UN WOMEN Jobs - 98971- Social Protection Consultant (Retainer)

Social Protection Consultant (Retainer)

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Home based

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

25-May-2021

Application Deadline :

16-May-21 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

5.5 months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

5.5 months

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

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 for women as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, the UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

The outbreak of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) was first reported in Wuhan, China on December 31, 2019. Since then a global pandemic has been declared, with countries across the globe mobilizing to respond to the health crisis and manage the significant socio-economic impacts. This unprecedented crisis unfolds against many existing challenges: Asia and the Pacific is the most disaster-prone region in the world, and it is facing the ever-pressing threats of climate change and many large protracted crises and conflict. It is also unfolding amid persistent gender inequalities in the region: owing to structural inequalities and discriminatory gender norms, women account for only 18 per cent of parliamentarians,[1] women’s employment is concentrated in the informal labour sector with limited protection, and women experience unacceptably high levels of intimate partner violence (IPV).

[1] https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SG.GEN.PARL.ZS.

As part of a comprehensive socioeconomic response to the pandemic and in support of government led responses, UN agencies in many countries are supporting the roll out of social protection responses to the pandemic. It is paramount that such social protection measures benefit women and respond to their rights and needs, and that women are actively engaged in the design, planning, and monitoring of such responses. These social protection measures span, but are not limited to, supporting income security and access to essential goods and services, protection of livelihoods, and ensuring adequate access to health services.

In this context, the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific seeks to hire a consultant to support country offices with the development and implementation of programming on gender-responsive social protection measures in response to COVID-19 in the region.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision and guidance of the Regional Advisor, Humanitarian Action and Disaster Risk Reduction, and Head of Office for UN Women Country Offices in target countries (such as Timor-Leste and Bangladesh), the consultant will undertake the following tasks[1]:

Provide technical assistance, based on best practices and evidence for what works in gender-responsive social protection, to UN Women Country Offices and government partners for the design, implementation, and monitoring of social protection measures in response to COVID-19;
Develop a monitoring framework for women-led civil society organizations to monitor the rollout of social protection measures in various country contexts, such as Timor-Leste and/or other countries in the region, with an emphasis on an intersectional approach to ensure such measures leave no one behind;
Support the development of feedback and complaint mechanisms for cash transfer schemes and other social protection measures in response to COVID-19;
Support the development of public information content on the rollout and delivery mechanisms for cash transfers;
Provide remote capacity strengthening sessions/webinars to UN Women country offices and partners on gender-responsive social protection;
Document good practices, challenges, and lessons learnt from UN Women programming related to social protection for the COVID-19 response;
Support the development of UN Women programming relating to gender-responsive social protection measures, including through development of draft concept notes and background briefs.

[1] Based on country-determined needs within social protection

Expected Deliverables

In consultation with the Regional Humanitarian Advisor and respective UN Women offices, the Social Protection Consultant will produce on a retainer basis:

Technical inputs into concept notes and background briefs on gender-responsive social protection;
Monitoring frameworks for social protection measures in response to COVID-19;
Public information messages and methodology for rollout for messages on rollout and delivery of social protection measures;
Data collection and analysis tools for feedback and complaint mechanisms;
Reports on technical advisory and capacity strengthening support provided to UN Women country offices and partners;
Briefs capturing lessons learnt, good practices, and challenges related to implementation of gender-responsive social protection measures.

Competencies

Knowledge and experience:

Demonstrated knowledge of gender equality, humanitarian action or response to public health emergencies, and the Asia-Pacific region.
Excellent writing skills. Experience writing project proposals, donor reports, and policy briefs.
Knowledge of online communications platforms an advantage.
Previous experience with UN Women and other UN agencies an advantage.
Fluency in English, with knowledge of other languages spoken in the Asia-Pacific region and other UN languages an advantage.

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the United Nations' values and ethical standards.
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the UN and UN Women.
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
Ability and willingness to work as part of a team to meet tight deadlines and produce high quality work.

Required Skills and Experience

Master’s degree in gender studies, human rights, international affairs, social science, public policy, and/or any relevant field directly related to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls;

Minimum seven years of progressively responsible, relevant work experience at national or international level in design, planning, implementation and/or monitoring of development or humanitarian projects relating to gender equality;
Technical experience in gender-responsive social protection, with demonstrated experience coordinating with governments and civil society;
Experience working in the UN System is an asset;
Working experience in Asia-Pacific is an asset;

Excellent command of written English, knowledge of languages spoken in the Asia-Pacific region is an asset.

Contract period and work location

The consultant will be home-based, with the ability to maintain working hours compatible with Bangkok, and the contract period will be for six months.

Submission of application

Interest candidates are encouraged to submit electronic application to hr.bangkok@unwomen.org with -cc to salila.klongboonjit@unwomen.org , not later than 11 May 2021, 23:59 Bangkok time.

Submission package includes:

Letter of Motivation
Personal History Form(P11)
Writing sample
Financial proposal: the financial proposal shall specify the daily professional fee.

Payments

Payments for this consultancy will be based on the achievement of each deliverable and certification that each has been satisfactorily completed. Payments will not be based on the number of days worked but on the completion of each stated deliverable within the indicated timeframes.

UN Women does not warrant that the maximum number of working days will be purchased during the term of Agreement. The consultant can only be engaged through issuance of ATLAS Purchase Order, based on agreed Contract every time the UN Women wishes to procure the service.