Background

UN Women was established by GA resolution 64/289 of 2 July 2010 on system-wide coherence, with a mandate to assist Member States and the UN system to progress more effectively and efficiently towards the goal of achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE). Since 2001, UN Women (previously as UNIFEM) has implemented catalytic initiatives on promoting women’s economic, political, and social rights in Kyrgyzstan. In 2012, a full UN Women Country Office (CO) was established.
The Kyrgyz Republic has confirmed its commitment to achieving the 2030 Agenda through integrating the Sustainable Development Goals into the country’s national development efforts. The SDGs have been reflected in the national development framework through gap analysis and priority-setting undertaken in the 2040 National Development Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic , through the “Unity, Trust, Creation” Programme (2018 –2022) , the recent National Development Programme until 2026 . 
A critical aspect of the country's commitment lies in establishing a robust data collection mechanism. The National Statistical Committee (NSC) is represented in the Coordination Committee for the Achievement of the SDGs and is mandated to lead and oversee data-related efforts on monitoring and reporting on SDGs implementation. The NSC's efforts, including on the establishment of the official national reporting portal in 2020 , contribute to monitoring progress towards achieving the SDGs and provide essential insights into the status of GEWE-related indicators. In addition, the NSC plays a pivotal role as the main body responsible for coordination and guidance of data producers in collection and use of administrative data. 
However, challenges remain, particularly in the realm of gender data. Presently, the national statistics system provides 38 out of the 51 gender indicators listed in the UN Minimum Set of Gender Indicators. To address this gap, the Kyrgyz Republic's Medium-term Program for Development of Official Statistics (2022-2026)  prioritizes closing the existing gender data gaps by 2026 . This strategic approach reflects the nation's commitment to evidence-based policymaking and promoting inclusive development. 

One notable challenge is the country's non-reporting on SDG indicator 5.5.1.b , which measures the proportion of seats held by women in local governments . To address this gap, the Kyrgyz Republic's Central Elections Commission (CEC) has pledged to strengthen its data collection system. The CEC's efforts aim to facilitate systematic and high-quality compilation of administrative records to produce essential data and evidence regarding women's participation in electoral processes. Moreover, the CEC is committed to enhancing the accessibility and usability of gender-related electoral data, ensuring that the information is readily available for diverse stakeholders. These commitments are captured in the country’s National Strategy for Gender Equality until 2030 and its National Action Plan for 2022-2024 (NAP), which includes the implementation of specific measures  to track the progress in this area.

Moreover, the Kyrgyz Republic recognizes the critical role of gender-disaggregated data in policymaking and development planning. By joining Making Every Woman and Girl Count gender statistics programme (Women Count) initiated by UN Women in July 2018, the country emphasizes its dedication to advancing gender equality and improving the production, accessibility, and utilization of gender statistics.

Women Count will collaborate closely with the National Statistics Committee to offer guidance and technical assistance to the Central Election Commission, which holds the responsibility of providing official statistics for SDG reporting. Together, they will assess, standardize, compile and disseminate electoral sex-disaggregated data, enabling the Kyrgyz Republic to report effectively on SDG 5.5.1b – proportion of seats held by women in local governments. This collaborative effort demonstrates a strong commitment to data-driven decision-making and inclusive development, ensuring progress towards gender equality and the Sustainable Development Goals. 

The technical support to the National Statistics Committee and CEC within Women Count programme and this particular assignment shall be guided and informed by the following key resources: 

•  UN Women and UNDP, Inclusive Electoral Processes: A Guide for Electoral Management Bodies on Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Participation (2016).  The Guide highlights the important work being carried out by the UN and by Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs), offering concrete examples of steps that can be taken to remove remaining barriers that continue to affect women’s participation in electoral processes.
• UN Women and UN Statistical Division: Toolkit for Quality Assessment of Administrative Data for Official Statistics (2022).  The purpose of this guidance document and template is to serve as a tool for carrying out quality assessments of administrative data for the production of statistics

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the Regional Gender Data Specialist based at UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO), SDG Data and Partnership Coordinator at UN Women Country Office and the Central Election Commission of Kyrgyzstan (CEC), International Team Lead Consultant in coordination with National Gender Data Consultant will will support the National Statistics Committee to build national capacities for enabling the country to effectively monitor, report on and communicate the implementation of SDG indicator 5.5.1b – proportion of seats held by women in local governments.

Duties and Responsibilities 

Within the assignment, the Consultant will be responsible for the following activities: 

Task 1: Support the work on elaboration of Gender Data Assessment to monitor and report on SDG indicator 5.5.1b.

• Prepare the detailed work plan, methodology and timeframe for undertaking the assignment.

• Support the International Team lead in undertaking a desk review analysis of available national, regional, and global reports, analysis, assessments, particularly on harnessing administrative data for measuring women’s representation in local governments, including but not limited to those provided by NSC, CEC and UN Women (e.g. Voluntary National Review, Gender Equality Strategy and its NAP, National Strategy for Development of Statistics, etc.).

• Review and mapping of the existing administrative records and other data sources to measure SDG indicator 5.5.1b – proportion of seats held by women in local governments.

• Based on the desk review, provide inputs on the assessment of gender data gaps and compilation of data from different sources (global, regional, national) to be used by international lead consultant to carry out the assessment.

• To liaise with National Statistical Committee, CEC and other stakeholders to collect additional data to be used for analysis.

• Support NSC to set up a reference group for overseeing the Gender Data Assessment. 

• Lead the consultation meeting to receive inputs for assessment methodology.

• Lead at least 2 Focus Group Discussions/interviews with relevant stakeholders to collect missing data (government, SCOs, academia, etc.).

• Provide quality inputs to develop first and second draft of assessment report, including statistical annexes, tables, charts, etc. as per agreed methodology.

• Facilitate the Reference Group validation meeting.

• Support the International Team Lead Consultant to finalize assessment report based on UN Women and the reference group’s comments.

• Lead the presentation of Gender Data Assessment findings and recommendations.

Task 2: Strengthen national capacities to compile and report on SDG 5.5.1b (representation of women in local governments).

• Based on the metadata, develop detailed methodology to compile data on SDG 5.5.1b, highlighting existing gaps and recommendations for change and improvement.

• Lead the process on piloting the approved methodology at district/rayon level and introduce changes, as needed.

• Conceptualize, design and execute a 3-day capacity building workshop for the NSC, CEC staff how to compile SDG 5.5.1b and analyze data. Throughout the intensive training programme, the participants shall engage in hands-on activities, interactive and collaborative sessions.

• Lead the full roll-out of the data compilation methodology, including development of internal SOPs.

Task 3: Capacity building of different groups of users to analyze and communicate electoral gender data

• Conceptualize and design the training methodology.

• Deliver a 2-day capacity building training for different groups of users on how to analyze and communicate electoral gender data. Throughout the intensive training programme, the participants shall engage in hands-on activities, interactive and collaborative sessions.Develop and submit a 5-page training report that includes key outcomes, demographics of the audience, and measurements of changes in the participants’ learning curves.

Timeframe, payments and deliverables

It is anticipated the assignment will take up to 35 working days over a period of 6 months:

Payment for this consultancy will be based on the achievement of each deliverable and certification that each has been satisfactorily completed. Payment will be based on the submission of the SSA report along with the timesheet and relevant annexes as supporting documents for the achievement of deliverables:

Inputs from NSC, UN Women and CEC:

• UN Women, NSC and CEC will provide the consultant with background materials for the assignments. Specifically, this will include national reports, researches, data, UN Women Guide for Electoral Management Bodies on Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Participation
• UN Women CO will provide the contact details and introductions to the International Team Lead Consultant.

Reporting requirements:

The National Gender Data Consultant is expected to work remotely using her/his own computer. UN Women and CEC will provide may provide support to coordinate activities with NSC, when and if required.

Consultancy report should be provided in electronic version in Russian with detailed description of the fulfilled tasks, according to the present Term of Reference, and the contribution of the expert. Analytical documents, reports and other materials developed by expert should be attached to the report as annexes, which will serve as a justification for payment.

Competencies

Core Values:

Integrity:

• Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Professionalism:

• Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Respect for Diversity:

• Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff.
• Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrate and integrity and fairness by modeling UN values and ethical standards.
• Knowledge of the social, cultural, and political context of Kyrgyzstan and local issues of gender, public policy and governance
• Strong written/oral communication and training skills
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Competencies in coordination, planning and teamwork
• A commitment to quality product and deadlines

Required Skills and Experience

Application procedure:

Applications should include:

• Offeror's letter to UN Women confirming interest and availability for the assignment.
• Financial proposal, indicating a total lump sum to include all costs relating to the delivery of activities as per above description.
• P-11 form including experience in similar assignments. This form can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment.

Financial proposal format:

Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant during the contract period. The financial proposal should be provided in KGS. If the proposal is provided in any other currency, it would be converted as per UN exchange rate on the date of post closure.

Evaluation of applicants

The candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants' technical qualifications and experience, and financial proposal. The contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Technically responsive/compliant/acceptable to the requirements of the ToR; and
• Having received the highest cumulative (technical & financial) score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

The selection of candidates will be done in 2 stages:

1-st stage: Technical Evaluation/ Desk review.

Short-listed candidates will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

2nd stage: Financial evaluation will be conducted according to the method described below:

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion.

A suggested formula is as follows: p=30 (µ/z)

Where:

p - points for the financial proposal being evaluated;

µ - price of the lowest priced proposal;

z - price of the proposal being evaluated

The candidate achieving the highest cumulative score for both Technical and Financial evaluations will be recommended by the Evaluation Committee for contracting.

The Consultant shall promote a client-oriented approach consistent with UN Women rules and regulations and commits to high standards of quality, productivity and timeliness in the delivery of tasks. The Consultant will meet and apply the highest standards of integrity and impartiality.

The Consultant must be fully dedicated to the mandate and the values of UN Women, particularly to promoting Gender Equality as a strategy to reduce conflict, improve livelihoods and ensure fairness and justice; to Women Empowerment underpinning Gender Equality promotion efforts; to inter-ethnic tolerance and concord; and to respect for diversity.

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 is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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.)

Applications without the completed P-11 form are incomplete and will NOT be considered for further assessment!