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. The UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECARO) was established in Istanbul, Turkiye in early 2014. It provides support and oversight to country offices in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and Ukraine. In addition, the Regional Office directly supports programme and project presence in Kosovo (under UN Security Council Resolution 1244), the Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia, Tajikistan, and Turkiye.

Since 2018, UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) has been implementing a regional component of the Flagship Programme Initiative Making Every Woman and Girl Count: Supporting the monitoring and implementation of the SDGs through better production and use of gender statistics (Women Count), developed by UN Women Headquarters (HQ). The Women Count programme aims to affect a radical shift in the production, availability, accessibility and use of quality data and statistics on key aspects of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

One of the key priority areas within the ECA Women Count programme is dedicated to strengthening national capacities on improving the production of data related to Violence Against Women (VAW). This imperative focus stems from the acute recognition that comprehensive, accurate, and up to date VAW data is not only an essential benchmark for assessing progress in gender equality and women's empowerment, but also a cornerstone for developing targeted policies and interventions. The lack of reliable VAW data has long hindered effective advocacy and policymaking, obscuring the true extent of this pervasive issue and impeding the formulation of evidence-based solutions. By supporting countries in enhancing their VAW data collection mechanisms, the Women Count programme aims to illuminate the magnitude of violence faced by women, ensuring that it receives the attention and resources it demands, while fostering an environment where survivors can access quality essential services and justice.

In 2023-2024, the Women Count programme plans to extend its support to two countries in the ECA region with the aim of increasing availability of quality and internationally comparable VAW data: the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Belarus. Kyrgyzstan and Belarus will be embarking on their first nationwide VAW prevalence surveys, starting the early methodological groundwork in late 2023. The completion of the survey stands as a central priority action within the National Gender Equality Strategy till 2030, along with its corresponding Action Plan for 2022-2024 in Kyrgyzstan and the National Action Plan for Gender Equality for 2021-2025 in Belarus. These commitments underscore both countries’ strong determination to bridge gender data gaps in the area of ending violence against women.

The surveys will be implemented in accordance with globally agreed methodological and ethical standards and guidelines such as WHO Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence, EU Wide Survey on gender-based survey, United Nations Statistical Commission Guidelines for Producing Statistics on Violence against Women: Statistical Surveys. It is also important that relevant SDG indicators and definition/frameworks put forward by the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) 57th session, the Declaration on Elimination of Violence Against Women (DEVAW) and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) General Recommendation #19 are incorporated.

• Objective

Under the direct supervision of the Regional Gender Data Specialist based at UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO), the International Consultant on Violence Against Women (VAW) Data and Research will strengthen capacities of the National Statistics Offices of select countries to design, collect, analyze and disseminate prevalence data on VAW for meeting policy and reporting commitments under the 2030 Agenda and the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action. The international consultant will work closely with respective NSOs, which will be implementing the quantitative element of study as well as with national consultant/company responsible for qualitative part of the study. S/he will be providing the technical guidance at all stages of the implementation of the study, from design phase till the data analysis and dissemination. A National Reference Group will be set up from the onset of the survey, which will include all relevant partners working on VAW in the country (i.e. government, UN and other international organizations, CSOs, academia). This group will be involved/consulted in the definition of the objectives and scope of the survey, as well as along other phases. This will contribute to the survey being owned by all those stakeholders working on VAW in the country, so that the results can be used for policy and programming.

Specifically, the assignment envisages provision of support to the National Statistics Committees of the Republic of Belarus and the Kyrgyz Republic to design, collect, and analyze the country’s first-ever nationwide VAW prevalence data.

Duties and Responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities

Within the assignment, the Consultant will be responsible for implementation of the following tasks:

Task 1: Support the National Statistics Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic to design, collect, and analyze the country’s first-ever nationwide VAW prevalence data.

• To guide and support NSC to develop a robust survey methodology defining research objectives, scope, sampling strategy, survey tools methodology (including the questionnaires, data collection protocols, advance letter, flyers, etc.), data collection methods, ethical and safety considerations, and building on international best practices and recent methodologies, and through close consultations with UN Women and other relevant stakeholders (National Reference Group).
• Prepare required documentation to obtain ethical clearance from the relevant institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee in close coordination with UN Women ECARO.
• To guide and support cognitive testing of the questionnaire and conduct a pilot survey in a smaller region or community to test the questionnaire, survey procedures, and logistics.
• To refine the survey design and make necessary adjustments to the survey methodology based on cognitive testing and pilot survey.
• To review and guide the qualitative study methodology, including data collection tools and sample of the respondents, in close collaboration with NSC, and UN Women and local consultants/company responsible for the qualitative study.
• To support NSC in conducting the consultations with national stakeholders to be organize at the different stages of VAW prevalence survey (to identify needs and thematic area, target population, etc.)
• To support and guide NSC to develop a training package for field workers (questionnaire step by step guide, interviewer manual, role-play exercise, hand-outs etc.), building on existing training resources, ensuring that all methodological and ethical considerations are reflected in the data collection process.
• Design and conduct one 4-day Training for Trainers (ToT) for up to 25 participants representing the National Statistics Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic (hereinafter – NSC) to collect VAW data following standardized protocols.
• Monitor and provide technical guidance during data collection process to ensure accuracy, consistency, and completeness of the data.
• Co-lead data cleaning and validation by checking for errors and inconsistencies and conducting validation exercises to assess the integrity of data.
• Design and conduct one national workshop on VAW data analysis for up to 25 participants representing the NSC, National Women’s Machinery, and other relevant stakeholders in Kyrgyzstan. As a key workshop outcome, assign specific sections of report drafting to NSC staff.
• Using specialized software, conduct an in-depth data analysis to identify trends and patterns of VAW prevalence and explore relationships between variables.
• Prepare a comprehensive report in English presenting the findings, methodological approach, recommendations and actionable insights for advocacy and policymaking to address VAW in the country.
• Conduct at least one consultation with the National Reference Group[1] to validate the key findings and recommendations.
• Prepare PowerPoint presentation in English based on the report, using visually appealing and informative graphs and charts to communicate key results effectively.
• To participate in the presentation of the findings of the study to different groups of stakeholders, including the official report launch event.

Task 2: Support the National Statistics Committee of the Republic of Belarus (BelStat) to design, collect, and analyze the country’s first-ever nationwide VAW prevalence data.

• To guide and support BelStat to develop a robust survey methodology defining research objectives, scope, sampling strategy, survey tools methodology (including the questionnaires, data collection protocols, advance letter, flyers, etc.), data collection methods, ethical and safety considerations, and building on international best practices and recent methodologies, and through close consultations with UN Women and other relevant stakeholders (National Reference Group).
• To guide and support cognitive testing of the questionnaire and conduct a pilot survey in a smaller region or community to test the questionnaire, survey procedures, and logistics.
• To support BelStat in conducting the consultations with national stakeholders to be organize at the different stages of VAW prevalence survey (to identify needs and thematic area, target population, etc.)
• To support and guide BelStat to develop a training package for field workers (questionnaire step by step guide, interviewer manual, role-play exercise, hand-outs etc.), building on existing training resources, ensuring that all methodological and ethical considerations are reflected in the data collection process.
• Design and conduct one 4-day Training for Trainers (ToT) for up to 25 participants representing the BelStat to collect VAW data following standardized protocols.
• Co-lead data cleaning and validation by checking for errors and inconsistencies and conducting validation exercises to assess the integrity of data.
• Support BelStat to conduct an in-depth data analysis to identify trends and patterns of VAW prevalence and explore relationships between variables.

Timeframe, payments and deliverables

It is anticipated that the assignment will take up to 80 working days over a period of 14 months:

Payment for this consultancy will be based on the achievement of each deliverable and certification that each has been satisfactorily completed. Payment will be based on the submission of the SSA report along with the timesheet and relevant annexes as supporting documents for the achievement of deliverables:

Input from UN Women:

Throughout the assignment, UN Women will provide:

• Background and resource materials beyond those available online or otherwise published that the Consultant will need to obtain directly.
• Technical inputs when reviewing key conceptual documents and knowledge products, including methodologies, desk review analysis, agenda, research reports and training materials.
• Support to coordinate activities with National Statistics Offices and other key stakeholders, when and if required.
• Full logistical and communications support to strengthen visibility of the official launch events.

Reporting requirements:

The International Consultant on VAW Data and Research is expected to work remotely using her/his own computer. Consultancy report should be provided in electronic version in English with detailed description of the fulfilled tasks, according to the present Terms of Reference. Analytical documents, reports and other materials developed by expert should be attached to the report as annexes, which will serve as a justification for payment.

[1] Existing coordination body chaired by the National Statistics Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic

Competencies

 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.

Respect for Diversity:

• Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff.
• Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrate and integrity and fairness by modeling UN values and ethical standards.
• Strong knowledge of violence against women data and research.
• Knowledge of the social, cultural, and political context of Central Asia countries
• Strong written/oral communication and training skills
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Competencies in coordination, planning and teamwork
• A commitment to quality product and deadlines

Required Skills and Experience

Required Experience:

Evaluation of applicants

The evaluation starts with shortlisting of potential candidates and received applications against the mandatory requirements. Only full applications will be considered. Shortlisted candidates will be then evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants' technical qualifications and experience, and financial proposal. The contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Technically responsive/compliant/acceptable to the requirements of the ToR; and
• Having received the highest cumulative (technical & financial) score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

The selection of candidates will be done in 3 stages:

1st stage: Prior to detailed evaluation, all applications will be thoroughly screened against eligibility criteria (minimum qualification requirements) as set in the present ToR in order to determine whether they are compliant/ non-compliant.

2nd stage: Technical Evaluation/ Desk review:

Short-listed candidates will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

3rd stage: Financial evaluation will be conducted according to the method described below:

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)

Where:

p - points for the financial proposal being evaluated;

µ - price of the lowest priced proposal;

z - price of the proposal being evaluated

The candidate achieving the highest cumulative score for both Technical and Financial evaluations will be recommended by the Evaluation Committee for contracting.

Application procedure:

Applications should include:

• Offeror's letter to UN Women confirming interest and availability for the assignment.
• Financial proposal, indicating a total lump sum to include all costs relating to the delivery of activities as per above description.
• P-11 form including experience in similar assignments. This form can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment.

Financial proposal format:

Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant during the contract period. The financial proposal should be provided in USD. If the proposal is provided in any other currency, it would be converted as per UN exchange rate on the date of post closure.

The Consultant shall promote a client-oriented approach consistent with UN Women rules and regulations and commits to high standards of quality, productivity and timeliness in the delivery of tasks. The Consultant will meet and apply the highest standards of integrity and impartiality.

The Consultant must be fully dedicated to the mandate and the values of UN Women, particularly to promoting Gender Equality as a strategy to reduce conflict, improve livelihoods and ensure fairness and justice; to Women Empowerment underpinning Gender Equality promotion efforts; to inter-ethnic tolerance and concord; and to respect for diversity.

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.)