Ending Violence Against Women Consultants (Multiple positions)

Consultant

Contract

This is a National Consultant contract. More about National 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 work of UN Women in Moldova is guided by its new Country Strategic Note 2023-2027, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Moldova (2023-2027), UN Women Global Strategic Plan, National Programs and Strategies and aims to contribute to the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Strategic Note focuses on four main areas: 1) Ending Violence against Women; 2) Women’s Leadership and Governance; 3) Women’s Economic empowerment and 4) Humanitarian and Peace development nexus and UN Coordination on Gender equality.

Violence against women (VAW) is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations in our world today. It is a major obstacle to the fulfilment of women’s and girls’ human rights and to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In Moldova, as in the region and around the world, it affects individuals regardless of the context, culture, or their socio-economic status, with serious repercussion for women, their families, and society in general. The prevalence of VAW in Moldova remains high, three out of four women, or 73%, have experienced some form of partner abuse. 71% were victims of psychological abuse, while a third of women have experienced physical violence, and 20.9% sexual violence. Despite significant progress, including in the area of legal and policy reforms, research, and awareness raising campaigns, the prevalence of VAW in Moldova remains high.

In line with the provision of Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), best national and international standards and practices, UN Women Moldova is committed further to contributing to the prevention of violence against women and improvement of services. This is ensured by providing support to the national relevant authorities in adjusting the national legislation, strengthening the capacities of service providers, including those providing the multidisciplinary response, supporting the institutional capacities of NGOs in the field, conducting awareness raising campaigns and activities involving different actors. UN Women will continue to provide expert and technical support in the establishment of the first National Agency for Prevention and Combatting Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, in line with EU-funded Project “Ending Violence, Expanding Livelihood Opportunities for Women and Accelerating Gender Governance in Moldova, launched as of November 2023, and other UN Women donors.

Under this announcement, UN Women within EVAW programme seeks to contract one or more national consultants to provide comprehensive support in adjusting/amending/revising EVAW legislation, policies, regulations in line with Istanbul Convention and other connected technical support in the framework of implementation of the above-mentioned treaty and not limited to. The consultants will provide technical assistance, guidance, facilitation, and regular exchange of knowledge and expertise where necessary to the relevant national authorities.

Duties and Responsibilities

Tasks and activities

Estimated workload (workdays)

To input the draft laws/regulations in the EVAW area in line with the Istanbul Convention and based on best national and international practices;

Up to 10 days

Prepare and conduct presentation of the draft law/regulations at the public consultations, working groups and provide inputs, intervention where needed, including for advocacy purposes;

Up to 5 days

Provide technical expertise in revision of relevant studies, research and data analysis on EVAW area;

Up to 12 days

Provide technical expertise on strengthening coordinated multi-sectoral response to cases of violence against women and girls;

Up to 20 days

Provide technical support to the National Agency for Prevention and Combatting Violence against Women and Domestic Violence;

Up to 20 days

Provide support on other related interventions including on strengthening institutional capacities of CSOs in the field;

Up to 15 days

Provide support and inputs in elaboration of concept notes for communication campaign and initiatives.

Up to 8 days

Provide programmatic support and inputs to selected partner institutions

Up to 20 days

Total:

Up to 110 days

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

The assignment should be carried out within a period of 12 months, not exceeding 110 working days, with the incumbent being responsible for delivering services in agreement with the deliverables stated in the table below.

All written deliverables should be agreed with UN Women and be provided in English, in electronic copy. Note that all materials, including images will remain property of UN Women and cannot be used without UN Women’s permission.

DURATION OF THE ASSIGNMENT

It is expected that the consultants shall begin work in January 2024 with work being completed by December 2024 in conformity with the indicative timeframe described under “Deliverables and Timeframe” section.

Note: The mentioned number of working days has been estimated as being sufficient/ feasible for the envisaged volume of work to be completed successfully and is proposed as a guideline for the duration of the assignment. It cannot and shall not be used as criteria for completion of work/assignment. The provision of envisaged deliverables approved by the UN Women EVAW Programme Analyst shall be the only criteria for the Consultant’s work being completed and eligible for payment/s.

INPUTS

UN Women will provide the Consultants with the background materials, UN Women project documents, proposals submitted by the Grantees, as well as other relevant materials with regards to implementation of the tasks under this TOR.

TRAVEL AND OTHER LOGISTIC ARRANGEMENTS

No travel is envisaged under the current assignment. In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs should be agreed upon, between UN Women and the National Consultants, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

Consultant’s performance will be evaluated against such criteria as: timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered. All reports must be provided in English, electronically.

FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS

Payment will be disbursed to the consultants in instalments, after completing the assignment, upon submission of the report/ reports on deliverables and certification by the supervisor that the services have been satisfactorily performed.

COMMUNICATION AND REPORTING OBLIGATIONS

The Consultant is expected to report and coordinate regularly with the EVAW Programme Analyst concerning the progress of the completion of the deliverables. The proposer is also expected to inform in a written form UN Women of any unforeseen challenge or risk that might occur during the duration of the assignment, as well come with a backup plan to ensure the accomplishment of deliverables.

Competencies

Core Values

• Respect for Diversity;

• Integrity;

• Professionalism.

Core Competencies

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Human Rights based Approach and 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: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree in human rights, sociology, gender studies, public relations, development studies and/or other social science related areas relevant for the assignment;
• Additional training and certification in the field of GE, human rights, VAW etc. would be an advantage.

Experience:

• At least five (5) years of proven work experience in the field of gender equality/eliminating violence against women and girls, human rights and development;
• At least three (3) years of experience in reviewing laws/policies/regulations/documents in EVAW field;
• At least three (3) years of relevant experience in working with/in government and non-governmental sector in interventions in the field of EVAW;
• Experience in working with international organizations is an asset;

Language requirements:

• Fluency in written and oral Romanian, Russian, English is required.

Evaluation of Applications:

Initially, individual national consultants will be short-listed based on the following minimum qualification criteria:

1. Master’s degree in human rights, sociology, gender studies, public relations, development studies and/or other social science related areas relevant for the assignment;
2. At least five (5) years of proven work experience in the field of gender equality/eliminating violence against women and girls, human rights and development;
3. At least three (3) years of experience in reviewing laws/policies/regulations/documents in EVAW field;
4. At least three (3) years of relevant experience in working with/in government and non-governmental sector in interventions in the field of EVAW;
5. Fluency in written and oral Romanian, Russian, English is required.

The short-listed individual consultants will be further evaluated based on a cumulative analysis scheme, with a total score being obtained upon the combination of weighted technical and financial attributes. Cost under this method of analysis is rendered as an award criterion, which will be 30% out of a total score of 500 points.

Evaluation of submitted offers will be done based on the following formula:

,where:

T

is the total technical score awarded to the evaluated proposal (only to those proposals that pass 70% of maximum 350 points obtainable under technical evaluation);

C

is the price of the evaluated proposal;

Clow

is the lowest of all evaluated proposal prices among responsive proposals; and

X

is the maximum financial points obtainable (150 points)

Technical evaluation will be represented through desk review of applications and further interview will be organized, if needed.

Technical Evaluation: the technical part is evaluated on the basis of its responsiveness to the Terms of Reference (TOR).

No.

Criteria for technical evaluation

Max. points

1.

Master’s degree in human rights, sociology, gender studies, public relations, development studies and/or other social science related areas relevant for the assignment;

Additional training and certification in the field of GE, human rights, VAW etc. would be an advantage.

(70 pts for Master degree, up to 20 points for additional training in one of the areas relevant for the assignment - gender equality, VAW, etc).

90

2.

At least five (5) years of proven work experience in the field of gender equality/eliminating violence against women and girls, human rights and development;

(5 years – 40 points, each year over 5 years – 10 points, up to a maximum of 90 pts)

90

3.

At least three (3) years of experience in reviewing laws/policies/regulations/documents in EVAW field;

(3 years – 40 points, each year over 3 years – 10 points, up to a maximum of 80 pts)

80

4.

At least three (3) years of relevant experience in working with/in government and non-governmental sector in interventions in the field of EVAW;

(3 years – 20 points, each year over 3 years – 10 points, up to a maximum of 40 pts)

40

5.

Experience in working with international organizations is an asset;

(1 year – 10 points, each year over 1 year – 10 points, up to a maximum of 20 pts)

20

6.

Fluency in written and oral Romanian and Russian. Working knowledge of English is required. (Romanian – 10 points, Russian - 10 points, English – 10 points)

30

Maximum total technical scoring:

350

B) Financial evaluation: In the Second Stage, the financial proposal of candidates, who have attained a minimum 70% score in the technical evaluation (at least 245 points), will be compared.

Winning candidate

The winning candidate will be the candidate who has accumulated the highest aggregated score (technical scoring + financial scoring).

Application Procedure:

Interested candidates are invited to submit their online applications by 10 January 2024 with the following documents:

• Duly filled Personal History Form PHF11/CV (downloadable from https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form-en.doc ;
• Letter of Intent to include a brief overview about which of your previous experiences makes you the most suitable candidate for the advertised position.
• Financial proposal – specifying a total lump sum amount for the task specified in Terms of References. The Financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (daily rate). Please see below ANNEX I and ANNEX II.

Please note that only applicants who are short-listed will be contacted.

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.

The United Nations in Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens legally entitled to work in the Republic of Moldova, are particularly encouraged to apply.

Annex I: Price Proposal Guideline and Template

The prospective Individual Consultant should take the following explanations into account during submission of his/her price proposal.

Daily fee

The daily price proposal should indicate a "lump sum amount" which is "all-inclusive"; All costs (professional fees, communications, consumables during field related missions etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Contractor needs to be factored into the proposed price.

UN Women will not withhold any amount of the payments for tax and/or social security related payments. UN Women shall have no liability for taxes, duties or other similar charges payable by the Individual Contractor in respect of any amounts paid to the Individual Contractor under this Contract, and the Contractor acknowledges that UN Women will not issue any statements of earnings to the Individual contractor in respect of any such payments.

Travel costs

No travel is envisaged under the current assignment. In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs should be agreed upon, between UN Women and the National Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Daily Subsistence Allowance

Not applicable.

Currency of the price proposal

The applicants are requested to submit their price proposals in MDL. In the case of proposals in other currencies, these shall be converted into MDL using the official UN exchange rate for currency MDL conversion to MDL at the date of applications’ submission deadline.

Annex II: Price Proposal Submission Form

To: United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

Ref: National consultant to provide technical and expertise in GE and EVAW field

Dear Sir / Madam,

I, the undersigned, offer to provide professional consulting services to UN Women within the scope of the referred Assignment.

Having examined, understood, and agreed to the Terms of Reference and its annexes, the receipt of which are hereby duly acknowledged, I, the undersigned, offer to deliver professional services, in conformity with the Terms of Reference.

My maximum total price proposal for the assignment is given below:

Deliverables

MDL

Daily fee all inclusive

Total price for working days

I confirm that my financial proposal will remain unchanged. I also confirm that the price that I quote is gross, and is inclusive of all legal expenses, including but not limited to social security, income tax, pension, etc., which shall be require applicable laws.

I agree that my proposal should remain binding upon me for 30 days.

I understand that you are not bound to accept any proposal you may receive.

[Signature]

Date:

Name:

Address:

Telephone/Fax:

Email:

Apply Now Refer a Friend

Apply now

Added 4 months ago - Updated 3 months ago - Source: jobs.undp.org