Background

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the UN Charter, UN Women, among other issues, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls, empowerment of women and achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

The achievement of the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably gender equality and women’s empowerment, requires transformative shifts, integrated approaches, and new solutions. Based on current trajectories, existing interventions will not suffice to achieve a Planet 50-50 by 2030. Innovative approaches that disrupt “business as usual” are central to delivering the SDGs for all.

Innovation and technology provide unprecedented opportunities to break trends and reach those who are the most likely to be left behind. This is why UN Women has prioritized innovation technology as one of the “drivers of change” within its new draft Strategic Plan, 2018 – 2021.

The ECA RO follows UN Women’s corporate innovation strategy and initiatives. It will develop a strategy to build an innovation culture that facilitates dialogue for creating a common understanding of what innovation is, creates space for experimentation and allows for experience sharing, thereby contributing in part to knowledge management. In this regard, ECA RO will provide annual investments to offices in the form of seed funds to develop and test innovations for programming. Together with this approach, the ECA RO will ensure that clear measures are in place to monitor, evaluate and document these test innovations.  The ECA RO will examine the need for additional internal capacity and advisory support related to innovation for field offices. It also aims to facilitate consultations with partners on innovation by using the relevant dialogue-related forums and processes to agree on the specific needs and priorities of women and girls that could be addressed through innovation.

Objective

To continue efforts to accelerate the SDGs and gender equality in ECA region, UN Women is seeking to engage an International Expert on Innovation and RBM to asses current innovation initiatives in ECA and support ECA RO to foster an enabling environment with clear success indicators for innovation in the region. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Programme Analyst of the UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, and in close coordination with UN Women colleagues at the regional and national levels in the region, the International Expert on Innovation and RBM will:

·         Undertake a critical review of selected existing innovation initiatives being implemented by UN Women offices and partners in ECA region, with a focus on criteria and methods use to generate and implement innovative approaches and practices within their programmatic work and assess their understanding of success and results-based management and evaluation. Conduct field visits to countries suggested for the assessment and undertake meetings with relevant partners and UN Women staff.

·         Document successful practices of implementing and measuring innovation for further dissemination and replications and define challenges and lessons learnt with suggested response/actions to overcome them.

·         Suggest, present and agree on a clear set of criteria to apply to define, develop and assess innovations within the programmatic work implemented by UN Women in the region.

·         Support UN Women Regional Office on drafting its strategy to build an innovation culture and ensure that clear actions and measures are suggested to monitor, evaluate and document these tested innovations.

Expected deliverables

Duration and remuneration

UN Women will fund the costs of the consultancy work and maintain overall oversight and monitoring of the consultancy work. The duration of the consultancy will be from November 2018 – February 2019 with an estimated 50 working days.

Payments will be made upon evaluation of the satisfactory performance from the direct supervisor upon the approval of monthly workplans/reports.

Competencies

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

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

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree in one of the following areas: social sciences, gender studies, law, human rights, international development, or in a similar area relevant to the requirements of the TOR;

Work Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years’ experience engaged in human rights and/or gender equality;
• At least 5 years’ proven expertise in developing and applying assessment and monitoring tools and methodologies in the development and innovation context;
• Expertise in innovation for development programming
• Understanding of gender equality and women’s rights
• Knowledge of and experience in the ECA region is an asset

Language requirement:

• Fluency in English (written and spoken)

Other skills:

• Good computer skills in Windows environment, knowledge of internet communications and command of MS Office applications (Word, Excel, Power Point) ?

Application Process 

The application should include:

• Personal History Form (P-11 form) - including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted;
• Financial Proposal:  Specify a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference. The financial proposal shall include a per diem breakdown of this lump sum amount for 50 days work needed to complete all deliverables and include all related costs.

As specific travel will be confirmed with monthly review of work plan, any travel will be paid

separately by UN Women; 

• Candidates should have the ability to quickly produce degree certificates and medical certification (of good health) should they be short-listed in consideration of the consultancy post.

Payment Schedule

Consultant will be paid upon submission and the acceptance of deliverables.

Evaluation process

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of qualifications and financial proposal. The contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

1. Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
2. Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation. The hiring manager may choose to carry out interviews to ensure technical ability in addition to the technical/financial evaluation.

Financial Evaluation (30%) – max. 30 points:

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)

Using the following values:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated