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 center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality  and  gender  mainstreaming  translate  into  action  throughout  the  world.  It  provides  strong  and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.  In order to promote women’s roles in conflict management and prevention, between 2019 and 2020, UN Women  established  local  women’s  mediation  networks  in  South  Lebanon  and  in  Palestinian  refugee camps. Network members have received a range of trainings on conflict analysis and identification, rapport building,  active  listening,  negotiation,  facilitation  and  leadership  skills. 

The  networks  have  also  been supported  to  carryout  community  interventions  based  on  each  community’s  relevant  needs.  This  pilot  project was developed to support the implementation of the Lebanon National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security to increase women’s engagement in conflict prevention and peacebuilding.   UN Women seeks a monitoring and evaluation specialist to undertake a rapid assessment to  assess the project’s outcomes and impact where possible of the project on beneficiaries. This assignment will also seek to understand challenges encountered and to offer lessons learned to inform the project’s expansion in 2021  

Objective of the Assignment: UN Women would like to engage the services of a National Consultant to conduct an independent rapid assessment of the project “Women’s Engagement in Conflict Prevention and Management in Lebanon and Establishment  of  a  National  Mediation  Network  and  Early  Warning  Systems”.  The  Consultant,  with technical expertise and substantial prior experience in monitoring and evaluation is expected to support on-ground data collection, coordination, organization of meetings and focus group discussions, and liaise with other relevant stakeholders on an as needed basis. 

Rapid Assessment Scope: The rapid assessment will analyze the diversity of activities and initiatives that compose the full range and portfolio  within  the  Women’s  Engagement  in  Conflict  Prevention  and  Management  in  Lebanon  and Establishment of a National Mediation Network and Early Warning Systems project. 

The rapid assessment will adopt a ‘gender equality lens’ through which it will explore (a) the extent to which  the  project  has  increased  the  representation  and  leadership  of  women  in  formal  and  informal conflict  detection,  prevention  and  management  efforts  and    (b)  how  different  types  of  activities contributed to the achievement of the this goal.

Rapid Assessment Questions:

The  assessment  will  address  the  criteria  of  Project  Relevance,  Effectiveness,  Efficiency,  Inclusiveness, Sustainability and Impact. More specifically, the assessment will address the following key issues:

•  Relevance: Were the programmatic strategies appropriate to the context and did they address the identified needs of beneficiaries?

•  Effectiveness: To what extent did the project reach the planned results and how sustainable are results? What was not achieved in full and why? 

•  Efficiency: Have resources (financial, human, technical support, etc.) been allocated strategically to achieve the project outcomes? 

•  Inclusiveness:  To  what  extent  did  the  project  include  stakeholders  and  beneficiaries  in  project planning and implementation and have their inputs been incorporated and addressed? Were marginalized and vulnerable women and women’s groups part of the planning and implementation? 

•  Sustainability:  Are  national  partners  committed  to  the  continuation  of  the  project  (or  some  its elements) after funding ends? 

•  Significant  Change:  What  significant  changes  and  outcomes  (positive,  negative,  planned  and unplanned) that occurred as a result of supported efforts and strengthened capacities and leadership of women affected by the project?

Approach, Methods and Process: 

The  rapid  assessment  will  be  a  transparent  and  participatory  process  involving  relevant  UN  Women stakeholders  and  partners  involved  with  the  project  This  is  a  rapid  assessment  however,  UN  Women’s Ethical code of conduct and principles for evaluation and WHO ethical guidelines on conducting research with the victims of violence to be followed: UN Women Evaluation Consultants Agreement Form, UNEG Ethical  Guidelines  and  Code  of  Conduct  for  Evaluation  in  the  UN  system.  The  assessment  should  use appropriate gender responsive methodology and use both qualitative and quantitative data.  

The rapid assessment process can be divided in 3 phases:

1)  Inception, which will involve preliminary desk review of documents, development of rapid assessment parameters, inception meetings, and finalization of rapid assessment methodology and the workplan

2)  Data  collection  and  analysis,  including  desk  research;  online  meetings,  interviews  and  focus  group discussions with UN Women, beneficiaries and other stakeholders; drafting preliminary findings

3) Interpretation and synthesis stage, focusing on data analyzed, interpretation of findings and drafting of a Rapid Assessment Report  

The following will be the duties and responsibilities of the National Consultant:

•  Conduct preliminary desk review of background documents, project related documents, reviews, progress updates, etc; and participate in preliminary discussions with UN Women. Prepare an inception report, providing detailed assessment methodology and workplan

•  Carry  out  data  collection  using  the  appropriate  tools  identified  in  the  inception  report  such  as surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, meetings with stakeholders and etc. 

•  Lead the development of the rapid assessment report key findings, challenges, lessons learned. , with inputs from the Women, Peace and Security Specialist.

• 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

Functional Competencies 

•  Good knowledge of evaluation and monitoring skills  
• Good knowledge of Results Based Management 
• Ability to gather and interpret data, reach logical conclusions and present findings and recommendations
• Good analytical skills
• Good knowledge women peace and security, governance,
• Good knowledge of gender equality and the empowerment of women
• Demonstrated ability to provide technical support

Education :

• Master’s degree in Social Sciences, Gender Studies, Development Studies, Economics, International Development, Statistics or equivalent work experience. 
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree

Experience :

• At least 6 years of increasingly responsible experience in research that focuses on gender/development/human rights related work; background in conflict prevention/peacebuilding is desirable.
• At least 6 years’ experience in research (both qualitative and quantitative); 
• Experience in strategic analysis and report writing; 
• Technical expertise and track record in gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation; 
• Familiarity with conflict prevention/peacebuilding in the country is essential;  
• Previous experience engaging with UN Agencies, donors, NGO’s and other key stakeholders in Lebanon 
• Work experience with the UN system, especially UN Women, is an asset. 

Language Requirements:

• Proficiency in oral and written English and Arabic is a must.

Evaluation Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology: Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation.

Criteria Weight Technical: 70% (70 points)

• Education: 20 points
• Professional experience: 40 points
• Language proficiency in English and Arabic: 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 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.