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. The UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECA RO) was established in Istanbul, Turkey in early 2014. It provides support and oversight to Country Offices in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Ukraine. In addition, the Regional Office directly supports programme and project presence in Kosovo (under UN Security Council Resolution 1244), Serbia, the Republic of North Macedonia, Tajikistan and Turkey.

The 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, represented a critical turning point in the world’s focus on gender equality and the empowerment of women. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted in Beijing, represents a global commitment to achieving equality, development and peace for women worldwide. It builds upon consensus and progress made at earlier UN conferences, particularly the Conference on Women in Nairobi in 1985. In its resolution 2018/18, as of 12 July 2018, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) decided that at its sixty-fourth session, in 2020, the Commission on the Status of Women will undertake a review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, including an assessment of current challenges that affect the implementation of the Platform for Action and the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and its contribution towards the full realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The regional economic commissions in partnership with UN Women are encouraged to undertake regional reviews based on comprehensive national-level reviews of the progress made and challenges encountered in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the opportunities to strengthen gender equality and the empowerment of women in the SDGs. The outcomes of intergovernmental processes at the regional level will feed into the March 2020 global review to be undertaken by the Commission on the Status of Women at its sixty-fourth session In line with these recommendations, the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has planned a regional intergovernmental meeting on the 25-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and its alignment with the 2030 to take place in Geneva, on 29-30 October 2019.

For UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECA RO) support to member States for the Beijing+25 review process is a key priority for 2019 and 2020. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action remains a landmark normative agreement and the defining policy framework for the achievement of gender equality and women’s rights. It also remains an unfinished agenda that requires political recommitment and accelerated implementation in line with the SDGs and CEDAW.

UN Women ECA RO is collaborating with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) to support strategic regional reviews, meetings and consultations with governmental and civil society stakeholders. The partnership on the Beijing+25 regional process will result in outlining regional trends and common concerns in the implementation of the BPfA, as well as identifying successful strategies to address challenges and setbacks towards the achievement of GEEW in the ECA region. The Beijing+25 review process will also mobilize regional organizations, including civil society organizations and networks of experts and practitioners, youth and youth organizations, academia, gender advocates, and other stakeholders to strengthen their contribution to the common objective of gender equality.

UN Women and UNECE aim to produce a Regional Report for Europe and Central Asia (ECA) (covering 56 member States) on the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the BPfA and its alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs. This report will summarize regional trends based on evidences from the national reports from the member States and will undertake analysis of the progress and challenges to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women  in the region. The UN Women ECA RO is collaborating in the preparation of the Regional Report through providing complementary substantive analysis and technical inputs, in line with UN Women’s global and regional priorities.

UN Women ECA RO is seeking the services of an experienced international consultant to assist in preparing the regional review on the progress and challenges in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action including substantive inputs to the Beijing+25 Regional review meeting and sub-regional consultations. The substantive inputs will include a Regional Report for Europe and Central Asia (ECA) (covering 56 member States) on the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the BPfA and its alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs, as well as other substantive inputs to the regional consultations on the 25 anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action.

The main objective of the assignment is to undertake the review of the 56 national progress reports, conduct the substantive comparative analysis of achievements, challenges and gaps encountered by countries in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and prepare the regional synthesis reports on Beijing+25 review. This regional assessment will be aligned with the review of UN Women’s Global priorities to draw key messages for the achievement of gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment related to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Additionally, the International Consultant will substantively support the preparation of the concept and agenda of the Beijing+25 regional consultations to be conducted in partnership with UNECE and UN Women in Geneva on 29-30 October 2019, where the background document on the regional synthesis report will be discussed.

The consultant will also draw on resources beyond the country level reports. She/he will compile   statistical data for the countries in the region, analyze it against the internationally agreed gender equality indicators to complement the national reviews as well as conduct a mapping of the positions of relevant governments on key issues pertaining to gender equality and women’s empowerment, based on specific indicators and data.

The regional report will facilitate national, regional and global evidence-based advocacy around key events related the progress and challenges in the implementation of the BPfA and its support to the SDGs 

Devoirs et responsabilités

Duties and Responsibilities:

Under the overall guidance of the UN Women ECA RO Programme Specialist and UNECE Senior Social Officer and Gender Focal Point and in close cooperation with UN Women ECA RO Gender Statistics Specialist, the International Consultant will lead the development of the ECA Regional Report on Beijing+25 Review, which will include, but will not be limited to the following tasks:

• Develop methodology for the regional assessment of the progress and challenges of the implementation of the BPfA and its alignment with the 2030 Agenda; detailed outline of the Regional Synthesis Report and the timeline of the assignment with the support of the UN Women ECA RO and UNECE.
• Prepare the initial, second and final drafts of the ECA Regional Synthesis Report on the progress of the implementation of the BPfA, through analysis of the national-level reports and desk review of other sources of information, including those provided by UN Women ECA RO, such as programme and policy documents; studies and research publications on gender equality issues in the region etc. It should also include plans and initiatives as reflected in the national reports on how the BPfA and the 2030 Agenda can be implemented in a mutually reinforcing manner. The Report will include two parts each of a maximum of 8,500 words.
  • Part one: A regional synthesis report to summarize regional trends and policy developments in the region with a focus on the past 5 years. It will discuss priorities, achievements, challenges and setback followed by analysis of the 12 critical areas of concern which have been clustered into six overarching dimensions as a framework for the alignment of the BPfA with the 2030 Agenda. This analysis will follow the structure of the national reports, reflected in the Guidance Note (attached to the ToR). The Report will conclude with emerging priorities in terms of opportunities and challenges in implementing the BPfA and recommendations to strengthen gender equality in the SDGs.
  • Part two: An Annex of the regional assessment should complement the regional synthesis report (Part 1) by providing country information in selected areas of achievements and challenges as outlined in the national responses received from the UNECE member States.
• Coordinate, analyze and collate inputs from UN Women and UN entities (through the Issue-based Coalition on Gender Equality and the Regional Coordination Mechanism) for inputs into the regional report;
• Provide advice for sub-regional specific consultations to assess the progress in specific thematic commitments set up by BPfA;
• Identify key messages on priorities emerging from the country-level and regional analysis to support briefing materials for delegations to the Beijing+25 regional consultations to be conducted in partnership with UNECE in Geneva on 29-30 October 2019
• Provide substantive inputs into the concept note and the provisional annotated agenda for the Beijing+25 regional review intergovernmental meeting and CSO consultations to be conducted in partnership with UNECE in Geneva on 29-30 October 2019;
• Support the development of the final report on findings of the regional consultations to further share country’s experiences and initiatives with member States and partners.

UN Women HQ and Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia will participate in the peer review process of the synthesis report to ensure consistency of the region-specific paper with the approach and methodology used for production of the progress report.

Expected deliverables

Compétences

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: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf   

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education:

• Advanced (Masters) degree in international development or development studies with focus on gender/women’s rights, public administration or other social sciences fields relevant to the requirements of the TOR.
• A PhD is considered an asset.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of experience in women’s rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment or any related field, including at a senior level;
• At least 5 years of experience of analytical and/or advocacy related work with gender equality and women’s empowerment issues in the Europe and Central Asia;
• At least 7 years of xperience in BPfA and key concerns related to positioning various GEWE aspects in inter-governmental processes and discussions related to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goals considered as an asset;
• At least 10 years of research/analytical experience;
• Previous professional experience with development agencies and/or the United Nations is an asset.

Languages and other skills: 

• Proficient in written and oral English;
• Computer literacy and ability to effectively use computers, including advance Excel skills and and/or knowledge of related analytical software (SPSS, Stata etc.) and standard applications for concise communication and development of complex written documentation;
• Excellent analytical skills.
• Strong writing and editing skills, and experience in writing synthesis reports.

Application Process 

The application should include:

• Personal History Form (P-11 form) - including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted;
• Financial Proposal: Specify a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (per deliverable, all travel costs, per diem any other possible costs as relevant); 
• Candidates should have the ability to quickly produce degree certificates and medical certification (of good health) should they be short-listed in consideration of the consultancy post.

Management and financial arrangements

The contractor will report to and work under direct supervision of UN Women ECA RO Programme Specialist.

Payment will be disbursed in four installments upon submission and approval of deliverables and certification by UN Women ECA RO that the services have been satisfactorily performed as specified below:

• Deliverable 1 – 25% of contract amount
• Deliverable 2 – 25% of contract amount
• Deliverable 3 – 25% of contract amount
• Deliverable 4 – 25% of contract amount

 III.   Evaluation process

Consultants will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of qualifications and financial proposal.

The candidates must possess following minimum qualification criteria to be eligible for further technical evaluation:

• University degree in international development or development studies with focus on gender/women’s rights, public administration or other social sciences field;
• Proven experience in women’s rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment; 
• Computer literacy and ability to effectively use computers, including advance Excel skills and and/or knowledge of related analytical software (SPSS, Stata etc.) and standard applications for concise communication and development of complex written documentation;
• Fluency in English (speaking and writing)

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.