Historique

UN Women was established by GA resolution 64/289 of 2 July 2010 on system-wide coherence, with a mandate to assist the Member States and the UN system to progress more effectively and efficiently towards the goal of achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women. Since 2001 UN Women (previously as UNIFEM) in Kyrgyzstan has implemented catalytic initiatives on promoting women’s economic, political and social rights. In 2012 a full Country Office was established.

This consultancy is in support of UN Women Kyrgyzstan Country Office’s envelope funds in alignment with the UN Women 2018-2021 Strategic Plan, Output 5, HIV indicator in the Strategic Plan, in particular support the state’s effort in de-stigmatizing of HIV positive women (and men)

Women and girls with HIV infection are culturally, socially, biologically and economically more vulnerable than men. The lack of reliable statistics, misconceptions about HIV transmission routes, stigma and discrimination on the part of society lead to the fact that HIV-positive women face many problems. HIV infection affects a whole range of problems – psychological, social and spiritual. Women, living in the conditions of “traditional culture”, are in a more difficult situation; gender inequality, which exists in the initial ethno-cultural environment, strengthens their social and economic problems. Women in particular, whose HIV status creates obstacles for the realization of basic needs, are particularly vulnerable in this regard, and therefore it has a negative impact on their quality of life. At present, services for HIV positive people (HPP) in the Kyrgyz Republic are universal, not taking into account the gender, which often limits access to legal, social, psychological and medical support for women living with HIV (WLH). Despite the urgency of the problem, there was no systematic study conducted to reveal the needs of WLH, identifying factors that affect the quality of their lives and the barriers to obtaining services, fewer advocacy campaign to combat the stigma and discrimination in relation to women HIV positive has been conducted in  Kyrgyzstan using the innovative approaches.  

The Consultant will promote a client-oriented approach consistent with UN Women rules and regulations and commits to high standards of quality, productivity and timeliness in the delivery of tasks. The Consultant will be fully dedicated to the mandate and the values of UN Women, particularly to promoting Gender Equality as a strategy to reduce conflict, improve livelihoods and ensure fairness and justice; to Women Empowerment underpinning Gender Equality promotion efforts; to inter-ethnic tolerance and concord; and to respect for diversity. 

Duty Station:

The consultant will work homebased in the light of COVID19 outbreak and a later stage expected an arrival to Kyrgyzstan depending on the developments related to COVID

DURATION:

The expected duration of the consultancy is expected to be 5 months starting from 15 June 2020 and continuing through 15 October 2020.

Note: The mentioned number of working days has been estimated as being sufficient/ feasible for the envisaged volume of work to be completed successfully and is proposed as a guideline for the duration of assignment. It cannot and shall not be used as criteria for completion of work/assignment. The provision of envisaged deliverables approved by the UN Women NPO under consultation with Focal point on HIV issue in CO shall be the only criteria for Consultant’s work being completed and eligible for payment/s.

MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS

The Consultant will work under the overall guidance and direct supervision of UN Women NPO in consultation with focal point on HIV in CO and in close collaboration with UN Women partner NGO working in the area of HIV prevention and eliminating violence against women and girls.

The Consultancy envisages extensive work with NGO partners in Bishkek and in the field and does not require full time presence in the office. However, UN Women will provide space for occasional work in the office, including for meetings, and learning sessions with access to Internet and printer. The selected Consultant shall sign a contract with UN Women for stipulated assignment, as stated above.

TRAVEL

The consultant will be responsible for all travel arrangements and expenses and daily substance allowances associated with undertaking this assignment. All travels shall be coordinated with UN Women Kyrgyzstan Country office and shall be included in the total contract amount of the contractor’s fee. The maximum expected number of travels is 5 days during the consultancy. There may be different number of days required for accommodation.  Please note that the travel and related cost should be at most direct and economy fare rate.

Devoirs et responsabilités

Scope of work 

1.To undertake a mapping of potential opportunities for introducing the Positive Deviance (PD) model as an innovative approach to empower and strategize capacity building of people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) in Kyrgyzstan. This will include the following actions:

• Undertake a mapping of UN Women partners (NGOs, community of PLWHA, activists) jointly with UN Women partner NGOs and illustrate their current approaches in working with PLWHA;
• Conducts a needs’ assessment of the mapped UN Women partners to identify gaps and opportunities for applying a PD approach;
• Conceptualize and lead consultations and meetings (online and, if possible, in person) with local NGOs and community members of PLWHA, targeting both women and men from various age groups as well as territories. For this UN Women/NGO partners will provide logistics support to ensure travel or on-line participation;
• Co-develop an action plan with the community of PLWHA and NGO partners for the dissemination of the PD model at the community/local and national levels.

2. To support in identifying Positive Deviants among women and men living with HIV and provide initial capacity building support. This will include the following actions:

• Identify and select PD champions (PC) from among the women and men living with HIV;
• Organize a 3-days workshop to introduce the champions to the PD model;
• Organize a 2-days training on “User Journeys” among identified PC;
• Assess the capacity and identify community needs on introducing the PD model into PC activities;
• Coach and mentor PC on how to introduce the PD approach among peers;
• As a part of mentorship conduct self-reflection workshops after trainings are completed;
• Undertake and document the good practices of being a positive champion from among the community of PLWHA.

3. To provide advice to the UN Women Country Office in Kyrgyzstan on how to expand/build on the existing practice from innovation in HIV through PD, and on how to strengthen collaboration between NGOs working in the HIV and EVAW fields. This will include the following actions:

• Provide practical advice and capacity building for the UN Women staff and partners on PD in HIV/AIDS.
• Identify potential partners and donors for the expansion of the positive deviance model in HIV/AIDS and other areas in Kyrgyzstan;
• Provide a set of recommendations for the UN Women CO on applying Innovative tools in HIV field with the aim to accelerate the CO’s support to de-self-stigmatization of women living with HIV in Kyrgyzstan, both in urban and rural areas

DELIVERABLES AND TIMEFRAME

The selected consultant will provide final reports to include activities undertaken, results achieved, challenges and way forward. It is expected that the consultant will provide the following deliverables:

Compétences

Ethics and Values:

• Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Development and Innovation:

• Take charge of self-development and take initiative.

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 behavior 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.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

• Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Functional competencies:

• Excellent communication and administrative skills;
• Ability to organize and complete multiple tasks by establishing priorities;
• Ability to handle a large volume of work under time constraints;

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education:

• Master’s degree in public health, gender equality, human rights, sociology or any other related science;
• Additional trainings on innovation is an asset;

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressive working experience in the design, management and implementation of HIV related development assistance projects;
• At least 5 years of proven work experience in the field of public health related to HIV, service delivery, of which at least 3 years related to work on improving service delivery through building national capacities of HIV community NGOs;
• At least 3 years records of working/collaborating with local government and NGOs in assisting/supporting drafting policy recommendations/ policy reports and coordinating activities for the improvement of life of women and men living with HIV;
• At least two years of practical experience in applying co-creation, design thinking and other innovation tools as PD models and techniques in the development area is required;
• At least 2 years proven experience in working with international organizations (successful experience in working with UN agencies is an asset).

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in written and oral English and Russian are required. Knowledge of Kyrgyz is an asset

Other Skills

• Knowledge and skills of relevant computer applications of MS Office applications (Word, Excel, Power Point), knowledge of Internet communications and command is required;
• EVALUATION

Application procedure

Applications should include:

• Offeror's letter to UN Women confirming interest and availability for the assignment.
• Financial proposal, indicating a total lump sum to include all costs relating to the delivery of activities as per above description.
• P-11 form including experience in similar assignments. This form can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment.
• Written samples of training materials.

Financial proposal format:

Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant during the contract period. The financial proposal should be provided in USD. If the proposal is provided in any other currency, it would be converted as per UN exchange rate on the date of post closure.

Evaluation of applicants

The evaluation starts with shortlisting of potential candidates and received applications against the mandatory requirements. Only full applications will be considered. Shortlisted candidates will be then evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants' technical qualifications and experience, and financial proposal. The contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Technically responsive/compliant/acceptable to the requirements of the ToR; and
• Having received the highest cumulative (technical & financial) score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

The selection of candidates will be done in 3 stages:

1st stage: Prior to detailed evaluation, all applications will be thoroughly screened against eligibility criteria (minimum qualification requirements) as set in the present ToR in order to determine whether they are compliant/ non-compliant.

2nd stage: Technical Evaluation/ Interview.

Short-listed candidates will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

3rd stage: Financial evaluation will be conducted according to the method described below:

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)

Where:

p - points for the financial proposal being evaluated;

µ - price of the lowest priced proposal;

z - price of the proposal being evaluated

The candidate achieving the highest cumulative score for both Technical and Financial evaluations will be recommended by the Evaluation Committee for contracting.