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.

Since 2001, UN Women (UNIFEM) has been providing continues support to partners in Georgia to increase meaningful participation of women in peace and security processes. Under the current country program and in line with UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2021-2025, UN Women supports the Government of Georgia to develop and implement National Action Plans for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace, and Security #1325 (2000) et al. and to achieve targets of the nationalized SDG 5 and 16.

UN Women in Georgia, with generous support of the UK Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) is implementing a project “Accelerating implementation of Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Georgia” contributing to the enhancement of women’s full, direct and meaningful participation in peace and security processes and increasing Government of Georgia’s accountability to implement the Women, Peace and Security agenda in Georgia and meet its obligations undertaken on the international, regional and local levels.

Parliament of Georgia has a central role in promoting and implementing the WPS Agenda (WPSA). Firstly, the legislative body contributes to the advancement of this agenda by supporting the adoption of WPS-related legislation and gender mainstreamed budgets. Secondly, they are uniquely positioned to hold the government accountable for fulfilling the commitments that it has made as part of the WPS agenda. Furthermore, lawmakers have a direct connection to their constituents and can therefore communicate the benefits of implementing the WPS agenda to a broad audience at the local level.

For the purpose of improving the effectiveness of parliamentary oversight functions, the new Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Georgia (Available at: Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Georgia | ???? ”??????????? ????????????? ?????” (matsne.gov.ge) was adopted in 2018, the goal of which is to bring the document in compliance with the Constitution of Georgia by more effective implementation of the legislative and supervisory functions of the Parliament. For this purpose, the new procedural rule introduced, inter alia, the mechanism of a Thematic Rapporteur (Art. 45 of Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Georgia, adopted on 14/12/2018). The Thematic Rapporteur is appointed by the Chairperson of a Committee of Parliament to ensure effective performance of legislative, supervisory, and other functions of the Parliament.

A Thematic Rapporteur on the WPS issues was appointed within the Defence and Security Committee of the Parliament, Ms. Teona Akubardia (Deputy Chair of Defence and Security Committee). For the purpose of providing the capacity building of the Parliament of Georgia to improve the oversight function on the implementation of the NAP on UNSCR #1325 and WPSA in general, UN Women initiated a cooperation with the Defence and Security Committee of the Parliament.

It is expected that the National Consultant will provide institutional support to the Thematic Rapporteur mechanism by conducting a desk research on the existing reports and analytical documents on WPS situation in the country, as well as perform the needs assessment of the target groups (conflict affected women – IDPs and those living in the vicinity of ABLs), and compile a draft Thematic Report to be finalized after the discussion of the document in the Defence and Security Committee for further follow-up measures.

The national consultant in cooperation with the Thematic Rapporteur on WPS (Ms. Teona Akubardia, Deputy Chair of Defence and Security Committee) will be responsible for developing and writing a comprehensive study to respond to the following objectives:

1. To provide support in assessing the current situation of the implementation of WPSA in Georgia, by identifying existing challenges and opportunities, lessons learned, as well as the recommendations on effective interventions of the Parliament of Georgia through relevant procedures and mechanisms envisaged in its mandate.
2. To provide institutional support and capacity building to the Parliament of Georgia and in particular to the Defence and Security Committee in conducting thematic inquiries and enhance the role of Thematic Rapporteur.
3. To contribute to exercising effective oversight mechanism of the Parliament of Georgia over the security sector institutions and the government authorities in charge of the implementation of WPSA in the country.

The Thematic Report will include the situation analysis, as well as the conclusions and recommendations, which will be discussed with the stakeholders and relevant experts. The major findings and recommendations will be discussed with the Chair of the Committee of Defence and Security, Parliament of Georgia. The results of the discussion will be reflected in the final report. After the hearing of the report, it will be adopted by the Committee and provided to the executive authorities for their feedback. It is highly recommended that the Thematic Report is presented and discussed at the plenary session and its findings and follow-up measures introduced to the public.

Duties and Responsibilities

Duties and responsibilities of the International Consultant are:

• To perform desk review of the existing reports on the implementation of WPSA in Georgia.
• To retrieve and analyze necessary data from the respective state agencies, as well as the local municipalities.
• To conduct two focus groups in Shida Kartli and Samegrelo regions with IDP and conflict affected women.
• To prepare the draft report on the implementation of WPS agenda in Georgia and submit it to UN Women for review and feedback.
• To prepare the final report on the implementation of the WPS agenda in Georgian, based on the feedback of the UN Women, Special Rapporteur and the Defence and Security Committee of the Parliament of Georgia.

In country travel needs will be discussed between UN Women and the National Consultant and arranged by UN Women directly.

Deliverables:

Deliverables should be supported by timesheet and progress report:

1. Desk review of the WPS agenda implementation in Georgia (4 working days) – by 9 December 2022.
2. Retrieve and analyze necessary data from the respective state agencies, as well as the local municipalities (6 working days) – by 14 December 2022.
3. Two focus groups in Shida Kartli and Samegrelo regions with IDP and conflict affected women (4 working days) – by 14 December 2022.
4. Draft report on the implementation of WPS agenda in Georgia and submit it to UN Women for review and feedback (4 working days) – by 18 January 2023.
5. Final report on the implementation of the WPSA in Georgian, based on the feedback of the UN Women, Special Rapporteur and the Defence and Security Committee of the Parliament of Georgia (2 working days) – by 28 February 2023.

Competencies

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 and competencies: 

• At least 5 years of experience of working on gender equality and/or women, peace, and security issues
• At least 3 years of experience of conducting research and providing reports around gender equality and/or women, peace, and security issues
• Proved experience of working with state and non-state stakeholders on developing special reports, strategies, policies, and tools, etc.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in Georgian and English

Evaluation Procedure:

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

The candidate must possess the following 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 5 years of experience of working on gender equality and/or women, peace, and security issues
• 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 5 years of experience of working on gender equality and/or women, peace, and security issues (max 100 points)
• At least 3 years of experience of conducting research and providing reports around gender equality and/or women, peace, and security issues (max 80 points)
• Proved experience of working with state and non-state stakeholders on developing special reports, strategies, policies, and tools, etc. (max 60 points)
• Fluency in Georgian and English (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 relevant Project Analyst and Programme Analyst and overall guidance of UN Women Georgia Deputy Country Representative.

Financial arrangements:

Payment will be disbursed upon submission and approval of deliverables and certification by UN Women National Programme Officer that the services have been satisfactorily performed as specified below:

• Deliverable 1, 2, 3 (14 working days) – 70%
• Deliverables 4, 5 (6 working days) – 30%

Application submission package:

• Duly filled in Personal History Form PHF11 that can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process
• CV
• Financial Proposal - lump sum proposal/offer* in GEL (or USD) (including breakdown of this lump sum amount, indicating all necessary costs to complete this assignment)

How to Submit the Application:

• Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11): https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process
• 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.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity, and organizational need.  

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.).