Background

UN Women is the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. UN Women is dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.

All human development and human rights issues have gender dimensions. UN Women focuses on priority areas that are fundamental to women’s equality, and that can unlock progress across the board. Five focus areas of interventions include ending violence against women; economic empowerment; leadership and participation; peace and security; and national planning and budgeting.

UN Women’s Multi Country Office, based in New Delhi, India, covers four countries of the region, i.e., Bhutan, India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) focuses on “Women living with dignity and contributing as equal partners towards the development of the country in an environment free from violence. And, well nurtured children with full opportunities for growth and development in an environment free from exploitation.” The Ministry formulates plans, policies and programmes; enacts/ amends legislation, guides and coordinates the efforts of both governmental and non-governmental organizations working in the field of Women and Child Development.

Purpose

In connection with the above UN Women will be placing a Consultant at the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) to supports the Ministry in its work on implementation of its policies and programmes and monitoring the effective implementation of Acts dealing with empowerment of women and ending violence against them.

The Consultant is expected to carry out the following duties under the direct supervision of the Director, Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India and under the overall supervision of the Programme Specialist, EVAW Unit, UN Women MCO.

Duties and Responsibilities

Ensure effective and efficient programme implementation under the project:

  • Carry out monitoring and undertaking comprehensive technical review of Violence against Women (VAW) legislations for their effective implementation and make recommendations for necessary amendments in important Acts such as but not limited to:
    • Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal Act) 2013
    • Dowry Prohibition Act.
    • Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act. 
    • Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWVDA).
    • Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013.
    • Indian Penal Code
    • Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act
    • CrPC Amendment Act 2013
    • Any other relevant legislation
  • Provide technical inputs from a gender perspective on behalf of the Ministry on references made by other Ministries/Departments on policies, programmes and legislations which are proposed, having a bearing on the empowerment of women. This would include providing comments on Cabinet notes and EFC memos forwarded by various ministries; inputs for various Parliamentary Committee submissions; and inputs for Ministry’s submission to International Delegation/visits, proposed Conventions and agreement etc.
  • Develop and propose recommendations for restructuring of schemes and programmes of the MWCD that provide institutional support to women in difficult circumstances, including women facing gender-based violence to ensure greater access by needy women to these schemes and programmes to strengthen implementation of existing laws on violence against women. This would include the Schemes for Financial Assistance & Support Services to survivors of Rape, strengthening implementation of PWDVA, 2005, support to One Stop Crisis Centers and the National helpline for Women.
  • Assist the Bureau in undertaking action on women related issues as per the Ministry’s Annual & Five Year Strategic Plans.
  • Undertake research and assist in drafting replies to Petitions concerning various legislations filed in respective High Courts where the Ministry has been made a respondent.
  • Undertake research and assist in drafting replies to various Parliamentary Questions.
  • Prepare briefing notes and updates on the status of women in India.
  • Prepare periodic progress reports of the work undertaken by the Ministry.  
  • Provide support in smooth functioning of Division/Bureau.

Any other duties incidental to the above mentioned tasks as assigned by Supervisor from time to time.

Deliverables:

Monthly detailed and comprehensive narrative report of all activities undertaken (as part of the report  include templates &  plans developed, anecdotes that capture the process, partnerships, best practices and lessons learnt, photographs, press coverage, questionnaires, human interest stories, lists of participants, key strategies and recommendations) in hard and soft copy will be submitted to UN Women with an acknowledgement of UN Women’s support to the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

Competencies

Core Values / Guiding Principles:

Integrity:

  • Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Professionalism:

  • Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity:

  • Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organisation and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values:

  • Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

Organisational Awareness:

  • Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Work in teams:

  • Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Communicating and Information Sharing:

  • Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.

Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:

  • Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behaviour towards others.

Conflict Management:

  • Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.

Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

  • Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Functional Competencies:

  • Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
  • Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
  • Focuses on impact and result for the partners and responds positively to feedback.

Required Skills and Experience

Education :

  • Masters degree preferably in law or women’s human rights or international studies, or any other related discipline.

Experience:

  • Minimum 5 years of professional experience of working on gender issues with legal perspective. Working knowledge and experience of working with National /State Government desirable, though not mandatory.
  • Excellent analytical writing, presentation and documentation skills required. Should be well versed with the use of computers and its programmes / applications. Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) and advance knowledge of spread sheet and database packages.

Language:

  • Fluency in English and Hindi.

Application:

Interested applicants should apply to this announcement through UNDP jobs site: jobs.undp.org

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

  • All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/about-us/jobs;
  • Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment;
  • Applications received after the close date will not be accepted;
  • Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Evaluation and Selection Criteria

Criteria for shortlisting of CVs will be based on the following assessment:

  • Required Degree and Qualification (5 points);
  • Minimum Experience relevant to the assignment (5 points);
  • Experience of working in gender related projects would be desirable (5 points);
  • Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) required and advance knowledge of spread sheet and database packages desirable. (5 points).

The evaluation process for selection of the candidate will be based on the following assessment:

  • Interview (70 points);
  • Written Test (30 points).

Note:

 In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.