Background

UNDP Armenia has been continuously working in the area of the political empowerment of women, advancing the leadership of women, supporting the local governments to engender local decision-making and development processes, enabled youth to get knowledge and skills on participatory governance advance their potential and raise their voice in policymaking at national and local levels. UNDP’s has considerably contributed to the increase of representation of women at the local level, as well as the formation of dynamic group and women and youth who not only benefit from projects’ support, but also lead local initiatives on a broad spectrum of aspects, including participatory governance, women empowerment, and other.

Currently, UNDP’s Women Empowerment and Gender Equality (WEGE) Programme is comprised of four parallel projects working on the political leadership of women, economic empowerment of women, innovative public services, youth leadership advancement, strengthening gender equality in the public administration system of Armenia and other.  Projects are implemented in strong synergy and coordination with one another building on the ongoing activities, relying on the cadre of women and youth already capacitated form previous projects, and joining forces to upscale number of support schemes countrywide. UNDP enjoys broad partnerships among national, regional, and local governments, donor and international community, civil society organizations, media, and others.

“Women in Politics” is one of the projects of the WEGE Programme. The overarching goal of the project is to contribute to enhanced political participation of women, with a specific focus on increased representation and participation of females, including the young generation, in community development processes.

The project will contribute to the following results: (1) Strategies and recommendations on measures to improve women political participation developed based on evidence collected; (2) Leadership potential and skills of women and youth in communities of Armenia are advanced for community development and transparent and accountable governance; (3) Role and capacities of political parties for advancing women in politics are enhanced; (4) Policy dialogue on gender equality in the context of local development and ongoing reforms from local to subnational and national levels is facilitated; (5) Public discourse on issues of gender equality, women and youth participation at all levels is advanced through advocacy and public campaigns; (6) Active young women and men in local communities are empowered: (i) as future local leaders; (ii) as enablers of local democracy.

In 2020 two major phenomena appeared to directly influence women’s political participation in Armenia’s communities: i) the COVID-19 pandemic, and how communities had to mobilize to prevent the spread of the virus and face the consequences, and ii) amendments in Armenia’s legislation envisaging introduction of the proportional electoral system (and subsequent gender quotas) in communities with a population of more than 4000.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its repercussions have had different effects on men and women. As is the case globally, in Armenia too, the majority of front-line health workers, nurses, and care-staff are women and, therefore, more exposed to the virus and prone to be infected by it. Women are also the main care-takers at home, including when it comes to attending the family members who fall ill to COVID or else. They also occupy the majority of retail employees in first-line services, such as supermarkets and drug stores which remained operational during the strictest lock-downs and, thus, were more unprotected towards the virus. Furthermore, according to locally available data women remain the main group to become victims of rising levels of domestic violence as an outcome to worsening economies and social restrictions.      

Meanwhile, and beyond this, there has been increasing activism of women in communities. Many female members of Local Self Governance bodies (LSG) or community activists have been involved in prevention actions against the spread of the virus and organized awareness-raising activities, becoming key figures in communities’ public life.

In the meantime, the new reform in the Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia, which was adopted during the pandemic lock-down, looks to a proportional electoral system with 25/75% quotas in communities with populations of more than 4000. This promises to have consequent effects on women’s larger political role and will provide better chances to ensure a critical mass of women to enter local self-government.

To that end, the “Women in Politics” project seeks to evaluate the impact of the above-mentioned developments and how positively or negatively they affect women’s political activism and what are the prospects of change in the political landscape of communities, from the perspective of women themselves.

Scope of work:

The Researcher will conduct qualitative research to assess the political aspirations of women under the new realities. The research will include a desk review of available information, seek new data about women involved or interested in politics, and also possible occasions of women displaying leadership under the new conditions. The analysis of the findings should link the current situation on women’s involvement (or lack of it) in decision-making processes, and how their COVID-19-related public activism and amendments in the law would impact their political participation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Programme Manager, direct supervision of the “Women in Politics” Technical Task Leader, and in collaboration with other team members, the incumbent will be responsible for the following activities:

• Conduct a desk review of
• Research reports and information available on the impact of COVID-19 on women;

• Research material available on the impact of COVID-19 on the political participation of women;
• Research material available on the possible impact of recent amendments in the Electoral Code and Law on Local Self-Governance of the Republic of Armenia on political participation of women.
• Develop a methodology and appropriate (digital) data collection methods, as well as identify key stakeholders/informants (including but not limited to direct and indirect beneficiaries, partners, CSOs, etc.) in close coordination with the project team.
• Conduct qualitative research among at least 50 women involved in LSGs and also at least 50 active women (including at least 30% young women) with potential aspirations to enter local politics on their perceptions on their current and future role as community leaders and being involved in LSGs.
• Because of COVID-19 restrictions, interviews, and focus group discussions (if any) may be conducted online to ensure no risk for the researcher and interviewees.
• Hold introductory meetings and consultations with relevant stakeholders in the Government, namely Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Members of the Parliament, Central Electoral Commission on the impact of (based on relevance)
• COVID-19 on political participation of women;
• amendments of Electoral Code and Law on Local Self-Governance of the Republic of Armenia on political participation of women.
• Submit the 1st draft of the report and make a presentation of the findings of the research to Women in Politics project and partners.
• Finalize the research according to the feedback and comments received.
• Make a final presentation with relevant stakeholders based on the list proposed by the UNDP.

Payment Method and deliverables

Payment terms:

Payments shall be made in three installments upon completion of the tasks and approval of deliverables by the UNDP country office. Local travel-related expenses (if any) must be included in the Offerors’ Letter which is an integral part of the application package.

Competencies

• Good understanding of the current situation and trends in the field of gender equality, women’s rights, women’s political participation, local governance, and electoral processes;
• Proven track record in conducting research in the fields of gender and writing analytical reports;
• Knowledge and experience in gender-related research in the regions will be a strong asset;
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to establish and maintain effective work relationships with people of different social and cultural backgrounds;
• Strong planning skills and the ability to respect deadlines;
• Ability to work independently and to participate effectively in a team-based information sharing; strong team player;
• Excellent writing skills in English;
• Excellent communication and oral presentation skills in Armenian;
• Focuses on the result and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Remains positive and composed even under pressure;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• Advanced University degree (MA, MSc, or Ph.D.) in sociology, gender studies, anthropology, political or social sciences, humanities, or other related fields.

Experience

• Minimum of 5 years of proven experience in research, analysis, surveying, monitoring, and evaluation;
• Experience in design of research methodology, implementation and analysis in the areas of politics, public administration, gender, participatory democracy;
• Previous exposure to aspects of women’s political engagement and gender-sensitive policies is an asset;
• Track record and experience with international organizations is a strong asset.

Languages

• Excellent knowledge of English and Armenian, knowledge of Russian will be an asset.

INDIVIDUAL CANDIDATES WILL BE EVALUATED BASED ON THE FOLLOWING METHODOLOGY:

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants' technical qualifications, experience and financial proposal.The contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as technically responsive/compliant/acceptable to the requirements of the ToR and received the highest cumulative (technical and financial) score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation - max. 70 points

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation - max. 30 points.

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE APPLICATION.

• Financial Proposal and Availability form: OFFEROR’S LETTER TO UNDP 
• CV shall include Education/Qualification, Processional Certification, Employment Records /Experience

General Conditions of Contract is available here: GENERAL CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT

Note: Please note you can upload only one document to this application (scan all documents in one single PDF file to attach).