UN WOMEN Jobs - 75191- Consultant to Conduct a Viability Study of Local P

Consultant to Conduct a Viability Study of Local Products in Assam - Ending Violence Against Women (Open to Indian Nationals Only)

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Home - Based, INDIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Nov-2017

Application Deadline :

20-Oct-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 November to 10 December 2017 (30 working days)

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

1 November to 10 December 2017 (30 working days)

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

UN Women is the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. UN Women is dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.

All human development and human rights issues have gender dimensions. UN Women focuses on priority areas that are fundamental to women’s equality, and that can unlock progress across the board. Five focus areas of interventions include ending violence against women; economic empowerment; leadership and participation; peace and security; and national planning and budgeting.

UN Women’s Multi Country Office, based in New Delhi, India, covers four countries of the region, i.e., Bhutan, India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka.

UN Women works on several fronts towards ending violence against women and girls. This includes tackling its main root cause: gender inequality. Interventions focus both on prevention as well as response mechanisms. Efforts are multiplied through advocacy campaigns and partnerships with governments, civil society, private sector and sister UN agencies. Initiatives range from working to establish legal frameworks and specific national actions, to supporting prevention at the grassroots level, including in conflict and post-conflict situations and building capacities of relevant stakeholders. UN Women supports data collection on violence against women and facilitating new learning on the issue.

UN Women India MCO is implementing a three-year project titled “Prevention of Violence against Women and Girls Programme ‘’ from 2017-2019 in select Tea Estates in India that aims to ensure that women and girls are socially, economically and politically empowered. The objective of the project is to develop and implement an evidence based and human rights based violence prevention programme aimed at women outgrowers and plantation workers. Towards the realization of this objective, UN Women will work with multi sectoral actors, including government authorities, other UN agencies, women’s organizations, suppliers and other partners. This project will support two of UN Women’s Flagship initiatives: Prevention and Access to Essential Services to End Violence against Women and Girls and the Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces Flagship Initiative.

As part of the programme, a research is being undertaken to assess the viability of specific home-based products made by community women in and around select tea estates of Assam.

In this context, UN Women seeks to hire the professional services of an individual -consultant to conduct a viability study for up scaling such a programme.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance and supervision of the EVAW Programme Specialist, UN WOMEN, the Consultant will undertake the following key tasks and other responsibilities as may be assigned:

The Consultant will be responsible for the following:

Develop a methodological framework including tools for data collection;

The study will avail itself of both primary and secondary sources through desk research and field surveys and provide UN Women with comprehensive, updated and reliable quantitative and qualitative information and will include the following areas of research:

Assessing the current situation in terms of availability and accessibility of raw materials, local skills, availability of trained craftsperson, trade channels and appropriate technologies.
Assessing the local, regional and national demand for the goods that may be produced through the programme and the diversification needed to expand the product horizon and enable market penetration.
Identifying a niche market for the produced goods.
Identifying potential marketing outlets, including relevant trade flows, procedures and regulations mainly in the project area but also in India.
Identifying type of market competition, where competition is by innovation, quality and diversification.
Issues of legislation, regulation, standards, licensing and trade procedures connected with the recommended sector.
Recommendations for market strategy development factoring resource limitations of small businesses.

Deliverables:

Document outlining the methodology, tools and work plan.
Draft Viability study report in English.
Final high-quality viability study report in English with annexures to interview information, Bibliography and references. The report should systematically mention the institutions and individuals/key informants consulted for the research.

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 organisation 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.

Organisational Awareness:

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

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 behaviour 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.

Functional Competencies:

Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
Focuses on impact and result for the partners and responds positively to feedback.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s in Business Administration preferably in Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainability.

Experience:

Minimum 4 years of professional experience in carrying out market research or viability/ feasibility studies.
Previous demonstrable experience in market research and data collection.

Language:

Fluency in English and working knowledge of any other Indian language.

Application:

Interested applicants should apply to this announcement through UNDP jobs site: jobs.undp.org

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/about-us/jobs;
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;
Applications received after the close date will not be accepted;
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Evaluation and Selection Criteria

Criteria for shortlisting of CVs will be based on the following assessment:

Required Degree and Qualification (5 points);
Relevant experience in market research or viability/ feasibility studies. (5 points);
Working knowledge and use of computers and its programmes / applications. Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advance knowledge of spread sheet and database packages (5 points).

The evaluation process for selection of the candidate will be based on the following assessment:

Interview (70 points);
Proof of writing samples (30 points).

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.