Background

UNDP is the development arm of the United Nations system, with presence in over 170 countries. Globally the organization employs 17,000 people and manages a budget of USD 5 billion annually. The UNDP office in Baku employs a team of 55 professionals and currently manages a portfolio of projects in areas of inclusive growth, environmental protection and good governance.

UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, with the field offices present in more than 150 countries across the world and a large number of people employed as international and local staff members. The UNFPA office in Baku employs a team of eight persons engaged in the implementation of the projects and programmes in the field of family planning, gender equality and population dynamics.

UNDP and UNFPA have initiated a new partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population (MLSPP) through joint Addressing rights and well-being of women with disabilities and veterans of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict project. The joint project aims to complement the Government efforts to protect, respect and fulfil the rights of persons living with disabilities with specific focus on women and war veterans of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as regards their protection and well-being in the area of inclusive employment and the rights of persons living with disabilities with the focus on women with disabilities and war veterans.

The project aims to enable inclusion and participation of the persons with disabilities in various aspects of life. The project also envisions series of interrelated activities on producing improved data and evidence for informed policymaking, increased awareness of the decision makers and the population on particular vulnerabilities of the persons with disabilities as well as exchange of good practices both within the country and in the region.

The project is a joint programme funded by the Government of Azerbaijan, and co-funded by UNDP and UNFPA.

The key government partner for the project is the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population. The project will also be implemented in close partnership with the State Committee for Family, Women and Children’s Affairs and the State Statistics Committee. Active partnerships with local authorities, public and private sector agencies, media, communities, and NGOs will be sought for the successful implementation of the programme.

The project will be implemented in Baku, Masalli and Salyan. An estimated 3,000 vulnerable individuals will benefit, directly and indirectly, from improved livelihoods opportunities and accessible space. The availability of quantitative and qualitative data on the particular vulnerabilities and capacities of the target groups will be improved; and changes in public perceptions will be promoted to reduce stigma and discrimination against PwDs. 

The project will involve a mix of mainstream and targeted approaches to directly benefit persons with disabilities through improved economic opportunities; and indirectly, by making the environment more accessible and friendly for people with disabilities. Specifically, the scope of the programme will include the following components:

1.            Capacity development for data collection and statistics. Activities under this strategic area will focus on strengthening the collection of quantitative and qualitative data on the particular vulnerabilities and capacities of the project’s main target groups (Veterans of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with disabilities and women and girls with disabilities). This information will help service providers to develop strategies based on evidence. Interrelated activities will focus on improving the statistical database and providing findings from research. (The component will be implemented by UNFPA)

2.            Economic empowerment of women with disabilities and war veterans. This programme component will involve strategies contributing to increased employability and expansion of employment opportunities and promote the principles of universal design and accessibility. It will target simultaneously women and war veterans with physical disabilities, employers and state employment services. The interventions will be implemented in Baku and 2 pilot regions, using the lessons learnt, experience and the infrastructure of the UNDP’s Women Resource Centers (WRC) established and functional in Masalli and Salyan. (The component will be implemented by UNDP).

3.            Awareness raising for attitudinal changes. It is well known that reluctance of the general population to accept the persons with disabilities will cast a major shadow on all intervention strategies geared towards improved social protection and empowerment. It is therefore important to educate the people by fostering and nourishing the positive attitudes towards the persons with disabilities and ensuring that the society is accepting, understanding and empathetic to those who are different, but equal. Hence, the programme intends to raise public awareness and visibility of the persons with disabilities through a combination of various strategies including inter alia through traditional and modern media, focusing on positive role models and practices. (The component will be implemented by UNFPA).

Duties and Responsibilities

Within the Outputs 1 and 2, the project aims at undertaking a qualitative inquiry on particular vulnerabilities of women with disabilities and war veterans in two regions of Azerbaijan (Salyan and Masalli) to quickly develop a preliminary understanding of challenges faced by persons with disabilities, the coping strategies they utilize as well as their major needs with a focus on well-being and access to available resources.

The specific objectives of the inquiry are as follows:

Identify the major patterns of attitudinal barriers including prevalent behaviors, perceptions, and assumptions that perpetuate discrimination against persons with disabilities;

Assess the environmental barriers including the elements of buildings or outdoor spaces that create physical impediments to persons with disabilities;

Assess educational levels, interests and needs of women and war veterans with disabilities, measuring their strengths, weaknesses and professional needs and support services needed. Based on the findings of this assessment and also the labor market assessment, the consultant will design and model the ‘ecosystem’ of disability employment services and interventions for disability confident employers.

Explore the challenges related to the delivery of services that may further restrict participation of persons with disabilities;

Elaborate on the implications of the findings to inform inter alia the project’s strategic interventions.

The specific components of the subject assignment are as follows:

• Initial virtual orientation with the concerned UN agencies, the MLSPP and other Government agencies engaged in the project action (1 day);
• Desk review of the available data and secondary sources on the issues of disability in Azerbaijan including the state and alternative reports to the CRPD Committee (3 days);
• Development of the study methodology, including tools for interviews and focus groups, data requirements, indicators and sample estimation (2 days);
• Development of the research plan, ethical procedures and data quality control mechanisms (1 day);
• Provision of overall support and supervising the work of a local consultant and a local CSO contracted for the purposes of the field work; 3 days
• Development of a methodology for conducting regular monitoring to determine the employment rate of people with disabilities (by sex, age and area of economic activity); 5 days
• Assessment of needs and concerns, educational levels, interests of women and girls with disabilities and war veterans, measuring their strengths, weaknesses and professional needs and support services needed, including development of actionable recommendations for fine-tuning of project activities; 10 days
• Analysis of data collected through the study and development of the study report, including recommendations and implications of the findings to inform inter alia the project’s strategic interventions; 10 days
• Design and model the ‘ecosystem’ of disability employment services and interventions for disability confident employers; 5 days

3. EXPECTED DELIVERABLES AND TIMETABLE 

Location/travels: The assignment will be through providing guidance and backtopping remotely through various electornic means (e.g. e-mail and skype). However, at least one country visit (lasting 6 days max. excluding travel dates) to Masalli and Salyan regions (Daily DSA rate for Masalli and Salyan is 96 USD according to the latest UN’s DSA circular report) are envisaged under this contract. Please see below the tentative date of country visit.

1. December, 2019 - January, 2020 (Assessment of needs and concerns, educational levels, interests of women and girls with disabilities and war veterans in Masalli (3 days) and Salyan (3 days) and its villages, measuring their strengths, weaknesses and professional needs and support services needed, including development of actionable recommendations for fine-tuning of project activities)

Reporting:

S/he will be reporting to the Project Manager / Project Officer. The consultant  must ensure timely fulfillment of his/her assisting and support actions, including reporting, thus making timely and sufficient contribution to the timely preparation and submission of the project reports as well.

Contract Payment:

The payments will be made in 5 tranches in accordance with the deliverables in the attached TOR. In the financial proposals, candidates should show the total amount expected for this work. The payment will be done due to the following schedule:

1. 1st tranche – 20 % of the total amount upon completion of deliverable #1; 2 Output 1
2. 2nd tranche – 30 % of the total amount upon completion of deliverable #3; 4 Output 1
3. 3rd tranche - 15 % of the total amount upon completion of deliverable #5; 6 Output 1
4. 4th tranche - 15 % of the total amount upon completion of deliverable #1; 2 Output 2

5th tranche - 20 % of the total amount upon completion of deliverable #3; 4 Output 2

Competencies

• Prior work experience in Azerbaijan will be an asset;

• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written;

• Proven capability to meet deadlines and work under pressure;

• Strong analytical and critical skills.

Required Skills and Experience

• Advanced degree in legal studies, social studies or any other related field (concentration on disability related issues will be considered an asset);

• Good knowledge of human rights and non-discrimination provisions concerning the persons with disabilities;

• At least 5 years of experience in data collection and research on non-discrimination issues including the disability clause;

• Experience in working with government structures on the issues concerning rights, health and well-being of persons with disabilities;

• Excellent academic writing skills in English;

• Extensive experience in the development sector and especially in a disability projects;

• Previous experience with UNDP or any other UN agency;

• Prior work experience in Azerbaijan will be an asset.

Evaluation Criteria:

Experts will be evaluated based on the following methodologies:

The technical component, which has a total possible value of 70 points, will be evaluated using the following criteria:

Advanced degree in legal studies, social studies or any other related field (concentration on disability related issues will be considered an asset) (10 points);

Good knowledge of human rights and non-discrimination provisions concerning the persons with disabilities (25 points);

At least 5 years of experience in data collection and research on non-discrimination issues including the disability clause (15 points);

Experience in working with government structures on the issues concerning rights, health and well-being of persons with disabilities (10 points);

Excellent academic writing skills in English (10 points).

If the substantive presentation of a technical proposal achieves the minimum of 49 points (70% for technical component), the competitiveness of the offered amounts will be taken into account in the following manner:               

The total percentage for the financial component is 30%. The maximum percentage is allotted to the lowest price proposed. All other proposals shall receive percentage in inverse proportion to the lowest fees; e.g.

                [30 %] x [US$ lowest]/[US$other] = percentage for other proposer’s fee

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate eligibility of their qualifications: