Background

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.

In September 2017, the EU and the UN launched an ambitious joint partnership to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls worldwide. The Spotlight Initiative (SI) aims at mobilizing commitment of political leaders and contributing to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Initiative aims at ending all forms of violence against women and girls, targeting those that are most prevalent and contribute to gender inequality across the world. The Spotlight Initiative will deploy targeted, large-scale investments in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Pacific and the Caribbean, aimed at achieving significant improvements in the lives of women and girls. Guyana, Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago are three of the countries in the Caribbean to benefit from this transformative initiative.

The overall vision of the Spotlight Initiative is that women and girls realize their full potential free from violence. The Spotlight Initiative will directly contribute to the achievement of three of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Goal 5 on Gender Equality, Goal 3 on good health and well-being and Goal 16 on inclusive and peaceful societies. The program will contribute to the elimination of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) through the creation of a broad partnership with Civil Society, Government, Private Sector, Media, among others; and, build a social movement of women, men, girls, boys and transgender people as champions and agents of change at the national, subnational and community levels. A specific focus will be on reaching and including in the program women and girls who are often isolated and most vulnerable to sexual & gender-based violence (SGBV) and harmful practices (HP) due to intersecting forms of discrimination.

The SI Country Programmes will use a multi-sectoral, multi-layered, interlinked community-centred approach to the implementation of the interventions on the following six Outcome Areas based on the socio-ecological model for addressing SGBV: 

  • Pillar One: Legislative and Policy Frameworks
  • Pillar Two: Strengthening Institutions
  • Pillar Three: Prevention and Social Norms
  • Pillar Four: Delivery of Quality, Essential Services
  • Pillar Five: Data Availability and Capacities
  • Pillar Six: Supporting the Women’s Movement and CSO

 

Spotlight Jamaica

The SI in Jamaica will address three key priority areas within the overall focus on Family Violence against women and girls: 1) Child Sexual Abuse, 2) Intimate Partner Violence and 3) Discrimination against vulnerable groups.

The SI in Jamaica will be national in scope and targeted intervention will focus on the following four parishes: The Kingston Metropolitan Area (Kingston and St. Andrew), St. Thomas, Clarendon, and Westmoreland.

The Women’s Health Survey (2016) has identified a lifetime prevalence rate of 27.8% of physical and/or sexual violence against women aged 15 to 49 years by an intimate partner in Jamaica. This figure is slightly lower than the regional average of 30%.  Intimate partner violence is the most common form of violence against women, suggesting that women and girls are especially vulnerable to violence in the home by someone they know.

The Government of Jamaica has launched a Ten-year National Strategic Action Plan to eliminate Gender-Based Violence (NSAP-GBV) 2016-2026. This Plan focuses on the following five strategic priority areas: prevention, protection, and intervention, legal procedures, and protocols for data collection. The low status of women in society, power relations, and gender socializations, inaccessibility of legal services, gender insensitive policies, limited opportunities and institutional factors are some of the root causes of GBV. (National Strategic Action Plan to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence in Jamaica (2016-2026).

Targeting this objective will aid in meeting the Goals of the National 2030 Vision which is to empower Jamaicans to achieve their fullest potential, maintaining a secure and cohesive society, a prosperous economy and promoting a healthy natural environment.

This consultancy falls under Pillar 2 and seeks to strengthen the institutional capacity of key entities involved in the prevention of and response to gender-based violence (GBV), by mainstreaming gender and an understanding of gender-based violence and family violence into its work.

Duties and Responsibilities

OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

Under the Spotlight Initiative Jamaica Programme, UN Women is seeking a consultant to mainstream gender, GBV and family violence in the curricula of the Dispute Resolution Foundation (DRF) and to build the capacity of the institution, its staff and trained mediators to address gender and gender-based violence issues.

SCOPE OF WORK

The Consultant shall deliver the following results: -

  • Workplan and Inception Report.
  • Conduct a review of the curriculum of the DRF and mediation training methodology to explore opportunities for gender mainstreaming with draft report.
  • Conduct key informant interviews and focus group discussions with relevant stakeholders and submit report.
  • Support assessment and strengthen the capacity of mediators and trainers within the DRF to execute their roles, integrating gender equality principles with report.
  • Develop an amended training curriculum, integrating gender equality principles and recommendations for amendments to the training methodology of the DRF that integrates gender equality, gender-based violence, and ending VAWG, including family violence, as per international standards.

No report should be longer than 25 pages.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The Consultant will work under the overall supervision of the UN Women MCO-Caribbean Representative with direct reporting to the UN Women Planning and Coordination Specialist in Jamaica.

Competencies

Core Values / Guiding Principles:

  • Integrity: Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
  • Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity: Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organisation and the diversity of its staff; Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

  • Results oriented: Plans and produces quality results to meet established goals, generates innovative, practical solutions to challenging situations.
  • Ethics and Values: Demonstrating / Safeguarding Ethics and Integrity.
  • Organisational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
  • Working in Teams: Acting as a team player and facilitating teamwork.
  • Communicating Information and Ideas: Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively.
  • Self-management and Emotional intelligence: Creating synergies through self-control.

Functional Competencies:

  • Knowledge of the social, cultural, legal and political context of Jamaica.
  • Fluency in English and ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
  • Ability to interact independently and as part of a team.
  • Technical knowledge of policies and programmes on gender equality and EVAWG.
  • Analytical and report writing skills.

 

Required Skills and Experience

Experience:

  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience working on gender equality and human rights, especially in the area of elimination of violence against women and girls (EVAWG)
  • Minimum of three (3) years’ experience developing or assessing laws and policies or producing knowledge products and research on EVAWG
  • Minimum of three (3) years’ experience conducting institutional assessments and/or capacity strengthening trainings
  • At least three years’ experience working within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
  • Experience working in Jamaica and strong knowledge of the Jamaican context is preferred

Languages:

  • Fluency in English and ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.

Education:

The Consultant should meet the following criteria:

  • Postgraduate qualification in relevant areas: Law, Human Rights, Public Policy, Social Sciences, Gender Studies or any similar field
  • Bachelor’s Degree in above fields and at least five years’ demonstrated experience in relevant fields will be accepted in lieu of a Post-Graduate degree.

 

LOCATION AND DURATION

  • The consultant is expected to be home-based and will work remotely, utilizing their own computer, internet, telephone and other equipment, as needed, to undertake the assignment.   
  • Provisions will be made for physical meetings and visits to the Dispute Resolution Foundation to facilitate the achievement of the desired outcomes, where necessary, and if possible, based on national COVID regulations.  
  • The Consultant will be engaged for a maximum of 20 calendar days during the period 7 February 2022 – 31 March 2022

 

REMUNERATION

  • The consultancy fee will be negotiated before contracting. Each payment will be based on a predefined and formal agreement between UN Women and the consultant and will be disbursed based on satisfactory completion of agreed deliverables.
  • The remuneration for this contract type is an all-inclusive fee, the organization will not be liable for additional cost or benefits.

 

HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, AND COMMUNICATION:

  • The consultant must be equipped with a fully functional laptop, which must comfortably run Office 365 programs, using operating systems Microsoft Windows 10/11, or Mac OS X 10.11 or upward. The consultant must be reasonably accessible by email and telephone (preferably mobile). The use of reliable, internet-based (Skype or equivalent) is required. 

 

REFERENCES:

  • Minimum of three client references that include the name of the contact person, title and contact information.

 

OTHER:

  • The consultant contracted will be required to sign a statement of confidentiality and freedom from any conflict of interest with potential future contractors with respect to the TORs and work that they will be delivering.

Note:

Submissions to UNDP Jobs are limited to a maximum of 10 MB, virus-free or corrupted contents to avoid rejection, and no more than 1 email transmission.   All applications must be submitted through UNDP jobs.  Please do not send applications to UN Women staff as they will not be accepted.  

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, 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).