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 center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates 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.

UN Women works to economically empower diverse women in Lebanon, at micro, meso, and macro levels. Since 2016, when UN Women established its office presence in Lebanon, the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) programme has predominantly focused on increasing the resilience of vulnerable women and girls in refugee and host communities, under the Resilience Unit. The programme’s overall goal is to, empower vulnerable women, girls and their communities, and strengthen their resilience to conflict and displacement. The project design is based on two pillars of intervention: 1) Economic Empowerment and 2) Protection. The economic empowerment interventions, skills training, paid opportunities in the private sector, and entrepreneurship support, combined with protection interventions at the individual, institutional and societal levels to prevent and respond to gender-based violence. The programme targets refugees and nationals together, as a method of fostering understanding and trust between their communities.

Objective of the Assignment:
Under the direct supervision of the Programme Manager based in Beirut, the Programme Officer will be responsible for supporting in the programme to achieve effective results.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

1. Coordination;
2. Research;
3. Partner Relations and Development;
4. Communication.

1) Partner Development and Relations:

• Support partner (government, donor, and organizations) relations through communications, meetings, events, and the development of written briefs and materials;
• Organize donor field mission visits to on-going programme activities.

2) Coordinate with UN agencies and national partners on humanitarian programming:

• Coordinate with other UN agencies, government departments, donors and NGOs to ensure the programme’s capacity is harmonized and aligned with other in-country efforts;
• Represent UN Women at relevant sector coordination working groups to bring gender issues to inter-agency discussion. analysis, and planning;
• Organize periodic consultations with key stakeholders, women leaders, human rights experts and UN partners to gather inputs and strategize on new programme interventions, as necessary;
• Assist in expanding relationships with national partners to support implementation and new programming opportunities.

3) Research:

• Conduct desk reviews on thematic areas related to women’s economic empowerment, refugees, and gender as needed to support the Resilience Unit;
• Draft relevant research and policy briefs to both better inform the programme with best practices, as well as raise substantive gender issues, including the needs of women and girls, to humanitarian stakeholders.

4) Communications:

• Draft, edit and proof-read communication products such as articles, brochures, calendars, website and social media;
• Liaise with the communication’s team to increase the visibility of the needs of women and girls in humanitarian settings, as well as the programme achievements to the media.

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: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Functional Competencies:

• Substantial knowledge and understanding of women’s economic empowerment;
• Demonstrated leadership ability and technical ability to communicate complex ideas verbally and in writing;
• Experience drafting research findings and recommendations;
• Familiarity with processes and thematic issues related to the SDGs;
• Ability to communicate effectively both written and orally.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Applicants will have an advanced university degree in International Affairs, Humanitarian Studies, Economic Development and/or with strong knowledge of Women’s and Gender Issues, or related discipline.

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in the field of promoting gender equality, poverty reduction and economic empowerment;
• Experience in livelihoods and protection in the humanitarian response;
• Experience drafting reports, concept notes, proposals and conducting research;
• Experience in partner and donor relations in cross-cultural settings;
• Experience with UN agencies is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Proficient in written and oral English is required;
• Working level of Arabic and/or French is an asset;
• Computer skills, internet communication and command of MS Office.

Evaluation Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology: Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation.

Criteria Weight Technical: 70% (70 points):

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:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and;
• Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

Technical Evaluation (70%) split such as:

• Education: 20%;
• Professional Experience & background: 30%; should detail work experience, specifically experience which is relevant to the consultancy requirements indicated above;
• Cover note: 20%; cover note should clearly state the availability and method of engagement to deliver on key outputs, while clearly explaining how the candidate meets the requirements and their ability to deliver in due time.

Financial Evaluation (30%): The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula:

• Contract will be awarded to the technically qualified consultant who obtains the highest combined score (financial and technical);
• The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula: (Lowest Bid Offered*)/ (Bid of the Consultant) x 30;
• 'Lowest Bid Offered' refers to the lowest price offered by Offerors scoring at least 49 points in the technical evaluation.

Application:

Interested Individual Consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• A cover letter with a brief presentation of your consultancy explaining your suitability for the work and link to portfolio of work;
• UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment;
• Personal CV; and Financial proposal; Proposed inclusive daily rate.

The above-mentioned documents should be merged in a standalone file including all them, since the online application submission does only permit to upload one file per application. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW, and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.