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 will lead and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.
UN Women plays an innovative and catalytic role in the State of Palestine since its inception in 1997. UN Women Palestine Office focuses its activities on one overarching goal, namely, to support the implementation at the national level of existing international commitments to advance gender equality in line with the national priorities. In support of this goal, and thoroughly taking into consideration the specificities of the Palestinian context, UN Women concentrates its efforts and interventions toward the realization of the following strategic goals: Mainstreaming gender in governance, peace and security; Supporting women's economic security and rights; and Promoting women’s rights and protection against violence.
In line with the Palestinian Government’s commitment to achieve gender equality and to combat Violence Against Women (VAW), and in full partnership with the Justice, Security and Social Sectors, UN Women, within its joint programme with UNDP and UNICEF- “Promoting the Rule of Law in Palestine- SAWASYA II” is supporting the Justice, Security and Social institutions to mainstream gender into their procedures and policies, and develop and provide gender responsive services to women victims and survivors of violence, through providing institutional capacity building and policy level interventions amongst others.
Women Protection Counsellors (WPC) at the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) play a critical role in the management of VAW cases. This includes amongst others: their role in the risk assessment and referral process which usually takes place within the case conference mechanism that the Ministry leads, and the provision of protection services, including: sheltering, legal aid, psychosocial support and re-integration interventions. Their role requires working closely with the justice and security institutions, community-based systems and survivors’ families and local communities.
WPC face various obstacles when managing VAW cases, particularly due to the challenging social and legal context in Palestine, which hinder women’s access to security, safety and justice, and which also require strong knowledge and understanding of the applicable legal framework, and related legal practices and procedures. Within this framework, UN Women is seeking to recruit an experienced consultant to enhance the knowledge and capacity of WPCs in the socio- legal field, to enable them to provide quality and responsive services to VAW cases during the legal process, by strengthening and expanding their knowledge on women’s access to justice and related legal frameworks and process, and enhancing their skills in the management of VAW cases.
Objective of the Assignment:
The main objective of this assignment is to enhance the capacity of the MoSD WPCs, to efficiently manage VAW cases and enhance women’s access to justice, by increasing WPCs knowledge about the socio- legal path that women undertake within the applicable legal frameworks, including investigation, court procedures and practices, and enhancing their skills to efficiently manage these cases. Further to that, the consultancy aims to address knowledge and skills gaps related to the management of sexual violence cases, given the special nature of these crimes and the challenges service providers usually face in responding to the needs of women victims and survivors of sexual violence.
More specifically this assignment aims to:
- Introduce WPCs to the legal framework in Palestine as it pertains to VAW cases, notably the Penal Code, the Criminal Procedures law, and the Personal Status Law.
- Introduce WPCs to the National Referral System (NRS) and the roles and responsibilities of the different sectors, with focus on the role of the social sector.
- Provide WPCs with professional tools related to the efficient management of VAW cases during legal processes. This includes among others; preparing social reports to courts, providing testimony at court, and supporting women before, during and after court sessions.
- Introduce WPCs to key concepts and skills related to working with women victims and survivors of sexual violence.
This capacity building intervention is comprised of two main components; the first component will focus on survivors’ access to justice and will address the legal framework and related national tools and its application on the ground within the current social context in Palestine. The second component will revisit key foundational knowledge, and skills related to the management of sexual violence against women. It will introduce participants to central concepts associated with working with women victims/survivors of sexual violence, such as victims-centered approach, empowerment approaches and trauma theories.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall guidance of UN Women Special Representative, the direct supervision of Sawasya UN Women Programme Specialist, and working in close cooperation and coordination with UN Women Programme Analyst on Gender Responsive Prosecution, the selected consultant will undertake the following tasks:
- Develop an inception report that includes the work plan and methodology and share with UN Women for discussion and approval.
To develop an initial work plan that includes the objectives, targets, deliverables, time frame, and a detailed working methodology and share with UN Women for review and approval.
To meet with UN Women’s technical team and the responsible officers at the MoSD and 2-4 WPCs to assess needs and discuss and agree on the work plan, including the objectives, targets, methodology, and meeting outlines.
Based on the results of the meetings, the consultant will revisit and refine the work plan and the methodology and share with UN Women for inputs and approval.
- Develop and deliver 8 days capacity building training:
Develop a training material on the two main component of the training: women’s access to justice and sexual violence against women.
Conduct 8 days training for Women Protection Counselors on women’s access to justice and sexual violence against women. The training should be a hybrid of theoretical and practical components, to facilitate knowledge and skills transfer to trainees.
Liaise with guest speakers from relevant sectors to deliver presentations during the training in selected topics- (this may include the justice and security sectors).
- Prepare and submit a final report:
Submit a final report that includes a description of the assignment’s methodology, main interventions, target groups, findings, lessons learned and recommendations. minutes of meetings, interviews, sessions, and workshops. in addition to the list of people interviewed should be annexed to the report.
In addition to that, the consultant has to meet with UN Women on regular basis to update on progress and challenges faced during the assignment and consult with them on the way forward.
Deliverables:
- Deliverable 1: A final approved inception report, including the methodology and a detailed work plan that includes the objectives, targets and time frame. Expected delivery date is 15 November 2020.
- Deliverable 2: A final approved training material and a successful implementation of the first part of the training (4 days). Expected delivery date is 30 December 2020
- Deliverable 3: A successful implementation of the second part of the training (4 days), and an approved final report. Expected delivery date is 15 February 2021.
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:
- Strong background on gender, VAW, legal framework and women’s access to justice.
- Sound knowledge of international standards on human rights and women's rights including international human rights conventions.
- Proven experience in working with victims and survivors of violence.
- Previous experience in working with the Justice and Security sectors.
- Strong experience in developing and delivering professional trainings.
- Strong capacity to establish, build and sustain effective relationships with clients, demonstrates understanding of client’s perspective, and anticipates client needs and addresses them promptly.
- Strong ability to effectively interact with technical and non- technical end users in a cooperative and helpful manner.
Language Requirements:
Professional knowledge of English, and fluency in Arabic.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Bachelor’s degree in law or criminology. Advanced degree is an asset, particularly in the field of psychology, sociology, or gender studies.
Experience:
- At least 4 years working experience in the field of violence against women, including working experience on sexual violence, and women’s access to justice. Previous experience as practitioners in this field is a great asset.
- At least 3 previous assignments related to developing and conducting capacity building trainings for front line officers in the field of violence against women, including sexual violence. Please make clear reference of this requirement in the CV/P11
- At least 2 previous assignments related to women’s access to justice, with particular focus on the legal framework from gender and women’s rights perspectives. This might include conducting capacity building training on women’s access to justice, developing policy work or legal analysis. Please make clear reference of this requirement in the CV/P11
- Experience with the social sector is an asset.
- Experience with the UN system or/and International Organizations is an asset
Evaluation Criteria:
This SSA modality is governed by UN Women General Terms and Conditions. UN Women will only be able to respond to applicants who meet the minimum requirements.
Candidates should clearly indicate how they meet the above-mentioned criteria in their applications.
The following documents should be submitted as part of the application. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials:
- UN Women P11 including experience in similar assignments; the P11 form can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted.
Note: Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Please upload as one attachment of the documents as mentioned above online through this website
Candidates should have the ability to quickly submit degree certificates, medical certification (of good health) expression of Interest (EoI).
Evaluation of applicants:
Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications mentioned above, and financial proposal. A contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer receives the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 35/50 points in the technical evaluation will be interviewed. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 50/70 in both technical evaluation and interview will be considered for financial evaluation conditioned they score the minimum passing score of both technical evaluation (at least 35/50) and interview (at least 15/20).
Technical Evaluation (50%) – max. 50 points:
- Bachelor’s degree in law, or criminology. Advanced degree is an asset, particularly in the field of psychology, sociology, or gender studies. (Max 5 points)
- At least 4 years working experience in the field of violence against women, including working experience on sexual violence, and women’s access to justice. Previous experience as practitioners in this field is a great asset. (Max 15 points)
- At least 3 previous assignments in developing and conducting capacity building trainings for front line officers in the field of violence against women, including sexual violence. Please make clear reference of this requirement in the CV/P11. (Max 10 points)
- At least 2 previous assignments related to women’s access to justice, with particular focus on the legal framework from gender and women’s rights perspectives. This might include conducting capacity building training on women’s access to justice, developing policy work or legal analysis). Please make clear reference of this requirement in the CV/P11. (Max 10 points)
- Experience with the social sector, is an asset. (Max 5 points)
- Experience with the UN system or/and International Organizations is an asset. (Max 5 points)
Technical interview: (20%) - max. 20 points.
Financial Evaluation (30%) – max. 30 points.
The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion. A suggested formula is as follows:
p = 30 (µ/z)
Using the following values:
p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated
µ = price of the lowest priced proposal
z = price of the proposal being evaluated
Only long-listed candidates will be contacted.
Shortlisted candidate will be requested to submit a financial proposal. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount breaking down a daily professional fee, proposed number of working days and any related expenses, i.e. travel and communications expenses