UN WOMEN Jobs - 94501- National Gender Expert to provide expertise, train

National Gender Expert to provide expertise, training and mentoring to providers of services for women victims of violence in Albania (up to three posts)

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Tirana, ALBANIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

21-Oct-20 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

November 2020-December 2021 (Up to 40 working days)

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

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; empowerment of women; and 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 centre 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.

One of the priority areas of UN Women in Albania is to support the government and other stakeholders to address violence against women. The country has made important steps in this area and is party to key human rights treaties, including the Convention for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention). Albania has also adopted a national legal framework to address domestic and other forms of violence against women, starting in 2006 with the first Law on Domestic Violence, which was later amended in 2010 and 2018 to bring it in conformity with the Istanbul Convention. In 2008, the Law on Gender Equality came into effect and included the establishment of the national gender machinery. In addition, women survivors of domestic and sexual violence and human trafficking are one of the main groups to benefit from both a free legal aid system and expanded protection measures for victims of crime — the result of a revised Law on Free Legal Aid (1*) and amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedures (2*). In April 2020, the Criminal Code also was amended to recognise dating violence as a form of domestic violence offence, following similar amendments that took place in 2018 amendments in the Law on Domestic Violence.

The government is making efforts to accelerate the implementation of the legislation and activities related to prevention, protection and provision of services for survivors of violence in the National Strategy on Gender Equality (NSGE) 2016-2020. However, many challenges still persist. Latest surveys indicate that violence against women continues to be one of the main human rights concerns in the country, as noted also in the European Commission’s Report on Albania (April 2018). The report, while acknowledging some progress, notes that institutional mechanisms to tackle gender-based violence remain weak and recommends further efforts to improve measures of protection of victims of domestic violence. These conclusions are also in line with findings of the GREVIO baseline report addressed to Albania in 2017 and the recommendations of the UN member states under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of human rights, among which violence against women was one of the areas that received the highest number of recommendations from around 34 States.

Existing relevant legislation, including the recent legal amendments, need to be effectively implemented. Many challenges remain in the area of services offered to victims of violence. The referral mechanisms at the local level have not been established in all 61 municipalities, and even when in place, they operate to varying degrees of effectiveness. Available shelter space does not meet the requirements of the Istanbul Convention, and shelters and other rehabilitation services are not easily accessible. The judiciary, including representatives of courts, prosecution office and bailiffs, remain one of the less active sectors in the local response to violence against women. Free legal aid to women survivors of violence continues to be provided primarily by CSOs, with funding from international donors. The health sector is also identified by GREVIO as one of the sectors where interventions are needed to support victims of violence and issue medical reports that could be used as evidence in courts. Challenges remain also in the provision of other services, including psychological support, shelter, housing, employment opportunities and other rehabilitation services.

Women from disadvantaged communities - such as older women, Roma and Egyptian women, women with disabilities - find it in particular challenging to report violence and access these services. Various studies indicate that these women do experience violence, although it is almost unidentified and unreported. On the other hand, service providers face gaps from the physical, procedural and information dissemination perspective to inform and accommodate the needs of women and girls with disabilities, victims of violence.(3*)

Supporting the Government of Albania to increase capacities of both public and non-public service providers across sectors is one of the main priorities of the UN Joint Programme “Ending Violence against Women” (UNJP on EVAW) funded by Government of Sweden and implemented by UNDP, UN Women and UNFPA in partnership with Albanian Government. The Joint Programme is in line with Output 2.5 of the UN’s Programme of Cooperation for Sustainable Development (PoCSD) with the Government of Albania (GoA) and aims at: (i) strengthening the normative and accountability framework related to gender-based violence; (ii) improving institutional practices, services and coordination for survivors of violence; and (iii) challenging norms pertaining to violence against women at the state, community and individual levels.

In this context, UN Women is seeking to hire a team of up to three Local Gender Consultants to provide expertise, training and mentoring to providers of services to women survivors of violence at the local and central levels. The consultants will be responsible for delivering expert training, coaching and mentoring services to service providers from municipalities/local government units, members of local referral mechanisms, police, health, education and judicial sectors as well as civil society organisations and other actors.

This intervention contributes to Outcome 2 and Output 2.1 - Capacities of state and non-state service providers across sectors at national and local levels are improved – of the UN Joint Programme on EVAW.

Although, the Albanian legislation related to the coordinated multi-agency response to violence focuses primarily on domestic violence, it is important that services at the local level are provided to survivors of all forms of violence against women. This is an obligation stemming from the Istanbul Convention and one of the key recommendations of GREVIO in its first baseline assessment report addressed to Albania in 2017. Thus, this intervention will focus on increasing capacities of service providers to address all forms of violence against women.

1* Law 117/2017 “On State guaranteed legal aid”

2* Law No.35/2017 “On amendments the law No.7905/21/03.1995 on the Code on Criminal Procedures”.

3* Evaluation Report on Violence Against women and Girls from Disadvantaged Communities - An Overview of the phenomenon of Violence against Women and Girls From Roma, LGTB and Disability Communities in Elbasan, Vlora and Shkodra Municipalities, Albanian Disability Rights Foundation, Roma Women Rights Center and Alliance Against Discrimination of LGBT People, developed under the regional programme on EVAW, phase 1, 2018

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Project Manager on JP EVAW, the gender consultant will be requested to provide technical assistance and training services in the area of EVAW. Every assignment under the retainer contract will be guided by a specific assignment clearly stipulating the nature and scope of work, list of deliverables, timeframe and the outcome.

Possible duties and responsibilities/Key Results Expected (non-inclusive list):

Desk-review of findings of relevant programme analyses conducted in the framework of the EVAW prgramming in Albania, training evaluations and other materials on service provisions to women victims of violence to inform his/her work on the assignment;
Provision of advice and expertise to UN Women and relevant authorities ((including but not limited to Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Ministry of Interior, local government units, Ministry of Justice) on the adoption/amendments of policies, protocols and other frameworks related to ending of violence against women;
Conduct initial capacity needs assessment of the targeted service providers for the purposes of designing tailored training and mentoring approach under guidance of the UN Women Project Manager on JP EVAW;
Develop and deliver standard training modules for capacity building of providers of services for women victims of violence, including municipalities/local government units, members of local referral mechanisms, police, health, education and judicial sectors as well as civil society organisations and other relevant actors.
Other tasks as assigned by the Project Manager on JP EVAW.

The consultant will be responsible for designing and conducting trainings on various aspects of response measures to address gender-based violence, including but not limited to the following topics:

International and national gender equality conceptual framework;
National and international policy frameworks on violence against women, including the functioning of coordinated multi-agency response to violence against women in Albania;
Measures/strategies and obligations for prevention of violence against women;
Measures/Strategies and obligations for provision of protection and support services to women victims of violence;
Implementation of “integrated policies” that are effective, coordinated and comprehensive, in that they encompass all relevant measures to prevent and combat all forms of violence against women.
Rehabilitation strategies and programmes for perpetrators of violence

Competencies

Core Values:

Respect for Diversity
Integrity
Professionalism

Core Competencies:

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:

Proven research, analytical and drafting skills,
Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with various public and non-public stakeholders including in the areas of gender equality and violence against women;
Excellent writing skills in English and Albanian;
Strong interpersonal skills;
Strong initiative-taker;
Focuses on impact and results for the partner;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications/Education

Advanced university degree in development-related disciplines (international development, gender and social studies, public administration or any other social science related to development).

Work Experience

At least 7 years of relevant professional experience in the areas of gender equality and gender mainstreaming;

Experience related to the international and legal policy frameworks in the area of ending violence against women, including the functioning of coordinated multi-agency response to violence against women in Albania;
Experience in developing training modules and delivering training for service providers at the central and local levels on all forms of violence against women;
Previous experience with UN system or similar international organisations would be an advantage.

Language requirement

Proficiency in written and spoken English and Albanian

Schedule of Payments:

Payment will be made as per the payment schedule in the contract upon (i) satisfactory completion of tasks; (ii) provision of deliverables specified in the ToRs; (iv) submission of the respective certification of payment.

As this is a retainer contract, the consultant will be paid either at the end of each requested piece of work or on a monthly basis (dependant on volume of work assigned).

Recommended Presentation of Offer:

Qualified and interested candidates are asked to submit their application no later than October 21st.

The application should contain:

Cover letter explaining the applicant’s interest in applying for the position.
Filled UN Women Personal History Form (P11 form) including past experience in similar assignments and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from: http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment/); please upload the P11 instead of your CV
Financial Proposal - Financial proposal specifying the daily fee in Albanian Lek. Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall consider various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services). Other travel costs different from the above will be covered by UN Women separately

All applicants should note that this is a retainer contract and therefore there is no guarantee by UN Women of minimum number of days the consultant will be engaged for. The contract will not exceed the total number of working days as stated above. If additional days are required from the consultant, this will be done through a separate contract extension to the parent contract.

Evaluation of applicants:

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ 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.

Applications will be assessed according to the following Technical Criteria:

Master’s degree in development-related disciplines (international development, gender and social studies, economics, public administration or any other social science related to development) (10 points);
7 years of relevant professional experience in the areas of gender equality and violence against women (25 points);
experience related to the international and legal frameworks in the areas of gender equality and end of violence against women (10 points);
Experience in developing training modules and delivering training for service providers at the central and local levels on all forms of violence against women (20 points)
Previous experience with UN system or similar international organisations (5 points)

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.

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. The calculation formula applied is as follow:

p = 30 (µ/z); where: p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated; µ = price of the lowest priced proposal; z = price of the proposal being evaluated.

How to Submit the Application: To submit your application online, please follow the steps below:

Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11)- http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment
Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), the Financial Proposal, and Cover Letter into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded;
Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement);
Click 'Apply Now' button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click 'Submit Application;'
Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above);
You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

Notes:

UN Women retains the right to contact references directly. Due to the large numbers of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

The consultancy post is open to local (Albanian) individuals or foreign individuals with valid temporary or permanent residence in Albania.
Applications without the financial offer will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
The individual consultants should take the mandatory learning security course prior to commencement of assignment– details will follow before the issuance of contract.