UN WOMEN Jobs - 65334- UNWomen - A Team of 3 Legal Experts to Provide Te

UNWomen - A Team of 3 Legal Experts to Provide Technical Support to the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, Nepal to Review Laws on Gender Equality - (Open for Nepalese Nationals Only)

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Kathmandu, NEPAL

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

02-May-2016

Application Deadline :

20-Apr-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

45 working days spread over 3 months period

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP 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. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The Government of Nepal (GON) has made strong normative and legal commitments for ending violence against women and women’s empowerment. The state is signatory to various international conventions on gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE), including the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), thereby legally binding itself to put it into the practice. As a result, the GON has adopted various national legal and policy frameworks to promote gender equality. Nepal promulgated the new Constitution of Nepal on 20 September 2015, which is the seventh constitution in the constitutional history of the country and the first to have been promulgated from the Constituent Assembly through public consultation. There are many positive provisions in the new constitution that seek to progress gender equality and women’s empowerment. The constitution has provided more fundamental rights to women than before. The constitution guarantees the right of women to protection against physical, mental, sexual, and psychological or any other forms of violence as a fundamental right with penalty for perpetrators and entitlement of compensation for victims. The promulgation of new constitution has opened avenues for broader legal reform, since implementation of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the new constitution can take momentum only after they are translated into the legal framework. Recent years have witnessed progress in legislations on gender equality laws such as: a 5-year National Strategy and Plan of Action on Gender Empowerment and for Ending Gender Based Violence (2012/13 -2016/17) have been put in place along with other major programme documents- the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA). The other legal frameworks include the Act to Amend Some Nepal Acts for Establishing Gender Equality and Eliminating Gender Based Violence 2015, the Anti-Witchcraft Act 2015, the Domestic Violence (Crime and Punishment) Act 2009, the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act 2007, which have been adopted in helping the survivors to access justice, security, psycho- social care and possible livelihood opportunities.

Justification

The recently promulgated Constitution of Nepal has confirmed that the Country will be transformed into a Federal State very soon. In the new federal structure, the formulation of new legislations both at the national and provincial level are required as provisioned by the Constitution. It is also mandatory to review and amend existing legislation to ensure compliance with the Constitution within a stipulated time frame. The Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs (MoLJPA) in its press release of 16 October 2015 had indicated that about 315 laws need to be amended, 110 new federal laws, 22 provisional laws and 6 local levels laws need to be enacted to implement the constitution. MoLJPA has developed an inventory of laws for amendment and enactment (http://www.moljpa.gov.np/ ) and written to all line ministries on 18 November 2015 requesting them to initiate the drafting/amendment process. In this context, under the leadership of the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MoWCSW), UN Women is committed to supporting a study to assess the compatibility of existing legislation with the new Constitution and provide recommendations for formulating new laws at the Federal level to ensure the fundamental rights of women as provisioned and protected by the Constitution.

Role of Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MOWCSW)

The MoWCSW, in close collaboration with the Consultant/s will lead, oversee and guide the review of laws on gender equality and women’s empowerment, and prepare the preliminary draft laws in line with the new constitution.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant is expected:

To conduct desk review and mapping of the GE/WE existing legislations to assess their compatibility with the new Constitution and suggest possible recommendations for amendments and the formulation of new laws;
To prepare a preliminary draft of the two to three laws related to gender equality and women’s empowerment in conformity with the new Constitution.

Key Deliverables:

Minutes and notes of all consultation and interactive meetings with relevant stakeholders;
Final report of the mapping of the existing legislations and concrete recommendations for amendments to assess the compatibility with the new Constitution. (It should be provided in Nepali language for MoWCSW, and translated into English for UN Women.);
Three to four draft laws on relevant gender equality and women’s empowerment provisions to ensure the fundamental rights of women as provisioned and protected by the Constitution. (It should be provided in Nepali language, and translated into English for UN Women.);
Monthly progress update.

Methodology:

Desk review of relevant laws and documents;
Interview and interaction with key stakeholders at different levels.

Timeline:

First draft report of the mapping of the existing legislations and concrete recommendations by 1 June 2016;
Three to four draft laws on relevant gender equality provisions by 31 July 2016.

Reporting:

The consultants will work under the overall guidance of the MoWCSW Joint Secretary (JS) and the UN Women Deputy Representative.

Schedule of payment:

Upon signing of the contract and submission of detailed work plan to UN Women- 20% of total contract amount;
Upon completion and approval of all deliverables by UN Women – 80% of the total contract.

Competencies

Core Values/Guiding Principles:

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 valuing 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:

Ethics and Values:

Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Development and Innovation:

Take charge of self-development and take initiative.

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.

Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:

Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others.

Conflict Management:

Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.

Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Functional Competencies:

Proven experience in coordinating review of the existing legislation and conducting desk review/ research, legal analysis, and legal drafting;
Good knowledge of gender equality, human rights, rule of law, and other gender related issues;
Strong familiarity with the national and international instruments on human rights, women’s rights and gender equality and Nepal’s commitments to these instruments;
Technical expertise in gender equality and women’s human rights;
A strong understanding of the judicial system in Nepal;
Proven expertise on federal governance system;
A strong record in designing and leading or conducting legal study;
Strong time management and communication skills;
Proven ability to establish, build and sustain effective relationships with government agencies, development partners, civil society organizations and women’s rights and human rights organizations along with community level women groups;
Excellent analytical, writing, presentation, facilitation and documentation skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Team Leader (1):

The team leader is expected to have the following expertise:

At least a Masters degree in law, preferably with a focus on gender, human rights, and justice;
A minimum of 10 years’ experience in the legal or justice sector.

Team Member: Legal Expert (1):

The Legal Expert is expected to have the following expertise:

At least a bachelor’s degree in law, preferably with a focus on gender, human rights, and justice;
A minimum of 7 years’ experience in the legal or justice sector.

Team Member: Legal Assistant (1):

The Legal Assistant is expected to have the following expertise:

At least a bachelor’s degree in law, preferably with a focus on gender, human rights, and justice;
A minimum of 2 years’ experience in the legal or justice sector.

Language:

Excellent oral and writing skills in English and Nepali.

Computer Skills:

Excellent computer skills in MS Word and Excel.

Application Procedure

UN Women encourages a team of legal experts to apply for the above mentioned assignment. However, UN Women will have contract with individuals only who qualifies for the contract and the Contractor shall have the legal status of an independent contractor vis-à-vis UN-WOMEN, and nothing contained in or relating to the Contract shall be construed as establishing or creating between the Parties the relationship of employer and employee or of principal and agent. The officials, representatives, employees, or subcontractors of each of the Parties shall not be considered in any respect as being the employees or agents of the other Party, and each Party shall be solely responsible for all claims arising out of or relating to its engagement of such persons or entities.

Interested lead consultant must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications when submitting the proposal as the lead consultant for the team:

Explaining why the team of consultant is the most suitable for the work (maximum of two pages) and how the lead consultant will manage the team to accomplish the above task;
Proposed work-plan;
All team members P11 forms and updated resumes. The P11 form can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment;

A lump-sum financial proposal specifying details of proposed amount including:

Consultant cost (Only of Team Leader);
Cost of supporting team members;
Local travel cost, if any;
Translation and editing related cost;
Stationery and communication related cost;
Any other relevant cost.

Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Assessment Method:

The technical component of proposal submitted by the lead consultant will be evaluated on the basis of its responsiveness to the Terms of Reference (ToR).

Technical evaluation criteria (including minimum qualifications):

Qualification of the Consultants (Max 30 points);
Relevant work experience in legal and justice sector relating to gender (Max 30 points);
Proposed Work Plan for undertaking the task (Max 10 points).

Maximum total technical score amounts to 70 points. Only candidates who have passed over the mandatory criteria and have accumulated at least 49 points under the technical evaluation will qualify to the next round of the evaluation.

Evaluation of submitted financial offers will be done based on the following formula: S = Fmin / F * 30

S - score received on financial evaluation;
Fmin - the lowest financial offer out of all the submitted offers qualified over the technical evaluation round;
F - Financial offer under the consideration.

The Winning candidate will be the candidate, who has accumulated the highest aggregated score (technical scoring + financial scoring).

Note:

In July 2010, the United nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.