Background

Everyone has the right to live a life free from violence, including sexual harassment, be it at workplace or in public spaces. In spite of this, harassment against women in the world of work is present in all jobs, occupations and sectors of the economy in all countries across the world. Sexual harassment against women in the world of work is a serious violation of women’s human rights and a major barrier to achieving equality of opportunity and access to decent and dignified work (ILO, UN Women, Addressing Violence and Harassment against Women in the World of Work, 2019. Available at: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---europe/---ro-geneva/---ilo-ankara/documents/publication/wcms_731370.pdf). It has a devastating impact on women’s health, wellbeing and economic status. It is also deeply connected to social norms, values and stereotypes that foster gender inequalities, discrimination against women and unequal power relations between men and women, including intersecting forms of discrimination, for example, based on gender, race, age, disability and others.

Taking into account that definitions of workplace sexual harassment vary in national legislations of different countries, estimates from available country surveys show that as many as 75 per cent of the world’s women aged 18 years and over, or at least 2 billion women, have experienced sexual harassment (Chamie, J. 2018. “Sexual Harassment: At Least 2 Billion Women” in Inter Press Service News Agency. Available at: http:// www.ipsnews.net/2018/02/sexual-harassment-least2-billion-women/ [31 October 2018]). Despite its high prevalence, sexual harassment in the workplace remains largely unreported, with many victims, bystanders and witnesses afraid or reluctant to come forward or unsure about how to do so. Where victims do complain, many face ineffective complaints’ systems or procedures, experience retaliatory action, or further violence and harassment, or lose their jobs.

Various international and regional women’s rights instruments such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the ILO Convention No. 111 and the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention), call on the governments, employers, workers and their organizations to take appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment and to develop programmes and procedures to eliminate sexual harassment and other forms of violence against women in the workplace and elsewhere. Practical workplace strategies and policies informed by reliable data are an essential tool to promote this transformation, as is ensuring that employers have the skills and knowledge to implement these policies.

In 2019 the Parliament of Georgia adopted landmark legislation establishing regulations for the prevention and response to sexual harassment in public spaces and in the workplace. The adoption of the sexual harassment legislation was preceded by the UN Women/GEOSTAT National Study on Violence against Women 2017 (UN Women/GEOSTAT, 2017. National Study on Violence against Women in Georgia. Available at: https://georgia.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2018/03/national-study-on-violence-against-women-in-georgia-2017) which revealed that 20 per cent of women in Georgia have experienced sexual harassment, of whom 10 per cent have reported experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace.

UN Women in Georgia has been supporting national partners, including the Public Defender’s Office, Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as private sector companies in setting up various mechanisms for the prevention and response to sexual harassment. Under the Good Governance for Gender Equality in Georgia (GG4GEG) project generously funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UN Women supported the Inter-Agency Commission on Gender Equality, Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GEC) in designing sexual harassment response mechanisms in eight (8) pilot ministries/state agencies (Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture; Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development; LEPL Civil Service Bureau; State Inspector's Service; Sakpatenti; Geostat; Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure; Office of Resource Officers of Educational Institutions; Ministry of Foreign Affairs). To further support the GEC in institutionalizing sexual harassment response mechanisms across the civil service, UN Women is planning to hire a National Consultant. The objectives of the consultancy are as follows:

  • To develop sexual harassment response mechanisms and support their operationalization in various line ministries and state institutions aligned with the national legislation, internationally established best practices and further aligned with bylaws and internal regulations of individual ministries/state agencies;
  • To provide capacity development trainings for line ministries/state agencies on prevention and response to sexual harassment in the workplace.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the UN Women GG4GEG Programme Analyst, selected consultant will be responsible for the implementation of the following tasks:

  • To develop and adjust sexual harassment response/complaints mechanisms to internal organizational set-ups of at least 8 target line ministries/state agencies;
  • To conduct capacity development activities (including training, workshops, meetings, etc.) for civil servants on sexual harassment response/complaints mechanisms, including focal points on sexual harassment at state entities;
  • In cooperation with GEC, prepare awareness-raising material on sexual harassment response mechanisms for inter-agency awareness raising among public employees;
  • To provide regular coaching and mentoring to GEC, gender focal points and representatives of respective units (including human resources management units) on the operationalization of the sexual harassment response/complaints mechanisms;
  • To prepare final report about the work carried out, key observations and recommendations for successful operationalization of sexual harassment response mechanisms.

Deliverables:

  • Work plan with timelines in line with duties and responsibilities spelled above (2 working day) – by 05 February 2021
  • Consultations held with GEC and selected representatives of target, relevant materials (organigrams, charters, codes of conduct) reviewed and captured in the consultancy report provided to UN Women (10 working days) – by 25 February 2021.
  • Draft response/complaints mechanism models developed and adjusted for (at least 8) target organization (20 working days) – by 30 April 2021
  • Relevant materials developed and trainings (online & face-to-face) conducted for each target organization’s staff on prevention and response to sexual harassment (16 working days) – by 30 August 2021
  • Coaching and support provided to target organizations according to their further needs in operationalizing the response/complaints mechanisms (20 working days) – 10 November 2021
  • Final report prepared and submitted to UN Women (2 working days) – 15 November 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

Technical/Functional Competencies:

  • Excellent analytical and research skills;
  • Strong understanding of and commitment to gender equality and women's empowerment
  • Excellent writing skills;
  • Excellent organizational skills;
  • Proficiency in IT skills demonstrated;

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • At least BA degree in law, sociology, human rights, or related field

Experience and competencies:

  • At least three years of proven experience of work on the prevention and response to sexual harassment
  • At least three years of working experience in the field of gender equality, discrimination and violence against women
  • Prior experience in working with the government stakeholders on developing strategies, policies and tools, training programmes etc. will be an asset

Language:

  • Fluency in Georgian

Evaluation Procedure:

The candidates will be evaluated in three stages: according to minimum qualification criteria; technical and financial evaluation.

The candidates must possess following minimum qualification criteria to be eligible for further technical evaluation:

  • At least BA degree in law, sociology, human rights, or related field
  • At least three years of proven experience of work on the prevention and response to sexual harassment
  • At least three years of working experience in the field of gender equality, discrimination and violence against women
  • Fluency in Georgian

The candidates will be evaluated in three stages: according to minimum qualification criteria followed by technical and financial evaluation.

Technical evaluation criteria (including minimum qualifications):

  • At least BA degree in law, sociology, human rights, or related field  (max 70 points)
  • At least three years of proven experience of work on the prevention and response to sexual harassment (max 90 points)
  • At least three years of working experience in the field of gender equality, discrimination and violence against women (max 90 points)
  • Prior experience in working with the government stakeholders on developing strategies, policies and tools, training programmes etc. will be an asset (max 70 points)
  • Fluency in Georgian (max 30 points)

Maximum total technical score amounts to 350 points. Only candidates who have passed over the minimum qualification criteria and have accumulated at least 245 points out of maximum 350 under technical evaluation will qualify for the next stage i.e. evaluation of their financial proposals.

Evaluation of submitted financial offers will be done based on the following formula: S = Fmin / F * 150

S – score received on financial evaluation;

Fmin – the lowest financial offer out of all the submitted offers qualified over the technical evaluation round;

F – financial offer under consideration.

The winning candidate will be the candidate, who has accumulated the highest aggregated score (technical scoring + financial scoring).

Management arrangements:

The contractor will report to and work under direct supervision of the UN Women GG4GEG Programme Analyst and overall guidance of the UN Women Deputy Country Representative in Georgia.

Financial arrangements:

  • Deliverable 1, 2 (12 working days) – 18%
  • Deliverables 3, – (20 working days) – 28%
  • Deliverable 4, (16 working days) – 23%
  • Deliverable 5,6 (22 working days) – 31%

Application submission package:

* The applicants are required to submit an aggregated financial offer: “aggregated financial offer” is the total sum of all financial claims of the candidate for accomplishment of all tasks spelled out in this ToR. Travel costs (ticket, DSA etc.)  should not be included and will be paid for separately by UN Women.

How to Submit the Application:

  • Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11)- https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-p11-personal-history-form.doc?la=en&vs=558
  • Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), CV and the Financial Proposal 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.
  • 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.