women by 08 September, 2023.
  3. Develop simple two-page guides for each party involved in the mentorship scheme (Mentee, Careers Counsellor, Mentor), (3 working days)  submitted to UN Women by 15 September, 2023.
  4. Deliver a monitoring and evaluation plan for the VET student mentorship scheme, (2 working days) submitted to UN Women by 19 September, 2023.
  5. Design and deliver a three-day “training of trainers” module for Careers Counsellors, (6 working days) submitted to UN Women by 30 September, 2023.
  6. Final methodological manual incorporating evaluation learnings, (3 working days) submitted to UN Women by 31 May, 2024.
  7. Two-page summary report of assignment in the English language, (1 working day) submitted to UN Women by 31 May, 2024.

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:

  • Excellent analytical and research skills
  • Strong understanding of and commitment to gender equality and women's empowerment
  • Excellent writing skills
  • Excellent organizational skills
  • Proficiency in IT skills

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

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • At least Master’s degree in Education, Gender Studies, Sociology or similar fields.

Experience: 

  • At least five (5) years of experience in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of VET or lifelong learning policies and programmes;
  • At least three (3) years of work experience in developing educational manuals or careers counselling guides;
  • At least three (3) years of experience in providing capacity development trainings on lifelong learning or careers guidance to various stakeholders, including educators;
  • Previous professional experience with development agencies and/or the United Nations is an asset.

Language:

  • Excellent command of written and spoken Armenian and good working knowledge of 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:

  • At least Master’s degree in Education, Gender Studies, Sociology or similar fields.
  • At least five (5) years of experience in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of VET or lifelong learning policies and programmes;
  • At least three (3) years of work experience in developing educational manuals or careers counselling materials.

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):

  • At least Master’s degree in Education, Gender Studies, Sociology or similar fields (max 70 points);
  • At least five (5) years of experience in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of VET or lifelong learning policies and programmes (max 80 points);
  • At least three (3) years of work experience in developing educational manuals or careers counselling guides (max 80 points);
  • At least three (3) years of experience in providing capacity development trainings on lifelong learning or careers guidance to various stakeholders, including educators (max 70 points);
  • Previous professional experience with development agencies and/or the United Nations is an asset (max 20 points);
  • Excellent command of written and spoken Armenian and good working knowledge of 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 the direct supervision of the UN Women Project Analyst based in Armenia and overall guidance of the UN Women Deputy Country Representative in Georgia.

Financial arrangements:

Payment will be disbursed upon submission and approval of deliverables and certification by UN Women Project Analyst that the services have been satisfactorily performed. The payment per deliverable shall be calculated per number of working days captured in the progress reports/deliverables as specified below:

  1. Draft methodological manual describing all components of the VET student mentorship scheme, (15 working days)
  2. Pilot methodological manual incorporating feedback from UN Women and POCD, (2 working days)

Payment: 50%

  1. Develop simple two-page guides for each party involved in the mentorship scheme (Mentee, Careers Counsellor, Mentor), (3 working days)
  2. Deliver a monitoring and evaluation plan for the VET student mentorship scheme, (2 working days)  
  3. Design and deliver a three-day “trainer of trainers” module for Careers Counsellors, (6 working days)  

Payment: 40%

  1. Final methodological manual incorporating evaluation learnings, (3 working days)
  2. Two-page summary report of assignment in the English language, (1 working day) 

Payment: 10%

Application submission package:

*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

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

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, samples of previous work 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:

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.).