Background

Millions of women and girls worldwide suffer some form of gender-based violence, be it domestic violence, rape, female genital mutilation/cutting, dowry-related killing, trafficking, sexual violence in conflict-related situations or other manifestations of abuse. Among different forms of abuse and discrimination, sexual harassment has gained increasing recognition in the recent years as one of the most widespread, yet underreported form of violence and discrimination permeating governments, private sector, international organizations and even civil society. A study of 42,000 people in the European Union found that every second woman (55%) has experienced sexual harassment at least once since the age of 15, and one in five women (21%) has experienced it in the 12 months before the survey. In the so-called post #metoo era and in the aftermath of the highly publicized campaigns such #MeToo, #NiUnaMenos, #BalanceTonPorc, #PrimeiroAssedio, #Babaeko and #WithYou6 there is strong recognition that states have an obligation to protect women from sexual harassment, to hold perpetrators accountable and to provide justice and remedies to victims.

Sexual harassment, as discrimination and violence against women as well as broader gender-based violence, is counter to global, regional and many national standards. It violates human rights. Eliminating sexual harassment, along with other forms of violence against women and girls (EVAWG) remains one of the most serious challenges of our time. The knowledge base and tools to prevent and eliminate violence against women developed over the past decade must be utilized more systematically and effectively to eliminate all forms of violence against women. This requires clear political will, outspoken, visible and unwavering commitment at the highest levels of leadership of the State and the resolve, advocacy and practical action of individuals and communities.

In 2017 UN Women in partnership with GEOSTAT and financial support from the EU conducted a National Study on Violence against Women in Georgia, which found that 20 per cent women has experienced sexual harassment in Georgia and 10 per cent of women have reported experiencing it at the work-place. The reported prevalence rates are high provided also that the field work for the research was carried out in the beginning of 2017, before the globalization of #metoo campaign and few high-profile sexual harassment allegation cases brought to public attention also locally in Georgia. These events further increased public’s awareness and sensitivity to sexual harassment prompting the Parliament of Georgia to come forward with an initiative to regulate sexual harassment in the Georgian legislation in line also with the recently ratified Council of Europe Istanbul Convention. As a consequence, in the first half of 2019, Parliament of Georgia adopted legislative amendments establishing legal definition of sexual harassment and regulations for preventing and responding to it in the workplace and public spaces.

In line with its mandate and in order to support the government of Georgia in delivering on its international and national commitments, inter alia, in light of the recent legislative amendments on sexual harassment, UN Women plans to support the Inter-Agency Commission on Gender Equality, Violence against Women and Domestic Violence – an entity responsible for coordinating gender equality efforts in the executive government by  strengthening capacity of line ministries and state agencies on sexual harassment. More specifically, UN Women within the framework of the EU funded project “Unite to Fight Violence against Women in Georgia” plans to support the Inter-Agency Commission on Gender Equality, Violence against Women and Domestic Violence in integrating sexual harassment issues in its prevention work on EVAW. This includes integration of sexual harassment issues in the National Communication Strategy and Action Plan on Ending Violence against Women (EVAW) – two framework setting documents on awareness raising on EVAW for line ministries and state agencies engaged in the national response against VAW.  Additionally, support will be provided to the EVAW Communication Task Force under the Inter-Agency Commission to develop targeted governmental campaign on sexual harassment in line with the revised EVAW National Communication Strategy and Action Plan.

In line with the above-mentioned efforts, UN Women is planning to recruit a National Communication Consultant/Expert who will support the Inter-Agency Commission on Gender Equality Violence against Women and Domestic Violence Issues and respective line ministries and state agencies in a) integrating sexual harassment in the National EVAW Communication Strategy and Action Plan d) developing the governmental campaign on sexual harassment.      

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of UN Women EVAWG Programme team, the National Consultant on Strategic Communications will be responsible for the following activities:

  • To inform the working process, carry out a review of the following materials a) international best practices, knowledge products and tools on awareness raising campaigns on sexual harassment b) Georgia’s National EVAW Communication Strategy and Action Plan; c) National Study on Violence against Women in Georgia 2019; d) recently made legislative amendment regulating Sexual Harassment in Georgia.
  • To integrate sexual harassment issues in the National EVAW Communication Strategy and Action Plan in close coordination with the EVAW Communication Task Force;
  • To facilitate a campaign development workshop bringing together PR specialists from line ministries and state agencies (members of the Commission) entailing a) developing campaign goals, objectives and structure; b) supporting each agency in outlining agency-specific objectives and activities;
  • To translate and adapt communication toolkit on sexual harassment from English to Georgian to be developed by an international expert;

Deliverables

  1. Desk review of international best practices, knowledge products and tools on awareness raising campaigns on sexual harassment conducted by 08 September 2019 (2 working days);
  2. Workshop materials, handouts and PPT presentations developed by 10 September 2019 (1 working days);
  3. A sexual harassment campaign workshop conducted bringing together PR specialists from line ministries and state agencies by September 25, 2019 (3 working days);
  4. Based on the results of the workshop, sexual harassment aspects integrated in the National EVAW Communication Strategy and Action Plan by September 30, 2019 (3 working days);
  5. Communication toolkit on sexual harassment from English to Georgian translated and adapted by September 30, 2019 (5 working days);
  6. Final report briefly outlining main activities carried out and results achieved submitted to UN Women by September 30, 2019 (1 working day); 

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

 

Functional Competencies

  • Knowledge of Results Based Management
  • Ability to gather and interpret data, reach logical conclusions and present findings
  • Good knowledge of technical area
  • Good organizational skills and ability to pay close attention to detail

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Master’s degree in communications, public relations and/or related field;

Experience:

  • At least 5 years of experience in strategic communications and public relations;
  • At least 2 years of experience in working on women’s empowerment, gender equality and violence against women and/or sexual harassment;
  • At least 3 years of experience in drafting and implementing communication strategies and workplans;
  • At least 2 years of experience in designing and conducting trainings on strategic communications, public relations tools, products and activities;

Languages:

  • Excellent command of English and Georgian

 

Evaluation Procedure:

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

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

  • At least 5 years of experience in strategic communications and public relations;
  • At least 2 years of experience in working on women’s empowerment, gender equality and violence against women and/or sexual harassment;
  • Excellent command of English and Georgian

 

Technical evaluation criteria (including minimum qualifications):

  • Master’s degree in communications, public relations and/or related field (80 points);
  • At least 5 years of experience in public relations (90 points);
  • At least 2 years of experience in working on women’s empowerment, gender equality and violence against women and/or sexual harassment (90 points)
  • At least 2 years of experience in designing and conducting trainings on strategic communications, public relations tools, products and activities (60 points);
  • Excellent command of written and spoken English and Georgian. (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 1,2 – 50 %
  • Deliverables 3,4,5,6 – 50%

 

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).

 

Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.