Four Consultants to Support Private Sector Companies with the Implementation of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs)

Consultant Human Rights

Contract

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Background

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.

In line with UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2018-2021, the UN Women Egypt office is contributing to three interdependent and interconnected outcomes:

• Women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems.
• Women have income security, decent work and economic autonomy.
• All women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence.

Women’s economic empowerment is central to realizing women’s rights and gender equality. Women’s economic empowerment includes women’s ability to participate equally in existing markets; their access to and control over productive resources, access to decent work, control over their own time, lives and bodies; and increased voice, agency and meaningful participation in economic decision-making at all levels.

In addition, empowering women in the economy and closing gender gaps in the world of work are key to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 5, to achieve gender equality, and Goal 8, to promote full and productive employment and decent work for all; also Goal 1 on ending poverty, Goal 2 on food security, Goal 3 on ensuring health and Goal 10 on reducing inequalities.

The private sector is a key partner in efforts to advance gender equality and empower women. Research shows that women’s economic empowerment contributes to economic growth, innovation, and increased performance of companies. More than 30 per cent of private sector leaders report increased profits from efforts to empower women in emerging markets (McKinsey 2010) and companies with more than one-woman board director generated additional annual return of 3.5 per cent (McKinsey 2007, Catalyst 2014). Hence, ensuring the inclusion of women’s talents, skills, and energies—from executive offices to the factory floor and the supply chain—requires intentional actions and deliberate policies.

Under the framework of the United Nations Partnership Development Framework (UNPDF) and in alignment with the objectives of the Economic Empowerment pillar of the National Strategy for Women’s Empowerment (NSWE) and the objectives of the Closing the Gender Gap Accelerator, UN Women is working with the private sector through the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs).

Established by UN Global Compact and UN Women, the WEPs are informed by international labour and human rights standards and grounded in the recognition that businesses have a stake in, and a responsibility for, gender equality and women’s empowerment. The WEPs are a primary vehicle for corporate delivery on gender equality dimensions of the 2030 agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. By joining the WEPs community, the CEO signals commitment to this agenda at the highest levels of the company and to work collaboratively in multistakeholder networks to foster business practices that empower women. These include equal pay for work of equal value, inclusive supply chain practices and zero tolerance against sexual harassment in the workplace. For more information on the WEPs, please read the WEPs brochure. To date, more than 37 business leaders from Egypt have signed the CEO Statement of Support therefore, signaling their support to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and more specifically, to the guidance offered by the WEPs.

Objective of the Assignment

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Deputy Country Representative, and the day-to-day supervision of the UN Women Programme Analyst, UN Women will recruit up to 4 consultants to support it in promoting uptake and implementation of the WEPs[1] among private sector companies, funded by different donor partners in collaboration with relevant stakeholders. Each consultant will be responsible for supporting 5 private sector companies to sign the WEPs and providing them with guidance and technical support to apply the WEPs. The aim is to increase private sector companies’ commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment in their workplace, marketplace, and community. In doing so, UN Women aims to increase the number of companies in Egypt signing onto the WEPs to reach 100 by the end of 2022.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Review thoroughly the WEPs induction material, resources and business case available online and utilize these resources to raise awareness and advocate for the WEPs among the private sector (e.g. on eligibility criteria, benefits from joining the WEPs, obligations of companies, etc.) through supporting the convening of and participating in events with private sector stakeholders such as chambers of commerce, the Federation of Egyptian Industries, Closing the Gender Gap Accelerator, women’s business networks, and others.
2. Follow up with interested companies to gather expressions of interest from them.
3. Support interested companies to sign the CEO Statement of Support (available in English or Arabic). The statement should be signed by the highest decision-making authority in the company.
4. Provide guidance to companies that are interested to join the WEPs global network to complete the online application through https://www.weps.org/join
5. Provide guidance to companies to create an account on the WEPs website and create a “company profile page” by following this step-by-step guide
6. Provide guidance and technical support to companies to self-assess their strategic approach to gender equality, identify gaps and develop a WEPs action plan, with key performance indicators, that addresses those gaps by preparing for and completing a free online self-assessment tool The WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool
7. Provide guidance and technical support to companies to develop an action plan based on the strength and opportunities identified by the self-assessment.
8. Provide guidance and technical support to companies that have completed steps 6 and 7 above on communicating their progress and sharing their experiences and lessons learned based on their progress on their key performance indicators identified in their action plan.
9. Based on the action plan developed per company and in consultation with the company’s leadership, identify priority actions for the company to take to catalyze gender equality and the empowerment of women that could be supported further by UN Women Egypt country office. These may include training for human resource and middle managers on gender equality and unconscious bias, gender-sensitive marketing and supply chain practices, technical guidance on family-friendly workplace policies, developing a policy on sexual harassment in the workplace, and others.

Deliverables per consultant

Level of Effort

Timeline

The consultants may need to adjust their activities/deliverables slightly to accommodate donor visibility in accordance the specific programmes that they are hired under. This will be discussed directly with the supervisor.

1. Support the convening of (support with developing agendas, invitation letters for participants, outreach to participants to invite them, etc.) and/or participate in 5 events with private sector stakeholders to raise awareness and advocate for the WEPs among private sector companies

• Deliverable: report on 5 events

5 days

March - April

2. Follow up with interested companies to gather expressions of interest from them.

• Deliverable: expressions of interest collected from at least 7 companies

3 days

March - April

3. Follow up with private sector companies to sign the CEO Statement of Support

• Deliverable: 5 companies sign the CEO Statement of Support

5 days

March - April

4. Provide guidance to 5 companies that are interested to join the WEPs global network to complete the online application.

• Deliverable: 5 companies complete the online WEPs application

5 days

May

5. Provide guidance to companies to create an account on the WEPs website and create a “company profile page”

• Deliverable: 5 companies create an account on the WEPs website and create a company profile page.

5 days

May

6. Provide guidance and technical support to 5 companies to self-assess their strategic approach to gender equality, identify gaps and develop a WEPs action plan, with key performance indicators, that addresses those gaps by preparing for and completing a free online self-assessment tool The WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool

• Deliverable: report on technical support provided to 5 companies to prepare for and complete the online self-assessment tool

20 days (4 days per company)

June - July

7. Provide guidance and technical support to companies to 5 companies to develop an action plan based on the strength and opportunities identified by the self-assessment.

• Deliverable: report on technical support provided to 5 companies to prepare for and develop an action plan with key performance indicators, based on the self-assessment completed.

25 days (5 days per company)

July - August

8. Provide guidance and technical support to companies that have completed steps 6 and 7 above on communicating their progress and sharing their experiences and lessons learned based on their progress on the key performance indicators identified in their action plan.

• Deliverable: report on technical support provided to 5 companies to communicate their progress on the implementation of the WEPs. This can be through, for example, developing case studies to document good practices and/or lessons learned, briefings to stakeholders, social media stories, etc.

10 days (2 days per company)

September - October

9. Based on the action plan developed per company and in consultation with the company’s leadership, identify priority actions for the company to take to catalyze gender equality and the empowerment of women that could be supported further by UN Women Egypt country office.

• Deliverable: report on priority actions and their rationale per company that could be supported further by UN Women Egypt country office.

5 days

September - October

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

Functional Competencies

• Knowledge and expertise in gender research and policy analysis;
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills;
• Excellent negotiation skills;
• Ability to draft and communicate high quality clear and concise outputs;
• Familiarity with statistical analysis and indicators, especially gender-related statistics and indicators;
• Capacity to set priorities, self-organize research work and to plan, prioritize and deliver tasks on time;
• Capacity to engage and communicate with partners from private sector and leverage partnerships within WEPs and other platforms;
• Ability to engage with all levels of private sector employees (management, white collar, and blue collar);
• Knowledge and use of computer office tools (word, database, spreadsheets, etc.).

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, finance, business administration, education, international development, or another relevant science area.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of relevant work experience including experience in international development, poverty reduction, economic development, and/or private sector development.
• Knowledge and understanding of the Women’s Empowerment Principles, or similar tools such as the Gender Equality Seal, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs).
• Experience in engaging with business associations, Chambers of Commerce, and similar groups.
• On-the-ground work experience in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion with the private sector.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in written and spoken English and Arabic is required.

Evaluation Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology: Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation.

Technical Weight Criteria: 70% (100 points)

• Relevant education (20 points).
• At least 7 years of relevant work experience including experience in international development, poverty reduction, economic development, and/or private sector development. (20 points)
• Knowledge and understanding of the Women’s Empowerment Principles, or similar tools such as the Gender Equality Seal, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs). (20 points)
• Experience in engaging with business associations, Chambers of Commerce, and similar groups. (20 points)
• On-the-ground work experience in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion with the private sector. (20 points)

Financial Weight Criteria: Lowest Financial Proposal: 30% (30 points)

The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula:

• Contract will be awarded to the technically qualified consultant who obtains the highest combined score (financial and technical).
• The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula: (Lowest Bid Offered*)/ (Bid of the Consultant) x 30.
• 'Lowest Bid Offered' refers to the lowest price offered by Offerors scoring at least 49 points in the technical evaluation.

Application:

Interested Individual Consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• Financial offer in daily rate / covering all expenses to carry out the assignments detailed in this terms of reference.
• UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment.
• A cover letter with a brief presentation of your consultancy explaining your suitability for the work and link to portfolio of work.

The above-mentioned documents should be merged in a standalone file including all them, since the online application submission does only permit to uploading one file per application. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification.

Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification. Make sure that you provide a valid email address fro future communications.

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.)

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Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: jobs.undp.org