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.

Afghanistan is one of the world’s most complex emergencies, and the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Afghan people are grappling with the impact of conflict, poverty, economic decline, and natural disasters. In this context, Afghan women and girls face unique vulnerabilities and require urgent support as gender inequality is interwoven with conflict dynamics and humanitarian needs. It is essential that Afghan women and girls can continue to shape the development of their country, and that their gains are protected. UN Women remains fully committed to supporting Afghan women and girls and to putting them at the center of the global response to the crisis in Afghanistan.

UN Women has been in Afghanistan for two decades. UN Women’s programming approach is informed by analysis of the political, economic, and humanitarian situation, risks to and capacities of partner organizations, and needs of Afghan women and girls. UN Women Afghanistan currently has five key programme priorities: (1) Gender in Humanitarian Action, (2) Ending Violence Against Women, (3) Women’s Economic Empowerment, (4) Women, Peace, and Security and (5) Women’s Civil Society. UN Women is present through its country office, based in Kabul, and five sub-offices, in Bamyan, Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar and Mazar.

To respond to the urgent need of support for the women’s movement in Afghanistan, UN Women launched a key programme area under “Re-Building the Women’s Movement in Afghanistan: Strengthening Organizational Resilience of Afghan Women’s CSOs” (WCSO project) to rebuild organizational resilience of women’s civil society organizations. The project offers following key features:

  • Core grants and demand-driven grants that aim to provide WCSOs with critical operational support and funding within the context of ongoing humanitarian crisis;
  • Capacity building and individualized technical support to WCSOs;
  • Support for advocacy and coordinated learning, sharing, and networking.

Objective of the Assignment:

UN Women Afghanistan Country Office seeks consultants to support the implementation of the WCSO project at subnational level. In coordination with the Kabul team, the consultant will support all components of the programme, including the grantmaking, technical support, capacity building, knowledge management, and operational support.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the UN Women Head of Sub-Office and guidance from the WCSO Programme Manager, the Consultant (s) will carry on the below functions in the provinces for which they will be focal points:

Coordinate with WCSO project team, both at Kabul and subnational levels

  • Provide support to ACO WCSO project team in terms of (i) dissemination of expression of interest to potential WCSO project partners, (ii) review received applications and provide analysis; and (iii) inquire into applicant organizations.
  • Provide support to ACO WCSO project team in terms of collecting and reviewing reports,  information and supporting documents from applicants/ partners as necessary.
  • Provide support to ACO WCSO project team to finalize partner budgets and agreements.

Provide technical assistance and capacity development support to project partners

  • Coordinate and facilitate technical/ programming support and trainings to partners as needed; in particular, support grantees with relevant trainings to strengthen their organizations in a variety of topics including operations, organizational and project management and more;
  • Oversee capacity assessments of each partner in coordination with the WCSO project team;
  • Provide technical support to and technically oversee the implementation of programme activities with partners;
  • Provide technical inputs to tools and methodologies of training for partners;

Provide technical inputs to the monitoring and reporting of the project

  • Monitor progress on project activity, results and indicators;
  • Provide inputs to quarterly reports, donor reports and other reports on outputs, results outputs and outcomes, as requested by WCSO project staff.

Provide support to advocacy, knowledge building, communication and events

  • Provide technical inputs to background documents, briefs, knowledge products and presentations related to the WCSO project;
  • Coordinate and support the organization of activities, events, trainings, workshops and knowledge products;
  • Contributes to knowledge networks and communities of practice.

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: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

  • Experience in providing technical support and close collaboration with civil society and training
  • Well-developed communication, leadership, and team building skills
  • Ability to travel to offices of partners and applicant organizations
  • Previous experience working with United Nations System in the same field is distinct advantage

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, human rights, gender/ women’s studies, international development, or a related field is required.
  • A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
  • A project/programme management certification (such as PMP®, PRINCE2®, or MSP®) would be an added advantage.

Experience:

  • Minimum of four years of relevant work experience in development programme/project implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, and capacity building;
  • Experience in civil society, and with women’s issues, is an asset;
  • Experience in United Nations System is desirable;

Language Requirements:

Fluency in Dari or Pashto and working knowledge of English are required;

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology: Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation;

Criteria Weight Technical: 70% (70 points)

  • Criteria 1:  Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, human rights, gender/ women’s studies, international development, or a related field is required (20 Points)
  • Criteria 2: Minimum of four years of relevant work experience in development programme/project implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, and capacity building; (30 Points)
  • Criteria 3:  Fluency in English, Dari and Pashto. (20 points)

 

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

  • A cover letter with a brief presentation of your consultancy explaining your suitability for the work and link to portfolio of work;
  • UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment;
  • Personal CV; and Financial proposal; Proposed inclusive daily rate;

The above-mentioned documents should be merged in 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.

Application:

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality, and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW, and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Inclusion Statement:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employ, 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.)