UNDP Jobs - 97554- International Consultant on gender equality and wo

International Consultant on gender equality and women’s empowerment

Location :

Home-based

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Apr-2021

Application Deadline :

21-Mar-21 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Estimated April 1, 2021 – January 31, 2022

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Approximately 120 working days

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

Gender equality and women’s empowerment are key to sustainable human development. Building resilient societies based on gender equality and respect for human rights are central to UNDP’s mandate to promote gender-responsive sustainable development. UNDP works closely with governments, national and sub-national institutions to support integration of gender-related concerns in their development agendas aligned with the new Sustainable Development Goals. The IRH Gender Equality Team develops regional and sub-regional initiatives to advance gender equality and supports Country Offices in the Europe and Central Asia region to address the gender impacts of COVID-19 and deliver gender equality results aligned with the SDGs as part of their national programmes and policies.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will work under the coordination and supervision of the Team Leader of the IRH Gender Equality Team. They will work in close collaboration with all IRH teams, and country offices in the 18 countries and territories in the region. Specific tasks include:

Support country offices participating in and/ or preparing for the regional Gender Equality Seal accelerated track initiative, by guiding country offices as part of the core gender seal support team;
Support gender mainstreaming efforts in COVID-19 recovery and other programmes and strategies at regional and country levels;
Support and technical advice to Country Offices on programming gender mainstreaming work;
Support Country Offices implementing the regional Spotlight Initiatives (SI) in Central Asia including the SI regional programme and liaise with UNDP Headquarters on reporting.

Deliverables and timeframes

Deliverable 1 (30 %) (Approx. 40 working days) by 15 June 2021

Tailored support provided to at least 5 UNDP Country Offices in Europe and Central Asia with tools, trainings, webinars and other technical support for participation in the RBEC Gender Equality Seal accelerated track initiative and assistance in developing and implementing a Country Office Gender Equality Strategy and/ or a Gender Action Plan
Support preparations for IRH potential participation in upcoming regional gender equality seal certification programme (one)
Contribute to substantive gender review of UNDP COVID-19 response and strategy documents at country office and regional levels
As regional focal point, guidance and support provided to UNDP Country offices in Europe and Central Asia implementing partners/responsible parties, carrying out specific activities in the Spotlight initiative programme these include : guiding CO colleagues in mapping of capacities of the regional justice and police institutions, supporting coordination and design of regional professional networks of judges and police, supporting training and outreach of gender based violence (GBV), providing support in building central Asia coalition of GBV stakeholders

Deliverable 2 (20 %) (Approx. 30 working days) by 15 September 2021

Tailored support provided to at least five UNDP country offices in Europe and Central Asia with tools, trainings, webinars and other technical support for participation in Gender Equality Seal initiative

Support at least two regional consultations/ webinars with external partners and UNDP Country Offices on strengthening gender-sensitive response to COVID-19 and participate in relevant webinars and online meetings

As regional focal point, guidance and support provided to UNDP Country offices in Europe and Central Asia implementing partners/responsible parties, carrying out specific activities in the Spotlight initiative programme these include: review of the regional report on the GBV -response capacities of the regional justice and police institutions, supporting the coordination of the regional networks (2) judges and police, supporting training and outreach of gender based violence (GBV), providing support in building central Asia coalition of GBV stakeholders

Support to the implementation of the Western Balkans regional initiative on women’s economic empowerment and to the activities related with the regional strategic partnership with the Regional Cooperation Council

Deliverable 3 (30 %) (Approx. 30 working days) by 30 November 2021

Support Country Offices to carry out gender analysis in project and programme documents on different needs, roles, benefits, impacts, risks and access to/control over resources of women and men and appropriate measures to be taken
Tailored support provided to five UNDP country offices in Europe and Central Asia with tools, trainings, webinars and other technical support to enable their participation in the Gender Equality Seal initiative.
Review of UNDP gender equality seal action plans and support to implementation of activities that promote gender equality and women’s empowerment as per request from Country Offices
As regional focal point, guidance and support provided to UNDP Country offices in Europe and Central Asia implementing partners/responsible parties, carrying out specific activities in the Spotlight initiative programme these include support to organization of two consultation with regional networks of judges and police, support in coordination of the central Asia coalition of GBV stakeholders
Support to the implementation of the Western Balkans regional initiative on women’s economic empowerment and to the activities related with the regional strategic partnership with the Regional Cooperation Council
Support the preparation of the Istanbul Regional Hub participation in upcoming regional gender equality seal certification programme (one)

Deliverable 4 (20 %) (Approx. 20 working days) by 30 January 2022

Support to the implementation of the Western Balkans regional initiative on women’s economic empowerment and to the activities related with the regional strategic partnership with the Regional Cooperation Council
Substantive inputs provided to quarterly progress reports and the Annual Report and corporate strategies liaising with headquarters
Tailored support provided to at least 5 UNDP Country Offices in Europe and Central Asia with tools, trainings, webinars and other technical support to enable them to roll out the Gender Equality Seal initiative

Support IRH preparation in the regional gender equality seal certification programme (one)

Support provided to organization of one virtual event on gender equality issues (e.g. during the 16 days campaign to end violence against women)

Each deliverable as stated above is required to be delivered to UNDP IRH Gender Equality Team Leader in satisfactory quality and in a timely manner. Each deliverable and change in the methodology, research objective has to be discussed and accepted by UNDP IRH Gender Equality Team Leader.

Competencies

Functional competencies

Demonstrated comprehensive understanding and knowledge of development project guidelines and management tools
Knowledge of the current and emerging gender equality challenges at a global level, as well as in the Europe and Central Asia region
Proven experience in organization of international conferences and workshops, especially in virtual settings
Knowledge of gender dimensions of key UNDP priority areas and especially COVID-19 response
Knowledge of SDG targets and indicators
Ability to provide technical advice on the Spotlight Initiative and gender mainstreaming in programming
Ability to work creatively and proactively to develop programmes, working across teams and sectoral approaches
Proven writing and analytical skills in English
Ability to promote individual and organizational learning and knowledge sharing using formal and informal methodologies
Proven experience in implementation of the gender mainstreaming quality assurance mechanisms and/or certification programmes;, experience with the UNDP Gender Equality Seal Certification would be considered as an asset

Required Skills and Experience

Education

Master’s degree in gender studies, international relations, development studies or relevant field.

Experience

A minimum of five years’ experience in gender equality and gender mainstreaming in development programming
Experience in implementation of gender mainstreaming quality assurance mechanisms and/or certification programmes, experience in implementation of the UNDP Gender Equality Seal would be considered as an asset;
Proven experience in organization of international conferences and workshops, especially in virtual settings
Experience in engaging with different set of stakeholders including government, UN and Civil Society representatives to advance gender equality agenda.
Proven experience in implementation of the gender mainstreaming quality assurance and /or certification programmes experience with UNDP Gender Equality Seal Certification will be considered as an asset

Language

Proficiency in written and spoken English.

Evaluation of Applicants

Applicants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposals. The award of the contract should be made to the applicant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (P11 desk reviews and interviews) and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only candidates who receive min 70% of points in technical evaluation (Criteria A-E) will be considered for the financial evaluation.

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

Criteria A – (desk review) - Master’s degree in gender studies, international relations, development studies or relevant field.; – max. 15 points;
Criteria B – (desk review) A minimum of five years’ experience in gender equality and gender mainstreaming in development programming; – max. 20 points;
Criteria C (desk review) Proven experience in the organization of international conferences and workshops, especially in virtual settings. – max. 10 points.
Criteria D (desk review) - Experience in engaging with different set of stakeholders including government, UN and Civil Society representatives to advance gender equality agenda – max 10 points

Criteria E – (desk review) – Proven experience in implementation of the gender mainstreaming quality assurance and /or certification programmes experience with UNDP Gender Equality Seal Certification will be considered as an asset– max. 15 points;

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

Application procedure

The application submission is a two-step process. Failing to comply with the submission process may result in disqualifying the applications.

Interested candidates must include the following documents when submitting the applications (Please group all your documents into a single PDF attachment as the system only allows one document to be uploaded).

Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application
Filled P11 form or CV including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from: http://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/dam/rbec/docs/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.d
Financial Proposal.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director.

Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org.

General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

Timeline and schedule

The consultancy is expected to last nine months from 1 April 2021 to 31 January 2022.