Background

UN Women, the United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women, was created to accelerate progress towards the fulfillment of their rights around the world. UN Women assists UN member states in setting international norms and standards for achieving gender equality and works with governments and civil society to develop laws, policies, programs, and services needed to implement these standards.

UN Women actively promotes the equal participation of women in all spheres of life, focusing on five priority areas of action: strengthening women's leadership and participation in society; elimination of violence against women; involvement of women in solving the whole range of issues of ensuring peace and security; empowering women in the economy; ensuring the central role of gender equality in national development planning and budgeting processes. UN Women also coordinates work to promote gender equality throughout the UN system.

"UN Women", in collaboration with the National Commission on Women's Affairs and Family and Demographic Policy under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (hereinafter referred to as the National Commission) and the Ministry of Information and Public Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry), is implementing the associated grant "Assisting Kazakhstan in the implementation of the Concept of Family and Gender Policy, in terms of ensuring gender equality and expanding the rights and opportunities of all women and girls in Kazakhstan and overcoming the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis."

Within the framework of this tied grant, technical and expert support is planned for family support centers, family conflict resolution, and providing temporary residence for women with children.

In accordance with item 30 of the Action Plan for the implementation of the Concept of Family and Gender Policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2030 (Presidential Decree of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated April 1, 2022, No. 853), Centers for Family Support will be established, resolving family conflicts with the provision of temporary residence for women who have children.

At present, 68 Family Support Centers are operating in the regions. 36 of them operate under the administration of the local executive authorities' social protection departments.

The centers provide a comprehensive range of advisory services: they offer psychological, social, and legal assistance, as well as all-round support aimed at strengthening the family institution. All centers are financed from local budget funds, and the coordination of the work on the establishment of centers is carried out by the Ministry.

Currently, depending on the region, there are differences in the approaches to the establishment of family support centers. Family Support Centers differ in organizational and legal form, material and technical base, staff preparedness, and financing volume.

It is expected that the national consultant will evaluate the family support centers by visiting the regions (in coordination with the Ministry) and, considering the international experience provided by the international consultant, will develop a Development Concept, recommendations, regulations, and a service provision standard for the further development of family support centers.

Duties and Responsibilities

The work of the national consultant is carried out in close collaboration with the international consultant.

The tasks of the national consultant include:

1. Presentation of the work plan for the project;
2. Making proposals within the framework of evaluating family support centers (technical equipment, infrastructure condition, quality of services provided, etc.) in agreement with the Ministry and the "UN-Women" Structure;
3. Assessment of the current situation of family support centers in terms of providing temporary accommodation to victims of domestic violence, including children, based on the following criteria:

• Technical and material base;
• Internal documentation;
• Business processes and organizational structure;
• Quality of services provided; with visits to regions (one republican city, one oblast center city, one district center and two villages) in accordance with the developed evaluation framework;

1. Calculation of the need for family support centers in the evaluated regions, forecast on the number of end beneficiaries;
2. Presentation of an interim report on the work results;
3. Development of a standard position for FSCs and provided services, job instructions for FSC staff, methodological guidelines, including FSC action algorithms and monitoring of FSC activities and quality of services;
4. Improvement of the sectoral qualification framework and development of a draft professional standards for family support center specialists;
5. Proposal for missing services for children in need of support and protection, including the development of recommendations for the formation and operation of mobile groups to provide services;
6. Development of recommendations for working with the digital family card, including cross-sectoral cooperation and mechanisms for FSC interaction with various organizations: schools, clinics, social protection services, juvenile commissions, and others;
7. Support to the Ministry in working groups discussing current issues related to FSC activities;
8. Preparation of the final report and presentation of the results of the work done.

It is expected that the national consultant will work with the Ministry and the international expert. The national consultant will also conduct necessary consultations and discussions with national partners (civil society organizations, state, non-governmental, non-profit organizations). All results must be presented and approved by the Ministry and the "UN-Women" Structure.

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.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• Bachelor's degree or its equivalent in the fields of Social work, Political Science and International Relations, Education and Pedagogy, Law/Jurisprudence, Gender Studies, Economic/Social Sciences, or related fields.

Experience

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in the field of social protection at the national level;
• At least 5 years of experience in developing policies in the area of protecting individuals who have been subjected to domestic violence and/or those in challenging life situations is mandatory.
• Experience working with UN agencies or other international organizations, as well as with governmental bodies in the field of social protection and/or family policy.. (Please attach a copy of supporting materials or provide a link to a website where the document can be viewed).

Language Requirements

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in Russian are mandatory.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in Kazakh would be an advantage.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English would be an advantage.

Evaluation criteria:

Applicants must meet the above minimum eligibility requirements, which will be included in the technical evaluation process in the future. The next stage of the evaluation process will support the methodology of combined analysis of the technical proposal (70%) and financial proposal (30%) of the applicant.

Technical evaluation criterion:

Only candidates with a minimum of 490 points will be eligible for financial evaluation.

Financial assessment:

The evaluation of the submitted financial proposals will be made on the basis of the following formula:

C low / C x 300, where

C is the price of the evaluated offer; and

C low - this is the lowest price of all evaluated offers among the corresponding offers;

300 is the maximum financial point you can get.

The winner is the candidate who scores the highest score on the total score (according to the results of the technical assessment + financial assessment). The maximum possible score, according to the technical assessment, is 700 and 300 for the financial proposal.

Candidate selection:

The contract will be offered to the candidate with the highest score in the cumulative evaluation.

Package of documents for consideration

• A letter explaining interest in this position;
• Completed and signed form P11 (form available at http://eca.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment). Applicants without completed P11 forms will be categorized as non-complete applicants and will not be eligible for further evaluation;
• Financial Proposal* in Kazakhstani Tenge, including the total requested amount required to complete all tasks under this Terms of Reference, including travel costs.
• Providing the results of similar work, letters of recommendation from the organization with whom you previously collaborated.

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.)