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. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality are translated into action worldwide. It provides solid and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts while building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

The United Republic of Tanzania (URT) has demonstrated strong political leadership and commitments to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE). At the international and regional levels, the URT is committed to implement various frameworks on GEWE which includes among others, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Agenda 2063 - the Africa We Want; UNSCR 1325 and subsequent UNSC resolutions on Women Peace and Security (WPS), the Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); the Convention on the Right of the Child (CRC); Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA 1995); the Generation Equality Forum Action Coalition on Economic Justice and Rights, and the SADC Declaration on Gender and Development (1997) and its optional protocol.

 

The URT has translated international, regional, and constitutional commitments for GEWE into diverse laws, policies, and plans to ensure gender equality, gender mainstreaming in key sectors, the protection of women and children from all forms of violence, the increased participation of women in decision-making structures, as well as their continued economic empowerment. In addition to its Vision 2025 and its Five-Year Development Plan, the United Republic of Tanzania has recently approved its National Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Policy (2023). This policy is key as it provides the overarching frameworks to support gender mainstreaming and translation of gender equality and women’s rights empowerment commitments in all sectors and LGAs.  

 

Contributing to the advancement of gender equality and women’s empowerment in Tanzania, in close collaboration with the Ministry for Community Development Gender Women and Special Groups, UN Women will hire a national consultant to support the translation of the National Gender Equality and Women’s Development Policy (2023) to enhance effective dissemination of the policy to key stakeholders.

Objective and Activities of the Consultancy 

To translate the above-mentioned National Gender Equality and Women’s Development Policy (2023) from Swahili to English, ensuring the same structure, format and intended meaning as the Swahili version is maintained.

Duties and Responsibilities

With the overall guidance of UN Women, the primary duties are to:

  1. Translate the Gender Policy from Swahili to English (58 pages) - the translator will be relied on to execute the translation with timeliness and consistency.
  2. Ensure the quality of translation and that the intended meaning is maintained in the translated version.
  3. Proofreading and final review of the translation - review of the translation before delivery should include checking spelling and grammar, confirming technical accuracy, and verifying overall clarity and fluency in English. UN Women will also conduct such verification checks and may request corrections accordingly.

 

Working modality

With close consultation with UN Women, the consultant contracted will deliver on assigned work from their home location.

 

Deliverables and Payment Schedule:

  • A Draft Translated Gender Policy from Swahili to English, ensuring clear and concise language that all can understand and that the English version does not contain spelling or grammatical errors.
  • A Final Draft Translated Gender Policy from Swahili to English, ensuring clear and concise language that all can understand and that the English version does not contain spelling or grammatical errors.
  • A lump sum payment will be provided in full upon completion of the assignment.

 

Competencies

Integrity:

  • Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of the UN 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.

 

Work in teams:

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

 

Communicating and Information Sharing:

  • Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.

 

Appropriate and Transparent Decision-Making:

  • Demonstrate informed and transparent decision-making.

 

Core Competencies:

  • Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity
  • Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
  • Accountability
  • Creative Problem Solving
  • Effective Communication
  • Inclusive Collaboration
  • Stakeholder Engagement
  • Leading by Example

 

Functional Competencies:

  • Mastery of both English and Swahili languages.
  • Knowledge of gender equality and women’s human rights.
  • Ability to accurately translate legal jargon or technical terms.
  • Proven ability and capacity to deliver translations to meet tight deadlines, such as the flexibility to assign additional translators to complete a project on time.
  • Ability to manage client expectations, meet deadlines, and provide high-quality translations.
  • Meticulous attention to linguistic nuances, grammar, and syntax errors.
  • Ability to understand complex texts, including the underlying tone and nuances, to provide an accurate and context-appropriate translation.
  • Ability to translate texts within a reasonable time frame without compromising quality.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Master’s degree in linguistics (Swahili and English), social sciences, or any other relevant field OR a Bachelor’s degree in linguistics (Swahili and English) or social sciences with eight years of relevant experience.

Experience:

  • A minimum of seven (7) years of professional experience in the translation of technical documents from English to Swahili and Swahili to English for various clients.
  • Experience translating texts on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
  • Proven familiarity or a track record of working with the United Nations and other international organizations.

Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in both written and spoken English and Swahili is required.

Submission of application:

Please note that applications without a completed and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

UN Women Personal History form (P-11) can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment.

UNWOMEN is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.