UNDP Jobs - 66201- Elaboration of Programming Guidance on Gender and

Elaboration of Programming Guidance on Gender and Recovery

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Jun-2016

Application Deadline :

27-May-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

40 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

40 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

General Background and Organizational Context

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is the UN’s Global Development Network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in over 170 countries, employing participatory approaches to developing local solutions to national and global development challenges. UNDP’s core vision is to help countries and communities achieve simultaneous eradication of poverty and significant reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We do this through three main areas of work, which are: (1) sustainable development (2) inclusive and effective democratic governance and peacebuilding, and (3) resilience.

Addressing gender equality and women’s empowerment is a key aspect of UNDP’s approach to achieving its core vision. Gender equality and women’s empowerment are seen as goals in their own right and are also central to the achievement of UNDP’s development mandate. UNDP is guided in its work by its Gender Equality Strategy 2014-2017 which details how UNDP works towards gender equality in each of the goals and key results set out in the UNDP Strategic Plan 2014-2017. Furthermore, UNDP is committed to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 16 of Agenda 2030, the UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security and CEDAW General Recommendation No. 30.

In 2013, UNDP developed the “8-Point Agenda Toolkit for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality in Crisis Prevention and Recovery”. The 8PA toolkit provides concrete entry points to UNDP staff in country offices for integrating gender equality and women’s empowerment in UNDP recovery programming in crisis and post crisis settings. To support implementation of

this Toolkit, a draft “Gender and Livelihoods Checklist” for integrating gender, protection and risks in (post) crisis programming in the areas of livelihoods and economic recovery was developed.

There have been important developments since the production of these tools (both the 8PA toolkit and the Livelihoods checklist) in 2013. UNDP now operates under a new Strategic Plan 2014-2017 with specific outcomes on gender equality and women’s empowerment and on (early) recovery. UNDP has also undergone an internal restructuring with the creation of the new Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS). BPPS is currently updating its recovery and resilience policies. The first drafts of both policies will be available this summer. Finally, the forthcoming World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) will emphasize Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment as one of the key areas critical to improving humanitarian response.Concrete commitments will be adopted at the WHS and these will need to be integrated in the new Guidance Note and tools.

In view of these developments, UNDP has decided to review these tools and translate them into an updated and more practical programming guidance with checklists in order to equip practitioners in UNDP country offices and partners in recovery contexts with a set of concrete tools for advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Duties and Responsibilities

Taking into account current versions of the 8-Point Agenda Toolkit (8PA) and the draft “Gender and Livelihoods Checklist” as a basis, the consultant will be asked to:

Develop a brief Guidance Note providing an overview of the mandate, vision and approach of UNDP in integrating gender in its recovery interventions, from crisis response to longer term recovery. This note needs to take into account the 2030 agenda, UNDP’s new strategic vision and institutional structure according to its Strategic Plan 2014-2017, and the Gender Marker guidelines;
Align the substantive content of the draft “Gender and Livelihoods Checklist” with the brief Guidance Note and finalize it;
Propose concrete and simple stand-alone checklists to support UNDP project managers and Early Recovery cluster members improve gender equality and women’s empowerment in (early) recovery areas such as but not limited to: gender-responsive livelihoods and economic recovery (see output 2 above), women’s security in crisis, gender justice, women’s participation and leadership, gender and peacebuilding, gender equality in disaster risk reduction, gender-responsive institutions, capacity-building and gender-sensitive recovery, gender and resilience.
Propose a capacity building work plan targeting UNDP country offices and regional hubs, early recovery clusters, and develop training material (facilitator notes, presentations and supporting documents) to disseminate the new programming guidance.

Key deliverables

The consultant will be responsible for providing the following deliverables:

A brief Guidance Note of no more than 15 pages plus annexes, that will take into account the 8-Point Agenda Toolkit and will be aligned to UNDP’s Strategic Plan 2014-2017, the SDG global framework, the set of UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security, CEDAW General Recommendation No. 30, corporate accountability frameworks including Gender Markers, WHS commitments and UNDP’s new recovery and resilience policies;
A set of concrete and simple stand-alone checklists based on the new Gender and Recovery Guidance Note to support UNDP project managers and Early Recovery cluster members improve gender equality and women’s empowerment in (early) recovery programs;
A capacity building work plan targeting UNDP country offices and regional hubs, early recovery clusters, including training material (facilitator notes, standard presentations and supporting documents);
A short final consultancy report providing a recap of the deliverables, challenges and recommendations (2 pages).

The consultant will work off-site under the joint technical supervision of the Livelihoods and Economic Recovery team, Sustainable Development Cluster, BPPS, and the Gender team, BPPS. He/she will interact with other relevant technical teams from HQ, regional hubs and country offices, if needed.

Competencies

Functional:

Solid understanding of gender equality and women’s empowerment, (early) recovery, livelihoods and economic recovery, and their relevance to crisis response and sustainable development.
Strong analytical and policy development skills.
Good organizational and project management skills.
Experience of working and networking with counterparts in international organizations, governments, civil society organizations and the private sector.
Experience in producing or facilitating knowledge products and services.
Strong written and oral communications skills.
Strong advocacy skills.

Corporate:

Commitment to UNDP’s core values.
Ability to work in a multicultural environment.

Managerial:

Ability to work independently and manage competing priorities.
Ability to work effectively with UNDP staff members in various regions and offices.

Ability to contribute to building and nurturing partnerships.
Ability to coordinate multiple units and teams to achieve a common objective.
Ability to manage multiple tasks under pressure.

Behavioral:

Strong interpersonal skills required to ensure daily working relationship nurtured and effective coordination promoted among the UN family of agencies.
Strong networking skills required to support UNDP positioning and relationship building with development partners.

Duration of Work:

Duration: estimated to no more than 40 working days between May and August 2016

Duty Station: Home based

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

Applicants must quote a lump sum remuneration in their proposal.

The consultant will be paid a lump sum per milestone as stipulated in the schedule above:

Upon submission of draft version of Deliverable No. 1: 30%
Upon submission of draft version of Deliverables No. 2 and 3: 30%

Upon submission (and approval) of final versions of Deliverable No. 1, 2, 3 and 4: 40%

Criteria for Selection of Best Offer:

Evaluation

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicant's qualifications and financial proposal. The method is as follows:

Technical evaluation: 70% of total evaluation (maximum 70 points):

Technical proposals will be evaluated based on the following technical criteria:

Education: University Master degree in Economics, Political Science, Sociology, International Relations, Gender Studies, or other relevant field (max. 15 points)
Experience in research and publications on women’s empowerment and gender equality and (early) recovery in (post) crisis settings (max 25 points)
Experience in UN/UNDP programming /policy advice on women’s empowerment and gender equality, early recovery and crisis response (max. 25 points)
Language/computer requirements (5 points)

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 (70%) points on technical part would be considered for the Financial Evaluation

Financial evaluation: 30% of total evaluation (maximum 30 points)

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal: p = y (µ/z),

Where:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated
y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal
µ = price of the lowest priced proposal
z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Application Instructions:

Submission of Applications

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in a development related field (in Economics, Political Science, Sociology, International Relations, Gender Studies, or other relevant field).

Work experience:

At least 7 years of relevant professional experience, including experience working on women’s empowerment and gender equality, lvelihoods and economic recovery, (early) recovery, crisis response, in various crisis or post crisis environments.
Experience in research and academic publications in the field of Gender Equality and Women’s empowerment; with hands-on experience in designing concrete and operational tools for field practitionners.
Working knowledge and experience of UNDP programming in the area of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment,.
Previous experience of working with an international agency, NGO, UN, or international institution is a plus.
Computer literate (being able to use MS Windows, office applications, Internet search).

Languages:

Fluency in spoken and written English with excellent drafting skills is a must
Written and spoken knowledge of another UN Language is a plus.