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.

UN Women’s goal in Liberia is to promote women’s human rights and gender equality which are key in sustaining and furthering achievements in stability and development.  In this regard, its programming in the Country is connected to five corporate priority areas: women’s leadership and political participation; enhancing women’s economic empowerment (WEE); engaging women in all aspects of peace and security processes (WPS), and advancing women’s rights to live free from violence (VAW) and Gender Responsive Governance. UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s joint work in advancing gender equality.

In the framework of the Women Peace and Security corporate priority area, UN Women Liberia works with duty bearers and rights holders to facilitate implementation of women, peace and security commitments by national and local partners and gender advocates. 

UN Women Liberia have been providing support to the Liberian security sector to mainstream gender into their plans, tools and policies to facilitate the promotion of gender equality and women’s participation and to strengthen individual and institutional capabilities.

Within the context of the Security Sector Reform, the Bureau of Corrections and Rehabilitation (BCR) is taking action to embrace human rights in the execution of its mandate.  In addition, the National Security Strategy reaffirms the mainstreaming of  gender at every level of security policy making  process.

As strong affirmation of its gender commitments, the BCR is committed to mainstreaming gender within its operations and has since established a Gender Unit in charge of mainstreaming gender into policies and procedures within the  Bureau. The Unit’s strategic outcomes for gender embrace a gender perspective in all aspects including administration and operations and emphasizes equality of benefits and consideration of family needs.  This specific outcome further envisages soliciting expertise and  resources to restore public confidence in the Bureau, and to meet women’s and children’s protection needs and to investigate Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and related crimes.

Against this backdrop, and at the request of the BCR, UN Women Liberia seeks to hire a National Consultant to conduct an evaluation of the Gender Policy of the BCR, and developed a revised Policy with  a five-year Action.

Objectives of the assignment

The main objective of this consultancy is to conduct an evaluation of the gender policy of the BCR, update the gender policy of the BCR with  a five-year participatory action plan with clear goals and targets.

Scope of work and tasks

Under the overall guidance and management of the UN Women Deputy Country Representative and direct supervision of the Program Officer on Women, Peace and Security and in close collaboration with the Gender Unit of the BCR, the Consultant will perform the following tasks:

Task 1. Desk Review and development of the inception plan

1. Conduct a desk review of existing relevant documents including the National Gender Policy;
2. Conduct preliminary consultations with, UN Women, BCR Gender Unit, relevant government Ministries and Senior Management at the BCR for the development of an inception  plan;

Task 2. Conduct an evaluation of the current Gender Policy of the BCR

1. Conduct an evaluation of the current gender policy to determine what worked well and what did not and what lessons were learned;
2. Develop an evaluation report that will include information on the extent to which the current policy was implemented, the gaps and recommendations;

Task 3. Update and develop the Gender Policy with a five-year Implementation Plan for the BCR

1. Revise the Gender Policy and develop a detailed action Plan (2023-2027) with clear goals and  targets. The plan should further state  roles and responsibilities of different players and a monitoring and reporting framework with an indicative budget;  
2. Develop a concept note to facilitate the validation workshop on  the revised Gender Policy and Action Plan,
3. Facilitate the  validation workshop
4. Incorporate recommendations from participants into the draft policy and action plan
5. Submit the revised validated Gender Policy and Action Plan for approval by Senior Management

Task 4. Strengthen the capacity of the gender unit and the senior management towards the    implementation of the Gender policy,

1. Conduct TOT training for officers of the BCR on the implementation of the Gender Policy;
2. Measure changes in knowledge and skills by pre and post-tests.

1. Expected Deliverables

The National Consultant will produce the following deliverables:

All the deliverables, including annexes, notes and reports should be submitted in English language.

Upon receipt of the deliverables and prior to the payment of the first installment, the deliverables and related reports and documents will be reviewed and approved by UN Women. The period of  review is one week after receipt.

Inputs

• UN Women will provide the Consultant with background materials relevant to the assignment

• The Consultant is expected to work using his/ her own computer.

Performance evaluation:

Consultant’s performance will be evaluated based on: timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.

Submission of application

Interested candidates are requested to submit an electronic application  no later than   2nd June 2023.

Submission of package           

1. Cover letter;
2. CV, including contact information of  3 referees;
3. Financial proposal. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount per each deliverable, including any travel, per diem and administrative fees, based on the template in Annex 1. The lump sum costs must be accompanied by a detailed breakdown of costs calculation.

All applications must include (as an attachment) a CV and financial proposal. Applications without a financial proposal will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further processing.

Please note that only short-listed candidates will be invited for the interview.

Selected candidates will need to submit prior to commencement of work:

1. UN Women P-11 form, available via  http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment
2. A statement from a medical doctor of ‘good health and fit for travel’
3. Before any travel outside of Monrovia, the consultant will need to provide proof (certificate) of “Basic and Advanced Security in the Field” (which can be accessed here: undss.trip.org)

Evaluation

1. Applications will be evaluated based on the Cumulative analysis.

2. Technical Qualification (100 points) weight; [70%]
3. Financial Proposal (100 points) weight; [30%]

A two-stage procedure is utilised in evaluating the proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposal being completed prior to any price proposal being compared. Only the price proposal of the candidates who passed the minimum technical score of 70% of the obtainable score of 100 points in the technical qualification evaluation will be evaluated.

Technical qualification evaluation criteria:

The total number of points alloted for the technical qualification component is 100. The technical qualification of the individual is evaluated based on following technical qualification evaluation criteria:

Only the candidates who fit the minimum requirements will be longlisted and may be requested further documentation. Candidates with a minimum of 70% of total points will be considered as technically-qualified candidates and will be shortlisted for potential interview.

Financial/Price Proposal evaluation:

1. Only the financial proposal of candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% score in the technical evaluation will be considered and evaluated.
2. The total number of points alloted for the price component is 100.
3. The maximum number of points will be allotted to the lowest price proposal that is opened/ evaluated and compared among those technically qualified candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% score in the technical evaluation. All other price proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.

Required experience and qualifications

1. The Consultant should fulfill the following requirements:

   Education

A bachelor’s degree in Women Studies, Gender Studies, Law, social sciences or other related fields is an added advantage.

Experience:

1. At least 4 years of proven experience in gender mainstreaming, women peace and security, or human rights;  
2. Proven exposure/experience in security sector reform, including the design/development/implementation of capacity development support programmes
3. Proven experience in leading and facilitating workshops;
4. Previous experience  in conducting  gender audits and developing gender policies;
5. Familiarity with the UN system;

Language and other skills:

Proficiency in oral and written English Ability to effectively utilize computer softwares (i.e. MS Excel, Access, oracle, SPSS etc.) for database development and management. Excellent facilitation and training skills At least 4 years of proven experience in gender mainstreaming, women peace and security, or human rights;   Proven exposure/experience in security sector reform, including the design/development/implementation of capacity development support programmes Proven experience in leading and facilitating workshops; Previous experience  in conducting  gender audits and developing gender policies; Familiarity with the UN system;