Background
Starting from the fact that equal participation in political life plays a pivotal role in the general process of the advancement of society, the project has a three-fold approach: a) empowerment of women in politics and sensitization of male politicians; b) strengthening of political party structures by introducing gender-sensitive policies and programs and c) improving legislation by introducing gender-sensitive provisions in the Electoral Law, the Law on Political Parties and the Law on Financing of Political Parties. Each of these three components is accompanied by awareness raising and lobbying activities. Women/political candidates are directly targeted in order to ensure their full commitment to and support for this process. Political parties engaged are the ones represented in Parliament and the most direct beneficiaries of this action, besides women candidates, are party leaders. The intervention simultaneously requires an institutional approach, which is specifically addressed towards Parliamentary Committees (i.e. Gender Equality, Human Rights and European integration) and in the Government towards the relevant Ministries. CSOs and NGOs are self-evident partners in this work, and are invited to participate in Advisory Teams, lobbying, training, assessments and other activities.
Given the fact that women’s economic potential in Montenegro remains neglected, and also having in mind significance of economic empowerment of women as one of the most effective ways of strengthening gender equality, the project addresses the creation of economic opportunities for women within the context of the economic crisis. Within the project, assessment of women entrepreneurship has been done and based on recommendations, the set of non-financial instruments for support to women entrepreneurship has been created. The programme included trainings, networking and mentorship and it was conducted in 4 pilot municipalities. The Government institutions, including relevant ministries, agencies and specialized bodies, as well as associations of employers, trade unions and NGOs were actively involved in creation of implementation models within through participation in the Advisory Board for Economy.
Recognizing that an estimated one in three women experiences violence in the home, the project aims to ensure that the new Law on Protection of Victims of Violence is fairly interpreted and implemented in daily practice, ensuring that victims, in daily practice actually do experience system-wide support. Aware that many laws have been passed without corresponding budgetary commitments and with no actual implementation, the Project team will create a sustainable coordination and monitoring mechanism at the national level to support and ensure the implementation of the law. The project further ensure the capacity enhancement of the actors to be involved in implementing the law, including civil society organizations; such capacity development will be guided by a survey on violence in the family, aimed at understanding perceptions of family violence and its dynamics, to be monitored for changes over the course of the project. Awareness-raising and education form a central part of the project, particularly as it pertains to working with youth through the education system.
Duties and Responsibilities
The evaluation of the Gender Programme IPA 2010 will specifically aim at the following:
- Based on the analyses of the documents produced by the Programme (reports, analyses, papers, etc.) and interviews with partners and major stakeholders, assess Programme results achieved against planned objectives, targets and indicators. It also includes assessment of effectiveness and efficiency of the intervention and sustainability of Programme benefits beyond its lifetime;
- Identify and consolidate good practices, lessons learned and make recommendations on process, management, partnerships, transparency, stakeholders` participation and other aspects of project implementation that would benefit future engagement of UNDP in this area.
The evaluation will be undertaken in close cooperation with the Gender Programme IPA 2010 team throughout the process to ensure that the national ownership, transparency and mutual accountabilities are ensured.
The evaluation will be conducted in the following stages:
- Desk review – the consultant will review all available documents related to the project, such as project document, progress reports, relevant national and international surveys (including the surveys that are developed under the Programme), policy and legal documents;
- Finalization of evaluation methodology and work plan – In consultation with the Programme team, the consultant will finalize the appropriate methodology to address the 2 key objectives of the evaluation. The methodology will entail a participatory process for data collection, generating an evidence base to substantiate all findings while ensuring that data collection and data analyses are of a high quality, and that stakeholders are involved in data collection process and debriefed on regular bases to address any unforeseen challenges requiring support or clarification;
- Field visit - the consultant will conduct field visit supported by UNDP to collect data using a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches. In close cooperation with the Programme team, the consultant will formulate questionnaire and identify the key stakeholders to be interviewed during the evaluation. Key stakeholders should include representatives of the Parliament, Government (Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, Ministry of Finance- Directorate for Small and Medium Enterprises, Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, Centers for Social Wellfare, Police, local governments- pilot municipalities engaged within the component for economic empowerment of women, NGOs, women NGOs, political parties), Delegation of European Union in Montenegro and UNDP staff;
- Preparation of the draft evaluation report and finalization of the report – the consultant will prepare the draft evaluation report; submit it to the Gender Programme manager, who will gather comments from the Programme Steering Committee. Upon receiving the comments the consultant will finalize the report;
- Debriefing - the consultant will present the evaluation report to the Gender Programme. The final report will also be presented to the members of the Steering Committee.
Under the supervision of the Gender Programme Manager, the consultant is expected to deliver the following results:
- The final evaluation report, taking into account feedback given by partners, stakeholders and submit it to the Gender Programme Manager. The report should include executive summary, evaluation methodology, analyses and findings, good practices and lessons learned and recommendations.
The consultant will be responsible for written regular reporting to the Gender Programme Manager.
The international consultant will be engaged under the Individual Contract for total of 15 consultancy days, in the period September 15 to October 20, 2014. The consultant is expected to work from home in duration of approximately 10 days and undertake one field visit to Montenegro in duration of approximately 5 working days (2 days in Podgorica and 3 days in north-Montenegro). International and local travel costs and living allowance costs should be included in the lump sum figure.
- Desk Review – 2 days;
- Evaluation design, methodology and detailed work plan – 2 days;
- Field visits, interviews, consultations – 5 days;
- Preparation of draft report for debriefing – 3 days;
- Finalization of the evaluation report – 2 days;
- Debriefing – (on line).
Competencies
- Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
- Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UN/UNDP;
- Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
- Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
- Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
- Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
- Demonstrates excellent social, communication and reporting skills;
- Demonstrates ability to manage complexities and work under pressure, as well as conflict resolution skills.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- University degree in social sciences, Law, political sciences or other relevant discipline.
Experience:
- At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in the field of gender equality;
- Proven expertise and experience in UNDP or EU project/programme evaluation.
Language:
- Fluency in English language;
- Knowledge of local language will be considered as an advantage.
Application procedure:
http://www.me.undp.org/content/montenegro/en/home/operations/jobs.html.
The short-listed offerors only will be contacted and requested to submit a letter of interest including a price quotation indicating the lump sum (in EUR) requested for the work and travel envisaged in the section "Duties and Responsibilities".