International Consultant - Capacity Needs Assessment - Joint Project on Prevention and Elimination of Violence Against Women for Mainstreaming Gender into the National Development Agenda in

Contract

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Background

There is growing recognition that gender-based violence (GBV) against women is a serious violation of human rights that must be eliminated from all sections of society. In Lao PDR, GBV against women can be a by-product of, among other things, traditional beliefs and discriminatory customs related to gender roles. And without a strong rule of law and governance mechanisms to prevent GBV and provide remedies for victims and survivors of GBV, the elimination of GBV cannot be achieved. Since ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1981, Lao PDR has been politically committed to eliminating GBV and recognizes that its elimination is critical to protecting the rights of persons in Lao PDR and achieving sustainable development. Nevertheless, there is a need to review and ensure that GBV against women is mainstreamed in the Government’s planning and policy. To achieve this, the Joint Project on Prevention and Elimination of Violence Against Women for Mainstreaming Gender into the National Development Agenda in the Lao PDR will see UNFPA providing technical assistance to Lao Women’s Union (LWU) in formulating the next phase 5-year National Strategic Plans on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW, 2021-2025) and Gender Equality (2021-2025) (Sub-output 1) and the associated monitoring and evaluation plans (Sub-output 2). In parallel, UNDP will provide support to LWU to strengthen the governance framework and promote women’s participation for the elimination of GBV (Sub-output 3). UNDP and UNFPA will utilize the Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence (henceforth referred to as “ESP”) to strengthen the health, social, justice and policing sectors in order to United Nations Development Programme Lao PDR, Lane Xang Avenue, PO Box 345, Vientiane, Lao PDR 2 achieve the sub-outputs outlined above. While the purpose of this consultancy will be to assess the gaps in the justice and policing sectors within the Lao PDR based on the guidance provided by the ESP, it should be kept in mind that all four elements of the ESP are interrelated and should feed into each other.

Duties and Responsibilities

Deliverables

CNA Inception Report (Phase 1) The inception report should be drafted following a desk review and finalization of the CNA methodology. It will detail the approach and methodology to be followed when carrying out the capacity assessment and when drafting the final proposal and TOR for the platform.

CNA Outline (Phase 1) Outline of relevant sections and contents of the CNA Report.

CNA Draft Report (Phase 2) Following consultations and in-depth interviews with stakeholders, the draft evaluation report should summarize the results of the CNA, including a summary of the activities undertaken, the initial findings and analysis and the capacity development plan to be followed. The capacity development plan should be impact-oriented, identifying the areas where capacity is low but where improved, will have a higher impact based on the needs of the users. A baseline study should also be included for clear measurement of progress. This draft will be submitted to UNDP, LWU, NCAWMC and other relevant stakeholders for review and feedback.

CNA Final Report (Phase 3) The final evaluation report will be finalized based on feedback on the draft evaluation report and will be submitted to UNDP and LWU. This phase also includes a seminar to present the findings and plan for capacity development as well as a training session.

Competencies

• Demonstrable understanding of capacity needs assessments, strategic planning and institutional development within a post-conflict environment and/or developing country. • Knowledge of the UNDP Capacity Development Model is an asset; • Strong reporting and analytical skills; • Knowledge and understanding of the Essential Services Package is an asset; • Fluency in English, both written and verbal. Knowledge of Lao is an asset; • Experience working in Lao PDR is an asset.

Required Skills and Experience

The International Capacity Development Expert is required to have the following education background as well as professional and technical qualifications: Required Qualifications • Master’s degree or equivalent in law, preferably with a specialization in VAW and/or GBV or similar; • Ten years’ experience working with programmatic CNAs, including for developing national institutions; • Experience working in gender equality and women’s empowerment, preferably on VAW and/or GBV

Responsibilities • Provide an introduction and briefing to the National Consultant on ESP and to design the evaluation strategy, define evaluation questions, methodology and workplan; • Conduct in-depth desk review of the relevant laws and national action plans such as the Law on Preventing and Combatting Violence against Women and Children, Second Five Year National Action Plan on Combating Violence against Women, Law on Development and Protection of Women, Fourth Five Year National Plan of Action on Gender Equality and the Civil and Penal Codes utilizing Modules 3 and 5 of the Essential Services Package and relevant international standards and norms to identify inconsistencies and gaps; • Provide feedback and iterative reviews to the National Consultant as they interview justice service providers as well as relevant stakeholders such as CSOs, development partners; • Following the ESP, identify the capacity baseline to design a capacity building plan as well as a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework; • Ensure that an impact-oriented approach is taken when designing the capacity development plan, identifying key areas of low capacity where the greatest impact will be achieved based on the needs of the users; • Identify threats and opportunities to implement an effective governance mechanism and policy framework and areas for cooperation with UNFPA, LWU and NCAWMC to implement the ESP in a coordinated manner; United Nations Development Programme Lao PDR, Lane Xang Avenue, PO Box 345, Vientiane, Lao PDR 6 • Work closely with the National Consultant to prepare and deliver presentations of findings in seminar and training session.

Recommended Presentation of Offer

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualification:

1. Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex III
2. Personal CV or P11 Form, indicating all experience from similar assignments as well as personal information including age.
3. Technical proposal (maximum 3 pages), including a) a brief description of why the individual considers her/himself as the most suitable for the assignment; and b) methodology on how s/he will approach and complete the assignment.
4. Financial proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided in Annex III

OFFEROR’S LETTER

Price proposal could be quoted in LAK or US Dollar. Incomplete proposals may not be considered.

Instructions for on-line submissions

Step 1: Please prepare all required documents electronically;

Step 2: Combine all documents in ONE SINGLE FILE (preferably in PDF, but Word format can be also accepted) and upload it to the UNDP Jobs links

Step 3: After that you will receive an auto reply from the UNDP jobs if your offer is received successfully.

Relevant Documents for Individual Contract

IC contract template & IC General Terms and Conditions _ Annex II

Female candidates and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

For more information, please visit our website under the link below

https://www.la.undp.org/content/lao_pdr/en/home/jobs.html

UNDP Lao PDR will respond in writing by standard electronic mail and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all consultants.

Please note that only short-listed candidates will be notified.

Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

For more detailed information about UNDP Lao PDR please visit our website at

https://www.la.undp.org/content/lao_pdr/en/home/