UN WOMEN Jobs - 73585- National Consultant to support Gender-responsive p

National Consultant to support Gender-responsive planning at local level in Albania

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Tirana, ALBANIA

Type of Contract :

Other

Starting Date :

07-Aug-2017

Application Deadline :

03-Aug-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Other

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

20 working days, 7 August – 16 November 2017

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

Over the past years, UN Women has been providing support to national and local governments in strengthening democratic governance and advancing women’s rights through initiatives aimed at mainstreaming gender equality into policy, planning, and budgeting. Through the Gender Equality Facility in Albania (GEF), UN Women extended its support for gender mainstreaming to reform processes in EU IPA II structural and sector governance reform. This resounds in GEF Objective 5 “Local government units and regional structures are capacitated to adopt, implement and monitor gender-responsive area based development plans and respective service delivery”.

In the framework of Administrative and Territorial Reform and the new Law on Local Self-Government, Local Government Units (LGUs) should respect principles of gender equality. This requires an overall reform process which ensures that power, responsibility and resources are equally shared by both women and men, and equity is reflected in service delivery and modes of governance (Articles 27, 28, 77, 95). Special attention needs to be paid to gender equality considerations and to coherent gender mainstreaming in municipal planning, decision making processes, and budgets; as well as to the operationalisation of specific mechanisms and structures which aim at reducing gender inequalities and discrimination.

The restructuring processes in LGUs provide an opportunity to integrate Albania’s inter/national commitments to gender equality (e.g. CEDAW, Beijing Platform for Action, EU Gender Equality acquis, 2030 Agenda) into local governance. A clear commitment by LGUs to use their powers, competences and partnerships to achieve greater equality for their citizens is also in line with the “European Charter for equality of women and men in local life. The new competencies of LGUs offer a clear entry point for measures ensuring that men and women will have equal opportunities in the new system.

Some self-government government units - financially and technically supported by donors - have proceeded with implementing national obligations on gender equality by establishing gender equality/domestic violence units or employees, and by gradually addressing gender equality concerns in local planning. In addition, during the past months, seven municipalities formally confirmed they commitment to gender equality by signing up to the European Charter for Equality of women and men in local life. Positive practice in engaging in gender and socially responsive local governance is clearly emerging. In line with European guidance, municipalities are now required to engage in respective follow up – existing practice and elements of gender-responsive planning need to be synthesised into Local Gender Action Plans and submitted to the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) in Brussels.

In order to technically support this process, UN Women will be recruiting a National Gender Mainstreaming & Local Governance expert. Based on work undertaken by municipalities so far, the consultant will facilitate the synthesising and preparation of Local Gender Action Plans, in line with CEMR regulations and EU standards.

Duties and Responsibilities

The scope of this assignment is to provide technical assistance and guidance to up to a maximum of five municipalities in screening existing development policy, plans and documents for the purpose of identifying gender-responsive elements. Adhering to CEMR guidance, these elements will be aligned with the articles of the European Charter of Equality of women and men in local life and synthesised into a Local Gender Action Plan specific for each of the Municipalities. This plan will qualify for formal submission to and approval by CEMR and will serve as the basis for monitoring gradual implementation as well as a tool for municipal resource mobilisation for equality in the future. The national expert’s tasks will include the following:

Review of and familiarisation with CEMR Guidance on the step-wise process of drafting Local Gender Action Plans;
In each of the selected Municipalities, familiarize her/himself with all (draft) policies and development plans, and with relevant background documents relevant to the task;
In line with CEMR Guidance on the Charter implementation process, liaise with the respectively relevant/responsible municipal staff members;
Provide guidance and technical advice to municipal staff on screening these documents for gender-responsive elements;
Provide guidance and advice to municipal staff to synthesize ongoing and planned gender-responsive elements and activities in line with CEMR guidance, and align them with the European Charter;
Support municipal staff in drafting the individual Local Gender Action Plan in line with CEMR guidance, including structuring, prioritisation, responsibilities, indicators, budget, timeline, and partners;
Suggest interventions addressing eventually identified gaps in planning for equality;
Review and undertake quality control of the final Local Action Plans;
Summarise engagement in each of the municipalities in a final report covering all the above (the report is to be prepared in English);
Present main elements, insights and recommendations resulting from the assignment in an official Roundtable with relevant stakeholders and Development & Integration Partners.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

Plan engagement in municipalities/ Workplan/1st week of August 2017
Provide guidance and advice to municipal staff to synthesize ongoing and planned gender-responsive elements and activities in line with CEMR guidance, and align them with the European Charter; subsequently support municipal staff in drafting the individual Local Gender Action Plan in line with CEMR guidance, including structuring, prioritisation, responsibilities, indicators, budget, timeline, and partners/ Draft Gender Action Plans/22nd September 2017
Review and undertake quality control of the final Local Action Plans/ Final Gender Action Plans/16th October 2017
Present main elements, insights and recommendations resulting from the assignment in an official Roundtable with relevant stakeholders and Development & Integration Partners/ Final presentation/ end of October 2017
Final consultancy report/ Report/3rd November 2017

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.
Cultural sensitivity and respect for diversity - Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Additionally, the individual should have an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

Communication - Facilitates and encourages open communication and strive for effective communication.
Planning & Organizing – Develops clear goals in line with agreed approach and strategies, identifies priorities, foresees risks, manages time wisely and efficiently, and makes allowances accordingly.
Organizational Awareness - Demonstrates corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
Teamwork – Demonstrates the ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
Accountability – Takes ownership of all responsibilities and delivers outputs in accordance with agreed time, cost, and quality standards.

Functional Competencies:

Proven networking skills, demonstrating ability to build Strategic Partnerships by maintaining a network of contacts for general information sharing and being up-to-date on partnership-related issues;
Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with UN Staff members;
Strong negotiating skills;
Excellent writing skills in English and Albanian.

Behavioural Competencies:

Strong analytical and interpersonal skills;
Strong initiative-taker;
Focuses on impact and results for client;
Consistently approaches work with energy and with a positive, constructive, problem-solving attitude.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications/Education:

Advanced academic degree preferably and primarily in public policy, public administration, gender and development, social studies, or related fields.

Experience:

Minimum of eight years of inter/national development experience with particular emphasis on providing technical expertise on gender mainstreaming in governance and national gender policies; gender responsive budgeting; and gender-sensitive planning, programming, and monitoring.
Minimum of six years of providing hands-on technical guidance and advice to municipalities in Albania/Western Balkans on applying tools and methods for mainstreaming gender equality and women’s rights into processes of local governance.
Concrete evidence of previous engagement in using and applying the European Charter for Equality of women and men in local life in assignments with local government and international actors.

Language:

Fluency and proficiency in spoken and written Albanian and English is required.

Application procedure

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application:

Cover letter to include a brief overview about which of your previous experience and engagement makes you the most suitable candidate for the advertised position.
Financial Proposal specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in these Terms of Reference. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount in Albanian Lekë (daily rate and number of anticipated working days, and any other possible costs when applicable). Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services). Travel will occur upon approval by UN Women and travel cost for missions will be covered by UN Women.
P11 including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment

Payment schedule

100% of the amount specified in the Financial Proposal will be disbursed upon submission and UN Women approval of Timesheet and Deliverables