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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

In Zimbabwe UN Women supports implementation of the existing international commitments to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in line with the national priorities. In this regard UN Women is providing capacity development support to the Zimbabwe Gender Commission.

The Zimbabwe Gender Commission is one of the five independent commissions established in terms of Chapter 12, Part 4 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Number 20 of 2013. The mandate of the Commission as broadly set out in Section 246 of the Constitution is to do everything necessary to promote gender equality. The Gender Commission Act [Chapter 10:31] further provides for the power of the Gender Commission to investigate  violations of gender equality, and monitor gender mainstreaming and efforts to achieve gender equity.

Nine Commissioners, drawn from different backgrounds, were appointed in June 2015 and sworn in, in September 2015 by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe. As a newly established constitutional commission, the Zimbabwe Gender Commission needs to establish a framework to become operational and start carrying out its mandate effectively. Investigations constitute a huge component of the Commission’s work. The Commission has a specific mandate in terms of Section 246 (b) of the Constitution to investigate possible violations of rights relating to gender and to conduct these investigations in the form of public or closed hearings with powers to summon any person, ask any questions, require answers for questions put and seek assistance from the police in investigations.

There is need to unpack and simplify the investigative mandate of the Commission as well as the manner in which it handles complaints filed before it, learning from best practices in the region and the globe. Consequently, the Commission needs to develop an Investigations and Complaints Handling Manual to elaborate the various procedures pursuant to investigations and complaints processing.  

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Deputy Country Representative, the Consultant will be reporting to the Chairperson of the Gender Commission. She/he will provide technical expertise to the Gender Commission and specifically, will undertake the following tasks and responsibilities:

• Provide a clear articulation of the legal basis for the Gender Commission’s investigative mandate and complaints procedure;
• Provide an analysis of the Gender Commission’s investigative mandate and complaints handling procedure in particular defining the scope of these mandates;
• Prepare an Investigations and Complaints Handling Manual (the Manual) as a determination of the Commission’s mandate as contemplated in Part III of the Gender Commission Act [Chapter 10:31]. The Manual will determine the scope and manner of investigations by the Gender Commission and the handling of complaints submitted to the Commission in respect of violations of gender equality.

The Manual will provide guidance on the investigation of incidences of gender discrimination to ensure that these procedures are conducted thoroughly, objectively and effectively, in accordance with professional standards and best international practices to ensure ensure consistency in dealing with gendered violations.

The Manual should contain detailed discussions of the various aspects of conducting investigations and processing complaints, handling the evidence acquired and resolution. It should suggest timeframes for completion of various tasks in the investigative process and the complaints handling procedure.

The Manual will also outline, among other things:

• The purpose of the Investigations and Complaints Handling Manual;
• Definitions of terms used;
• Grounds for conducting investigations illustrating the difference between investigations originating with the Commission of its own accord and individual complaints;
• The format and procedure of investigations;
• Complaints which may and may not be investigated by the Commission;
• In respect of complaints lodged by individuals; who can lodge a complaint, what information is required when lodging a complaint, the format, manner and timing of lodging a complaint as well as the processing of the complaint;
• The circumstances under which the Commission conducts hearings, with details of the panel which presides over hearings, the procedure of giving notice of the hearings, persons allowed to attend hearings, the nature of hearings, procedure at hearings, conclusion of hearings and documentation of the hearings;
• The recording of proceedings, investigations and hearings, the language used during proceedings, investigations and hearings and the costs involved; and
• How complaints and investigations are concluded, how parties are notified of the outcome of the complaint, how findings of investigations are made available and the procedures of implementation of the Commission’s recommendations.

Expected Output:

The key output for this assignment shall be the Investigations and Complaints Handling Manual outlining the investigations and complaints handling processes and procedures of the Zimbabwe Gender Commission.

Deliverables:

The Consultant will deliver the following:

• A proposal outlining the proposed methodology to develop the Investigations and Complaints Handling Manual;
• A draft Investigations and Complaints Handling Manual produced within 5 weeks of the commencement of the assignment; and
• A comprehensive final Investigations and Complaints Handling Manual within 8 weeks of commencing the assignment.

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.

Cultural sensitivity and valuing 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:

Ethics and Values:

• Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
• Development and Innovation;
• Take charge of self-development and take initiative.

Work in teams:

• Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Communicating and Information Sharing:

• Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.

Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:

• Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behaviour towards others.

Conflict Management:

• Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.

Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

• Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

• Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Functional/Technical Competencies:

• Strong and sound knowledge of national, regional and international human rights and governance frameworks;
• Understanding of gender equality and rights based programming of UN agencies and government;
• Knowledge of the functioning of independent constitutional commissions within the framework of human rights, international law and Zimbabwean law, in particular, the Constitution of Zimbabwe;
• Results oriented, exhibiting high levels of enthusiasm, tact, diplomacy and integrity; and able to work with minimal supervision;
• Excellent communication (spoken, written and presentation) skills/fluency in English, including the ability to draft/edit reports, studies and other communications and to articulate ideas in a clear, concise manner.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced degree in Law, Human Rights, Strategic Management, Organisational Development, Business Management and Development, Political Science, Development Studies, Public Administration or a related discipline.

Experience:

The assignment requires the services of a consultant with experience developing organisational documents such as manuals, guidelines and standards operating procedures.

• At least 10 years of relevant professional experience in developing manuals/standard operating procedures for institutions in the public sector in Zimbabwe or in the region;
• Vast experience in writing reports and publications which have made a significant contribution to public policy, programmes or learning in the field of development practice and studies;
• Working with independent constitutional commissions within the framework of human rights, international law and Zimbabwean law, in particular, the Constitution of Zimbabwe; and
• Working with government, UN system and civil society organisations in designing strategic toools for implementation of institutional mandates.

Language:

• Excellent written and verbal command of English;
• Knowledge of at least one local language, preferably Shona or Ndebele.