Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination and violence 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. UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and work with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programs and services needed to implement these standards.

In support of the Arab Republic of Egypt’s Vision 2030 and the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women (NSEEW), the work of the UN Women Egypt Country Office (ECO) is grounded in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA). Under the Egypt/UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2023-2027 and the Entity’s five-year portfolio therein, UN Women implements its triple mandate of supporting normative standard-setting to advance gender equality and women's empowerment, implementing national and grassroots programmes grounded in international norms and best practices in partnership with national stakeholders, and strengthening UN system coordination.

Over two decades of work in the country has resulted in UN Women ECO consolidating its expertise, partnerships and investments around three main areas of work: women's leadership and system-wide support to advancing gender equality; women's economic empowerment; and eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls, including harmful practices.

Ending violence against women and girls is an ongoing national priority in Egypt, as a key driver to achieving the country’s socio-economic goals. The Government of Egypt and its partners, including UN Women, have prioritized prevention and response strategies to reduce the prevalence of violence against women and girls in public and private spaces.

Women depend on public transportation as their primary means of travel, and research indicates that many women feel unsafe in public spaces. When considering their public transport options, women may choose less efficient and more expensive alternatives to enhance their sense of safety. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to address the issue of violence against women in public transport, through enhancing the capacities of public transport operators and increasing their knowledge and awareness on violence against women, and the policies and practices to respond effectively and prevent it.

In support of the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women (NSEEW), and through the support of USAID, UN Women, the National Council for Women and the Ministry of Transport are launching an initiative to build the capacities of public transport operators to address violence against women and girls.

Objective of the Assignment:

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Head of Programmes, a.i. and the day-to-day supervision of the UN Women Ending Violence Against Women Programme Specialist, UN Women will recruit a consultant to support the development of a nationally-owned comprehensive training package for Public Transport personnel/operators on preventing and responding to violence against women and girls.

In coordination with the Ministry of Transport and the National Council for Women, the Training Package will include standard operating procedures that lay out reporting and referral mechanisms, relevant national laws, evaluation mechanisms, and a detailed guide on handling complaints in a gender sensitive manner and proper referral.

The consultant will also be responsible for conducting a training of trainers to the National Council for Women (NCW) and Ministry of Transport staff members to equip them with the necessary knowledge and tools to train public transport operators with the ultimate goal of creating safe and secure environment within the public transport system.

Duties and Responsibilities

The national consultant will be responsible for:

• Developing a detailed inception report for the consultancy, in consultation with UN Women technical team the NCW and the Ministry of Transport (MoT). The inception report should include:
  • Workplan, timeline and methodology for this assignment.
  • Desk review for all existing curricula/SOPs related to addressing violence against women in public transport internationally and nationally, identifying best practices applicable to the national context.
  • Listing of all relevant national laws relevant to addressing violence against women.
  • Mapping of existing reporting and referral mechanisms for women in public transport.
  • Listing of proposed experts to be interviewed and proposed Focus Group discussions.
  • Proposed questionnaires to be used in the interviews.

Once feedback is received from partners (including a reading group of other relevant UN agencies and IFIs working with the Government of Egypt on this issue) , the Inception report will be updated and finalized by the consultant.

• Conducting one-to-one interviews and focus group discussion based on the agreed-upon methodology, questionnaires, and list of key stakeholders (including governmental employees and passengers). The results of the interviews and focus group discussions will guide the development of a comprehensive training package tailored for public transport operators, in consultation with UN Women, NCW and MoT.

• Draft a comprehensive training package tailored for public transport operators, in consultation with UN Women, NCW and MoT, which will include:
  • Definitions for forms of violence against women.
  • Applicable national laws.
  • Detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) – Code of Conduct including reporting and referral mechanisms for violence against women in public transport (in accordance with the Minister of Transport's Decree No. 237/2021) and evaluation mechanisms.
  • Comprehensive guide to handling complaints in a gender sensitive manner and provision of initial support and proper referral.
  • Pre and post training tests.

• Upon receipt of feedback from UN Women, MoT and NCW, finalize the training package.

• Prepare training of training tools for the conducting of the workshops below.

• Conduct two 3-day training of trainers to NCW and MoT staff using the approved training package to equip them with all necessary skills, tools and knowledge to conduct trainings for public transport operators.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy.

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: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

• Knowledge and expertise in gender and policy analysis.
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent negotiation skills.
• Ability to draft and communicate high quality clear and concise outputs.
• Familiarity with statistical analysis and indicators, especially gender-related statistics and indicators.
• Capacity to set priorities, self-organize research work and to plan, prioritize and deliver tasks on time.
• Capacity to engage and communicate with governmental entities.
• Knowledge and use of computer office tools (word, database, spreadsheets, etc.).

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, finance, business administration, international development or another relevant science area is required.

Experience

• At least 7 years of relevant work experience including experience in gender equality and the development of gender strategies and tools preferably with UN agencies, funds, or programmes, required.
• Substantive experience working with ministries on international and national gender equality standards, required.
• Experience in the development of curricula relevant to addressing violence against women, required.

Language Requirements

• Fluency (written & spoken) in English and Arabic is required;
• Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset.

Evaluation Criteria:

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: 100% (100 points)

• Criteria 1: Bachelor’s degree in economics, finance, business administration, international development or another relevant science area. (10 Points)
• Criteria 2: At least 7 years of progressively responsible work experience with public sector practices with a focus on gender equality. (25 Points)
• Criteria 3: Experience in gender data collection and analysis, including interviews, survey and focus groups. (10 Points)
• Criteria 4: Demonstrated knowledge of international best practices in gender diversity. (10 Points)
• Criteria 5: Experience in developing and delivering gender sensitization trainings and capacity building. (25 Points)
• Criteria 6: Technical experience in gender diversity in the Egyptian public sector. (10 Points)
• Criteria 7: Experience working in the UN System. (10 Points)

Application:

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

• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11). UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment; make sure that you sign the form, and
• Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment, and
• A cover letter with a brief presentation of your consultancy explaining your suitability for the work and link to portfolio of work.
• Personal CV.

The above-mentioned documents MUST BE merged in a standalone file including all them, since the online application submission does only permit to uploading one file per application.

You can merge your documents by using Online resources. 

Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification. Make sure that you provide a valid email address for future communications.

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.)