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. 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.

Afghanistan is one of the world’s most complex emergencies, and the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Afghan people are grappling with the impact of conflict, poverty, economic decline, and natural disasters. In this context, Afghan women and girls face unique vulnerabilities and require urgent support as gender inequality is interwoven with conflict dynamics and humanitarian needs. It is essential that Afghan women and girls can continue to shape the development of their country, and that their gains are protected. UN Women remains fully committed to supporting Afghan women and girls and to putting them at the center of the global response to the crisis in Afghanistan.

UN Women has been in Afghanistan for two decades. UN Women’s programming approach is informed by analysis of the political, economic, and humanitarian situation, risks to and capacities of partner organizations, and needs of Afghan women and girls. UN Women Afghanistan currently has four key programme priorities: (1) Gender in Humanitarian Action, (2) Ending Violence Against Women, (3) Women’s Economic Empowerment, and (4) Women, Peace, and Security.

The Taliban takeover of Kabul on 15 August 2021 has had a seismic impact on Afghanistan. With the ascent of the Taliban, the future of women from all walks of life who have shaped the fabric of the country over the past 20 years, is unknown. The conflict dynamics in the country are multi-layered, and Afghanistan’s people are facing the devastating effects of a protracted conflict, increasing poverty and natural disasters, all of which are amplified by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the Taliban’s military offensive progressed throughout August, thousands of people fled to Kabul and other urban areas, seeking safety from the conflict and other threats. There are some 5.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Afghanistan, and approximately 80 percent of nearly a quarter of a million Afghans forced to flee since the end of May are women and children.[1] 2021 has to date been one of the deadliest years for Afghan women and girls, with more women and more children killed and injured than ever before recorded by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for the first half of any calendar year.[2] More than 18 million people – fully half of the country’s population – are in need of humanitarian assistance, and almost a third of the country is facing emergency levels of food insecurity compounded by severe drought.[3]

Despite gains on women’s rights achieved over the past 20 years, Afghan women continue to struggle to avail themselves of their rights and to consolidate and advance their progress. In 2019, Afghanistan ranked 166 out of 167 countries on the Gender Development Index, an index designed to measure gender equality in three basic dimensions of human development: health, education, and command over economic resources.[4] Women and girls face barriers to their participation and decision-making in the public, economic, social, and political sphere. These include deeply entrenched patriarchal socio-cultural and traditional norms regarding the role of women; women’s lack of awareness of their rights, linked to low levels of literacy; a lack of access to education and economic opportunities; and harmful traditional practices such as honor killings, underage and forced marriages, and discrimination in public and private sector services delivery.

What progress has been achieved on the advancement of gender equality in Afghanistan in the past decades is now at risk of being erased - and at worst regressed. The Taliban have not yet articulated their vision for women’s rights and protection, stating only that “women’s rights will be protected under Islamic principles”. There have been reports that Afghan women and girls are already seeing restrictions on their access to health and education, freedom of movement, and freedom of expression. In a statement issued on 16 August 2021, just before the fall of Ashraf Ghani’s government, UN human rights experts warned that reports from almost half of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces show that most women are experiencing the same rights violations as 20 years ago under the control of the Taliban.[5]

According to an International Labor Organization (ILO) rapid assessment of from January 2022, women’s employment had decreased by an estimated 16 percent by the end of 2021, with this ILO assessment estimating that women’s employment losses would increase to 17 percent by mid-2022. On 24th December 2022, the Taliban issued a letter banning women from working in NGOs and INGOs, the latest attack in a series of systematic infringements on the fundamental rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. The immediate impact of this ban forced 94% of the surveyed 127 NGOs/ INGOs by UN Women, to either fully or partially cease their operations.[6] In addition, the ban will have an economic impact due to loss of livelihoods and employment opportunities as well capacity, skills and training which will worsen an already rapidly contracting economy. In addition, the Taliban have banned women from universities which further restricts women's education - girls have already been excluded from secondary schools since the Taliban takeover. The ban on women’s employment and attending universities will further exclude women’s participation in the workforce and consequentially degrade women’s skills and negate their economic potential.

In the context of a rapidly changing Afghanistan, there is a need to produce rapid gender analysis to respond to policy windows, as and when they emerge, with the aim of ensuring that the international community does not compromise on or subordinate women’s rights to other agendas. Given the volatility of the context, a retainer expert is needed to support UN Women Afghanistan provide evidence-based analytical advice and products that draws on comparative examples.

[1] IOM appeal for Afghanistan, 26 August 2021 (https://www.iom.int/news/usd-24-million-urgently-needed-acute-humanitarian-needs-afghanistan); UNHCR, 13 August 2021 (https://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2021/8/611617c55/unhcr-warns-afghanistans-conflict-taking-heaviest-toll-displaced-women.html) and OCHA, Internal Displacement in Kabul, 15 August 2021: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/flash_update_4_-_internal_displacement_-_kabul_15_aug_2021.pdf

[2] UNAMA: Afghanistan. Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Midyear Update: 1 January to 30 June 2021 (https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/unama_poc_midyear_report_2021_26_july.pdf)

[3] OCHA, June 2021 (https://www.unocha.org/story/daily-noon-briefing-highlights-afghanistan-3)

[4] Gender Development Index (GDI), United Nations Development Programme (http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/AFG.pdf)

[5] https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=27384&LangID=E

[6] https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2023/01/gender-alert-no-3

Deberes y responsabilidades

  1. Gender Responsive Analysis

Objective: Finalize a gender analysis with livelihoods/ income focus to inform UN and international community programmatic design and decisions related to WEE

      2. Rapid analysis and advisory support to the WEE Programme

Objective: Provide policy, strategic and programmatic advice with the view to secure a more gender responsive approach of the international community vis-à-vis Afghanistan with relation to WEE including women’s enterprises development, employment as well as collaboration with private sector

     3. Timeline

The duration of this assignment will be 60 days over a period of one year (April 2023 – March 2024). 

     Deliverables (all deliverables will be supported by a second, expert consultant) 

Women’s income security and macroeconomic analysis

  • Prepare analysis (concept note, briefing papers, analysis, research, etc.) related to WEE; topics based on needs identified by UN Women Afghanistan to respond to contextual needs.

Rapid analysis and advisory support to WEE.

  • Rapid analysis on topics relevant to poverty with focus on women’s contribution to economy, employment, and engagement with private sector in Afghanistan context—at request of ACO.
  • Review of documents/briefs/reports/proposals at request of ACO, including gender analysis/inputs/recommendations of non-gender focused documents.
  • Synthesize and summarize evidence-based related to topics relevant to women’s income security and livelihoods in Afghanistan—at request of ACO.
  • Provide high-level strategic advice, drawing on findings of assessments and studies on related to economic recovery with focus on women, and lessons from other contexts, on navigating entry points to advance women’s economic empowerment.
  • Draft and/or review documents related to support WEE programming – concept notes, call for proposals, monitoring frameworks etc.
  • Draft and/or review research design, TOR, research tools etc. related to WEE.
  • Design and facilitate high-level meetings/workshops/consultations relevant to WEE context in Afghanistan.
  • Peer review WEE knowledge products.
  • Other advice and analysis, as needed, to support ACO to respond to windows of opportunity to advance women’s rights and gender equality.

Competencias

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.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

 

Functional Competencies

  • Excellent programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills.
  • Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them.
  • Excellent knowledge of Results Based Management
  • Strong writing skills and ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making.
  • Strong organization skills and ability to pay close attention to detail.
  • Strong policy analysis experience and knowledge of WEE.
  • Ability to lead formulation of strategies and their implementation.
  • Strong networking skills
  • Ability to negotiate and interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education and certification:

Master’s degree or equivalent in development economics, business administration, social policy, public policy, poverty reduction, development studies or a related field is required.

Experiance:

Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in English is required.

 

  • Candidate Evaluation methodology:

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)

  • Criteria 1:  Experience in providing policy, strategic and programmatic advice on Women’s Economic Empowerment concepts applicable in emergencies, conflict and crisis affected communities. And proven knowledge and extensive experience of gender equality, and social inclusion programming. Demonstrated working experience in emerging/frontier markets in at least 3 Least Developed Countries, and experience in working effectively in a multi-cultural environment, with sensitivity to diverse opinions. (20 points)
  • Criteria 2: A minimum of 10 years of relevant experience working in development or in the private sector with focus on women economic empowerment interventions including but not limited to micro enterprises development, market development systems, micro finance and access to finance concepts, skills development through technical training, social entrepreneurship, self-reliance, and other economic recovery strategies that support most vulnerable, marginalized and/or disadvantaged women in urban, semi-urban, remote and in rural areas. (20 points)
  • Criteria 3:  Substantive experience in conducting research, exploration and analytical skills and writing for international organizations on women’s economic empowerment concepts. Excellent writing skills with strong publication record on issues including women economic empowerment, gender equality and macro-economy with focus on women economic participation. Proven experience in producing concise, executive level reports and presentations skills to varied audiences. Experience in development of knowledge products related to economic analysis and socio-economic trends affecting women in crisis affected communities. (20 points)
  • Criteria 2:  Experience in partnership building and networking with strong focus on partnership with Private Sector Companies. (10 points)

Financial: Lowest Financial Proposal: 30% (30 points)

The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula:

  • The 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:

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality, and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW, and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Inclusion Statement:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employ, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity, and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)