National Consultancy - Assessment of Women’s Political Participation at Local Government Level

This opening expired 2 years ago. Do not try to apply for this job.

Application deadline 2 years ago: Wednesday 20 Oct 2021 at 23:59 UTC

Open application form

Contract

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

Background

Women’s political participation and decision making in Zimbabwe is framed around international, regional, and national standards articulated in Conventions, the Constitution, declarations, and policies. These guiding principles call for equal and fair representation of women in politics, equal participation of women in peace and security matters. However, despite these clear standards on women’s political participation and leadership, the situation in Zimbabwe is far from aligned to these standards. Women’s representation in Parliament, Senate and Local Government remains well below the required 50% representation. In local government representation of women has regressed in the past three elections from 19% in 2008, to 16% in 2013 and to 13.4% in 2018.

Women’s effective participation is hampered by a myriad of barriers which include but are not limited to the following discriminatory laws, social and religious beliefs, and attitudes, lack literacy on election processes, lack of funding to run campaigns, negative media coverage and portrayal of women, patriarchal system and gender insensitive policies and practices in political parties.

Women’s equal participation in local governments and decision-making processes is critical for creating gender sensitive policies and for promoting sustainable development. Unfortunately, women are not well represented in local government in Zimbabwe. Most local Councils in Zimbabwe are inherently patriarchal and their structures and procedures are designed for and by men and they do not take into account women’s multiple responsibilities and needs.

Currently UN Women is supporting initiatives on increasing women’s political participation, which include Training and Mentorship programme for aspiring women political candidates in partnership with Zimbabwe Gender Commission and CSOs. UN Women is further working on strengthening capacities of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to implement the Gender and Inclusion Policy.

Opportunities to strengthen women’s political participation and decision making are presented in the legal and institutional framework obtaining in Zimbabwe. Recently the Constitutional Amendment Act ushered in the 30% quota at local government level as a measure to increase the representation of women.

The main objectives of this assignment are to identify the barriers to effective participation of women at local level decision making, to understand their level of participation and to identify possible action points to improve status quo and ensuring successful implementation of the new local government quota. The study will cover women in elected and non-elected positions at local authority and women in community. The findings of the study will inform the capacity development efforts targeting local authorities. The findings of the research will also enlighten the policy level discussions on this subject matter and will be utilized for advocacy around strengthening participation of women at local level including through an analysis of electoral systems and the use of temporary special measures.

To this end UN Women intends to recruit a consultant to conduct an assessment of barriers to women’s leadership in local government and convene meetings with stakeholders who will include Local Government Councillors, Provincial Ministers, AWLN, CSOs and other relevant stakeholders on the findings.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will report to and work under the supervision of the Governance and Women’s Political Participation Advisor, She/ he will undertake the following tasks and responsibilities under the following components:

1. Literature Review

To map out existing literature in this area to understand the status quo of women participation at local level. It could include, among others, recently published research reports, surveys, assessments, legislations, policies, and other national and international documents. The Consultant needs to map out the key stakeholders who could and/are contributing to the status quo and who are able to impact positively for improvement of the situation. The literature review is expected to set the context for this study and include a section on electoral systems and temporary special measures.

2. Data gathering and validation

The Consultant is required to identify the following.

  • Barriers to effective participation of women at local level;
  • Women members’ level of participation and;
  • Possible action points to improve the status quo
  • Implications and implementation of electoral systems and temporary special measures such as the women’s quota at Local Government Level
  • Identification of stakeholders and their roles in promoting women’s political participation at local Government Level
  • Impact of disasters/pandemics on women’s political Participation

3. Validation workshop and the final Report with recommendations

The final report will contain:

  • Introduction/Background to the study;
  • The Study Design/Methodology;
  • The literature review;
  • The findings of the data gathering exercise;
  • Mapping of the stakeholders with impact and the level of their contribution;
  • Conclusion;
  • The recommendations (short, medium, and long term) that can be implemented at local level and national level to improve participation of women in local governance (elected, non-elected and community level). This needs to include legal and/or policy level changes required for improving women participation.

The Consultant is expected to facilitate a stakeholders validation workshop and do a presentation on the findings of the study. The comments and feedback received from UN Women and stakeholders will be addressed at the final report.

4. Summarized report on the findings and recommendations

The Consultant is expected to prepare a brief (5-10 page long) summary of the report for easy reference. A draft shall be shared for comments with UN Women prior to finalisation.

5. Pocket Guide for Aspiring Women Political Candidates and elected Councillors in Local Government

The consultant is expected to draft a brief pocket guide as a knowledge product that can be used by aspiring political candidate and elected councillors at Local Government as a resource that can support them before, during and after elections

DELIVERABLES

  1. Inception report with details on the methodological approach, workplan, including survey questionnaire templates, Key Informant Interviews and Focused Group Discussion;
  2. Literature review;
  3. Report on Stakeholder validation meeting on the findings of the Study;
  4. Final report incorporating the findings and recommendations;
  5. Summary of the report.
  6. Pocket Guide for women aspiring candidates and elected Councillors at Local Government

Competencies

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.

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/-

/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competenciesframework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Functional/Technical Competencies

• Strong and sound knowledge of women’s rights, gender equality and normative frameworks on

women’s political participation and elections.

• Previous experience conducting research, studies, assessments on gender equality, elections and

women’s political participation

• Excellent communication (spoken, written and presentation) skills/fluency in English, including the

ability to draft reports, studies and other communications and to articulate ideas in a clear, concise

manner.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Master’s degree or above in development related disciplines, law, gender studies, Governance or other relevant social science fields.

Experience:

  • Minimum of 7 years professional experience working in governance, gender equality and women’s political participation field at national and local levels
  • Demonstrated experience and facilitation skills in working with government partners and other stakeholders in development programs
  • Strong experience in conducting evidence-based research studies on gender equality and women’s rights
  • Ability to produce well written reports demonstrating analytical ability and communication skill.

Language:

Excellent command of written and oral English.

Application:

  1. The application should include a cover letter (max. 1 p.), CV and a technical proposal following the recommendation below.

Recommended Presentation of Technical Proposal

The Consultants is expected to submit a technical proposal which will be used in evaluating the application. All proposals should include an introductory note, summary of understanding of the terms of reference, clear outline and methodology of the assignment, a draft timeline for completion of assignment and CV. The technical proposal should be no more than 7 pages and include the following:

  • Name and brief background including experience and expertise that will be of benefit to the proposed assignment.
  • Background information that includes an interpretation and understanding of the terms of reference.
  • Methodology and approach outlining a clear conceptual and analytical framework for proposed assignment.
  • Proposed work plan outlining clear timeframe and steps in conducting the assignment.
  • Expectations from UN Women in terms of logistical, technical, and other forms of support for the assignment and its products.

· Names and contact information for the 3 most recent client references for relevant assignment and a sample of relevant work done.

  • Please note that applications without a completed and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
  • UN Women Personal History form (P-11) can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment .

UNWOMEN is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: jobs.undp.org