Background

UN Women and UNHCR have a global cooperation commitment on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment through strengthened implementation of UN Women’s “Women’s Leadership, Empowerment, Access and Protection in Crisis Response (LEAP) flagship programme and UNHCR’s Commitments to Women and Girls. This collaboration aims to translate global normative commitments to gender equality and the empowerment of women into action on the ground for sustainable humanitarian outcomes and more resilient communities. As a part of this collaboration, UN Women and UNHCR in Georgia are joining forces to develop a project proposal and raise funds jointly for the empowerment of women and the prevention of and response to Gender Based Violence of women and girls affected by protracted conflict over Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia. 

UNHCR and UN Women started close cooperation on the prevention of and response to Gender Based Violence in 2017, targeting conflict affected, internally displaced, refugee and asylum seeker women in Abkhazia, Georgia. As a result of this cooperation, an informal crisis center and a helpline has been established and has been operational in one of the regions of Abkhazia, while simultaneously gaps in service provision to survivors of Gender Based Violence have been mapped out and informal referral mechanisms (to be transformed into a community-based response to GBV) developed. Also, several awareness raising interventions take place every year targeting youth, men and communities at large.

Despite some progress in GBV prevention and response, the socio-cultural norms upholding gender inequality and discrimination are still strong in Abkhazia. Domestic violence, forced and early marriages and early pregnancies, a ban on abortion along with inadequate reproductive health services and lack of self-development and economic opportunities are among the most acute problems that women face. The generally tense situation due to political isolation stemming from the unresolved conflict and status of the entity as well as high crime rates make women particularly vulnerable (For broader analysis of human rights situation in Abkhazia please see: Thomas Hammarberg and Magdalena Grono, Human Rights in Abkhazia, July 2017, available on-line at: https://www.palmecenter.se/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Human-Rights-in-Abkhazia-Today-report-by-Thomas-Hammarberg-and-Magdalena-Grono.pdf).

The global UNHCR and UN Women Joint Concept Note (for the years 2018-2020) which builds on UN Women LEAP and UNHCR Commitments to Women and Girls, spells out three key gaps impeding realization of effective gender-responsive policies and programmes in humanitarian action: 1. Gaps in data and understanding of the gendered impacts of crisis; 2. Lack of participation and leadership of women in crisis response; and 3. Lack of targeted livelihood opportunities for women. While outcomes to address the gaps have been identified partners face difficulty to attain them as a result of administrative, societal, cultural and socio-economic obstacles and challenges. After a series of meetings and consultations between UN Women and UNHCR staff, outcome 3: Positive coping mechanisms are promoted for women and girls affected by protracted and slow onset crisis, has been identified as relevant for joint work in Abkhazia, Georgia. As spelled out in the Joint Concept Note, this outcome ensures that:

1. Women whether in temporary shelters or in host communities have increased access to the required assets, skills and partnerships for sustainable income generation opportunities;
2. Advocacy and technical support to States is conducted to gain the right to work for refugee, stateless, and asylum-seeking women, including through measures to foster their self-reliance, leverage their skills and capacities, and provide access to legal and national services such as education, health care, livelihoods opportunities and labour markets, without discrimination and in a manner, which also supports host communities;
3. Consistent engagement with displaced and host communities to promote gender equality, with the purpose of changing discriminatory attitudes, values, and behaviors;
4. Promotion of positive attitudes and behavior of men and boys toward women’s empowerment and gender equality;
5. Provision of equal access to all levels of education, including for women and girls with disabilities, indigenous women and girls, and those in vulnerable situations;
6. Strengthening of measures to mainstream the prevention of and response to Gender Based Violence in all cross-sectoral policies, strategies and standards and in their implementation;
7. Strengthened access by women and girls to civil registration and other legal identity documentation, including birth registration;
8. Advocacy to enable women and girls’ restitution of inheritance, housing, land and property rights.

All of these eight results are relevant for interventions to strengthen women’s empowerment and the prevention of and response to Gender Based Violence in Abkhazia. However, given the current political and socio-economic context not all may be achievable in a life-span of one cost-share project intervention. In order to do enhance the strategic prioritization and planning of joint programmatic interventions by UNHCR and UN Women in Abkhazia, UN Women would like to hire an International Consultant. 

The objectives of the assignment are:

1. To map out feasible programmatic entry points through desk review and stakeholder consultations for a joint UN Women – UNHCR project on women’s empowerment and the prevention and response to Gender Based Violence in Abkhazia, Georgia;
2. To develop a full-fledged project document on the basis of the desk review and stakeholder consultations and in line with UN Women’s LEAP and UNHCR’s Commitments to Women and Girls;

Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of the International Consultant are to:

1. To conduct desk review of relevant studies, reports, policy papers / strategies to better understand the country context and key actors/stakeholders;
2. To conduct stakeholder consultations (bilateral and multilateral meetings), engaging development partners, authorities, and civil society representatives to gain firsthand information about gender equality situation and the needs and priorities of women and girls in Abkhazia;
3. On the basis of desk review and stakeholder consultations to design a full-fledged Project Document (with corresponding annexes, including but not limited to log-frame and budget) for UNHCR and UN Women joint work on women’s empowerment and the prevention and response to Gender Based Violence in Abkhazia – the project document has to be developed in compliance with Outcome 3 of the global UNHCR and UN Women Joint Concept Note (for the years 2018-2020) built on UN Women LEAP and UNHCR Commitments to Women and Girls (Positive coping mechanisms are promoted for women and girls affected by protracted and slow onset crisis).

Deliverables:

• Work plan with timelines in line with duties and responsibilities spelled above (1 working day) – home-based by May 31, 2018;
• Desk review completed and inception report submitted to UN Women (4 working days) – home-based by June 15, 2018;
• Consultation meetings held (10 working days) - in Tbilisi as well as in Samegrelo region of Western Georgia (the region is adjacent to Abkhazia) and in Abkhazia, Georgia by July 15, 2018;
• Draft Project Document package prepared and submitted to UN Women (10 working days) – home-based by August 15, 2018;
• The Project Document package finalized based on inputs provided by UN Women and UNHCR (4 working days) – home-based by September 15, 2018;

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

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

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:

• University degree (Masters) in Law, Gender, Human Rights, Labor relations, Sociology or similar fields

Experience: 

• At least three years of proven experience of designing and managing implementation of gender and development projects in post-conflict / protracted conflict / displacement contexts;
• Sound understanding of women, peace and security agenda, prevention and response to gender based violence and women’s economic empowerment issues
• At least three years of work experience in resource mobilization;

Language:

• Fluency in English (speaking and writing)

Evaluation procedure:

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

• University degree (Masters) in Law, Gender, Human Rights, Labor relations, Sociology or similar fields (max 30 points);
• At least three years of proven experience of designing and managing implementation of gender and development projects in post-conflict / protracted conflict / displacement contexts (max 100 points);
• Sound understanding of women, peace and security agenda, prevention and response to gender based violence and women’s economic empowerment issues (max 100 points);
• At least three years of work experience in resource mobilization (max 90 points);
• Fluency in English (speaking and writing) (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 Specialist, under overall guidance of UN Women National Programme Specialist.

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:

• Deliverables 1, 2 – 30%;
• Deliverables 3,4 & 5 - 70%