Consultant to Develop UN Women Regional Office for East and Southern Africa's (2022-2025) Strategic Note

Consultant

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Background

UN WOMEN works to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and works on the basis of several international agreements that guide the work of UN Women; namely i) the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW) and the Optional Protocol. The “Women's Bill of Rights” is the cornerstone of all United Nations programs for women. More than 185 countries are party to the Convention; ii) the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) which sets out the commitments taken by governments to strengthen women's rights; iii) 1325 United Nations Security Council Resolution on Women, Peace and Security (2000) which recognized that wars have different consequences for women and reaffirmed the need to empower women’s greater role in decision-making in terms of prevention and resolution of conflicts.

The Beijing + 25 assessment and review process reiterated many persistent and emerging challenges for the achievement of gender equality, with women and girls especially affected by multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. In this context, increasingly the consequences of COVID-19 pandemic threaten to exacerbate long-standing obstacles to the full enjoyment of the fundamental rights of women. In particular, the loss of livelihood and job security combined with the increasing burden of care and the dramatic increase in reported cases of gender-based violence in many countries, including millions of women who are locked up with their attackers. In light of these consequences and other effects of the pandemic on women, it is clear and urgent to combine health measures aimed at containing the virus with fiscal stimulus packages which take into account the needs of women and girls.

Likewise, the triple mandate of UN Women gives it a unique capacity to: (i) support the strengthening of international norms and standards; (ii) promote coordination, consistency and more effective gender parity across the UN system in support of commitments to gender equality and the empowerment of women; and (iii) support Member States, at their request, in translating international standards and rules into legislation, development policies and plans at regional, national and local levels, as part of its operational activities. It also allows the Entity to inform support for development of international standards and rules with national experiences.

In this context, during the 2020 annual session of the Governing Council of UN-Women1, the Council requested that "... UN-Women, in accordance with its mandate, begin to prepare the next strategic plan, 2022-2025, in full consultation with the Board of Directors ", including the presentation at the second regular session of a roadmap for the advisory process provided for in the preparation of the strategic plan.

In developing its new Strategic Plan, UN Women will optimize alignment with conclusions of the review and assessment of Beijing + 25, the 2030 Agenda for Development sustainability and other intergovernmental normative frameworks, Generation Equality, and rights conventions, the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review 2020, as well as the recommendations and conclusions of the midterm review of the current UN Women Strategic Plan.

and additional assessments and reviews. The development of the next strategic plan is also based on extensive internal and external consultations at global, regional and national levels with key stakeholders, including Member States, civil society, other United Nations entities, the private sector and other actors working in development field.

Working with internal and external partners across the region, ESARO will develop its new Strategic Note that is anchored in and guided by the new UN Women Global Strategy (2021-2025), and which is regionally appropriate based on contextual analysis and synthesis of priority needs and challenges facing women and girls across ESA. In order to build an inclusive participatory Strategic Note that responds to the regional priorities, the following actions will be necessary:

• In depth consultations and facilitated meetings with the ESARO team;
• Extensive regional and sub-regional consultations with relevant civil society and (inter) government partners working with UN Women across the region;
• Active participation of Country Offices, Programs Presence, Liaison Office as well as non-resident countries to determine strategic priorities and programmatic area focus;
• Effective participation of United Nations agencies at the regional levels to ensure synergies between identified regional priorities, articulate shared results and identify practical and effective mechanisms to implement UN Women’s coordination mandate Special attention will be needed for consultations with UNDP, UNFPA and UNICEF, regarding the identification of recommendations and future-oriented priorities of the Common Chapter;
• Situation analysis inclusive of the region's Common Country Assessments, regional gender related strategies and those focused on achieving the SDGs;
• Practical integration of the United Nations Reform process as it relates to UN Women’s triple mandate and priorities across the region;
• Risk analysis and development of prevention, mitigation and response strategies to be included in the SN.

In addition to these consultations, the process of developing the regional office's strategic note includes:

• Facilitating a strategic planning workshop for the UN Women Regional Office team;
• Disseminating the outcomes of the strategic planning workshop to the relevant partners included in the process to ensure feedback loop Finalizing the strategic note with results framework, monitoring and evaluation framework, organizational chart and resource matrix.

In order to ensure the process is effective, efficient and consistent with the range of inputs obtained during working sessions, the Regional Office seeks the services of an International Consultant. The consultant will work in close collaboration with the Coordination and Strategic Planning Unit under the direct supervision of the Deputy Regional Director of the UN Women office for East and Southern Africa Regional Office.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the Assignment:

Main Objective:

The UN Women Regional Office for East and Southern Africa is embarking on the process of developing its Strategic Note (SN) for the period of 2022-2025, defining key development results and management/operational results for the next four years. The Strategic Note will be based on the global UN Women Strategic Plan (2022-2025) and aligned to key development frameworks of the region as well as global normative frameworks.

Specific Objectives:

Under the supervision of the Deputy Regional Director, the consultant will be responsible for:

• Conducting a desk review of key documents including the results and recommendations of the ESARO SN Midterm review, Africa Strategy review, SN end term evaluation, the Common Country Assessments and key development frameworks of the region, as well as any regional gender related strategies that feed into the Theory of change (ToC);
• Facilitating initial consultations with select UN Women ESARO staff to provide the key foundation elements and initial framework;
• Conducting 3 sets of regional level consultations with relevant (1) civil society partners (including partners, members of youth, marginalized and other identified group leaders), (2) (inter) government/Member State representatives and (3) relevant regional UN agency partners for initial inputs into strategy content and direction from their respective perspectives;
• Drafting outcome reports from the strategic planning sessions and all relevant consultations including initial SN draft outline;
• Facilitating the retreat of the UN Women team (ESARO staff and representatives from COs in region) for the development of the Strategy Note taking into account the recommendations from the consultation workshop;
• Drafting the first version of the Regional Office's Strategic Note with content support/inputs from relevant ESARO staff including coordination, M&E, operations, programming, partnerships, etc;
• Preparing and facilitate the validation workshops with all the actors and partners involved in the implementation of activities in the region link to the areas of intervention by UN Women;
• Preparing the final version of the 2022-2025 Strategic Note and all of the appendices (including results framework, M&E framework, organizational chart, resource matrix and others details in UN Women Guidance Note on SN development).

Expected results:

The expected result at the end of the consultation is the 2022-2025 Strategic Note (SN) for the UN Women East and Southern Africa Regional Office which is aligned with the UN Women Global Strategic Plan (2022-2025) and supporting the effective implementation of the ESA Country Office.

The SN will be grounded in a participatory process that is inclusive not only UN Women and partner voices, but also ensuring the engagement of key stakeholders in the region including youth, members of marginalized and conflict-affected groups, and other priority groups. The SN will give due consideration to SDGs and development issues, humanitarian and peace and security as applicable reflecting the diverse regional context of ESA. The contextual analysis and root drivers of the content will be based on evidence from Country Portfolio Assessments (CPEs), the Africa Strategy review, the medium-term review and the end term evaluation of the Strategic Note 2018-2021. Finally, the SN will be developed in a manner that it is informed by a review of existing and required human resources, ensuring that sufficient capacities are available to implement the regional program with full consideration to potential obstacles, challenges and risks.

Methodology:

• Participatory consultation tools with stakeholder groups and a plan for inclusion of women, people and groups who are vulnerable and / or discriminated against will be maintained in the consultation process;
• Adopting a gender-sensitive approach based on the Gender Equality Marker / “UN-SWAP 2.0” [1] is recommended;
• It will also be important to specify the ethical guarantees that will be used. The results of the analysis, data collection and information must be approved during workshops or debriefings involving various key players and integrated into the situation analysis of the Strategic Note;
• The construction of the theory of change will be done through a participatory process and advisory during the start-up phase. This process will be guided by a gender analysis and human rights (HRBA) and results-based management (RBM) and shared in the strategic planning workshop.

Deliverables Schedule:

Key activities:

Deliverable:

Estimated time:

Consultative process to develop inception note with details of assignment and agreed outline for SN narrative and required attachments/appendix.

Inception note

5 days

Desk review of relevant documents

5 day

Organize consultation with key ESARO staff including management, planning, M&E and programming to review and solicit inputs on current context, ToC, programming direction, and guidance for SN development.

Outcome report aligned with SN outline and content requirements

4 days

Organize three regional partner consultations: 1. CSO partners and relevant key stakeholders; 2. (inter) governmental and Member State representatives; and 3. Relevant UN agencies to solicit respective relevant content inputs for SN planning.

3 outcome reports presenting findings as related to SN outline and content requirements

8 days

Work with designated ESARO staff to populate required SN content in each of the 10 sections detailing what is known and what is TBD.

10 days

Organize and facilitate ESARO SN ‘retreat’ inclusive of ESARO team and representatives from COs.

Outcome report

5 days

Continue work with designated ESARO staff to populate required SN content in each of the 10 sections based on inputs from ‘retreat’ and assembly initial SN draft.

SN draft

15 days

Organize 3 validation meetings: UN Women, CSO partners and government/MS to present findings and solicit feedback.

3 presentations and feedback reports

7 days

Review and incorporate consolidated feedback for revised draft for further review and consideration by UN HQ.

Revised SN Draft

3 days

Final revisions

Final SN submitted

4 days

Payment:

The payment of fees will be made in three installments:

• 25% upon submission of the report of the consultation / strategic planning workshop of the partners technical and financial including the results of the consultation and surveys;
• 30% on submission of draft 1 of the strategic note;
• 45% upon final submission of the Strategy Note and all of its annexes.

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:

• Have a good knowledge of the norms and standards of evaluations of the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG);
• Good command of data collection and analysis techniques quantitative and qualitative;
• Have excellent analytical, writing and synthesis skills;
• Demonstrate responsiveness, objectivity, organization and have a good methodology in carrying out the work;
• Demonstrate an ability to produce quality results on time outsourced and work under pressure.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master's degree in international relations, gender, sociology, demography, economics, law or other disciplines related.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of planning, programming, reviews and/or evaluation experience, seven years of which in strategy planning/reviews in development programs related to human rights, gender and results-based management;
• Experience in designing and conducting inclusive strategic planning workshops including facilitating theory of change;
• Knowledge and experience with the national development, policy and legislative frameworks;
• Extensive experience with UN programming, especially the UNDAF and delivering as one;
• Experience working on women’s human rights and gender equality; familiarity with the relevant context in East and Southern Africa;
• Demonstrated experience collaborating with institutions, partners in development and civil society organizations in the region in especially those focused on promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment activities;
• Experience with the United Nations system, good knowledge of the UN Women mandate and its programmatic frameworks and rules and United Nations procedures would be an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.

UNWOMEN 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.

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Added 3 years ago - Updated 3 years ago - Source: jobs.undp.org