Consultant to conduct an assessment of National Gender Machineries in the Caribbean

Contract

This is a International Consultant contract. More about International Consultant contracts.

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, 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, humanitarian action and peace and security.

The UN Women MCO Caribbean covers 22 countries and territories in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean, which are part of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Strides towards gender equality in the countries covered by the MCO have resulted in gains for women and girls in the Caribbean, however, critical gaps remain.

As the UN entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, UN Women has a triple mandate of normative, operational/programmatic and coordination to ensure the UN, governments, and civil society effectively mainstream gender to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment. The MCO Caribbean Strategic Note 2017 -2021 Evaluation identified clear lessons learned across UN Women’s triple mandate. On key lesson is that the critical role of National Gender Machineries (NGMs) in ensuring the viability of gender equality policies and programmes cannot be overemphasized.

The Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) outlines that the NGM is the central policy-coordinating unit inside government. Its main task is to support government-wide mainstreaming of a gender-equality perspective in all policy areas and act as catalysts promoting gender equality, gender mainstreaming and monitoring of the implementation of the Platform for Action and CEDAW. Without well-resourced NGMs the viability of efforts to support gender equality and women’s empowerment and the achievement of the Sustainable Development goals is jeopardized.

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women MCO - Caribbean Representative, and reporting directly to the Programme Analyst, Special Assistant, the consultant will be contracted to conduct an assessment of NGMs in the region and present a report with recommendations. The report should highlight the role of the NGM, better practices, lessons learned and recommendations regarding the appropriate role, responsibilities, structure for NGMs in Caribbean SIDS.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant is expected to deliver the following results:

• Workplan.
• Conduct desk review and semi-structured interviews with NGMs in CARICOM.
• Develop draft report (no more than 25 pages).
• Support consultation to present draft report.
• Finalise report (no more than 25 pages).

Competencies

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

Functional Competencies:

• Integrity and Fairness: 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. Conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results.
• 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.
• Ability to gather, evaluate and analyse relevant information use a gender perspective.
• Ability to structure and present information in writing in a logical and coherent order.
• Broad knowledge base gender issues in the Caribbean.

Required Skills and Experience

The consultant should meet the following criteria:

Experience:

• At least 7 years’ experience working on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• At least 5 years’ experience working with National Gender Machineries.
• Prior experience in the UN System and the Caribbean Region is an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required

Education:

• Advanced University degree in Social Sciences e.g. Development, Economics, Public Administration, Business etc.
• Bachelor’s degree in social sciences e.g. Development, Economics, Public Administration, Business etc with 10 years relevant experience.

• In exceptional cases a Secondary School certificate will be considered if candidates have at least 25 years relevant experience.

  LOCATION AND DURATION

• The consultancy will be home based.

• The consultant will be engaged for a maximum of 40 working days during the period 28 February – 1 July 2022

REMUNERATION

• The consultancy fee will be negotiated before contracting. Each payment will be based on a predefined and formal agreement between UN Women and the consultant and will be disbursed based on satisfactory completion of agreed deliverables.

• The remuneration for this contract type is an all-inclusive fee, the organization will not be liable for additional cost or benefits. Hence, it is the responsibility of the consultant to take out adequate medical insurance for the duration of the contract and it is recommendable that the policy includes coverage for COVID-19 related illness. The medical coverage should be international when the contract requires missions or international assignment.

• If selected for this vacant post, proof of medical coverage should be presented within the first two months of the contract.

HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, AND COMMUNICATION:

The consultant must be equipped with a fully functional laptop, which must comfortably run Office 365 programs, using operating systems Microsoft Windows 10/11, or Mac OS X 10.11 or upward. The consultant must be reasonably accessible by email and telephone (preferably mobile). The use of reliable, internet-based (Skype or equivalent) is required.

REFERENCES:

• Minimum of three client references that include the name of the contact person, title and contact information.

OTHER:

Submissions to UNDP Jobs are limited to a maximum of 10 MB, virus-free or corrupted contents to avoid rejection, and no more than 1 email transmission. All applications must be submitted through UNDP jobs. Please do not send applications to UN Women staff as they will not be accepted.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check).