Background

This is the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the delivery of a 'Women and Leadership in Samoan Governance' under the Women in Leadership in Samoa Project (WILS), which is to be undertaken from October to December 2021. The WILS is a three-year project funded by the Australian Government and jointly implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women, in partnership with the Government of Samoa, under the overall leadership of the WILS Steering Committee. The Steering Committee comprises representatives of the Samoa government's (Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development (MWCSD), Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFAT), community (SUNGO), DFAT and UN agencies (UNDP and UNWOMEN).

The 'Women in Leadership in Samoa' (WILS) Project seeks to build and reinforce progress already made on gender equality and women's leadership in Samoa. It aims to strengthen women's leadership targeting women in the community, younger (emerging) women, and potential candidates for the upcoming elections. Through partnerships, networks, advocacy, outreach, civic awareness and capacity building initiatives, the Project hopes for an increased civic awareness of the need for inclusive and effective women's participation and representation. Women should be able to learn new skills, have more confidence and feel motivated to exercise leadership in their communities and be willing to engage with gender equality and development issues. Further, Parliamentarians will be encouraged to operationalize the Sustainable Development Agenda in Samoa, noting that without strengthening gender equality the SDGs cannot be achieved. The Project will partner with existing regional programmes for Parliamentarians and women's participation. Evidence from this Project will be a national and regional source of knowledge through continued research and analysis, and with South-South exchanges for experiences and lessons sharing with counterparts and other actors.

WILS recognises that despite significant advances made in promoting and addressing gender equality in Samoa, there remain, enduring systemic, institutional, cultural, attitudinal and financial barriers that continue to prevent women from engaging effectively in decision making roles at the community, village and national parliament levels, and including boards of public enterprises. Women’s leadership contribution at all levels of society needs encouragement, support and acknowledgement. A key lesson from the Increasing Political Participation of Women in Samoa (IPPWS, Phase 1 of WILS) is that they work to increase the number of women representation needs sustained and long-term investment and support. The reality is that getting more women into political decision-making levels is a complex undertaking. It requires a multi-faceted long-term approach to building leadership pathways for women through the village and national governance mechanisms, national policy, legislative and institutional arrangements, and awareness about the significant role that capable women can play in decision making. Providing more trainings will help (with building understanding about campaigning, electoral laws, working of parliament, developing self-confidence. etc.), but do not guarantee more women in decision making roles. The key to building a critical mass of women in leadership 2 roles is through strengthening their civic engagement so that they have the ongoing support of their aiga, villages, churches and districts.

In response, the WILS includes initiatives and activities aimed at enhancing the leadership capacity of women in their community, younger women, as well as supporting middle-level management female personnel to aspire to become leaders in the future. Other activities are aimed at supporting female candidates and Parliamentarians in operationalizing the Sustainable Development Agenda – noting that given all the SDGs are mutually reinforcing, the goal of strong, accountable and inclusive institutions, in particular, cannot be achieved without a strong emphasis on achieving gender equality under SDG 5. Other activities seek to strengthen civic education and awareness and knowledge sharing about the different but interrelated components of the Project. 

Duties and Responsibilities

A consultant is required to support the UNDP and UN Women with the implementation of WILS Output 2 - Activity Result 2.2: ‘Enhanced capacity of potential candidates for 2021 elections’.

Under the overall leadership of the WILS Steering Committee, the consultant will deliver the two (2) trainings on the recommended course identified in the approved customised support programme for women candidates for 2021 elections and potential women candidates for the future.

The course on ‘Women and Leadership in Samoan Governance’ include 1) Language of Communication (Vaogagana o Fesootaiga), is a key course in building the capacity of emerging leaders/middle management level female personnel who will become leaders in their respective fields and potential female candidates in the future. These courses will be delivered by the Fatuaiupu Consults as per approval by the WILS Steering Committee. The Fatuaiupu Consults had already developed the course content for both courses which had already been approved by the UNDP. The implementation of these two (2) trainings should support the training needs of the potential women candidates as well as emerging women leaders in the middle-level management at both public and private sector who will be potential female candidates in the future. It should be aligned with other Outputs and Activity Results of the WILS, other complementary initiatives and programmes in Samoa and the region for congruence and best value. The approved Customised Support Programme for Potential Women Candidates will be implemented throughout the three (3) year (2019 – 2021) lifespan of the WILS.

Scope of work

The support programme for potential women candidates for 2021 elections which will be used for this programme will include: 1) Delivery of the Language of Communication (Vaogagana o Fesootaiga). This is designed to enhance the capacity of and familiarize women with the formal Samoan oratory language used for formal speeches, local governance mechanisms, institutions and practices of parliament, in a practical experimental manner.

Activities

The consultant will deliver the ‘Women and Leadership in Samoan Governance’ course recommended in the approved Customised Support Programme for Potential Women Candidates. The specific activities are as follows:

A. Delivery of two trainings including both theory and practical on the;

         1) Language of Communication (Vaogagana o Fesootaiga) course

B.  Ensure that delivery of the courses respect the human rights of participants emphasizing the importance of gender equality and having more capable women in decision leadership roles particularly in politics.

Expected Deliverables

The selected consultant is expected to complete and submit the following deliverables within the agreed timelines:

a) Delivery of two (2) trainings on the 1) Language of Communication (Vaogagana o Fesootaiga) course for emerging leaders/women in the public and private sectors based on the course content approved by the UNDP within agreed timeframes.

b) A Training Report upon completion of both courses/trainings. The consultant is expected to work and deliver the following results:

The Consultancy fee in WST (Tala) will be paid after certification by the WILS Project Team of satisfactory performance and submission of the expected deliverables and in accordance with the signed contract and as per schedule below.  The consultant is expected to quote a lump sum in WST (Tala). 

Medical Insurance is now compulsory for the period of the consultancy and if successful, the consultant will be asked to provide proof of policy before contract signature.  Should this not be available, kindly advise if not by then. 

Institutional Arrangement:

The consultant will work closely with the WILS Project Team, and to forge and maintain productive relationships with the WinLA, Samoa Women Caucus, Samoa Ala Mai, OCLA, OEC, MWCSD, and other women networks, UNDP, UN Women, national and regional expertise as well as other local partners and counterparts.

The consultant reports on a day to day to the Project Manager under the overall supervision of the WILS Steering Committee.

Logistics and Communications support will be provided from the WILS Project Team during the implementation of the Customised Support Programme for Candidates. 

Location:

The training is to be held at the Samoa Culture Centre.

Competencies

1. Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values
2. Highly effective in working with multi-sector teams
3. Ability to function effectively under pressure and tight timelines
4. Self-motivated and able to work independently
5. Excellent oral and written communication
6. Creative thinking and emotional intelligence

Required Skills and Experience

The contract will be awarded to the offeror with the highest combined score of the technical and financial score.  The offeror is considered technically compliant if the proposal gets more than 70% of the total technical score and the highest financial score up to 30%. 

The consultant should fulfil the following requirements:

a. Graduate degree in Gender Equality, Governance, Development, Women Leadership, Political Science, Public Policy, Community Development or closely related Degree is desirable (15 marks)

b. Over 10 years working with leadership development in diverse contexts including designing and delivering training and other related capacity development programmes (15 marks)

c. Excellent knowledge of the role of women in community development (15 marks)

d. Experience working with women and gender equality in the Pacific (15 marks)

e. Excellent networking, stakeholder management and problem-solving skills (10 marks)

f. The ability to use tact and present strategically (10 marks)

 g. Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) (5 marks)

 h. Fluency in English (5 marks)

i. Cultural expert in the Samoan Culture (5 marks)

j. Good understanding of political and socio-economic issues in the Pacific and/ or Samoa (5 marks)

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Download the full Terms of Reference from the UNDP Procurement website link https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=83298 together with the templates for submission of your proposal.