International Consultant, Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB)

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; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. In Nepal, UN Women focuses on strengthening women’s voice, agency and leadership across sectors to advance women’s rights, provide space for women’s meaningful participation, and contribute to tangible differences in their lives. Under the overarching Nepal Country Office’s Strategic Note (SN) for the period 2018-2022, UN Women focuses on two programmatic areas, inclusive governance and women’s economic empowerment.

As part of its ongoing programmatic efforts, UN Women also supports key national stakeholders to mainstream gender in planning and budgeting processes. The Government of Nepal (GoN) introduced Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) in 2001 in collaboration with UNDP and UN Women. Under the leadership of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) a gender budget audit was carried out for the Health, Education and Agriculture Ministries.[1] This gender budget audit was followed by gender assessments of the Ministries of Women, Children and Social Welfare, Federal Affairs and Local Development, Law and Justice, Labour and Transport. The GoN demonstrated its political will to translate GRB into action by establishing a Gender Responsive Budget Committee (GRBC) at the MoF in 2005 with support from UN Women. The mandate of the GRBC is to design a GRB system that can be applied both at macroeconomic and sectoral levels, scrutinize budget allocations and public expenditures from a gender perspective and finally to assess the impact of development policies on women and men. Presently, UN Women is implementing a project on "Strengthening Gender Responsive Budgeting in Federal Nepal" in partnership with the Nepal Administrative College (NASC). The main objective of the project is to strengthen the evidence base on GRB, to strengthen capacities of government officials at Provincial level on GESI GRB and finally to advocate for the increased financing for GEWE commitments. Under this, the project carried out a ‘GRB rapid assessment’ in 2021, to study the relevance and efficacy of GRB institutional processes and methodology at the Federal level. The study focused on a process review of the annual budget cycle from a GRB perspective. The preliminary findings were presented to the Joint Secretary, Budget Division, MoF and chair of the GRB committee (GRBC) and is the assessment is under the process of finalization. To continue its ongoing initiative with GRB process, UN Women is seeking to engage an International Consultant on a retainer bases to support the Country Office’s related programming.

Reporting to Unit Manager, in close collaboration with programme teams, the International Consultant will be responsible for proving high level advisory support to UN Women and its key partners, including the NASC, Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens, and MoF. Also, provide technical inputs to other partners and ongoing programmatic interventions; including but not limited to; programmes on Social Accountability, Citizen’s Budget, Decent Employment Joint Programme and Disaster Risk Reduction programme. The Consultant is also expected to support implementation of programmes on SDG financing together with the Provincial and Local Governance Support Programme (PLGSP) as well as other initiatives that require technical support from GRB perspective. With the continuation of the COVID 19 crisis, the International Consultant is expected to provide COVID related technical oversight and quality assurance, to roll out contextual initiatives in the evolving context of COVID and disaster situation that have differential gender impacts. UN Women is looking for an international expert with substantial experience in development research, public finance management including gender responsive planning and budgeting in order to bring in international learnings and good practices to support the ongoing programming on GRB and public financing.

[1] Gender Budget Audit in Nepal, UNIFEM/UNDP, August 2002

Duties and Responsibilities

2. Duties and Responsibilities

The detailed scope of work and responsibilities of the assignment are as follows:

2-1. High quality technical inputs and advisory support to UN Women Nepal’s initiatives on GRB

• Contribute to the finalization of relevant strategy documents for UN Women Nepal’s engagement and interventions on GRB in the federal governance, Provincial and Local context, by providing reviews, technical inputs and strategic advice to drafts.
• Provide policy advisory service, in the form of technical briefs or policy papers, to UN Women and select partners of GRB. Key issues include gender responsive budgeting, social accountability, SDG aligned gender responsive public financing etc, as well as on the sectoral application of GRB
• Collect, analyze and synthesize relevant data and information on the changing governance landscape with federalism in Nepal with a specific focus on planning and budgeting processes at the national and sub-national level. Results of the analyses shall support UN Women Nepal to identify entry points for GRB and social accountability, SDG aligned public financing and other similar initiatives.
• Participate in high level policy dialogues, provide technical support and coordination, participating in relevant reference meetings to share results lessons learned and findings related to the policy advisory support with UN Women’s implementing partners, as and when required.
• Provide technical inputs to UN Women’s programming documents, terms of reference on GRB
• Contribute to knowledge building of UN Women Nepal on GRB by providing technical reviews and quality assurance of knowledge products
• Develop compendium of best practices and lessons learned from global and regional experiences.
• Lead/support research studies/policy analysis on GRB on key areas including scenario based costing, sectoral analysis, expenditure reviews, social accountability

2-2. Evidence-based policy advisory and public advocacy support to and capacity development of the Government counterparts, civil society, development partners and other relevant stakeholders

• Design and participate in expert group meetings/workshop on policy debates and in multi-stakeholder consultations for knowledge building and public advocacy on emerging issues related to financing for gender equality.
• Design and conduct capacity development initiatives (including trainings and workshops) for government officials, civil society partners and/or development partners in Nepal on GRB.
• On the basis of policy advisory materials mentioned above, design and deliver capacity development workshops for UN Women and its partner agencies on issues on GRB.
• Provide accompaniment support to UN Women programme staff and key partners on GRB, including design/customization of GRB tools for application in programming.

2-3. Contribution to the strategic partnership and resource mobilization efforts

• Provide technical inputs to draft or develop concept notes or project proposals of UN Women’s interventions on GRB, including related COVID 19 and humanitarian crisis.
• Develop substantive briefs or concept notes on possible areas of resource mobilization.

3. Expected deliverables

Expected deliverables include:

1. Finalize two strategy documents (two) for UN Women Nepal’s interventions on GRB.
2. Finalize four technical briefs or policy papers on issues including GRB, social accountability, SDG and public financing, sectoral application.
3. Finalize analytical reports/ technical papers (minimum three) on planning and budgeting processes at the national and sub-national level to identify entry points for GRB, social accountability, SDG aligned public financing and other similar initiatives.
4. Participation in high level policy dialogues, provide technical inputs on behalf of UN Women to provide policy advisory support as and when required.
5. Finalize two UN Women’s programming documents/terms of reference on GRB
6. Finalizing two knowledge products with technical reviews and quality assurance support
7. Develop two compendium of best practices and lessons learned from global and regional experiences.
8. At least four research studies/policy analysis support on scenario-based costing, sectoral analysis, expenditure reviews, social accountability etc.
9. Participation in at least two policy dialogues and reference group meetings. Evidence of the participation includes but not limited to presentations, meeting minutes and written summaries of meetings.
10. Provide three accompaniment support/ capacity building workshop to UN Women programme team and partner agency on GRB.
11. Technical inputs in two drafts/ concept notes for strategic coordination on GRB, as well as interventions relevant to COVID 19 and humanitarian crisis (DRR).
12. Develop a substantive brief or concept note on possible areas of resource mobilization.

4. Inputs

• UN Women will provide reference materials and facilitate coordination with key stakeholders.
• The consultant is expected to work remotely. UN Women can give access the UN Women office for printing of relevant documents during the assignment, if required.
• The consultant will be required to provide their own local communications such as SIM cards and mobile phone.
• It is the Consultant’s responsibility to arrange private insurance.
• It is mandatory for the consultant to participate in a UN security briefing and to follow UN security rules and guidance.
• The Consultant will be required to provide a Statement of Good Health, endorsed by a certified Medical Practitioner.

5. Duration of the assignment and duty station

This is a home-based assignment from 25 February 2022 -24 February 2023, with a possibility of extension. The assignment may also include field missions outside of Kathmandu and participation in meetings and consultations in Kathmandu. UN Women will not be committed to purchasing any minimum quantity of the Services, and purchases will be made only if there is an actual requirement upon the issuance of a Purchase Order based on this retainer contract. UN Women shall not be liable for any cost in the event that no purchases are made under this retainer contract.

5. Schedule of payments

Payment will be made on the basis of quality of the work actually delivered upon certification of satisfactory performance by the supervisor. A work plan for the service delivery will be discussed and reconfirmed upon the signing of a contract. The contractor’s performance will be evaluated against such criteria as: timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communications, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered. Time required for review and approval of the deliverables may vary depending upon the nature of the products delivered. In average, it is expected to take a week to get each deliverable reviewed and approved.

Competencies

Core Values and Guiding Principles

• 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.

Functional Competencies

• Ethics and Values: Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.
• Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
• Development and Innovation: Take charge of self-development and take initiative.
• Work in teams: Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multiethnic 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

Required Skills and Experience

7.Qualification and experience

• Master’s degree in Gender and Development Studies, Political Science, Economics, Social Science, or any other related field of studies.
• A minimum of 15 years of professional experience in working on gender equality
• Proven expertise in the area of gender responsive budgeting.
• Previous experience working with different levels of government, civil society and development partners. Experience working with the UN system is a considerable asset.
• Fluency in written and oral English is required
• Ability to handle documents and the information contained therein with strictest confidentiality is a non-negotiable requirement.

8. Documents to be included when submitting the proposals?

Interested applicants should apply to this announcement through UNDP jobs site: jobs.undp.org

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

• Expression of interest explaining why you are interested to this position and what professional skills and experiences make you a strong candidate.
• Completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) of all the team members which can be downloaded: http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment; and
• A sample of original writing produced within the last three months where the applicant is the lead author.

The financial proposal indicating the per day rate in USD should be submitted. A proof of remuneration at the same level may be requested by UN Women as part of the evaluation process.

Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, please combine your all documents into one single PDF document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form and the writing sample will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

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.

9. Evaluation criteria

A two-stage procedure is applied in evaluating the proposals.

1. The technical evaluation will be carried out as per the criteria listed below. Those that meet a minimum threshold (scoring at least 70% on the technical assessment) will be qualified for the assessment of the financial evaluation.

Technical evaluation criteria (including minimum qualifications):

• Master’s degree in Gender and Development Studies, Political Science, Social Science, or any other related field of studies. (15 points)
• A minimum of 15 years of professional experience in working on gender equality. (15 points)
• Proven expertise in the area of GRB at different levels of government, civil society and development partners in South Asia, experience in Nepal will be an asset (25 points).
• Experience working with the UN system is a considerable asset. (15points)

2. The financial evaluation of candidates who meet the technical assessment threshold will be evaluated. The financial assessment will count as 30% of the total points. In this methodology, 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 formula is as follows:

p = y (µ/z)

Where:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated