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.

In post-conflict Sri Lanka, women were and are often excluded from decision-making processes that determine power distribution, wealth-sharing patterns, socio-economic development priorities and approaches to justice. UN Women’s Gender Country Assessment of post-conflict Sri Lanka (2015) found intersectional forms of exploitation and vulnerabilities experienced by women based on the factors of gender-based discrimination, poverty, conflict and violence-related trauma and limited support structures to overcome multiple burdens. Security remains a primary concern for all women and girls due to the high levels of violence and lack of access to justice.

Since the end of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka has made several commitments to peacebuilding, reconciliation and good governance, which represent a historic opportunity to advance accountability and reconciliation as necessary steps towards sustainable peace. The Sri Lanka Peacebuilding Priority Plan (PPP), jointly developed by the Government of Sri Lanka and the UN, places special emphasis on women’s meaningful and effective participation and contribution to peacebuilding. It aims to ensure that peacebuilding initiatives in Sri Lanka leverage women’s capacities and contributions and develop strategies for inclusion which recognize their roles and diverse experiences of conflict. However, in order to effectively engage with the gendered dynamics of peace, security and rising intolerance, it is critical that prevention and response efforts prioritize women’s rights, empowerment, participation and leadership at all levels, including local and community levels.

It is within this context that the Government of Japan has extended support to Government of Sri Lanka through UN Women to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and subsequent resolutions, including Resolution 2242 (2015) which calls for governments to ensure the participation and leadership of women’s organizations in devising strategies to counter intolerance and violence. Accordingly, UN Women, in partnership with Ministry of Women and Child Affairs and Social Security, has begun implementation of the “Empowered Women, Peaceful Communities: Promoting Peace and Preventing Intolerance in Sri Lanka” project to facilitate the development of a National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). In addition to capturing and enabling diverse priorities to be reflected in the NAP on WPS through a series of nationwide consultations with government and civil society actors and women, UN Women is supporting the coordination of WPS efforts in the country through the G7+ WPS Working Group initiated by the Government of Japan. The overall goal of the project is to ensure that women, including those in particularly vulnerable situations, will be empowered to strengthen the peacebuilding process, promote social cohesion and contribute towards lasting peace in Sri Lanka. In realizing this goal, UN Women will focus on achieving the following two outputs:

Output 1: A Capacity, coordination mechanism and advocacy space for implementing gender responsive policies and promoting social cohesion are created, including through the development of a National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security.

Output 2: Women, including grassroots women and the most marginalized, are empowered to inform the development of the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security.

APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY

The Final Review will be a transparent and participatory process involving relevant stakeholders and partners involved with the project. It will be carried out in accordance with UNEG Norms and Standards and Ethical Code of Conduct, and UN Women Evaluation Policy and Guidelines. The Final Review must integrate gender equality and human-rights perspectives throughout the methodology.[1] The Final Review will focus on identifying effective strategies that produce positive results, as well as lessons learned, in line with the Project Document.

Methodology for the review will be finalised in collaboration with UN Women Sri Lanka and may include in-depth desk review and document analysis. Field data collection is required, with interviews, meetings and/or focus group discussions arranged as agreed between UN Women and the National Consultant. Data may be validated through primary and secondary data sources, including desk review and interviews with key experts from government and international organizations.

The following information will be provided:

• Results-based monitoring framework that has been used to measure performance;
• Key project outputs such as knowledge products, reports and agendas from meetings and workshops;
• Relevant policies and knowledge products produced in the project’s operating environment, including existing national and regional data and evidence, and/or data from similar projects;
• A list of stakeholders and contacts for interviews. UN Women will make arrangements for interviews.

[1] For more information, see http://www.uneval.org/document/detail/980

The National Consultant may consider the following example questions:

DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT 

The duration of the consultancy is from 9 March – 15 April 2020. The assignment is home-based, with travel within Sri Lanka.

Duties and Responsibilities

PURPOSE & SCOPE

UN Women Sri Lanka is recruiting a National Consultant to conduct a Final Review of the “Empowered Women, Peaceful Communities: Promoting Peace and Preventing Intolerance in Sri Lanka” project. The purpose of the Final Review is to assess the extent to which the project has achieved its output-level objectives, to examine the relevancy and effectiveness of the project’s implementation strategy and efforts in reaching said objectives and to identify key results, lessons learned and recommendations to strengthen future WPS interventions.

The review will cover the full duration of the project from April 2019 to March 2020. The National Consultant will carry out primary data collection with key internal and external stakeholders, including but not limited to government officials, civil society representatives, consultation participants and the members of the UN Women project team. In addition to the above, the review will seek to analyze the extent to which the project has met and fulfilled expectations set by the project team as well as beneficiaries as envisioned at the project’s inception and capture any strengths and gaps found during and after implementation of main programmatic activities. The findings will be shared with Government of Japan and disseminated among UN Women’s global, regional and country teams.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES AND TIMEFRAME

Expected key deliverables will include:

PAYMENT

Payment shall be provided upon satisfactory completion of the deliverables outlined in the table below. Payments are to be made within 30 days from receipt of invoice.

The National Consultant shall be home based but required to travel to Colombo and within Sri Lanka. Travel-related costs in Sri Lanka must be included in the financial proposal as a lumpsum amount. Payment for travel-related costs will be made upon submission of evidence of travel.

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

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree or higher in relevant discipline (gender, conflict studies, peacebuilding, development, social sciences, or related field). Additional qualifications in evaluation would be an asset.

Professional experience:

• At least 5 years of experience in programme evaluation in a development context, including with relation to gender equality and women’s empowerment. Experience in monitoring and/or evaluating related projects in Sri Lanka and South Asia highly desirable.
• Previous experience engaging with UN agencies, donors and high-level government stakeholders is preferred.
• Proven knowledge and understanding of the WPS agenda and issues affecting women’s meaningful participation in peacebuilding in Sri Lanka and South Asia.

Knowledge and skills:

• Excellent written and spoken English and representational capacities.
• Fluency in either of the national languages: Sinhala or Tamil.
• Knowledge of the UN system would be an asset.

Important: The evaluator/s has to explicitly declare his/her independence from any organizations that have been involved in designing, executing or advising any aspect of the particular programme of UN Women Sri Lanka that is the subject of evaluation. The selection process will ensure that the evaluator/s does not have any relationship with this programmes in the past, present or foreseen in the near future.

EVALUATION ETHICS

Evaluations in the UN will be conducted in accordance with the principles outlined in UN Women Evaluation Policy and Guidelines, UNEG Norms and Standards for Evaluation in the UN System and by the UNEG ‘Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation.’ These documents will be attached to the contract. Evaluators are required to read the Norms and Standards and the guidelines and ensure a strict adherence to it, including establishing protocols to safeguard confidentiality of information obtained during the evaluation.

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION AND DEADLINE

Interested candidates are requested to submit electronic application with technical and financial proposals to pradeepa.kulasekera@unwomen.org not later than 24 February 2020. The financial proposal should provide professional fees as a lump sum amount for each deliverable, as well as travel-related costs.

• Submission package:
  • Cover letter outlining relevant experience
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Personal History Form (P11)
  • Financial proposal specifying proposed professional fee based on each deliverable, and travel-related costs
  • Sample Evaluation Report