Background

In November 2011, the 51% Coalition: Women in Partnership for Development was launched with a mandate to address issues related to the governance and composition of Boards, and recommend measures for their effectiveness. The 51% Coalition comprises 13 diverse organisations along with individual members. Its main mission is to:

  • Promote gender equality on boards and in decision-making as a means of ensuring that Jamaica has its best chance at national development;
  • Lobby for quotas, legal or voluntary on a platform that no entity has less than 40% and no more than 60% of either sex for both public and private sector Boards;
  • Undertake training to support women’s effective participation on Boards, and in all areas of development;
  • Monitor appointments to Boards and report on these;
  • Build partnerships to improve accountability systems for Boards, and advocate for the adoption and implementation of best practices within “Corporate Governance Framework for Public Bodies in Jamaica”. 
A key principle of the Coalition is the inclusion of all women currently in power and decision-making environments and those who aspire to become involved in governance entities whether as public or private sector board members, in representational politics or in processes and organs at the community level, for example in civil society organisations. In this regard, the 51% Coalition firmly believes that operating in a non-partisan way is a fundamental and non-negotiable principle. The 51% Coalition recognizes that the essence of women’s success in realizing full citizenship rights lie in effective interactive participation in, and the democratization of all decision-making processes. As stated in the Beijing Platform for Action at the 4th World Conference on Women, Beijing, 1995:

“Women’s empowerment and their full participation on the basis of equality in all spheres of society, including participation in the decision-making process and access to power, are fundamental for the achievement of equality, development and peace”. 

Additionally, under Article 4 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), to which Jamaica is signatory, States are allowed to adopt temporary special measures to accelerate de facto equality for women until the objectives of equality of opportunity and treatment have been achieved.

Today, nearly 20 years later, the International Parliamentary Union reports that just only over 20% of the members of legislatures in the world (Lower Houses, Parliament) are females, or 8,238 women compared to 30,420 men. In the Caribbean only 80 of the 543 elected representatives are women or 14.7% and in Jamaica, of the 362 persons elected to the House of Representatives since 1944, only 35, approximately 10% have been women. Presently, after 7 decades of Adult Suffrage, Jamaica has 8 female MPs out of 63 members of parliament (Lower House), about 12.7%; 6 out of 21 seats in the Senate (Upper House) or 28.6%. Within Local Parish Councils, only 16.6% of Councilors are women.

The members of the 51% Coalition and their collaborating partners that include women in representational politics, women in the wider civil society and men, recognize that this requires the development of an accessible, inclusive, and multi-faceted plan of action.   The overall goal is the creation or building of women as a (non-partisan) political constituency towards advancing women’s participation in leadership and deepening the democratic process in Jamaica.

The 51% Coalition has sought to impact these issues through various strategies and with some success, over its two years of existence. Among the positives of the process have been:

  • Sustaining a partnership among women’s organisations and individuals that has placed on the discussion table, the issues surrounding quotas as temporary special measures (TSMs), consistent with its acknowledgement as a relevant measure in Jamaica’s National Policy on Gender Equality;
  • Influencing the appointment of women to boards (albeit not to the level desired);
  • Research and action within a political party to advance the conversations on TSM’s within the parties;
  • Facilitated dialogue with women from the two main political parties in search of nurturing a common ground for action;
  • Supported initiatives taken by female parliamentarians in the Senate to secure debate on critical issues on the gender equality and development agenda. Here specific reference is made to the passing in the Senate on May 16, 2014 of a motion by Senator Imani Duncan-Price for a Joint Parliamentary Committee to be set up to consider barriers to women participating in politics and decision-making. The second notable legislative action was that by Senator Kamina Johnson Smith on violence against women and on the rights of teenage mothers to continue their education.

Duties and Responsibilities

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 overall objective of the consultancy is to write a project proposal on how the 51% Coalition would advance the objectives of building a women’s political constituency and enhancing women’s participation in leadership and decision-making. The proposal must:

  • Reflect the collaborative nature of the process between the 51% Coalition and political parties/agents/bodies/groups responsible for key actions;
  • Include a monitoring and evaluation framework/strategy that establishes clear lines of accountability and includes monitoring indicators;
  • Ensure that the final proposal submitted to the 51% Coalition and to UN Women is reflective of international best practices and standards; including UN Women’s guidelines on project proposals;
  • Reflect the use of background documents and discussions, such as presentations, rapporteur reports created in the project conceptualization phase; and any other document recommended by the Project Management Committee.
Outputs and Specific Activities

Overall reporting of the consultant will be to the UN Women Programme Specialist on Economic and Political Leadership. Day to day work of the consultancy will be defined under a work plan, and will be carried out in close coordination with the 51% Coalition. The Consultant will be responsible for the following outputs in achievement of the above objectives:

  • Desk review and analysis of key documents;
  • Meeting with Project Management Committee;
  • Draft project proposal to be submitted to UN Women, the 51% Coalition and the Women’s Resource and Outreach Centre (WROC). The draft proposal must include Draft guidelines for the operation of a Technical Working Group for the quarterly sharing of information on the development of the project and of those programmes of partners who are also working towards the overarching goal of the project. A Draft Monitoring and Evaluation strategy to support implementation of the proposed project and a draft budget must also be included.
The Proposal must include the following sections:
  • Organizational information;
  • Background & Justification;
  • Objectives;
  • Target groups;
  • Strategies;
  • Duration of the project;
  • Work-plan;
  • Sustainability;
  • Expected Results – Logical framework (log frame);
  • Monitoring and Evaluation.
Reporting Requirements:

For the purposes of the consultancy, the consultant will address queries and submit reports to UN Women. UN Women will ensure close coordination with the 51% Coalition’s Project Management Committee in this process.

Competencies

Core values
  • Demonstrates integrity and fairness;
  • Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religious, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
Core competencies
  • Ability to work independently and as part of a small team, manage competing priorities and perform well under pressure;
  • Proven expertise in the use of results-based methodologie;
  • Excellent communication skills, including the ability to convey complex concepts and recommendations, both orally and in writing, in a clear and persuasive style tailored to match different audiences.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Post-graduate degree, at least a Master’s degree, in one of the following areas: Social Policy, Gender Studies, Development Studies, Project Management, Public Policy, and/or a related field of study.

Required Experience:

  • A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible and relevant experience in the field of gender and development; public policy, programme and/or project management and specific work experience in the NGO sector;
  • Comprehensive knowledge of and experience in working around Jamaican national frameworks related to gender equality, governance and democracy; strong familiarity with the work of civil society and related government sectors (health, justice, education and national security) and in dealing with vulnerable groups;
  • Demonstrative experience in proposal writing for international donors and development partners;
  • Demonstrative experience in creating Monitoring and Evaluation frameworks to support a project;
  • Extensive experience in gender equality and women’s empowerment;
  • Extensive experience with grant and proposal development and writing.

Language:

  • Excellent command of written and spoken English.

Note:

The consultant contracted will be required to sign a statement of confidentiality and freedom from any conflict of interest with potential future contractors with respect to the TORs and work that they will be delivering.  

Duration:

The contract will run from 9th July 2014 to 29th July 2014. Total number of days under the consultancy is fifteen (15) working days.

Location:

The consultancy will be based in Kingston, Jamaica. There is no anticipated need for travel.

Payment:

The consultancy fee will be negotiated before contracting. Each payment will be based on a predefined and formal agreement between UN Women and payment and will be disbursed based on satisfactory completion of agreed deliverables as follows:

  • 25% of fee disbursed upon completion of Desk Review and analysis of key documents and; meeting with Project Management Committee;
  • 50% of fee disbursed upon completion of the Draft project proposal that is to be submitted to UN Women, the 51% Coalition and the Women’s Resource and Outreach Centre;
  • 25% of fee disbursed upon completion and submission of the Final Draft of the project proposal.

Hardware, software, and communication:

The consultant must be equipped with a portable computer (laptop). The consultant must be reasonably accessible by email and telephone (preferably mobile). The use of reliable, internet-based communication (Skype or equivalent) is required.

Application for Consultancy:

Please submit applications by close of business on 7h July 2014.

Applications must include:

A cover letter highlighting the specific post for which you are applying;

  • The completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment;
  • Detailed curriculum vitae including a description of main achievements;
  • A price proposal quoted in United States dollars (US$) indicating daily rates and preferred fee structure based on deliverables;
  • A sample of a previous proposal written for international donors/development partners;
  • A sample of a previous Monitoring and Evaluation framework prepared.

Applications should be submitted by email to the attention of Melissa Bohne, UN Women (melissa.bohne@unwomen.org).