Gender in Humanitarian Action Consultant

Contract

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

Background

UN Women (UNW), 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. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women Jordan Country Office leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action. As the Syrian conflict continues and its impact on neighbouring countries and host communities deepens, there is an increasing recognition among all partners that the development and humanitarian challenges arising from the crisis must be met with accelerated action and enhanced capacity. In this respect, UN Women is contributing to the United Nations processes to support the Government of Jordan's efforts and the UN humanitarian response to the Syrian refugee crisis and its impact on Jordanian host communities.

UN Women’s work in humanitarian action is guided by global norms and standards. Building on findings of the inter-agency Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) review based on the Accountability Framework of the IASC's Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls in Humanitarian Action Policy, co-led by UN Women and UNHCR, the JCO is well positioned to integrate a stronger gender perspectives across the humanitarian, development and peace nexus. Under the Humanitarian Partners Forum (HPF), JCO is coordinating the implementation of the HPF GiHA action Plan and gender mainstreaming in the refugee response, integrated in the work of the GiHA Reference Group (GiHA RG) and the Sector Gender Focal Points Network (SGFPN) that UN Women is co-chairing together with UNHCR. The findings and recommendations of the Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) review are expected to enhance the gender responsiveness and accountability of the humanitarian coordination structures and systems of the refugee response to the Syria crisis and the Covid-19 response in Jordan. In line with Grand Bargain commitments, UN Women is also particularly promoting gender-responsive localisation through the leadership and financing of local women’s CSOs by co-chairing the HPF Localisation Task Team (LTT) to coordinate the implementation of the HPF Localisation MEAL Framework. As the Gender Champion of the UNCT, JCO provides technical support to ensure strong gender perspectives in the implementation of the UNSDF and the SEF and will continue to implement the recommendations of the Scorecard through the inter-agency Gender Task Team.

As an emerging crisis, the COVID-19 crisis will affect women, girls, boys and men differently. Understanding how the crisis has a gendered impact on the population is key to ensuring that the response of humanitarian partners guarantee the protection of all members of the affected population and contribute to addressing the needs and priorities of women, men, girls, and boys equitably and effectively.

Building on UN Women Jordan's Strategic Note (2018-2022) and its normative and coordination mandate, leveraging the technical expertise provided to humanitarian, resilience and sustainable development coordination platforms remain as a critical component of UN Women’s work. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in the already protracted refugee crises in Jordan has renewed the commitment of humanitarian partners to ensure coordinated efforts on gender mainstreaming.

Objective of the Assignment:

Under the supervision of the Jordan Country Office international GiHA Specialist, and with matrix supervision to the Jordan Country Office Deputy Representative, the objective of this assignment is to ensure the strengthened, localized and sustained progress of UN Women’s humanitarian programming through the provision of national technical expertise to UN Women humanitarian programming, to interagency coordination structures such as the ISWG and SGFPN, GiHA RG, establish and reinforce partnerships, develop research initiatives and capacity building strategies on gender in humanitarian action.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Support inter-agency coordination initiatives on gender in humanitarian action

• Support GiHA Specialist to drive forward the implementation, monitoring and reporting of the GiHA Action under the Humanitarian Partners Forum (HPF), including coordination with stakeholders to implement recommendations
• Support leveraging JCO’s leadership in Sector Gender Focal Points Network and Localization Task Team (LTT) to support implementation and engage working group sector chairs and key humanitarian partners in the GiHA review action plan initiatives aimed to increase the gender responsiveness of the coordination mechanism and systems.

2. Provide gender technical support and analysis to inter-agency coordination

• Support the GiHA Specialist as UN Women as co-chair to the SGFPN, including implementation of the 2021 workplan; design and implementation of a capacity-building plan to strengthen gender capacity within the network implementation of communications strategy to strengthen coordination with sector chairs, leads and coordinators and inter-sector coordinator
• Support the GiHA Specialist and Sector Gender Focal Points to participate and contribute gender perspective to humanitarian coordination bodies, including Livelihoods, Protection, PSEA, SGBV, and Durable Solutions working groups.
• Support the GiHA Specialist to contribute to UN Women’s role as co-chair and secretariat to the HPF Localization Task Team and provide strategic guidance and input to the implementation of the LTT’s annual workplan and the HPF Localisation MEAL framework to measure progress on the localization agenda in Jordan;
• Contribute to the gender mainstreaming national led efforts of humanitarian strategies and plans, such as the Jordan Response Plan and Covid-19 Contingency Plan.
• Contribute to the design and support the implementation of Regional GiHA Working Group in collaboration with ROAS.
• Contribute to the strengthening process of the key humanitarian partners providing continuous guidance and technical support on gender in humanitarian action.
• Advocate for the engagement and meaningful participation of local women’s organizations and platforms in humanitarian coordination mechanisms.
• Provide advice on contextualizing/ localizing programme documents, country strategies, and knowledge products

3. Provide institutional capacity-development support to national stakeholders, Jordan country office teams and partners

• Implement and monitor GiHA capacity building initiatives, in line with the SGFPN Capacity Development Plan and the HPF GiHA Action Plan;
• Enhance national ownership through linking GIHA to national frameworks.
• Support national stakeholders on the institutional level to respond to draft relevant policies and procedures responding to national frameworks.
• Implement initiatives focused on strengthened engagement and national ownership of GiHA initiatives with the government and CSO stakeholders;

4. Support the design and development of relevant research, assessments, and knowledge products on gender-responsive humanitarian action

• Provide inputs to policy recommendations and guidance to strategic planning and positioning on humanitarian action with a strategic focus on gender equality.
• Research and develop analytical reports, research papers, briefing notes, background papers, summaries, correspondence, and knowledge products on humanitarian action.
• Identify promising practices in humanitarian action.

5. Support knowledge building and sharing for humanitarian action

• Identify and disseminate lessons learnt and good practices in collaboration with country offices;
• Ensure technical skills and knowledge are shared within and among MCO/ COs.
• Participate in and contribute to policy dialogues around gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Deliverables

Timelines

• Monthly time-sheets and brief progress reports about implemented activities and achieved results with supporting documents (summary of strategic meetings, training reports, above referenced key deliverables and other materials) submitted (by the 5th of each month).

5th of every month

• Final report about the key activities, progress and achievements performed during the period of performance. The report will reflect on lessons learned and recommendations for future JCO action in each area.

End of contract

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

• Strong knowledge and experience related to current policies and practices in the fields of gender equality, protection and humanitarian action, including humanitarian coordination;
• Strong knowledge of the region;
• Strong networking skills;
• Ability to interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising;
• Ability to perform qualitative and quantitative policy research;
• Ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Ability to write policy papers, speeches, briefings; and
• Strong knowledge of programme development, implementation, results-based management and reporting.

Please visit the link below 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, gender, international relations, international development, international law or other social science fields 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; and.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in designing and implementing humanitarian action, with a particular focus on gender;
• Technical experience in inter-agency humanitarian coordination;
• Experience in capacity building and training initiatives, with a particular focus on gender mainstreaming;
• Experience in policy analysis and strategic planning;
• Experience working with, and building partnerships with governments, donors and civil society organizations internationally and in the field;
• Experience working with the UN is an asset; and
• Experience working in the region is an asset.

Language Requirements: Fluency in English and Arabic is required;

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)

• Educational Qualification (10%)
• Number of years of experience in designing and implementing humanitarian action, with a particular focus on gender (15%)
• Technical experience in inter-agency humanitarian coordination (10%)
• Experience in capacity building and training initiatives, with a particular focus on gender mainstreaming (15%)
• Experience working with, and building partnerships with governments, donors and civil society organizations internationally and in the field (10%)
• Experience working in the region is an asset (5%)
• English and Arabic language skills (5%)

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 link to 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 them, since the online application submission does only permit to upload one file per application. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification.

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.)