UN WOMEN Jobs - 69035- UN Women - National Consultant to support the Mini

UN Women - National Consultant to support the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth in preparing the first monitoring report for the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combatting Violence against Women and Domestic Violence

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Tirana, ALBANIA

Type of Contract :

Other

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

26-Oct-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Other

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

30 working days (within the period of November 1st – December 23rd 2016)

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention, is the first legally binding instrument in Europe creating a comprehensive legal framework to prevent and combat violence against women (VAW) and domestic violence. It defines and criminalizes various forms of violence against women (including forced marriage, female genital mutilation, stalking, physical and psychological violence and sexual violence). As of October 2016, 22 countries have ratified and 20 other countries have signed the convention which entered into force on August 1, 2014. Albania ratified the convention on 4 February 2013 and it was the second country that signed it after Turkey.

UN Women and other UN agencies supported advocacy for the ratification of the Convention: in 2011 during the Albania chairmanship of the CoE the Government committed to sign and ratify the Istanbul Convention and launched the commitment during the national conference on Domestic Violence which aimed to introduce the Convention to the Albanian authorities and public. With the request of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth, UN Women supported development of a roadmap and costing study for ratification of the Istanbul Convention to serve as the main advocacy and planning tool for establishment and expanding of services in line with the standards of the Convention. In addition, UNDP has supported legal review of the Albanian legislation with concrete recommendations for compliance with the Convention’s requirements. During 2014-2015, UN Women in partnership with the Council of Europe supported a multi-country study on the obligations formulated in the Istanbul Convention to set up both general and specialist support services for victims/survivors of all forms of violence covered by its scope. The study was conducted in several countries in the region including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Turkey and Georgia with a view to: a) map the provision of support services for women and girls subjected to gender-based violence; b) support the ratification and monitoring of the Convention by providing Member States with additional guidance on requirements and implications of ratification; and c) identify gaps in service provision and formulate recommendations for measures to close the gaps. The findings and recommendations of the study have been shared with the concerned governments as well as civil society groups and expert community.

GREVIO is the independent expert body responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) by the Parties (as per Article 66 of the Convention). In March 2016, GREVIO adopted a questionnaire on legislative and other measures giving effect to the provisions of the Convention. It launched its first evaluation procedure shortly after. State Parties Are required to submit to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, based on a questionnaire prepared by GREVIO, a report on legislative and other measures giving effect to the provisions of the Convention, for consideration by GREVIO, followed by evaluation procedures determined by GREVIO.

The Albanian government is due to present its report based on the GREVIO questionnaire in early January 2017. To this end, the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth will lead the report preparation and engage in consultations with key institutions and partners. To support the reporting process, UN Women will be recruiting a national legal expert to assist MSWY on the preparation of the report.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the General Director of Social Policies at the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth and the direct supervision of the UN Women National Programme Officer, the national consultant will be responsible for the following duties and responsibilities:

Prepare a consultancy work plan (in Albanian and English) to be agreed with MSWY and UN Women including the final methodology for preparing the report based on the GREVIO questionnaire and the reporting guidelines to be provided by MSWY;
Desk review of existing reports prepared by the government, independent institutions, international organizations and CSOs on violence against women and domestic violence in Albania;
Conduct interviews with key informants in government institutions as well as with relevant civil society organizations and shelters for survivors of domestic violence;
Conduct consultative meetings with groups of interest (to be agreed with MSWY), including the UN Agencies in Albania);
Review, analyze and summarize the written information to be provided by the state institutions as well as the independent institutions;
Prepare the draft report in English and Albanian for review by UN Women and MSWY;
Prepare the final report based on comments and feedback from UN Women and MSWY (in English and Albanian);
Submit a consultancy report and time-sheet (in English) on the overall work conducted.

Deliverables:

Final methodology and work plan for carrying out the work (agreed with MSWY and UN Women) (2 working days) - by end of first week of November 2016;
Minutes of meetings with stakeholders and consultative sessions (7 working days) - by end of week 4 of November 2016;
1st draft report in English and Albanian (15 working days) – by 2nd week of December;
Final report in English and Albanian (5 working days) – by end of third week of December;
Consultancy report in English (1 working day) – by December 23rd, 2016

Duty Station, Duration and Remuneration

The national expert will be engaged for a total of 30 working days during the period of 1 November – 23 December 2016. The national expert will be based in Tirana and frequent presence at the MSWY premises will be required based on the agreed workplan for completing the report. Payment will be disbursed as per the payment schedule in the contract upon (i) satisfactory completion of tasks; (ii) UN Women and MSWY approval of deliverables specified in the ToRs, and (iii) submission of the respective timesheet and consultancy report.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

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.

Ethics and Values:

Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

Functional Competencies:

In-depth knowledge of GE, non-discrimination and women’s rights;
Demonstrated ability to produce clear reports with in-depth analysis and strategic recommendations in English in the relevant fields;
Excellent writing, presentation/public speaking skills;
IT literacy

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

Master’s degree in Law, Human Rights, Gender Equality, International Development(Bachelor’s in Law)

Work Experience:

At least 10 years of experience as a legal, human rights expert in the areas of gender-based violence, gender discrimination at the national and international level

Other required skills:

Proved experience of writing research reports, legal analyses and assessments;
Proved experience of researching women’s rights issues, gender-based violence and domestic violence issues;
Proved experience in engaging with international human rights treaty bodies with a focus on women’s rights and gender equality.
Previous professional experience with the United Nations is an asset.

Language requirement:

Fluency in Albanian and English

Evaluation of Applicants:

The candidates will be evaluated in three stages: according to minimum qualification criteria; technical and financial evaluation.

The candidates must possess the following minimum qualification criteria to be eligible for further technical evaluation:

Master’s degree in Law, Human Rights, Gender Equality, Social Sciences, International Development (Bachelor’s in Law);
At least ten years of experience as a legal and human rights expert in the area of gender-based violence at the national and international level;
Fluency in Albanian and English;

Technical evaluation criteria (including minimum qualifications):

Consultants will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of qualifications and financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points out of 70 maximum in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation

Technical Evaluation (70%) – max 70 points

Education - Advanced (Master’s) Degree in Law, Human Rights, Social Sciences, Gender Study, International Development - Maximum score: 10

Professional experience

At least 10 years of experience as a legal, human rights expert in the areas of gender-based violence, gender discrimination at the national and international level - Maximum score: 20
Proved experience of researching women’s rights issues, gender-based violence and domestic violence issues Maximum score: 15
Proved experience of writing research reports, legal analyses and assessments - Maximum score: 10
Proved experience in engaging with international human rights treaty bodies with a focus on women’s rights and gender equality - Maximum score: 10
Previous professional experience with the United Nations is an asset – Maximum score: 5

Fluency in written and oral English is required and pre-requisite to be considered for the selection.

Financial Evaluation (30%) – max. 30 points:

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)

Using the following values:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Application procedure:

Interested individuals are requested to apply online via this website. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification. The application should contain the following documents in English language:

Cover letter to include a brief overview in English (unedited text) about which of your previous experiences makes you the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the 'Resume and Motivation' section of the electronic application
Completed and signed Personal History Form (P11 form) for Service Contracts (SCs) and Individual Contracts (ICs) including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (download blank form from http://unwomen.unssc.org/files/UN_P11.doc . Please upload the P11 instead of your CV;
Financial proposal, indicating the total lump sum in Albanian Leke (ALL) a total lump sum amount in ALL Albanian Lek for the tasks specified in this announcement. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of the lump sum amount into the number of anticipated working days. Please attach the Financial Proposal with your P11 form in one file document as only one upload is allowed on the site. Please note that the financial proposal shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services).
An example of your previous related work in English, such as assessment report, monitoring report, legal analyses, etc. that are relevant to the requirements of this consultancy work should be submitted along with the application. If your document is in a very big volume but available in the public website, you may send us the website link.

How to Submit the Application:

To submit your application online, please follow the steps below:

All online applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://unwomen.unssc.org/files/UN_P11.doc
Merge all the required documents above into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded;
Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement);
Click 'Apply Now' button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click 'Submit Application;'
Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above);
You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

UN Women retains the right to contact references directly. Due to the large numbers of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.