International Consultant to provide CSOs with monitoring tools and strengthen their capacity to monitor and advocate for progress on the roadmap for aligning national laws and regulations wi

Contract

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

Background

The Spotlight Initiative (SI) is a global, multi-year partnership between European Union and United Nations to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls by 2030. Funded by the European Union, the Initiative is responding to all forms of violence against women and girls, with a particular focus on domestic and family violence, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and harmful practices, femicide, trafficking in human beings and sexual and economic (labor) exploitation. Further information can be found at https://www.spotlightinitiative.org

The Spotlight Initiative regional programme for Central Asia and Afghanistan managed from Kazakhstan (Almaty) in cooperation with all participating countries will harness the collective expertise, experiences, challenges, and energy of gender equality advocates from the five Central Asian countries, as well as Afghanistan. It invests in the development of a Central Asia Alliance on SGBV, comprised of both government and non-governmental stakeholders, including parliamentarians, ministries and government departments, judiciary and police, civil society organizations, activists, survivors, youth, men, and religious leaders.

Through collective thinking and collective advocacy, Central Asia-specific models for legislative, policy and institutional reform will be developed that will be grounded in the international norms and standards guiding work on SGBV, including the CEDAW, the CRC and the Istanbul Convention. In addition, the Models will reflect the importance of gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) methodologies – including costing – to ensure prevention and response to SGBV and harmful practices is robust and in line with the Global agenda to leave no one behind.

The Spotlight Initiative Pillar 6 aims at strengthening regional leadership, coordination, knowledge sharing and networking of women rights organizations to support CSOs collective and strategic engagement with governments and other actors within the broader Alliance for Central Asia on SGBV.

Women’s movement in Central Asia have been hampered by lack of resources, limited access to information sharing and limited platforms for dialogue both within countries and regionally.

Moreover, CSOs in the region lack a coherent vision and understanding of topics pertaining to Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment and the capacity to initiate, lead and monitor transformative change in the lives of women and girls.

There is also a need to develop capacities and provide opportunities for women’s rights organization, including rural organizations and those representing women groups facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination's, to connect and learn from experiences and inspire innovation and new ways of working.

Capacities also need to be expanded to meaningfully engage in decision making processes and to be able to form strong feminist movements, connected with national and regional movements, to demand accountability from decision-makers and foster informed dialogue between governments and citizens, which leads to more effective, fair, and inclusive policies.

The SI will carry out a comprehensive regionally led legislative review to assess national progress in aligning SGBV legislation with CEDAW and related General Recommendations, the Istanbul Convention, the CRC General Recommendations, the Istanbul Convention, the CRC and related General Comments , the ICPD Programme of Action, the BPfA and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and related General Comment, which will form part of launching the Central Asia Alliance on SGBV.

Therefore, to strengthen the role of CSOs to strategically and collectively engage as accountability holders in their engagement with the Central Asia Alliance and other national and international platforms, the international consultant will provide CSOs and active women leaders in the region with monitoring tools and technical assistance to develop strategies and strengthen their capacity to monitor and advocate for progress on the road map for aligning national laws and regulations with the above-mentioned international standards and conventions. To build these capacities, CSOs will be supported through linkages with international expertise and best practices in accountability measures.

Geographical scope: 5 CA countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, focusing on rural areas ensuring that the grassroots organizations (those harder to reach) are not left behind.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the SI Project Officer, the International Consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

1. Develop and submit a thorough workplan with a timeframe, specifying key coordination/ consultations meetings with relevant stakeholders, etc.
2. Conduct desk review to identify existing instruments/ templates related to monitoring, evaluation, and accountability by civil society in the area of elimination of violence against women and girls.
3. Submit an inception consultancy report with an overview of existing instruments/ templates related to monitoring, evaluation, and accountability by civil society in the area of elimination of violence against women and girls.
4. Carry out online consultation meetings with NGOs, their partners and beneficiaries, etc.
5. Develop and submit a Monitoring, Accountability and Evaluation Tool to be further utilized by CSOs in Central Asia to support their advocacy and influence on prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence and promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in alignment with international standards and conventions. Ensure that the principles of Leaving None Behind, Human Rights Based Approach, and Do No Harm are effectively incorporated into the capacity-building process and reflected in the developed tools.
6. Conduct online training for CSOs in Central Asia to strengthen their capacity to monitor and advocate for progress on the road map for aligning national laws and regulations with the international standards and conventions, based on the developed Monitoring and Accountability Tool for CSOs.
7. Conduct online training sessions for the 15 members of the Civil Society Regional Reference Group (CS-RRG) in close cooperation and cooperation with the SI Regional Programme Coordinator.
8. Finalize and submit a post training report with recommendations and supporting documents as attachments.

The International Consultant is expected to work from home and conduct consultations with the SI Project Officer and local partners and training seminars via video conferencing platforms (Zoom, Microsoft Teams etc.).

All deliverables shall be submitted to and approved by the SI Project Officer.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration

Required Skills and Experience

The selection process of consultant will be by following criteria:

Education: Please ensure similar formatting

• Advanced degree in Social Science, Research methods, Gender studies, Development studies, Law, Public Policy and Administration, and other related fields.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of professional experience in developing tools for monitoring, accountability, and evaluation systems for development programmes within international organizations.
• At least 5 years of experience in quantitative and qualitative research in the area of women’s rights, preferable in elimination of violence against women and girls, and/or in monitoring and evaluation of women’s rights or laws and regulations related to elimination of violence against women and girls.
• Proven experience in conducting the monitoring and evaluation training courses.
• Experience in international development, particularly in the areas of civil society management and development, elimination of violence against women and girls or promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Experience of coordinating and liaising with government agencies and civil society, managing multi-stakeholders and multi-country environment.
• Experience with UN agencies and other international organizations, as well as with government agencies for promoting gender equality is an asset.
• Previous experience of working in Central Asia and Afghanistan is an asset.

Languages:

• Excellent writing and speaking skills in English and/or Russian. Knowledge of language/s of Central Asia and Afghanistan is an asset.

Evaluation process

Applicants must meet the above minimum qualification requirements which will be included in the technical evaluation process in the future. The next stage of the assessment process will be maintained by cumulative analysis methodology of technical proposal (70%) and the financial proposal (30%) of the candidate.

Technical evaluation criteria:

Criteria

Maximum points

Education

Advanced degree in Social Science, Research methods, Gender studies, Development studies, Law, Public Policy and Administration, and other related fields.

50

Professional work experience

• At least 5 years of professional experience in developing tools for monitoring, accountability, and evaluation systems for development programmes within international organizations.
• At least 5 years of experience in quantitative and qualitative research in the area of women’s rights, preferable in elimination of violence against women and girls, and/or in monitoring and evaluation of women’s rights or laws and regulations related to elimination of violence against women and girls.
• Proven experience in conducting the monitoring and evaluation training courses.
• Experience in international development, particularly in the areas of civil society management and development, elimination of violence against women and girls or promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Experience of coordinating and liaising with government agencies and civil society, managing multi-stakeholders and multi-country environment.
• Experience with UN agencies and other international organizations, as well as with government agencies for promoting gender equality is an asset.
• Previous experience of working in Central Asia and Afghanistan is an asset.

180

120

100

60

50

50

50

Languages

Excellent writing and speaking skills in English

Excellent writing and speaking skills in Russian

30

10

Maximum total technical scoring (70%):

700

1. Application Process:

All documents should be attached to application as one document including:

• CV/ UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment

• Technical proposal describing how the expected assignment will be performed.

• Financial proposal in USD, including all costs and expenses the consultant will have to fulfill all tasks within the framework of this ToR.

Only candidates who have passed the preliminary selection will be informed.

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.)

Kindly note, that the system will only allow one attachment, hence all supporting documents (P11, technical and financial proposals) must be scanned as one attachment. Applications without the completed UNDP P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.