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 centre of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action globally. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. 

UN Women supports governmental authorities and civil society organizations throughout Europe and Central Asia to implement UN Security Council resolution 1325 and its subsequent resolutions. These resolutions, making up the core of the international women, peace and security (WPS) agenda, which provides a critical framework for understanding and responding to terrorism and violent extremism. Founded on the principle that peace is inextricably linked to equality between men and women, the agenda highlights how violence, including extremist violence is underpinned by gender inequality. Thus, a gender perspective is required to prevent and counter terrorism and violent extremism effectively.

Core to the women, peace and security agenda is the protection and promotion of women’s rights in conflict and post conflict situations. It is a framework grounded on the importance of women’s participation, leadership and empowerment in conflict resolution, peacebuilding and reconstruction efforts. It is also, equally about the prevention of armed conflict, demilitarization and disarmament. These are all critical values that must inform our efforts to prevent and respond to terrorism and extremist violence.

Security Council resolution 2242 (2015) provides one of the most important pronouncements of the linkages between countering terrorism and violent extremism, and women, peace and security. It delivers a roadmap and issues a call to action for ensuring a gender perspective in all efforts, and that an emphasis is placed on prevention responses. It calls on Member States and the UN system to ensure the participation and leadership of women in developing strategies to counter terrorism and violent extremism, and build their capacity to do so effectively; as well as for adequate financing to make good on these commitments.

The UN Secretary-General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism calls for, “a comprehensive approach encompassing not only essential security-based counter-terrorism measures but also systematic preventive steps to address the underlying conditions that drive individuals to radicalize and join violent extremist groups". It acknowledges the important role of women and youth, and in particular young women, in preventing violent extremism. Indeed, the Plan of Action has a dedicated section on gender equality and women’s empowerment, mainstreamed language on the importance of a human rights and gender approach, as well as the commitment to earmark funds within these efforts to further women’s rights and empowerment.

Based on the above, UN Women has developed a global program (2016-2018) that lays out a 4-track approach to preventing violent extremism. As part of the program, UN Women is committed to investing in research to expand and deepen understanding of the drivers of extremist violence and its impact on women and girls; as well as how women can identify early warning signs of violent extremism and participate in prevention, response and rehabilitation efforts. Research is also needed to design more effective measures and narratives to prevent and counter violent extremism, and to identify potential partners and entry points for programmatic interventions.

UN Women in Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) began research and analysis on the role of women in P/CVE and re-integration of former fighters and their families in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo and Serbia. Research is now ongoing in Bosnia-Herzegovina. This research has demonstrated the need to increase the capacity of women and women’s organizations to engage in P/CVE, and to strengthen the awareness of state officials, law enforcement, religious leaders and other stakeholders engaged in P/CVE of the value added of gender responsive PVE and re-integration. Research has also found women that are extremists themselves and that more can be done to help (re)integrate them if they later denounce extremism and seek rehabilitation.

Based on the research and analysis, UN Women ECARO has designed a multi-country P/CVE program that works with local authorities, community based organizations (CBOs), religious leaders, universities and other partners to engage women -- who experience radicalization or could help prevent it – for example through dialogues, community engagement, capacity development, monitoring, counter-messaging and civic mobilisation.

UN Women has found that though there are clear frameworks to integrate women’s peacebuilding and P/CVE, little guidance in local languages, and adapted to local contexts, exists on how these frameworks should be applied in the field. Yet providing tools to civil society organization and local authorities to have an enhanced understanding of gender responsive P/CVE will help ensure more effective responses, where women and women organizations is directly contributing to P/CVE policy making and initiatives. 

UN Women ECARO is therefore seeking to hire an international consultant to help develop a 2-day pilot training package on gender responsive P/CVE, which will help facilitate a discussion on the effect of radicalisation and violent extremism on women and girls, and help participants develop concrete suggestions on how they can be more effectively engaged in prevention, response and rehabilitation efforts.

The training package should include modules on gender and P/CVE, and can include a mix of lectures, discussions, working groups, viewing of videos or other online materials and other presentations. It will benefit local authorities and representatives of civil society groups, and should be developed with the understanding that it will be used as a train the trainers (ToT) tool by UN Women in Central Asia and the Western Balkans.

Deberes y responsabilidades

The consultant will be under the direct supervision of UN Women ECARO, and will be responsible for the following specific tasks:

1. Conduct a desk review of existing training tools on preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism and the extent to which they integrate gender. Review UN Women reports on women and PVE in ECARO, as well as other similar reports developed by UN agencies, international organizations and academia. Identify gaps, and opportunities for synergies between UN Women, other international organizations (OSCE especially), NGOs and academia to increase capacities on gender responsive P/CVE and intergration.

2. Prepare a training package based on the desk findings, after approval of a preliminary outline.

The training package should have a handbook approach, using simple and direct language. It should include all materials that are needed to deliver the training – guidance for facilitators, visual aids/video links, examples of best practices (from ECARO or other regions), discussion themes for working groups, ice breakers, and a list of reference materials. More specifically the training package on gender responsive P/CVE should include:

• An introduction with the aims of the training guide;
• A list of basic definitions of terms being used;
• Module 1: on the normative basis for gender responsive P/CVE (ex: UNSCR 2242) at the global and national (Europe and Central Asia) level (with examples of national P/CVE Strategies and Action Plans, national legislation);
• Module 2: early warning signs of radicalization and violent extremism;
• Module 3: impacts of violent extremism and P/CVE on women and women’s groups;
• Module 4: impacts of the return/reintegration of violent extremists on women and women’s groups.

Each module should include:

• The aims of the module and expected learning outcomes for the participants;
• Notes for trainers;
• Powerpoint slides;
• Participatory activities and exercises.

The Consultant will spend approximately 35 days total preparing the training/discussion tool. Due to limited availability of time and resources, it will not be possible to do field work but interviews with UN Women staff and counterparts may be organized virtually. If the consultant wishes to hold such interviews he/she should prepare a list of interview subjects in the first 5 days of his/her consultancy.

Key Deliverables:

Desk review report that identifies which training/capacity development materials exist, which focus on women in P/CVE, and identifies the gaps and opportunities for UN Women ECARO to intervene in this field.

Estimated Duration : 10 Days

Training/discussion tool and final report for UN Women with recommendations on how to best roll out a capacity building program.

Estimated Duration: 25 days

Competencias

Core Values:

Integrity: Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Professionalism : Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Cultural sensitivity and respect for diversity: Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Additionally, the individual should have an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

Planning & Organizing: Develops clear goals in line with agreed strategies, identifies priorities, foresees risks and makes allowances accordingly.

Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment

Teamwork: Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Accountability : Takes ownership of all responsibilities and delivers outputs in accordance with agreed time, cost and quality standards.

Functional Competencies:

• Substantial expertize in preventing/combating violent extremism research and practice;
• Good knowledge of gender equality and women's rights issues;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Strong report writing skills;
• Knowledge and understanding of UN system and familiarity with inter-governmental processes an advantage.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education

Master’s degree in social sciences, gender studies, public administration, international relations, international law, public policy, or a field relevant to the TOR requirements. PhD preferred.

Experience

• 5 years of experience in the international development/security fields.
• 5 years experience working on preventing and combatting violent extremism
• Experience is from the UN system both at the country/regional and HQ levels is highly desirable.
• Experience in preparation of analytical reports and project proposals for international organisations
• Specific experience in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment
• Experience within the Western Balkans and Central Asia is a clear advantage.
• Experience/knowledge related to training manual development.

Language

• Fluency in English (written and oral).

Application procedure:

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials:

• Cover letter to include a brief overview about which of your previous experiences makes you the most suitable candidate for the advertised position.
• Examples of previous relevant work including web links, references or copies of written work on women and violent extremism.
• Methodological outline including the proposed methodology for collecting evidence and scope of research.
• Financial Proposal (Specifying a total lump sum amount in USD for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference). The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (daily rate and number of anticipated working days, travel tickets, per diems and any other possible costs) .Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services.
• P11 and CV including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted.
• Candidates should have the ability to quickly submit degree certificates and medical certification (of good health) should they be short-listed in consideration of the consultancy post.

Evaluation of applicants

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer receives 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.

Technical Evaluation (70%) – max. 70 points:

• Relevant education – MA minimal requirement
• Experience in working on international development/security issues in the Balkans/Central Asia: max. 10 points;
• Experience in working within the field of P/CVE: max. 20 points;
• Experience/knowledge related to training manual development/education for adults: max. 20 points;
• Quality of methodological proposal: max. 20 points.

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 = 20 (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

Payment schedule

25% of the amount specified in the Financial Proposal may be disbursed upon submission and approval of the outline for the desk review report (deliverable 1) and the remaining 75% when the final program document is provided (deliverable 2) and certification by the UN Women Hiring Manager at the Istanbul Regional Office. Please note that there will be no funds available for travel.