Antecedentes

“Implementing norms, changing minds” is a UN Women programme, which aims to support a reduction in discrimination and violence against women and girls in Turkey and six Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo* and Serbia), anchored in the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Istanbul Convention, and also in alignment with European Union accession standards.

The three year Programme supports the development of an enabling legislative and policy environment on eliminating violence against women and all forms of discrimination; promotes favorable social norms and attitudes to prevent gender discrimination and violence against women; and pursues empowering women and girls (including those from disadvantaged groups) who have experienced discrimination or violence to advocate for and use available, accessible, and quality services.

The elimination of gender equality discrimination and violence against women as one of its most pervasive forms, requires a comprehensive, coordinated, and sustained effort in all spheres. It requires actions in different areas, including legislation, service provision, awareness-raising, and attitudinal and behavioral change. Gender-related discrimination and violence against women is a complex phenomenon that needs to be understood within the wider social context and within the social and cultural norms that permeate it. Community attitudes and responses regarding violence against women reflect these norms and play an important role in shaping the social climate in which discrimination and violence occur. Comprehending attitudes toward gender equality and violence against women is key to better understanding its root causes and, therefore, developing more effective intervention measures.

In order to have a clear understanding, UN Women wishes to engage the services of a consultant(s) to lead a baseline survey of current and dominant attitudes, perceptions, opinions and beliefs toward gender equality and violence against women at community level in the seven countries involved in the action.

Purpose of the Consultancy

The purpose of the consultancy is to lead a baseline survey in order to develop an understanding of current and dominant attitudes and perceptions (and the factors that influence them) toward gender equality and violence against women at community level. The baseline survey will be carried out in 7 countries by selected civil society organizations and the consultant will undertake the following tasks: a) oversee the survey, b) propose a methodology and data collection method; 3) undertake data analysis; and 4) report writing.  The baseline survey should address intersectional discrimination, and therefore mainstream issues related to the intersection between gender-based discrimination and discrimination linked to other identities, factors and experiences such as ethnicity, disability and poverty. In this regard, the baseline will consider, inter alia, the following disadvantaged groups should be considered: Albania (Roma women), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Roma women), Kosovo* (Roma, Ashkaly, and Egyptian minorities), FYR Macedonia (Roma women), Montenegro (Roma women), Serbia (Roma women, rural women, and women with disabilities), and Turkey (refugee and migrant women).

The baseline assessment is an early element in the monitoring and evaluation plan of the Programme Result 2.2 Women, girls, men and boys at community and individual level have a better understanding and acceptance of gender equality that will allow for assessment of the circumstances in which a the Programme commences.

The specific objectives of the baseline are:

1. To provide the Programme with detailed baseline data on key indicators to assess understanding and attitudinal change attributable to and throughout the action (February 2017-January 2020). The survey baseline is expected to quantify and contextualize the following indicators that the programme has to report against:

• Percentage of people among targeted communities in the countries involved in the Action, who think it is never justifiable for a man to beat his wife, disaggregated by gender and age
• Perception of women and men's roles among women, girls, boys, and men in targeted communities

2. To inform the Programme advocacy and sensitization interventions on increasing understanding of gender equality and the prevention and protection of survivors of violence against women  and attitudinal change based on the priority issues identified in the survey; and,                                              

The baseline survey will provide insight into selected communities culture and social perceptions, and derive strategies to influence persistent behavioral and cultural patterns, which serve as obstacles to the development of societies and the achievement of gender equality.

An end-line survey will be conducted at the end of the Programme so as to allow for comparison and create two data points for measuring awareness and attitudes toward gender equality and regarding violence against women. These data points can contribute to ongoing monitoring of gender equality trends in the participating countries.

In keeping with this aim, the follow-up survey’s design, research methodology, questionnaires, fieldwork planning, fieldwork quality control, data processing, and data analysis will be replicated from the baseline survey as exactly as possible.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Under the overall supervision of the Regional Programme Manager, and in close cooperation with the UN Women field offices taking part in the survey, the consultant is expected to carry out and deliver on the following tasks:

• Review project document including log frame to fully understand project design and contextual framework of operation;
• Conduct a desk review of similar initiatives undertaken over the last 5 years in each of the countries covered by the baseline;
• Design a gender-sensitive methodology for collection of baseline data including a detailed questionnaire. Questionnaire will be discussed and agreed upon with UN Women;
• Prepare guidelines on how to apply the data collection methods for civil society organizations responsible for collecting data/ field work;
• Design tool for data entry to be used by organizations responsible for data collection;
• Analyze and interpret data to develop a baseline survey report detailing mechanisms to track and monitor Programme indicators; and
• Share key findings and insights from the baseline study with UN Women and relevant stakeholders.

The baseline tool should be designed to capture country-level data to gain an insight into the following:

• Community perceptions of gender inequalities and violence against women as a social problem: awareness, definitions, acceptability, and perceived severity;
• Community understanding of the causes of gender inequality and violence against women: attributions, explanations, and justifications;
• Community level of knowledge, attitude, and practices toward women’s political, economic and social empowerment:
• Men’s attitudes and practices (and women’s opinions of them) on a wide variety of gender equality issues, including gender-based violence against women and girls;
• Women’s attitudes and practices (and men’s opinion of them) on a wide variety of gender equality issues, including gender-based violence against women and girls;
• Legitimacy of, and about what constitutes, gender inequalities and violence against women;
• Factors that help to predict attitudes toward gender equality and violence against women;
• Detailed knowledge of the sampled women and men’s attitudes and opinions regarding a list of behaviours, both verbal and physical, including rape and marital rape, attitudes about whether violent acts are considered socially unacceptable or criminal, and attitudes about causes of violence;
• Profiles of all respondents’ backgrounds, which will aid in efforts to develop typologies of attitudes toward gender equality and violence in the near future; and
• An examination of the interviewees’ expectations regarding the future evolution of the phenomenon.

Deliverables

1. Detailed inception report: Containing detailed work-plan specifying activities and timelines agreed with UN Women; detailed description of the baseline methodology including sampling, ethical considerations and data collection tools to be developed in close consultation with UN Women (3 days)
2. Data collection tools: Developed in close consultations with UN Women (3 days)
3. Guidelines in Data Collection, Data Cleaning Process and Data Entry for data collectors (2 days)
4. Data Analysis and Draft Report: Quantitative and qualitative data analysed and triangulated. Draft Report prepared (10 days).
5. Final Report Developed and Presented: Finalization of the report in close collaboration with UN Women and relevant stakeholders in English, with relevant annexes in same language as the report.  The baseline report will include as a minimum: an executive summary presenting key findings; a methodology section detailing how the data was collected and analyzed, sampling strategy, and any limitations to the validity of the findings; the main body of the baseline report will include data for all indicators that will enable changes to be tracked over time; demographic data on age, sex, and marital status must be captured; all data must be disaggregated by sex and age; any other issues such as disability status, membership of women’s forums, employment status, etc., must also be taken into account as far as possible and captured; and conclusions, which will analyze the various survey questions. Conclusions will have to be derived from findings and analysis thereof. Recommendations should be clearly related to conclusions but presented separately. The report should include at least one case study for each country/community selected. The annexes will include the questionnaires, locations, date, time, and name of interviewers.
6. PowerPoint presentation with key findings (2 day).

Competencias

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent writing, presentation/public speaking skills;
• IT literacy

Core Competencies:

• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:

• Advanced degree in Social Sciences, Gender Studies, Development Studies, Human Rights, Sociology or related field,.

Experience:

• A minimum of six years of progressively responsible and relevant experience in the fields of human rights, social inclusion, GBV/VAW, or another area relevant to the requirements of this TOR.
• A minimum of four years’ experience of research, baseline surveys, qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis; in the area of GBV/VAW.
• Experience on addressing gender harmful stereotypes and social norms, especially in the Western Balkans and Turkey is an asset.
• Previous experience with UN agencies and/or international organizations is an advantage.

Language:

• Excellent command of written and spoken English.

Application procedure

Applicants are requested to upload the following documents:

• a copy of your latest updated P11 Form which can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted.
• Cover letter to include a brief overview in English (unedited text) about which of your previous experiences makes you the most suitable candidate for the advertised position
• Technical Proposal.
• Financial Proposal (specifying a daily fee in USD for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference).

Applications without Technical Proposals will not be considered.

Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF attachment as the system only allows upload of one document

Please note that only applicants who are short-listed will be contacted

Evaluation of applicants

The Consultant will be evaluated based on the qualifications and the years of experience, as outlined in the qualifications/requirements section of the ToR.  In addition, the Consultant will also be evaluated on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis: When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the Consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and

b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation;

• Technical Criteria weight: 70%;
• Financial Criteria weight: 30%.

The award of the contract shall be made to the Consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the ToR.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Technical Evaluation: 70% of total evaluation (maximum 100 points):

Criteria A: Education (maximum 10 points);

Criteria B: Experience (maximum 50 points);

Criteria D: Methodology (Maximum 40 points)

The evaluation will be based on the combination of the weighted technical and financial scores (70 per cent technical and 30 per cent financial). The technical evaluation includes the knowledge/expertise in gender equality and ending violence against women within the context of the Western Balkans and/or Turkey, and the strong professional experience/track record in conducing baseline and end-lines.

Consultants will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of qualifications and financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

1. Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
2. Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.

Evaluation Criteria

Max points

TECHNICAL EVALUATION (70%)

Language Requirements

Fluency in written and spoken English

REQUIRED

Education - 10

Professional experience - 50

• A minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in research and project/programme implementation with strong technical expertise in gender equality and ending violence against women

• Proven experience in development of base line surveys, statistical researches, qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis

• Outstanding knowledge of gender, women's rights and the different challenges with regard to gender harmful stereotypes and social norms, especially in the Western Balkans and Turkey;

Methodology - 40

Technical Proposal

Total technical - 100

Financial Evaluation (30%) – max. 30 points:

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)

Using the following values:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

The evaluation methods include desk review and/or interview.

Final selection: only the candidate with the highest ranked will be selected.

Note: only the highest ranked candidates who have obtained a minimum of 49 points (70%) on the technical evaluation will be considered for the financial evaluation.

Contract supervision

The consultant will work in close cooperation and under the direct supervision of the UN Women ECARO EVAW Regional Programme Manager

Schedule of payments

Payment in full upon final submission and satisfactory deliveries in accordance with specified requirements as reviewed by the Hiring Manager.