Background

Millions of women and girls worldwide suffer from some form of gender-based violence and harmful practices, be it domestic violence, rape, female genital mutilation/cutting, dowry-related killing, trafficking, sexual violence in conflict-related situations, son preference and the undervaluing of daughters, or other manifestations of abuse. In fact, for women and girls aged 16-44, gender-based violence is a major cause of death and disability (United Nations About UNiTE: Fact Sheet. Available at http://endviolence.un.org/pdf/factsheets/about_unite.pdf). Up to 70 per cent (United Nations, Violence Against Women: The Situation. Avalable at http://endviolence.un.org/pdf/factsheets/unite_the_situation.pdf.) of women experience violence in their lifetime. Violence against women persists in every country in the world as a pervasive violation of human rights and a major impediment to achieving gender equality. Such violence is unacceptable, whether perpetrated by the State and its agents or by family members or strangers, in the public or private sphere, in peacetime or in times of conflict.\

UN Women, with the generous support by the European Union assists the Government of Georgia to meet its obligations undertaken on the international, regional and local levels inter alia in terms of eliminating violence against women and girls (EVAWG) and in particular domestic violence and sexual violence.  Alongside with the government and development partners, UN Women is working towards addressing gender inequality in a coherent and comprehensive manner, covering a wide range of issues, including prevention and response to violence against women and girls.

UN Women has been supporting national partners to end violence against women and girls and domestic violence (VAWG/DV) since 2010. Throughout the past decade, technical assistance has been provided to the Government of Georgia to align national legislation and policies with the relevant international legal frameworks and standards. To enhance implementation of the laws and policies, UN Women Georgia has supported the establishment of specialized services for survivors of domestic violence, such as the first state-run shelters, crisis centers and hotlines and rehabilitation programmes for perpetrators.

In Georgia, current research points to widespread experiences of violence against women across the country. According to the 2020 UNDP and UNFPA joint study Men, Women, and Gender Relations in Georgia: Public Perceptions and Attitudes 52.5% of men believe that violence between husband and wife is a private matter and others should not intervene (UNDP and UNFPA joint study Men, Women, and Gender Relations in Georgia: Public Perceptions and Attitudes https://www.ge.undp.org/content/georgia/ka/home/library/democratic_governance/gender-survey-report.html). Intimate partner violence, as well as early and forced marriage, are among the most prevalent forms of violence against women in Georgia. These types of violence cut across all divisions of income, culture, and class. Despite its scale and socioeconomic impact, violence against women remains largely underreported and under-researched in key areas. The same study showed that 33% men agreed that in some cases, women want to be raped, and that a woman’s reputation would have to be questioned in any rape case. Importantly, half of all men and 30 percent of women still define rape in terms of women physically fighting back, ignoring fear and other forms of coercion often used in the context of sexual violence (Ibid).

UN Women’s EU supported action Ending Violence Against Women and Girls in Georgia (EVAWGG) aims to support creation of an enabling environment to eliminate violence against women and girls, especially sexual and domestic violence in Georgia. The intervention on one hand, includes improvement of the policies and legislation that govern violence against women and domestic violence in Georgia, while, on the other hand, advancement of VAWG/DV support services; engagement in series of awareness-raising interventions and campaigns targeting the public and decision makers at all levels and aimed at changing the attitudes, values and structures that sustain inequality and discrimination and generating demand for the specialized services.

In order to further enhance compliance of the acting Georgian legislation with the Istanbul Convention and other relevant international and regional standards, as well as rectify gaps revealed during practice, UN Women provides technical support to the Inter-Agency Commission on Gender Equality, Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (CGE) in the drafting, costing as well as in the implementation of the subsequent round of the national action plan on VAWG/DV (VAWG/DV NAP).

For this purpose, UN Women will recruit a National Consultant who will be responsible for facilitating the costing of the National Action Plan on Ending Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (VAW/DV NAP) with the CGE and its member agencies to ensure proper budgeting of the relevant activities.

Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of the National Consultant are:

  • To review the draft VAW/DV NAP and develop relevant guidance for costing of its activities per implementing agency;
  • In cooperation with CGE to engage with relevant ministries/state agencies to assist them in costing and budgeting the expenses of the activities foreseen by the NAP in accordance with the Government Decree N629 on the Approval of the Rules for the Development, Monitoring and Evaluation of Policy Documents.

Deliverable:

  • Guidance for costing of the VAW/DV NAP activities per implementing agency developed (5 working days) – by November 1, 2021;
  • Consultations with the CGE and each individual member – implementing agency of the VAW/DV NAP conducted (2 working days) by November 15, 2021;
  • Budgeting and costing of the NAP activities completed in accordance with the Government Decree N629 on the Approval of the Rules for the Development, Monitoring and Evaluation of Policy Documents (8 working days) - by November 25, 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: 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 Master’s degree in social and political sciences, international relations/development, human rights, gender/women’s studies, or related field

Experience: 

  • At least five years of experience working on issues related to human rights, development issues and the sustainable development agenda
  • At least three years of experience in developing strategies, action plans and related tools (both narrative and budget);
  • Experience in working with governmental stakeholders will be an asset

Language:

  • Fluency in Georgian and good knowledge of English

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 Master’s degree in social and political sciences, international relations/development, human rights, gender/women’s studies, or related field
  • At least five years of experience working on issues related to human rights, development issues and the sustainable development agenda
  • At least 3 years of experience in developing strategies, action plans and related tools;
  • Fluency in Georgian and English

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 Master’s degree in social and political sciences, international relations/development, human rights, gender/women’s studies, or related field (max 80 points)
  • At least five years of experience working on issues related to human rights, development issues and the sustainable development agenda (max 100 points)
  • At least 3 years of experience in developing strategies, action plans and related tools; (max 100 points)
  • Experience in working with governmental stakeholders will be an asset (max 50 points)
  • Fluency in Georgian and English (max 20 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 UN Women EVAW Project Analyst and UN Women EVAW Programme Analyst and overall guidance of UN Women Deputy Country Representative and UN Women Georgia Country Representative.

Financial arrangements:

The payment will be disbursed based on the consultant’s request for payment calculated per working day spent for specific activities/deliverables, and upon submission and approval of deliverables and certification by UN Women that the services have been satisfactorily performed.

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:

  • 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.