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.

In the Arab States region, the UN Women’s “Men and Women for Gender Equality” (MWGE) regional programme aims to promote changes in social norms and behaviors to enable men and women to exercise their rights and opportunities equally in six countries: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia. The findings of the International Men and Gender Equality Survey in the Middle East and North Africa Region (IMAGES MENA) published in 2017 and featuring Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, and Morocco, showed that younger men’s views on gender equality in the majority of these countries do not differ substantially from those of older men. Against this backdrop, the MWGE programme, funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), is prioritizing the engagement of young men and women for gender equality as one strategic area of intervention.

In addition, the UN Women Regional Office for the Arab States and the Arab Scout Region have formalized a two-year (2020-2021) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to inspire and mobilize the Scouts to promote gender equality in the region. This consultancy will be carried out under the framework of the MWGE programme and in alignment with the MoU between UN Women and the Scouts.

Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Regional Manager of the MWGE programme and in close cooperation with the leadership of the Arab Scout Region and other UN Women and Scouts staff members from their regional offices in the Arab States and from relevant country offices, a consultant will be recruited for developing two main deliverables in a very participatory and consultative manner: 1) A Regional Gender Equality Strategic Plan for the Scouts in the Arab region; and 2)  A regional assessment and mapping for youth engagement strategy of the MWGE programme.

Objective of the Assignment:

UN Women Regional Office for the Arab States and the Arab Scout Region require professional services to develop a Regional Gender Equality Strategic Plan for the Scouts in the Arab region in a very participatory manner. This strategic plan will build on the analysis of relevant gender data and of existing materials and tools for gender equality developed by the Scouts, UN Women and other relevant partners in the region and beyond. These tools include the HeForShe Action Kit; the Gender Equality Self-Assessment Tool; the Policy on Girls and Boys, Women and Men within the Scout Movement (1999); the Scout’s Gender Toolkit; and the UN Women’s Youth Toolkit on Advocating and Achieving Gender Equality by 2030, among others.

The Regional Gender Equality Strategic Plan for the Scouts in the Arab region will be undertaken in close cooperation with the Scouts and UN Women, involving a number of interviews and consultations with them and other key stakeholders (i.e. UN agencies, CSOs, etc.) that are expected to be conducted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategic plan will cover four years and include a detailed work plan to be implemented by the Scouts at regional and country level, with a distinct focus or piloting approach on six countries: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia.

The overall aim of the regional gender strategic plan for the Scouts is to develop a roadmap to promote organizational learning and action on how to realize gender-equitable management and implementation of Scouts’ activities across the MENA region, and to assess and identify practical and tangible actions to promote gender equality through scouting in the region.

This participatory regional gender strategic plan should involve identification, examination, and assessment of a range of areas from a gender-equality perspective, which may include, but not be limited to: (i) key human resource management and development related practices by the Arab Scout Region; (ii) scouting processes, structures and activities; (iii) organizational culture;  (iv) available tools and good examples to promote gender equality within the Scouts and by other partners in the region; and (v) identification of human resources, organizational mechanisms and capacity development needs, and opportunities to promote gender equality within the Scouts and through scouting in the region.

In addition, UN Women Regional Office for the Arab States needs the support of the consultant to undertake an assessment and mapping with concrete recommendations and a resource mobilization plan to facilitate future MWGE programming on youth engagement for gender equality and feminist activism. This exercise is expected to identify ways to promote civic engagement of young people and intergenerational dialogue to advance women’s rights in the region, in line with existing regional and country-focus public policies.

Duties and Responsibilities

The key tasks and deliverables of the consultancy are listed here in chronological order:

• Draft Regional Gender Equality Strategic Plan for the Scouts in the Arab region with a) Rationale and objective of the strategic plan; b) An analysis of gender-related data on the Scouts organization and activities in the region; c) Overview of existing tools, best practices and good examples for gender equality by the Scouts, UN Women and relevant partners in the region and beyond, as relevant; d) Guiding principles and priority action areas of the draft strategic plan; e) Overall and specific recommendations for promoting gender equality within the Scouts and through scouting, including recommended gender equality mechanisms to be established and identification of capacity development needs and opportunities for the Scouts to deliver the strategic plan effectively and to ensure the proper functioning of the proposed gender equality mechanisms; f) A results framework and steering structure to monitor and oversee the implementation of the regional gender strategic plan; and g) List and breakdown of interviewees, stakeholders and resources consulted. Further, the strategic plan will include a detailed 4-year work plan to operationalize the strategic plan which should contain: (i) specific activities in a timeline, (ii) indicators to monitor expected results, (iii) a designation of who is responsible for implementation, and (iv) identification of internal and external resources from the Scouts, UN Women and other relevant stakeholders for the implementation of activities. This draft regional gender equality strategic plan (of approximately 30 pages, including an executive summary and excluding annexes) will be circulated to get feedback from the Scouts and UN Women -and other relevant partners, if esteemed necessary-. In addition, the draft regional gender equality strategic plan should be vetted by the Scouts and UN Women through a validation consultative meeting, for which a succinct Power Point presentation will be prepared and delivered by the consultant (containing approximately 20 slides).
• Final Regional Gender Equality Strategic Plan for the Scouts in the Arab region that includes the inputs provided by the Scouts and UN Women to the draft document. The final regional gender equality strategic plan (of around 30 pages, including an executive summary and excluding annexes) should also be presented in a succinct Power Point slide format as well (containing approximately 20 slides).
• Draft regional assessment and mapping for youth engagement strategy of the MWGE programme that includes, but not limited to: a) Background and analysis of data on youth and gender equality in the MENA region, with a focus on the six countries; b) Desk review of policies and strategies on youth at regional level and in the six countries; c) Description of key initiatives from stakeholders -including UN agencies, youth organizations and women’s organizations- working with youth at regional level and in the six countries to promote gender equality and women’s rights, as well as organizations working  on gender equality with potential to work with youth; c) Identification of possible entry points and specific recommendations for UN Women on further programming to engage youth in gender equality and feminist activism; d) Mapping of potential donors and resource mobilization strategy; and e) List of resources, interviewees and stakeholders consulted. The document should have around 25-30 pages (excluding annexes).
• Final regional assessment and mapping for youth engagement strategy of the MWGE programme that includes inputs provided by UN Women staff members to the draft document.

UN Women and the Arab Scout Region will make every effort to facilitate the contact and meetings between the consultant and the interviewees and stakeholders to carry out this assignment as appropriate. In case the situation of COVID-19 pandemic changes and travel restrictions are eased and safety of consultant and partners can be assured, the MWGE programme will consider covering travel costs of the consultant to undertake some meetings face-to-face in the MENA region.

Payments to the consultant for each satisfactory deliverable will be done after acceptance and as certified by the UN Women’s Regional Manager of the MWGE programme and in accordance with UN Women policies and regulations. Acceptance of UN Women on deliverables number 1, 2 and 3 will also require prior approval on those deliverables by the Regional Director of the Scouts in the Arab States.

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:

• A Master’s Degree in Women’s or Gender Studies, International Development, Human Rights, Public Administration or another related area in Social Sciences;
• A first-level university degree in combination with 2 additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 8 years of working experience in the field of gender equality, with a focus on gender mainstreaming within organizations and/or in the development of gender strategies and tools.
• Experience working at youth organizations and/or engaging young people to promote gender equality and social inclusion. Knowledge/experience in scouting is an asset.
• Professional experience in programmes/projects in the MENA region.
• Previous experience with UN agencies, funds or programmes, and/or at international organizations is considered an advantage.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Arabic is required; 
• Knowledge of French is an asset. 

Evaluation Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 out of the 70 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria weight: 70%

• Criterion 1: Experience in the field of gender equality, with a focus on gender mainstreaming within organizations and/or in the development of gender strategies and tools (30 points)
• Criterion 2: Experience working at youth organizations and/or engaging young people to promote gender equality and social inclusion, with knowledge/experience on scouting as an asset (30 points).
• Criterion 3: Professional experience in programmes/projects in the MENA region (10 points)

Financial: Lowest Financial Proposal: 30% (30 points)

The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula:

• Contract will be awarded to the technically qualified consultant who obtains the highest combined score (financial and technical);
• The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula: (Lowest Bid Offered*)/ (Bid of the Consultant) x 30;
• 'Lowest Bid Offered' refers to the lowest price offered by Offerors scoring at least 49 points in the technical evaluation.

Application:

Interested Individual Consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• A cover letter with a brief presentation of your consultancy explaining your suitability for the work and link to the portfolio of work;
• UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment;
•  Personal CV; and Financial proposal; Proposed inclusive daily rate.

The above-mentioned documents should be merged in a standalone file including all them since the online application submission does only permit to upload one file per application. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification.

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.