Background
Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the charter of the united nations, UN Women 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 and peace and security. Women’s leadership and political participation is one of UN Women’s primary work as mandated in its inception, recognising the integral role of women in strong and stable democratic processes. To promote the leadership and participation of women in strong and stable democratic processes, UN Women works to promote gender equality in parliaments, electoral bodies, political parties and other institutions.
UN Women has a proven track record in supporting women’s political participation through its programmes across various regions, under the guidance of UN Women’s founding resolution (GA resolution 64/289) and its global strategic plan (2018-2021) and in line with Uganda Country Strategic Note and Work plan (2016-2020). The UN Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) in April 2015 called for support for enhanced women’s participation through mainstreaming gender in the electoral processes.
Duties and Responsibilities
The development objective underlying the proposed consultancy is the consolidation of the democratic process and good governance in Uganda. The aim is to support the Electoral Commission to mainstream gender in its processes and programmes. The consultant will be based at the Electoral Commission and will be responsible for providing on – going technical advice and support to help build the capacity of the Electoral Commission in gender mainstreaming in the relevant areas of the electoral processes and will work in coordination with other Electoral Commission departments.
Responsibilities.
- Provide technical advice to the Electoral Commission on international best practices and principles that promote gender equality in electoral processes.
- Review tools and materials of the Electoral Commission to ensure that they are gender responsive
- Develop a gender training module for training management and staff of the Electoral Commission.
- Conduct training on gender for staff and management of the Electoral Commission.
- Develop terms of reference for gender focal persons identified in each department of the Electoral Commission.
- Provide technical support to gender focal persons in the Electoral Commission in the execution of their duties.
- Develop a one-year action plan for gender mainstreaming for the Electoral Commission with agreed activities and targets.
- Establish and conduct multi stakeholder dialogues with CSOs, Police, Government ministries and political parties with the aim of promoting women’s participation in elections.
- Provide regular updates to UN Women on progress indicators for gender mainstreaming in the EC
- Any other duties related to the assignment on behalf of UN Women.
Deliverables
The gender advisor will produce the following deliverables during the period of the contract.
- A gender training module for the Electoral Commission produced
- A training of senior management and staff of the Electoral Commission on gender mainstreaming conducted.
- Gender responsive tools developed for the Electoral Commission for use during electoral processes.
- Two stakeholder dialogues held with CSOs, police, Government ministries and political parties on promoting women participation in electoral processes.
- Terms of reference for gender focal persons developed and disseminated.
- An action plan for gender mainstreaming in Electoral Commission for 1 year (2020) developed in consultation with the commission.
- Monthly progress reports to UN Women on indicators, challenges and opportunities for gender mainstreaming in the Electoral Commission submitted.
- A report on technical support provided to mainstream gender within the EC structures, programs and processes produced.
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.
Functional Competencies:
- Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modelling the UN values and ethical standards, shows commitment to UN Women’s mission vision, values and strategic goals.
- Demonstrates professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.
- Ability to establish and maintain strategic partnerships with Governments institutions donor’s civil society partners and other UN agencies.
- Strong negotiation skills.
- Stays composed and positive even in difficult moments, can handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact and have consistent behaviour towards others.
- Leverage conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different views
- Sharing knowledge and contributing to the culture of knowledge sharing and learning
- Excellent interpersonal and professional communication skills and abilities
- Ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor the progress of the projects and activities within the area of responsibility and achieve planned results.
- Strong teamwork spirit and interpersonal skills demonstrated by the ability to gain the assistance and cooperation of others in a team endeavour.
- Ability to build trust through operating with transparency and creating an open, positive and enabling environment
- Ability to work in multi-cultural, multi ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
- Sound judgement and decision-making skills with the ability to make effectively timely decisions.
- Ability to stay diplomatic and impartial and operate in a highly politicized environment.
Required Skills and Experience
Education
- Advanced university degree in social sciences, international relations, political science, international development studies, gender/ women’s studies, laws, or sociology.
Experience
- Minimum 7 years of experience in development work with specific focus on gender and democratic governance of which 3 years were dedicated to gender sensitive electoral processes and women’s effective participation in elections.
- Professional experience in gender sensitive elections and women’s engagement in electoral processes.
- Experience in dealing with policy makers and senior technical specialists.
- Experience in the understanding of the various stages of the electoral cycle
- Understanding of the mandate of the electoral commission
- Extensive knowledge of the political landscape of Uganda.
Language
- Fluency in written and spoken English is essential.
Timing: 9 months from 01st April to December2019
Evaluation
Technical evaluation criteria
The total number of points allocated for the technical qualification component is 100. The technical qualification of the consultant is evaluated based on the following technical qualification evaluation criteria:
Technical Evaluation Criteria with Obtainable Score
Education – 20%
Experience and Skills – 60%
Language and other skills – 20%
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document. Only duly submitted application with required documents will be accepted and considered for review:
- Duly completed Letter of Confirmation of Interest and availability
- Personal CV and P11, indicating all past experience in Gender and Governance work/ similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and, telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references. The link to UN Women P11 template is: http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment
- Copies of Certified academic certifications
- Technical proposal:
- Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
- A methodology and work plan on how they will approach and complete the assignment.
Interested and qualified persons should visit the vacancies on the UNDP Site located at http://jobs.undp.org for detailed vacancy announcement and submit application on-line not later than 22nd March 2019 addressed to:
The Country Representative
UN Women Country Office– Uganda
Plot 17-19, Clement Hill Road
Kampala, Uganda
Note: UN Women is an equal opportunity Employer. Qualified women and men are encouraged to apply. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.