Antecedentes

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.

Gender equality and women’s empowerment are enshrined in the Constitution of Nepal, and committed to under the Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS: 2015-2035), National Gender Equality Policy (2020) and the 15th Five Year Development Plan of the Government of Nepal (2019/20 to 2023/24). These are in alignment with global commitments, Agenda 2030 and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).[1] These policy frameworks are an important basis for securing rural women’s livelihoods, rights and resilience. The Right to Food and Food Sovereignty Act 2018 outlines farmers rights in food-related policy-making processes and protection from negative impacts of globalized agricultural trade (NLC, 2018)[2]. Furthermore, the Agenda 2030 principle of “Leave No One Behind” (LNOB) provides a strong framework for the inclusion of socio-economically marginalized groups, which is paramount in Nepal’s context of extensive ethnographic and religious diversity. 

Despite these policy provisions, rural women in Nepal continue to face economic and social exclusion. Further, food systems are becoming increasingly fragile and unsustainable because of the impacts of climate change and other unavoidable shocks. In situations of food shortages and other disasters, women suffer disproportionately because of their poor access to resources, services and information, their heavy burden of unpaid care and domestic work, and discriminatory traditional social norms. Their adaptive capacity is low as a result of limited alternative livelihood options and their reliance on subsistence agriculture. Their situation is further compounded by the prevalence of high poverty, poor housing conditions,[3] poor water and sanitation,[4] increased malnutrition[5] and poor access to finance and other productive resources.

In this context, four UN agencies—UN Women, WFP, FAO and IFAD have implemented the joint programme “Accelerating progress toward rural women’s economic empowerment in Nepal (JP RWEE)”, Phase I under the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) from 2015-2021 in Rautahat and Sarlali districts of Madhesh Province. The JP RWEE Phase I was the pilot implementation of the Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS), a 20 year strategy of the Government of Nepal.

Based on the lesson learned from Phase I, Phase II will be implemented in Siraha and Saptari districts of Madhesh Province under the leadership of the MoALD. The Phase II has direct beneficiaries 5,500 women and 500 men [6]and indirect beneficiaries 25,800 household members; 200 elected leaders including government officials.

This effort will draw on UN Women’s current strategic note (2018-2022) which has clearly emphasized women’s economic empowerment programme of UN Women with a strong focus on women’s leadership, economic empowerment, and policy advocacy. In particular, reskilling, women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), women’s collectives, formalization of women in trade, and social protection, are key thematic areas of intervention. Furthermore, policy work around the review, formulation and implementation of GESI responsive policies will be taken forward. UN Women will closely align its efforts with the work of federal,  provincial and local governments who are prioritizing economic empowerment and recovery for the foreseeable future.

In this background, UN Women seeks to have a national consultant to provide technical support to UN Women to implement relevant activities of the JP RWEE, Phase II.

[1] Goal 1: No poverty; Goal 2: Zero Hunger; Goal 5: Gender Equality; and Goal 8: Inclusive growth.

[2] Nepal Law Commission 2018

[3] The National Population and Housing Census (CBS, 2012) reported that 61 per cent of houses in Province 2 have poor construction.

[4] Open defecation is widely practiced in Nepal’s Terai region, where the Madhesh Province is located. Research suggests that 43 per cent of households defecate in open places in the eastern Terai.

[5] The prevalence of stunting, wasting and food poverty rates on average in Madhesh Province are estimated to be 39 per cent, 14 per cent and 20 per cent respectively (Small Area Estimate of Undernutrition in Nepal, 2014, CBS, World Bank, WFP and UNICEF, CBS, NDHS 2011).

[6] The direct beneficiaries will include 1,000 single women including female headed households, 100 women with disabilities, 50 LGBTQI, 1,500 lactating mothers, 500 pregnant women, 1,000 Madhesi women, 500 Dalit women, 500 Janajati women and 350 GBV survivors. A total of 500 men from excluded/vulnerable groups (150 each from Dalit, Madhesi and Janajati communities and 50 from Muslim community)

Deberes y responsabilidades

Under the overall supervision of Programme Officer, the National Consultant will provide support to UN Women in providing substantive guidance to implementing partner(s) under the JP RWEE programme implementation, including policy related technical advice in the agriculture sector. The consultant will also provide technical support to UN Women on issues related to rural women’s access to resources including land. The scope of work and responsibilities of the assignment are as follows:

• Provide substantive support to UN Women’s partner in implementation of JP RWEE programme in consultation with Programme Analyst
• Provide policy related support in the agriculture sector to UN Women’s partner under the JP RWEE
• Provide technical support to UN Women on issues related to rural women’s economic security and rights
• Develop a strategy for UN Women on advancing the rights of  women farmers in the agriculture sector with recommendations and next steps

Expected deliverables

Expected deliverables include:

• CSO capacity development (technical guidance) to advance GEWE in the areas related to women in agriculture;
• Mapping of existing policies in the agriculture sector in all three tiers of the government and provide technical support to UN Women’s partner for the review (two reviews)/formulation of at least one policy in the agriculture sector from GESI lens in close collaboration with federal/provincial/local government;
• Review of key programming documents;
• Draft and/or review  policy/advocacy briefs;
• Number of meetings and consultations held with the government officials, policy makers, women leaders and excluded groups on women’s economic security and rights ; and
• A strategy for UN Women advancing the rights of  women farmers in the agriculture sector with recommendations and next steps

INPUTS

• The National Consultant is expected to work remotely. UN Women can give access to the National Consultant for printing of relevant documents during the assignment at UN Women’s Office, if required.
• The National Consultant will be required to provide their own local communications such as SIM cards and mobile phone.
• The National Consultant will be responsible to arrange private insurance.
• It is mandatory for the National Consultant to participate in a UN security briefing and to follow UN security rules and guidance.
• The National Consultant will be required to provide a Statement of Good Health, endorsed by a certified Medical Practitioner.

Duration of the assignment and duty station   

This is a home-based assignment for) on retainer basis (as and when required) with a maximum of 90 working days. The assignment may also include participation in meetings and consultations in federal, provincial and local level. The meeting could be conducted virtual or at physical space. UN Women will not be committed to purchasing any minimum quantity of the Services, and purchases will be made only if there is an actual requirement upon the issuance of a Purchase Order based on this retainer contract. UN Women shall not be liable for any cost in the event that no purchases are made under this retainer contract.

Schedule of payments

Payment will be made on the basis of quality of the work actually delivered upon certification of satisfactory performance by the supervisor. The contractor’s performance will be evaluated against such criteria as: timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communications, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.

Competencias

Competencies

Core Values:

• Integrity
• Professionalism
• Respect for Diversity

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 programme formulation and implementation and Results Based Management
• Good knowledge of monitoring and evaluation, evaluation design, data collection and analysis, and reporting
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports
• Good analytical and report writing skills
• Knowledge of UN programme management systems

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

• Ph D in Gender and Development Studies, Social Science, Agriculture or any other related field of studies.
• A minimum of 15 years of professional experience in working with gender equality and women’s empowerment particularly in the agriculture sector
• Proven expertise in the area of gender equality and women’s empowerment. 
• Previous experience working with different levels of government (federal, provincial and local), decision-makers, civil society and development partners.  Experience working with the UN system is a considerable asset.  
• Fluency in written and oral English and Nepali is required.
• Ability to handle documents and the information contained therein with strictest confidentiality is a non-negotiable requirement.

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS?

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• Expression of interest explaining why you are interested to this position and what professional skills and experiences make you a strong candidate.
• UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded:  http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment  
• A sample of recent original writing (unedited publications/documents/ concept note, project brief, strategic paper, report)
• A separate page of financial proposal, indicating the professional fee per day with proof of similar past remuneration.  

Evaluation criteria

A two-stage procedure is applied in evaluating the proposals. 

1. The technical proposal is assessed first based on the qualifications listed above.  Those proposals that meet a minimum threshold (scoring at least 70% on the technical assessment) will be considered further, including through assessment of the financial proposal.

Technical evaluation criteria (including minimum qualifications):

• Qualification- Master’s degree in Gender and Development Studies, Social Science, Agriculture or any other related field of studies (10 points);

• A minimum of 15 years of professional experience in working with gender equality and women’s empowerment particularly in the agriculture sector (35 points)

• Working with the UN system (5 points);

• English written skill based on the specific writing samples from unedited publications/documents of maximum 2-3 pages including but not limited to concept note, project brief, strategic paper, report. (20 points)

2. The financial proposal of candidates who meet the technical assessment threshold will be evaluated. The financial assessment will count as  30% of the total points.  In this methodology, 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 formula is as follows:

p = y (µ/z)

Where:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Interested candidates are requested to submit an application along with above required documents in 1 page no later than 18 December 2022 at 5.30 p.m. local time in Kathmandu, Nepal. Only shortlisted applicants will be notified.