UN WOMEN Jobs - 72336- National Consultants to Support Implementation of

National Consultants to Support Implementation of the Qualitative Research on Violence against Women in Georgia - 2 Positions

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Tbilisi, GEORGIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

19-Jun-2017

Application Deadline :

05-Jun-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

70 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

70 working days in the period of June 2017 – December 2017

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

Millions of women and girls worldwide suffer from some form of violence, be it domestic violence, rape, female genital mutilation/cutting, dowry-related killing, trafficking, sexual violence in conflict-related situations, sexual harassment in public spaces, or other manifestations of abuse. Evidence has shown that it affects the health and well-being not only of the women who experience violence but also of their families and communities (World Health Organization, Department of Reproductive Health and Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, South African Medical Research Council, Global and regional estimates of violence against women: prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence, 2013). It is estimated that 35 per cent of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or sexual violence by a non-partner at some point in their lives.1 However, some national studies show that up to 70 per cent of women experience physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime. Violence against women persists in every country in the world as a pervasive violation of human rights and a major impediment to achieving gender equality (UN, Violence Against Women: The Situation, available online at: http://www.un.org/en/women/endviolence/pdf/pressmaterials/unite_the_situation_en.pdf).

Domestic violence against women remains among the prevalent forms of violence against women (VAW) in Georgia. According to the 2009 UNFPA supported National Survey on Domestic

Violence, 6.9 percent of women reported to have experienced physical violence from her husband or a partner and 3.9% sexual violence (UNFPA, National Survey of Domestic Violence against Women in Georgia, Tbilisi, 2009, available online at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/docs/AdvanceVersions/GeorgiaAnnexX.pdf). The 2014 UN Women study on the perceptions and attitudes towards domestic violence concluded that 77.8 percent of the respondents consider that domestic violence occurs very often or quite often, 66.8 percent admitted that they know victims/survivors of domestic violence and 56.3 percent admitted that they know perpetrators personally ( UN Women, Study of Domestic Violence Attitudes and Perceptions in Tbilisi, Samegrelo and Kakheti Regions of Georgia, Institute for Policy Studies, November 2014). The findings of these two studies have greatly informed policymaking and programming of the government and development partners aimed at ending violence against women and domestic violence; as a result, there have been established state-supported shelters (altogether four), nation-wide hotline and number of awareness raising interventions have been carried out by state as well as civil society actors to promote on the one hand zero tolerance towards VAW and on the other existing services and protection mechanisms.

The above-mentioned 2009 UNFPA study is the first and the only nation-wide prevalence survey on VAW, which has been conducted in Georgia, thus, it has been over seven years since the prevalence rate was researched. Within the framework of the project Unite to Fight Violence against Women, generously funded by the European Union, UN Women in partnership with the National Statistics Office (GEOSTAT) is implementing a nation-wide survey on VAW. The study looks at the prevalence of physical and sexual violence but also at the consequences of such violence, as well as psychological violence, stalking, sexual harassment and very importantly also at the attitudes and awareness of women and men about violence. The survey is designed in accordance with globally agreed methodological and ethical standards and guidelines (UN, Guidelines for producing statistics on violence against women - Statistical Surveys, 2014 available online at: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/gender/docs/Guidelines_Statistics_VAW.pdf) and is informed by methodologies such as the one used in the WHO Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence (WHO Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence, 2005 http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/violence/24159358X/en/) that has been replicated in various countries and the most recent Violence Against Women: an EU Wide Survey (Violence against women: an EU-wide survey, 2014 http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2014/violence-against-women-eu-wide-survey-main-results-report) which was implemented in alignment with the recommendations of the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention.

The conceptual framework for the study includes both a quantitative and a qualitative component. The quantitative survey is being conducted through face-to-face interviews in households and is carried out in partnership with GEOSTAT. The qualitative research will be undertaken separately and entails key informant interviews and focus group discussions. The aim of the qualitative research is to complement the quantitative survey, to add the voices of men and women to support the statistics and enable a triangulation of data. More specifically, the qualitative research aims to a) better understand women’s access, barriers to and quality of violence against women services; b) understand the unique experiences of minority groups in terms of their experiences of violence against women and access to services.; c) understand the attitudes and social norms that underpin violence against women in the Georgian context.

Qualitative Research methodology:

The methodology for the qualitative research is being developed by UN Women’s International Consultant to Guide the Implementation of a National Prevalence and Attitudes’ Survey on Violence against Women in Georgia in line with globally established methodologies and ethical standards. More specifically, the qualitative research will entail:

Key informant interviews (KII) – KIIs will be conducted with service providers such as those from the police, health sector, shelters, NGOs and legal services to understand the access and barriers to providing quality services for survivors (10 KIIs in total);
Focus group discussions (FGDs) with service providers – Focus group discussions will be held with services providers to complement the key informant interviews. This will include at least 2 FGDs in the urban site and 2 in the rural site, with 6-10 participants in each focus group (4 FDGs in total);
In-depth interviews – In-depth interviews will be conducted with survivors of violence from diverse backgrounds to understand their unique experiences of violence, and their access to services. They will be purposively selected to reflect the experiences of people from diverse sociodemographic profiles (in terms of age, education, income and other relevant characteristics), as well as with minority groups and marginalised communities. It is expected that the following sub-groups will be included (12 in-depth interviews in total):
Focus group discussions with representatives from marginalised groups - Focus group discussions will be held with representatives, services providers, and leaders from the marginalised groups such as LGBTQI, migrants, ethnic minorities, and women with disabilities. These FGDs will aim to provide more information on the unique needs to these groups and how services can better respond to their needs. For ethical and safety reasons, the focus groups will not seek to obtain testimonies from those who have experienced violence (4 FDGs in total);
Focus group discussions (FDGs) with men and women – 10 focus group discussions with representatives of rural and urban communities to understand the attitudes and social norms that underpin violence against women in the Georgian context;

Duties and Responsibilities

Tasks and responsibilities

UN Women is seeking to contract two National Consultants (2) to support the implementation of the qualitative research on violence against women in Georgia. The consultants (2) will work under overall guidance of UN Women’s International Consultant to Guide the Implementation of a National Prevalence and Attitudes’ Survey on Violence against Women in Georgia who will provide technical guidance in the implementation of the research, including development of methodology, designing research tools, data analysis process and report writing.

Under the overall supervision of the International Consultant and in close cooperation with UN Women, the researcher will be responsible for the following activities:

Support UN Women’s international consultant in tailoring proposed methodology and data collection instruments to conduct the qualitative research per specific samples, including review of interview and FGD-guides to ensure cultural and contextual relevance;
Developing the field work plan;
Undertake all logistical arrangements to organize interviews and FDGs as prescribed by present ToR including booking venues, mobilizing participants, etc.;
Mobilize and recruit participants for the qualitative research in-line with the proposed methodology;
Ensure informed consent of all participants and that the research is conducted in a safe and ethical way;
Facilitate all FGDs and interviews in accordance with the research protocol and ToR;
Ensure interviews are taped, transcribed and documented per research protocols;
Responsible for initial write-up of results for the qualitative research component and analysis including thematic coding in discussion with international consultant (produced in English and Georgian);

Deliverables:

Inception Report: Containing detailed work-plan specifying activities and timelines agreed with UN Women (by June 30, 2017);
10 key informant interviews conducted with service providers such as those from the police, health sector, shelters, NGOs and legal services (lawyers, judges, prosecutors) (by September 30, 2017);
4 Focus group discussions conducted with service providers (two in rural areas and two in urban) by September 30, 2017);
12 in-depth interviews conducted with survivors of violence from diverse backgrounds to understand their unique experiences of violence, and their access to services; (by September 30, 2017);
4 focus group discussions conducted with representatives from marginalised groups (ethnic and religious minorities, LBGTQI communities, migrants, women with disabilities) by September 30, 2017;
10 focus group discussions conducted with men and women from rural and urban communities (5+5) to understand the attitudes and social norms that underpin violence against women in the Georgian context;
Detailed transcripts of all meetings conducted (by October 30, 2017);
Thematic coding of transcripts, write up of analysis (in English and Georgian), answering the key research questions outlined in the research protocol, with support from international consultant (by November 15, 2017)

Note: Deliverables under the ToR will be divided equally between 2 consultants selected;

The work of the consultancy is expected to start in June 2017 and end in November 2017, when the results and final report will be finalized and presented.

Competencies

Competences

Functional Competencies:

Excellent writing, presentation/public speaking skills;
IT literacy

Core Competencies:

Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
Accountability
Creative Problem Solving
Effective Communication
Inclusive Collaboration
Stakeholder Engagement
Leading by Example

Core Values:

Respect for Diversity
Integrity
Professionalism

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Masters Degree in Social Sciences, Gender Studies, Development Studies, Human Rights, Sociology or related field, and/or senior academic experience.

Experience:

A minimum of three years of progressively responsible and relevant experience in the fields of human rights, social inclusion, and/or GBV/VAW;
A minimum of five years’ experience of research (including qualitative research) in the area of GBV/VAW;
Proven interviewing and facilitation expertise in conducting qualitative research the topics of GBV/VAW or other sensitive issues.

Language:

Excellent command of English and Georgian

Evaluation procedure:

The candidates will be evaluated against the following technical and financial criteria:

Masters Degree in Social Sciences, Gender Studies, Development Studies, Human Rights, Sociology or related field, and/or senior academic experience; (max 50 points);
A minimum of three years of progressively responsible and relevant experience in the fields of human rights, social inclusion, and/or GBV/VAW (max 100 points);
A minimum of five years’ experience of research (including qualitative research) in the area of GBV/VAW (max 100 points);
Proven training/facilitation expertise in conducting research on the topics of GBV/VAW or related issues (max 70 points);
Excellent command of written and spoken English. (max 30 points).

Maximum total technical score amounts to 350 points. Only candidates who have passed over the minimum qualification criteria and have accumulated at least 245 points out of maximum 350 under technical evaluation will qualify for the next stage i.e. evaluation of their financial proposals.

Evaluation of submitted financial offers will be done based on the following formula: S = Fmin / F * 150

S – score received on financial evaluation.

Fmin – the lowest financial offer out of all the submitted offers qualified over the technical evaluation round;

F – financial offer under consideration.

The winning candidate will be the candidate, who has accumulated the highest aggregated score (technical

scoring + financial scoring).

Management arrangements:

The contractor will report to and work under direct supervision of UN Women Programme Analyst and UN Women Project Analyst with overall guidance from UN Women’s international lead consultant on VAW study.

Financial arrangements:

Payment will be disbursed upon submission and approval of deliverables and certification by UN Women Programme Analyst that the services have been satisfactorily performed as specified below:

Deliverable 1 – 20%
Deliverables 2,3,4,5,6 – 50%
Deliverables 7,8, - 30%

Application submission package:

CV;
Dully filled Personal History Form PHF11 that can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment
Financial Proposal - lump sum proposal/offer* in GEL (including breakdown of this lump sum amount indicating all necessary costs to complete this mission: total remuneration, travel expenses (per diems, tickets, lodging and terminal expenses, if applicable)

*The applicants are required to submit an aggregated financial offer (“aggregated financial offer” is the total sum of all financial claims of the candidate for accomplishment of all tasks spelled out in this ToR).

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

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