Gender Equality Marker Regional Consultant-Retainer

Contract

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

Background

UN Women’s Regional Office for the Arab States (ROAS) has recently adopted its new Strategic Note (2022-2025). Our vision is to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls and the full enjoyment of their human rights in the Arab States, propelling economic prosperity and sustainable development for all. Our goal is to accelerate achievements for the largest possible numbers of women and girls in the region, including the most vulnerable, in the next four years. To accomplish this, we work with our partners and offices across 17 countries in the region to implement targeted programmes that support women’s economic empowerment, women’s leadership and participation, women, peace and security, and humanitarian issues, as well as ending violence against women. The ROAS Strategic Note will support UN Women’s global efforts to leverage increased resources for gender equality and women’s empowerment, including through UN coordination. UN Women and UNDS partners have accelerated efforts to roll out UNCT-SWAP Gender Equality Scorecard (GES) reporting in the Arab States region. Subsequently, there is increased demand from UNCTs for technical support to address GES performance indicator 6.1 on allocation and tracking of joint work plan investments in gender equality and women’s empowerment. Following the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review of December 2020, UN Women at regional and country levels in the Arab States will track QCPR Indicator 1.4.18: Proportion out of total UNCTs with a Joint Work Plan in UN INFO that allocated 70 percent or more of the UNCT Annual Funding Framework available resources to activities with gender equality as a principal or significant objective. This indicator highlights the increased importance of the UNCT Gender Equality Marker (GEM) as the recognized tool to measure investment in joint activities where gender equality is a significant or a principal objective. ROAS will prioritize the roll-out of regional capacity-building initiatives on the GEM to drive the UN system towards meaningful investments that will accelerate the achievement of international GEWE standards. Increased regional and country-level UNDS GEM capacities will foster greater investments in GEWE to achieve results at scale for women and girls; strengthen the positioning of Gender Theme Groups to engage in UNCT joint work planning processes, and facilitate the identification of opportunities for UN Women to engage in joint partnerships.

Objective of the Assignment: Under the direct supervision of the Coordination Specialist, this consultancy will be based on a retainer contract modality to enable flexibility for assignments selected in consultation with the UNCTs in the Arab States region that have already undertaken the UNCT-SWAP Gender Equality Scorecard exercise at least once.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Design and deliver orientation and training (online and/or in-person) to UN Women senior personnel, as well as at least one training for Resident Coordinator Office (RCO) personnel, Gender Theme Group (GTG) members, and other UNDS personnel on the Gender Equality Marker, its rationale, methodology, and application;
• Collaborate with OHCHR on presenting the linkages between the Gender Equality Marker and the Human Rights Marker;
• Provide close technical support to UN Women, RCO, GTG, and other relevant personnel in UN Country Teams in the region on applying the GEM in joint planning frameworks;
• Localise the GEM methodology to diverse development contexts in the Arab States region, including countries of high development;
• Liaise with the GEM Help Desk to seek clarification on the application of the GEM methodology as required, and convey the response to internal stakeholders in the field;
• Draft reports of training, meetings, technical missions, etc., including lessons learned, and present key findings to regional and country personnel as required;
• Perform other tasks as assigned by supervisor.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Online orientation meeting provided to ROAS personnel and Country Representatives;
• Online and/or virtual training session(s) provided to UN personnel at the country level;
• All training materials, presentations, and resources submitted;
• Briefing note on the localization of the GEM to the High Income Country context submitted;
• Report of each training submitted within one week of the training taking place.

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: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

• Strong commitment to and a good understanding of gender equality and women’s empowerment issues;
• Strong interpersonal skills;
• Strong organizational skills and strong self-direction;
• Strong research and communication skills;
• Ability to prioritize and work under pressure with colleagues at all levels;
• Knowledge of gender mainstreaming and desired knowledge of the UNCT-SWAP Gender Equality Scorecard;
• Strong knowledge of the Arab States region and development landscape;
• Development and Innovation: Take charge of self-development and take initiative;
• Work in teams: Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds;
• Communicating and Information Sharing: Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication;
• Self-management and Emotional Intelligence: Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others;
• Conflict Management: Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution;
• Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master's degree (or equivalent) in social and political sciences, human rights, gender equality, etc., or relevant field is required;
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of professional work experience at the international level in gender mainstreaming in development programmes/projects;
• Previous experience with the Gender Equality Scorecard, narrative report, and follow-up matrix;
• Previous experience with the Gender Equality Marker;
• Experience in the Arab States region is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Knowledge of Arabic and/or French is an asset.

Evaluation Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology: Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation.

Criteria Weight Technical: 70% (70 points)

• Criteria 1: Master's degree (or equivalent) in social and political sciences, human rights, gender equality, etc., or relevant field. (10 points);
• Criteria 2: At least 10 years of professional work experience at the international level in gender mainstreaming in development programmes/projects. (15 points);
• Criteria 3: Previous experience with the Gender Equality Scorecard, narrative report, and follow-up matrix. (15 points);
• Criteria 4: Previous experience with the Gender Equality Marker. (15 points);
• Criteria 5: Experience in the Arab States region is an asset. (5 points);
• Criteria 6: Fluency in English is required. (5 points);
• Criteria 7: Knowledge of Arabic and/or French is an asset. (5 points)

Financial: 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:

• A cover letter with a brief presentation of your consultancy explaining your suitability for the work and a link to the portfolio of work;
• UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment;
• Personal CV; and Financial proposal; Proposed inclusive daily rate.

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

Note:

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.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employ, 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.)