International Consultant for Event Organization

Contract

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

Background

1. 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; the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development; human rights; as well as humanitarian action and peace and security. UN Women works in crisis prevention, scales-up preparedness and response to reduce vulnerabilities, addresses risks, promotes resilience and leverages women’s leadership.

“Implementing Norms, Changing Minds” is a UN Women Europe and Central Asia (ECA) regional programme aiming to support a reduction in discrimination and violence against women and girls in the Western Balkans - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia – and Turkey, anchored in the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and ending violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), and also in alignment with European Union accession standards. The programme is funded by the European Commission under IPA II. The programme supports the development of an enabling legislative and policy environment on eliminating violence against women (EVAW) and all forms of discrimination; promotes favourable social norms and attitudes to prevent gender discrimination and violence against women; and pursues empowering women and girls (including those from disadvantaged groups) who have experienced discrimination or violence to advocate for and use available, accessible, and quality services.

For the third time, the programme will convene governments, civil society organizations (CSOs) and regional institutions to an annual Regional Forum “Integrated Policies, Inclusive Partnerships” on promoting the implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the Western Balkans and Turkey. The Forum will be convened by UN Women in cooperation with the Council of Europe and hosted by one of the governments of the Western Balkans in recognition of the achievement and progresses made towards gender equality and EVAW.

The Third Regional Forum will address the following themes: Accessible, sustainable and innovative women’s support services for survivors of sexual violence; Femicide Watches: leveraging data to prevent and respond to cases of femicides; Advancing the work with perpetrators in the region to protect women’s and children’s safety; Positive social norms to EVAW.

The Third Regional Forum will tentatively host over 120 participants including: National machineries for the advancement of women’s rights; other key stakeholders from national governments and human rights institutions; parliamentarians; regional institutions and organizations, and representatives from CSOs; and global experts/ well-established organizations.

Within this context, the UN Women ECA Regional EVAW programme is seeking the services of an international consultant to provide secretarial and content development support to organize and hold the Third Regional Forum to be held online on the 1st and 2nd of December 2021. The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the EVAW regional programme manager and in close cooperation with the programme communications and visibility specialist, and any company responsible for the provision of services for the organization of the Regional Forum.

* For the European Union, this designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. For UN Women, references to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999).

2. Purpose of Assignment:

The purpose of the consultancy is to provide support to organize and hold the Third Regional Forum.

Duties and Responsibilities

3. Scope of work and responsibilities:

The consultant shall be required to undertake the following tasks, including but not limited to:

-Provide secretarial support:

• Provide support to develop lists of participants, facilitators, panels members, and speakers;
• Manage participants’ invitations with UN Women backstop: send out invitations, follow up on invitations through reminders and manage any enquiry;
• Liaise with speakers, panel members, facilitators and participants to undertake preliminary quality control of presentations, documents and videos, and liaise with UN Women team to ensure that materials reach the IT/communication company timely and in good manner;
• Send out personalized thank you and appreciation messages to all participants, master of ceremony, facilitators, speakers and panel members.

-Provide inputs into content of the event:

• Provide input into agenda slots content, background documentation etc.;
• Draft document including speakers’ bios and presenter's background information on study cases;
• Draft five pages report with key takeaways of the Third Regional Forum, including Regional Forum’s outreach, main inputs and outcomes, future opportunities etc.

4. Deliverables:

The consultant will be required to support and produce the following deliverables as per the below tentative timeline. The schedule and/or nature of the deliverables may be modified by the hiring manager, in agreement with the consultant.

Deliverables Tentative timeframe1. Workplan(25%)

By the 15th of August 20212. Five-pages Report with forum key takeaways(75%)

By the 20th of December 2021

Competencies

5. Core Values and Competences:

- Core values:

Integrity - Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Professionalism - Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity - Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

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:

• Excellent oral and written skills in English;
• Able to communicate effectively with and relate to people of different cultures, demonstrating an ability to see issues from other perspectives;
• Ability to use critical thinking, conceptualize ideas, and articulate relevant subject matter in a clear and concise way;
• Good inter-personal and diplomacy skills;
• Able to lead, manage, work independently and in a team;
• Good planning, goal setting and prioritization skills;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Adheres to a human rights approach in engaging with all persons;
• Strong ability to adapt and manage challenges and changes as they arise;
• Proven track record of delivering on commitments.

Required Skills and Experience

6. Required Skills and Experience:

Education:

• Postgraduate qualifications from a recognized university in social sciences, communications or related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in social sciences, communications, or related field in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Minimum 2 years of experience in the organization of/and contribution to similar events with a wide range of stakeholders in an international setting;
• Proven track record of experience in the organization and contribution of minimum three similar events with a wide range of stakeholders in an international setting;
• Proven knowledge of gender in development and EVAW is required;
• Previous experience with UN agencies, particularly UN Women, is an asset;
• Previous experience with EC funded projects in the Western Balkans and Turkey is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English required (written and oral).

7. Application procedure

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application:

• Cover letter 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 deliverables indicated in this Terms of Reference). The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount as per deliverables. The contract will not be based on the daily-fee, but deliverable-based.
• P11 (and CV) including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment A signed copy should be submitted.

Candidates should have the ability to quickly produce degree certificates and medical certification (of good health) should they be short-listed in consideration of the consultancy post.

8. Payment schedule

The consultant will be paid in two instalments based on the review and approval of deliverables submitted as listed in the above table.

9. Evaluation of applicants

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer receives the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.

Criteria****Total points****Max. Points****Technical Evaluation (70%)****70 Relevant education 5Minimum 2 years of experience in the organization and contribution of similar events with a wide range of stakeholders in an international setting.

Proven track record of experience in the organization of large events and contribution of minimum three similar events with a wide range of stakeholders in an international setting 40Proven experience of gender in development and ending violence against women 15Previous experience with UN agencies, particularly UN Women 5Previous experience with EC funded projects in the Western Balkans and Turkey 5Financial Evaluation (30%)****30 TOTAL****100****Financial Evaluation (30%) – max. 30 points:

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion. A suggested formula is as follows:

p = 30 (µ/z)

Using the following values:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated