Historique

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. Placing women's rights at the centre of all its efforts, 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.

UN Women plays an innovative and catalytic role in the State of Palestine since it began its operations in Palestine in 1997. UN Women focuses its activities on one overarching goal, namely to support the implementation at the national level of existing international commitments to advance gender equality in line with the national priorities. In support of this goal, and thoroughly taking into consideration the specificities of the Palestinian context, UN Women concentrates its efforts and interventions toward the realisation of following strategic goals: Engendering governance, peace and security; Supporting women's economic security and rights; and Promoting women’s rights and protection against violence.

In response to the consequences of the Israeli operation “Protective Edge- July/August, 2014“ on the lives and protection of Palestinians women and girls in Gaza and in alignment with UN Women’s strategic framework Impact Area 4 “Women’s Leadership in peace, security and humanitarian response”, UN Women is implementing the project “Improving Holistic Protection Services for Women and Girls in the Conflict Affected Context of the Gaza Strip” (April 2015 to March 2016) with generous support from the government of Japan. UN Women’s approach involves interventions that increase knowledge of Gender Based Violence (GBV) issues and change attitudes and behavior while at the same time improving access to services for survivors, including healthcare and psychosocial support to deal with trauma, as well as improved access to legal services and security.

Through the UN Women/UNDP programme "SAWASYA: Strengthening the Rule of Law in the oPt: Justice and Security for the Palestinian People" (2014-2016)”, UNDP and UN Women are providing support to justice and security institutions aiming at creating and institutionalizing systems, policies, procedures and mechanisms related to the protection and empowerment of women victims of violence, as well as to women’s access to equitable justice.

Over the past years there have been indications of high prevalence of GBV in the Gaza Strip. The blockade, the recurring violent escalations of conflict in 2008/2009, 2012 and 2014, and large scale displacement and destruction have created conditions that have contributed to an increase in GBV as well as to creating negative coping mechanisms among vulnerable groups such as school drop-outs, early marriage and child labour. A range of studies carried out in Gaza in recent years and in the aftermath of “Operation Protective Edge” (2014) confirm the high incidence of GBV and the different challenges that face GBV victims and survivors. More recently, the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) registration exercise, carried out by OCHA, has found that 75% of IDP heads of households have reported an increase of GBV.  

At the same time, the capacity of national and international actors to respond to the increased demand in services is limited. Due to the Palestinian internal political divide, the existing governmental mechanisms put in place by relevant PA ministries (i.e. Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior) to deal with GBV in the West Bank, have not been paralleled in Gaza. The de facto authority in Gaza has taken a number of measures to ensure response and had opened channels of coordination with women's organizations but those have been limited. The available response is mainly provided through humanitarian and development interventions that support local organizations providing services responding to GBV. In addition, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been operating a referral and case management system through its community centres and clinics. Since 2014, there have been increased efforts to ensure coordination of the response to GBV through the active leadership of the GBV sub working group (chaired by UNFPA) that includes the NGO coalition on GBV, different GBV actors, UN agencies, and international NGOs. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) along with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have been working on strengthening coordination of responses to GBV and child protection. While all these efforts are valuable, they are still in the early stages and face a number of challenges including the limitations in the availability of data, limited capacities, unstable funding, gaps related to accountability of duty bearers in ensuring protection and response to GBV and the overall context of blockade.

In light of this, and in the framework of the UN Women projects detailed above, UN Women is undertaking research to outline the available multi-sectoral responses to GBV, the geographic distribution of these services and the challenges faced by organizations responding to GBV.

The main research question(s) look to identify the adequacy of response to GBV in Gaza in terms of scale, scope and comprehensiveness of services and examine sector specific responses, their scope and challenges, focusing on legal responses, psychosocial support, social counselling, and protection support (shelters, police).

More specifically:

• The research will seek to unpack knowledge and data from local GBV experts and practitioners in Gaza on patterns of GBV, particularly those that emerged in the aftermath of the 2014 Israeli offensive;
• It will compile data available from official sources on GBV, including police records, court cases, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Affairs (e.g. records on early marriage, records on inheritance, police records, etc.);
• It will explore key trends in GBV cases that are received by organizations responding to GBV (e.g. sexual violence, domestic violence, legal rights, economic violence, early marriage);
• The research will build on research and assessments carried out in the past two years on the prevalence of GBV. Where necessary, parts of the research will conduct an in-depth examination of some of the findings of those assessments but otherwise the focus will be on the supplied services rather than on the prevalence of GBV;
• The research will seek to assess the adequacy of responses to GBV in Gaza according to international global standards and women’s rights (minimum standards, etc.); and
• The research will generate recommendations for national and international humanitarian and development partners on priority actions to upscale the multi-sectoral response in terms of quality, scope and availability.

Devoirs et responsabilités

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Special Representative and the direct supervision of the UN Women Programme Officer in Gaza and UN Women Protection Specialist (SAWASYA Joint Programme) in the West Bank, and in consultation with the Humanitarian Gender Advisor, the consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Draft and submit to UN Women for feedback and approval, a research action plan, including target group, timeframe and comprehensive explanation of the research methodology and approach. Focus areas of study will be highlighted in the plan, as well as the guiding research questions for the analyses of the collected data and information;
• Draft and submit to UN Women for feedback and approval, any data collection tools may be necessary for the collection of required qualitative and quantitative data and information;
• Share with UN Women key research terminology as determined by women’s testimonies and narratives;
• Conduct interviews and focus group discussions as per agreed upon research action plan and methodology;
• Systematically document information and data collected during the course of the research. All materials developed throughout the research belong to UN Women and shall be handed over to UN Women at the end of the research. All information and data collected will be protected by principles of confidentiality and professional ethics;
• Provide UN Women with regular updates on the progress of the research both in writing and through meetings;
• Regularly coordinate with UN Women designated team on the various aspects and challenges of the research;
• Prepare and submit to UN Women for feedback, first draft of the assessment study;
• Address UN Women inputs and comments and produce a revised second draft of the assessment study;
• Share second draft of the report with relevant stakeholders for feedback, as deemed necessary and as agreed upon with UN Women, and according to research action plan;
• Prepare and submit to UN Women for feedback, final draft of the report in English;
• Revise Arabic version of the report ensuring consistency between the two versions;
• Prepare, in coordination and cooperation with UN Women, report presentations in English and in Arabic addressing local and international audiences; and
• Present the report during launch events organized by UN Women

Key deliverables:

Key deliverables (all deliverables will be produced in edited English by the consultant and translated into Arabic by UN Women):

• A research action plan, including target groups, timeframe and comprehensive explanation of the research methodology and approach;
• Final draft of the research report; and
• Two Presentations of the research report in launching events.

Time frame:

• The assignment is expected to start on 15/01/2016 and be finalized within 3 months (approximate 75 working days).

Compétences

Core Values / Guiding Principles:

Integrity:

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

Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity:

• Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff;
• Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity. 

Core Competencies:

Results oriented:

• Plans and produces quality results to meet established goals, generates innovative, practical solutions to challenging situations.

Ethics and Values:

• Demonstrating / Safeguarding Ethics and Integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
• Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring: Initiative-taking; coaching and mentoring ability.

Working in Teams:

•  Acting as a team player and facilitating team work.

Communicating Information and Ideas:

•  Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively.

Self-management and Emotional intelligence:

• Creating synergies through self-control.

Conflict Management / Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements:

• Managing conflict; and
• Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning: Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of other.

Functional Competencies:

• Sound knowledge of international standards on human rights and women's rights;
• Proven skills in report writing;
• Proven research skills, including data collection and data analysis;
• Demonstrated strong coordination and facilitation skills;
• Excellent communication skills in English, including the ability to convey complex concepts and recommendations, both orally and in writing, in a clear and persuasive style tailored to match different audiences; and
• A proven ability to liaise with a variety of stakeholders and partners, including government, local and international organizations.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education: 

• Advanced University studies in gender studies, social studies, law or related fields.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of relevant experience with proven research and publications record;
• At least 5 years of proven professional experience in women’s empowerment and gender equality;
• 2 years previous working experience in a conflict and post-conflict environment;
• Knowledge of Palestine and the context is an added advantage.

Language:

• Excellent communication, drafting skills and fluency in English and Arabic (comprehension, written, and spoken).

 Application procedure

This SSA modality is governed by UN Women General Terms and Conditions. UN Women will only be able to respond to applicants who meet the minimum requirements.

Candidates should clearly indicate how they meet the above mentioned criteria in their applications.

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials:

• P11 Or CV including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted.

Candidates should have the ability to quickly submit degree certificates, medical certification (of good health) expression of Interest (EoI) and sample of previous work should they be short-listed in consideration of this consultancy.

Evaluation of applicants

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. A contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer receives the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 50 points in the technical evaluation will be considered for financial evaluation.

Technical Evaluation (70%) – max. 70 points:

• Relevant education: max. 10 points;
• At least 5 years of relevant experience with proven research and publications record; max. 15 points;
• At least 5 years of proven professional experience in women’s empowerment and gender equality of at least 2 years within a conflict and post-conflict environment. max. 15 points;
• Evaluation of expression of interest (EoI) and sample of previous written work (30 points).

Financial Evaluation (30%) – max. 30 points:

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion. A suggested formula is as follows:

p = 30 (µ/z)

Using the following values:

• p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated;
• µ = price of the lowest priced proposal;
• z = price of the proposal being evaluated.

Only long-listed candidates will be contacted.