International Consultant - Midterm Review of the Second National Action Plan on Women Peace and Security (NAP WPS)

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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, peace, and security. UN Women Liberia Country Office Biennial Workplan 2022-2023 is connected to five corporate priority areas: women’s leadership and political participation; enhancing women’s economic empowerment (WEE); engaging women in all aspects of peace and security processes (WPS); advancing women’s rights to live free from violence (VAW) and Gender-responsive Budgeting and Governance (GRB).

In the framework of the Women Peace and Security corporate priority area, UN Women Liberia provides support to increase the participation of women in decision making at all levels across development issues including on peace and security. In this regard, UN-Women Liberia is supporting the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP) in implementing the Liberia National Acton Plan on UNSCR 1325 (LNAP 1325) and strengthening the capacities of Gender equality advocates to lead and meaningfully engage in transitional and peacebuilding processes.

Gender inequality in Liberia is widespread and cuts across all sectors of Liberian society despite major policy commitments and the country’s ratification of international conventions including the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the MAPUTO Protocol which call for increased participation of women in decision making. The gap between these and actual enforcement remains wide. For instance, the Agenda for Transformation highlighted the need to improve women’s participation and leadership in sustaining the peace at all levels as well as the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD).

In 2009, Liberia developed its first National Action Plan on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UN SCR 1325), demonstrating a profound interest in the implementation of women peace and security agenda at Country Level. Much were achieved during the First Phase. However, as recommended by the comprehensive assessment conducted in 2015; bigger national attentions were required to fully implement the Liberia National Action Plan on UN SCR 1325 (2009 - 2013) to build an inclusive society where women’s rights were protected.

Liberia is implementing its second National Action Plan (NAP, 2019-2023) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) adopted in November 2019. The NAP WPS is the overarching national document that provides guidance on the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions on women, peace and security. It integrates lessons learned from the first NAP (2009-2013) on UNSCR 1325 and lessons learned from the Global Study on the Implementation of UNSCR 1325 commissioned by the Secretary-General in 2015.

The second NAP WPS integrates recommendations from Government Agencies, CSOs, and women’s organizations, development partners at national and local levels provided by 187 individuals during the development process. It sets out the activities for implementation under each recommendation and a road map for doing so. It also emphasizes the need to establish and operationalize an effective monitoring mechanism to measure progress on implementation.

The 2015 Concluding Observations of the CEDAW committee recommended the Government of Liberia to give due consideration to the Committee’s General Recommendation No. 30 (2013) on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations by ensuring that the national action plan on the implementation of UN SCR 1325 (2000) is regularly reviewed to address all areas of concern and ensure durable peace. In addition, the Committee recommended to take into consideration the full spectrum of the Council’s resolutions on women and peace and security.

UN Women Liberia is committed to supporting the Government to effectively implement the NAP WPS; for which promotion and visibility of the Plan is fundamental. Considering the above, UN Women Liberia seeks to hire an International to support the Government of Liberia to carry out a mid-term review.

Justification

Since the second NAP WPS was adopted in November 2019, Liberia has been implementing different components of the NAP WPS. The endorsed NAP calls for a midterm review by December 2021. Following several consultations with members of the implementation structure of the NAP WPS, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) with technical and financial support from the UN Women will lead the midterm review process of the second NAP WPS implementation and will proffer recommendations for the way forward for its full implementation.

The midterm review will provide an invaluable opportunity for the government of Liberia to take stock of the progress made across NAP WPS government agencies and civil society organizations that are implementing NAP WPS since November 2019. It is an opportunity to capture the gains made at the local and national levels by highlighting implementation gaps and challenges, as well as emerging trends and priorities for action especially considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the second NAP WPS implementation at all levels.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the assignment:

The main objective is to review and catalogue the progress made on the implementation of the second Liberia National Action Plan (LNAP) – drawing from lessons learned and opportunities from the COVID-19 pandemic, the recovery process and global peace building issues.

Specific Objectives:

  • Assess the relevance of the current interventions, strategy, and approach in the implementation of the NAP WPS II;
  • Assess the quality of the stakeholders coordination mechanism that has been established at various levels;
  • Identify and validate lessons learned, best practices and strategies for replication for the design and implementation for future implementation;
  • Identify challenges encountered during the implementation of the NAP WPS and propose mitigation strategy for consideration;
  • Where necessary, propose revision to the NAP WPS to align with national priorities and reality of the post COVID 19 pandemic and other peace and security issues.

Scope of Work

Under the overall guidance of the Women Peace and Security Programme Specialist and the NAP WPS Secretariat at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the consultant will accomplish the following tasks:

Task 1: Desk review and inception meeting

  1. Conduct a desk review of existing relevant document;
  2. Conduct preliminary consultations with relevant members of the implementation structures (TWG, M&EL Unit etc.);
  3. Develop and submit an inception report inclusive of methodology and consultancy work plan

Task 2: Data Collection and analysis

  1. Develop a standardized data collection tool
  2. Conduct training for selected members of the M&E Learning Unit of the NAP WPS in data collection;
  3. Supervise data collection in selected counties
  4. Analyze data collected and draw conclusions and recommendations from data

Task 3: Validation of Preliminary findings

  1. Draft preliminary report with findings and recommendations and share with key stakeholders
  2. Hold a one-day working session for key stakeholders including members of the implementation structure to revise the NAP WPS based on findings and agreed recommendations

Task 4 **: Finalization of the report**

  1. Submit a final draft of the revised NAP WPS for validation
  2. Submit a final consultancy report

Expected Deliverables

The consultant will produce the following deliverables:

#DeliverablesIndicative Deadline1.Final Inception report with consultancy work plan. The inception report should capture relevant information such as proposed methods, data collection procedure, schedule of task matrix, background information 2.Training report and Standardized data collection, monitoring and reporting tools developed

3.Report with preliminary findings and power point presentation of preliminary findings presented to TWG 4.A validated final report All the deliverables, including annexes, notes and reports should be submitted in English.

Upon receipt of the deliverables and prior to the payment of the first installment, the deliverables and related reports and documents will be reviewed and approved by UN Women. The period of review is one week after receipt.

Inputs

  • Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and UN Women will provide the Consultant with background materials relevant to the assignment;
  • The Consultant is expected to work using his/ her own computer;
  • The Consultant will be based at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection with regular visits to the UN Women Liberia Country Office
  • UN Women and Ministry of Gender shall facilitate consultations/meetings between the consultant and relevant stakeholders

Competencies

Performance evaluation:

Consultant’s performance will be evaluated based on: timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.

Selected candidates will need to submit prior to commencement of work:

  1. A copy of the latest academic certificate
  2. A statement from a medical doctor of ‘good health and fit for travel’
  3. Before any travel outside of Monrovia, the consultant will need to provide proof (certificate) of “Basic and Advanced Security in the Field” (which can be accessed here: undss.trip.org)

Evaluation

Applications will be evaluated based on the Cumulative analysis.

  • Technical Qualification (100 points) weight; [70%]
  • Financial Proposal (100 points) weight; [30%]

A two-stage procedure is utilised in evaluating the proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposal being completed prior to any price proposal being compared. Only the price proposal of the candidates who passed the minimum technical score of 70% of the obtainable score of 100 points in the technical qualification evaluation will be evaluated.

Technical qualification evaluation criteria:

The total number of points allotted for the technical qualification component is 100. The technical qualification of the individual is evaluated based on following technical qualification evaluation criteria:

Technical Evaluation Criteria

Obtainable Score

Education and area of Expertise

30%

Proven Work Experience and skills

60 %

Language and other skills

10 %

Total obtainable Score

100 %

Only the candidates who fit the minimum requirements will be longlisted and may be requested further documentation. Candidates with a minimum of 70% of total points will be considered as technically qualified candidates and will be shortlisted for potential interview.

Financial/Price Proposal evaluation****:

  • Only the financial proposal of candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% score in the technical evaluation will be considered and evaluated.
  • The total number of points allotted for the price component is 100.
  • The maximum number of points will be allotted to the lowest price proposal that is opened/ evaluated and compared among those technically qualified candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% score in the technical evaluation. All other price proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.

Annex I: Financial Proposal

BREAKDOWN OF COSTS SUPPORTING THE ALL-INCLUSIVE FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

Breakdown of Cost by Components:

DeliverablesPercentage of Total Price (Weigh) for payment)Fixed PriceDue Date The lump sum costs should include all travels and administration costs and expenses related to the consultancy. All prices/rates quoted must be exclusive of all taxes. The lump sum costs must be accompanied by a detailed breakdown of costs calculation.

Submission of package

  1. Cover letter;
  2. CV, including contact information of 3 referees;
  3. Financial proposal. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount per each deliverable, including any travel, per diem and administrative fees, based on the template in Annex 1. The lump sum costs must be accompanied by a detailed breakdown of costs calculation.

All applications must include (as attachment) a CV and financial proposal. Applications without a financial proposal will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further processing.

Please note that only short-listed candidates will be invited for the interview.

Required Skills and Experience

  1. Qualification and Experience

The Consultant should fulfill the following requirements:

  1. Education

Master’s degree in Gender and development studies, international affairs, or political science and a Certificate in monitoring, evaluation and reporting; PhD could be an added advantage

  1. Experience:
  • At least 4 years of relevant experience in monitoring, evaluation, reporting and research at the national or international level.
  • Proven experience in facilitating workshops on Results Based Management (RBM) and results-based reporting.
  • Knowledge on women, peace and security would be an added value.
  • Ability to effectively utilize computer software (i.e., MS Excel, Access, SPSS etc.) for database development and management.
  • Knowledge of Kobo toolbox, Survey Monkey (limited), and Google Forms

Language and other skills:

  • Proficiency in oral and written English
  • Must be capable of effectively using MS Word and Excel
  • Excellent facilitation and training skills
Added 2 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org