International Consultant to Develop Capacities on Victim-Centric Investigation of Sexual Harassment Cases

Contract

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

Background

Everyone has the right to live a life free from violence, including sexual harassment, be it at workplace or in public spaces. In spite of this, harassment against women in the world of work is present in all jobs, occupations and sectors of the economy in all countries across the world. Sexual harassment against women in the world of work is a serious violation of women’s human rights and a major barrier to achieving equality of opportunity and access to decent and dignified work (ILO, UN Women, Addressing Violence and Harassment against Women in the World of Work, 2019 - Available at: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---europe/---ro-geneva/---ilo-ankara/documents/publication/wcms_731370.pdf.) It has a devastating impact on women’s health, wellbeing, and economic status. Estimates from available country surveys show that as many as 75 per cent of the world’s women aged 18 years and older, or at least 2 billion women, have experienced sexual harassment (Chamie, J. 2018. “Sexual Harassment: At Least 2 Billion Women” in Inter Press Service News Agency. Available at: http:// www.ipsnews.net/2018/02/sexual-harassment-least2-billion-women/ [31 October 2018]).

Despite its high prevalence, sexual harassment in the workplace remains largely unreported, with many victims, bystanders and witnesses afraid or reluctant to come forward or unsure about how to do so. Where victims do complain, many face ineffective complaints’ systems or procedures, experience retaliatory action, or further violence and harassment, or lose their jobs.

Various international and regional women’s rights instruments such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the ILO Convention No. 111 and No. 190 and the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention), call on the governments, employers, workers and their organizations to take appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment and to develop programmes and procedures to eliminate sexual harassment and other forms of violence against women in the workplace and elsewhere. Practical workplace strategies and policies informed by reliable data are an essential tool to promote this transformation, as is ensuring that employers have the skills and knowledge to implement these policies.

UN Women CO in Georgia has been supporting national partners, government as well as private sector companies in setting up various complaints’ mechanisms for the prevention and response to sexual harassment. In 2021 UN Women conducted Georgia’s first-ever study on Workplace Sexual Harassment in the Civil Service (UN Women, 2021 Workplace Sexual Harassment in the Civil Service in Georgia; available at: https://georgia.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2021/09/workplace-sexual-harassment-in-the-civil-service-in-georgia) obtaining nation-wide estimates on the prevalence of workplace sexual harassment, as well as attitudes and perceptions of civil servants on sexual harassment. The survey results provided breadth of evidence for designing prevention and response strategies to workplace sexual harassment. In 2019-2021, some 11 governmental agencies adopted sexual harassment complaints’ mechanisms/procedures with UN Women technical support.

Introduction of the formal anti-sexual harassment mechanisms is an important first step. In consultations with the Inter-Agency Commission on Gender Equality, Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GCE) and the Civil Service Bureau, UN Women identified that there is an acute need for capacity development on investigating sexual harassment cases in agencies where sexual harassment complaints’ mechanisms have been introduced. To support effective operationalization of these mechanisms across the civil service, UN Women plans to hire an international consultant. The objectives of the consultancy are as follows:

1. To develop Manual on Investigation of Sexual Harassment Complaints
2. To develop capacities of civil servants on conducting victim-centered investigation of the sexual harassment cases.

Duties and Responsibilities

• To review relevant studies, reports and documents related to gender equality, violence against women and sexual harassment in Georgia
• To develop manual on victim-centered investigation of sexual harassment complaints covering, inter alia, interviewing techniques and communication, key principles and steps of investigatory process, evidentiary standards and assessment of evidence and alike.
• To conduct development trainings on the key principles and approaches on the investigation of sexual harassment complaints
• To prepare final report about the work carried out, key observations and recommendations for follow up.

Deliverables:

• Desk review conducted and detailed workplan submitted to UN Women (3 working days) – by 16 March 2022.
• Draft investigator’s manual on sexual harassment developed and submitted to UN Women (9 working days) – by 15 April 2022
• Conduct capacity development trainings on investigation of sexual harassment conducted (travel to Georgia required) – (9 working days) – by 30 April 2022.
• Draft investigator’s manual on sexual harassment finalized in line with UN Women’s feedback and the final version submitted to UN Women (3 working days) – by 10 May 2022.
• Final report prepared and submitted to UN Women (1 working day) – by 30 May, 2022

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

Please visit this link 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:

• Advanced University degree (at least Masters) in Law, Gender, Human Rights, Labor relations, Sociology or similar fields

Experience:

• At least three years of proven experience in designing sexual harassment investigation protocols/guidelines and investigating sexual harassment cases;
• At least two years of working experience in the field of labour rights and relations and/or discrimination and violence against women in the workplace;
• Experience in working with governmental stakeholders will be an asset.

Language:

• Fluency English

Evaluation Procedure:

The candidates will be evaluated in three stages: according to minimum qualification criteria; technical and financial evaluation.

The candidates must possess following minimum qualification criteria to be eligible for further technical evaluation:

• Advanced University degree (at least Masters) in Law, Gender, Human Rights, Labor relations, Sociology or similar fields
• At least two years of working experience in the field of labour rights and relations and/or discrimination and violence against women in the workplace;
• Fluency in English

Technical evaluation criteria (including minimum qualifications):

• Advanced University degree (at least Masters) in Law, Gender, Human Rights, Labor relations, Sociology or similar fields (max 80 points)
• At least three years of proven experience in designing sexual harassment investigation protocols/guidelines and investigating sexual harassment cases (max 140 points)
• At least two years of working experience in the field of labour rights and relations and/or discrimination and violence against women in the workplace; (max 80 points)
• Experience in working with governmental stakeholders will be an asset. (max 30 points)
• Fluency in English (max 20 points)

Maximum total technical score amounts to 350 points. Only candidates who have passed over the minimum qualification criteria and have accumulated at least 245 points out of maximum 350 under technical evaluation will qualify for the next stage i.e. evaluation of their financial proposals.

Evaluation of submitted financial offers will be done based on the following formula: S = Fmin / F * 150

S – score received on financial evaluation;

Fmin – the lowest financial offer out of all the submitted offers qualified over the technical evaluation round;

F – financial offer under consideration.

The winning candidate will be the candidate, who has accumulated the highest aggregated score (technical

scoring + financial scoring).

Management arrangements:

The contractor will report to and work under direct supervision of UN Women GNP Programme Analyst.

Financial arrangements:

Payment will be disbursed upon submission and approval of deliverables and certification by UN Women Programme Analyst that the services have been satisfactorily performed as specified below:

• Deliverables 1 2 - 50 %
• Deliverable 3,4,5 – 50 %

Application submission package:

• Duly filled in Personal History Form PHF11 that can be downloaded from https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process
• CV;
• Financial Proposal - lump sum proposal/offer* in USD (including breakdown of this lump sum amount, indicating all necessary costs to complete this assignment).

*The applicants are required to submit an aggregated financial offer: “aggregated financial offer” is the total sum of all financial claims of the candidate, including travel costs (ticket, DSA etc.) for accomplishment of all tasks spelled out in this ToR.

How to Submit the Application:

• Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11)- https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process
• Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), CV and the Financial Proposal into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded.
• Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement).
• Click 'Apply Now' button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click 'Submit Application;'
• Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above).
• You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

Notes:

• UN Women retains the right to contact references directly. Due to the large numbers of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.
• Applications without the financial offer will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
• The individual consultants should take the mandatory learning security course prior to commencement of assignment– details will follow before the issuance of contract.

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.)?