National Consultant – Design of a Campaign on Local Elections and Digital Volence against Women in Politics - Turkish Nationals Only

Consultant

Contract

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

Background

I. Organizational Context

UN Women (the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of 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 Türkiye, in line with its global Strategic Plan 2022-2025, UN Women works towards one overarching goal “Women and girls including those at greatest risk of being left behind fully exercise their human rights, enjoy a life free from violence and discrimination, and lead, influence and benefit from sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development towards the advancement of gender equality in Türkiye” and three strategic objectives: 1) Women and girls have improved and equal access to resources, opportunities, and rights, and enjoy a life without violence and discrimination; 2) By 2025, Persons under the Law on Foreigners and International Protection are supported towards self-reliance; 3) By 2025, governance systems are more transparent, accountable, inclusive and rights-based with the participation of civil society, and quality of judicial services is improved.

Towards these goals, UN Women implements programmes and projects that aim to advance gender equality, improve women’s access to opportunities, rights and services in political, social and economic life and combat gender stereotypes, discrimination and violence, as required by international and national legal and policy commitments. UN Women collaborates with numerous partners – central and local level government authorities, civil society organizations, including women’s organizations and platforms, academia, private sector companies, other UN agencies. It commits itself to the Leaving No One Behind principle, by supporting targeted actions to remove the obstacles that marginalized and vulnerable groups of women face in accessing their rights and to promote them as agents of change.

Despite progress made in the past decades, in Turkiye the participation of women in politics and in decision-making in economic and business life, remains low and below global and regional averages. In the previous years, UN Women implemented the project “Gender Equality in Political Leadership and Participation in Turkiye” which worked with the Turkish Grand National Assembly, local

administrations, civil society organizations (CSOs) and women leaders to advance gender-responsive policies and legislation and women’s participation in decision-making processes. UN Women has also increased its partnership base and its engagement with different stakeholders, such as the private sector, media and male champions, in order to achieve larger-scale impact and results.

Building on the achievements and lessons learnt over the previous years, in 2021, UN Women started implementing the project “Advancing gender equality and women’s leadership in political and business life” (Women Lead) with funding from the Embassy of Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The project has an overall objective to advance women’s leadership and participation in decision-making in Turkiye by focusing on key stakeholders and actors in the fields of politics and private sector. Two sub-objectives of the project are:

1. Provide support for increasing women’s leadership in political decision-making, establishing a cadre of interested, diverse and capable women to run for political office at local level, increasing solidarity and gender equality awareness among women from different political affiliations and with women from outside government, advancing the national and policy legal framework, strengthening gender-sensitive governance at the local level.
2. Promote women’s leadership and influence in the private sector, strengthen the engagement of men political and corporate leaders in advancing gender equality, work with media current and future professional and media outlets to advance non-stereotypical portrayal of women in media as political and business leaders and to practice gender-sensitive practices internally and externally.

Within the framework of the project, UN Women Turkiye advocates for gender balance in politics through gender responsive legislative amendments, temporary special measures, removal of structural barriers and elimination of violence against women in politics (VaWP). To strengthen the evidence-base on women’s political participation experiences and obstacles, the first comprehensive research on VaWP was conducted in 2022. Currently, an analysis of 2023 General Elections from gender perspective is being conducted to identify areas of opportunity and challenges for women as candidates and political actors. In addition, a gap analysis and a set of policy options are being developed to identify new intervention areas to increase women’s participation in politics and to take initiative regarding the local elections in 2024.

UN Women Turkiye also works for the capacity building and skills development of women aspirants for local elections via implementing the UN Women’s Global Political Leadership and Candidate Training programme. Under the aim of strengthening awareness and capacities of local governments, UN Women Turkiye also works with elected women councilors for strengthening their capacities for the development of gender responsive plans, budgets and service delivery at local level.

Digital violence against women politicians is a grave concern, with targeted attacks, online harassment, and abusive behavior aimed at silencing their voices. It is imperative to address this issue and foster a safe digital space where women politicians can participate without fear of intimidation or

discrimination. Ensuring digital safety and security is paramount, particularly for women involved in politics, including aspiring candidates and current politicians who actively participate in social media campaigns. With the pervasive reach of the internet, it is crucial to ensure the protection of personal information and maintain a safe online environment. Women candidates should be vigilant in safeguarding their online presence and being cautious while sharing personal details. Moreover, they should be aware of potential cyber threats, and employ reliable security measures. By prioritizing digital safety and security, women can more confidently utilize social media platforms to effectively engage with constituents and amplify their voices in local politics.

In line with the objectives of the Women Lead project and its ongoing initiatives, UN Women Turkiye would like to recruit a consultant who will support its actions in the field of campaign design and management for increasing women’s participation into local politics and further strengthening the capacities of women political figures on gender based online violence and digital safety and security.

Duties and Responsibilities

II. Functions

Under the direct supervision Women Lead Programme Specialist, the National Consultant will undertake the following tasks:

1. Designing and Producing Assets of the Communication and Advocacy Campaign for Promoting Women’s Equal Participation into Politics Targeting 2024 Local Elections

- Designing a full-fledged communication and advocacy campaign especially prioritizing social media channels UN Women Turkiye is using targeting local elections in 2024 in line with the objectives of Women Lead project and UN Women Turkiye’s communications strategy,

- Creating monthly communication and advocacy plan for the social media content management of the campaign which includes implementing digital strategy for assets (videos, static/dynamic posts and stories, polls). The plan should include approach, key messages, channels and the methods for tracking the number of individuals reached and evidence.

- Designing and developing appealing visuals in line with the latest trends following sponsoring social media policies and guidelines (secure copyrights if needed).

- Measuring and evaluating the campaign with an analysis on audience and engagement, and recommendations for improvement.

- Adjusting the social media content for each social media channel of UN Women Turkiye.

- Ensuring proper grammar, spelling and punctuation before publishing any communication products. All content should be provided in both English and Turkish languages.

2. Prepare a Guideline on Digital VaWP and deliver trainings on digital violence and digital safety for specific target groups

- Developing a guideline on the definition and concepts of digital VaWP, digital safety and security complementing the VaWP Research of UN Women Turkiye and on how to ensure the digital safety as women politicians,

- Designing and delivering trainings on digital violence and digital safety and security to target groups such as women candidates, women local councilors and women members of the Turkish Parliament as well as UN Women Turkiye staff,

- There are planned to be maximum 5 candidate trainings in different provinces of Türkiye, one training for women members of the Turkish Parliament, two trainings for women local councilors in Eskisehir and Mersin and one training for UN Women Turkiye staff in Ankara.

- Contributing to the reporting on the results of the trainings to the partner of UN Women for candidate trainings and preparing a comprehensive combined final report.

3. Designing and Producing Assets for the Campaign on Violence against Women in Politics with a specific focus on Digital Violence against Women in Politics

- Preparing a communication strategy and plan on how to best disemminate the findings of the VAWP Research and how to engage audience on the importance of digital violence and digital safety.

- Ensuring proper grammar, spelling and punctuation before publishing any communication products. All content should be provided in both English and Turkish languages.

III. Deliverables and Payment Schedule

Duration of the assignment is from 4 September 2023 – 15 April 2024****. The Consultant is expected to spend up to 100 working days on a non - consecutive basis throughout the assignment. The consultant will use his/her own equipment.

Activities/Tasks

Output (Deliverable)

Estimated Working days assigned (indicative)

Tentative Deadlines

• Developing a guideline on the definition and concepts of digital VaWP, digital safety and security complementing the VaWP Research of UN Women Turkiye and on how to ensure the digital safety as women politicians,

Guideline on Digital VAWP, Safety and Security

15

29 September 2023

• Preparing a communication strategy and plan on how to best disemminate the findings of the VAWP Research and how to engage audience on the importance of digital violence and digital safety.
• Contributing to the reporting on the results of the campaign.

Final Communications and Advocacy Campaign Plan and Asset Package for VAWP

30

15 December 2023

• Designing and delivering 9 trainings on digital violence and digital safety and security to target groups such as women candidates, women local councilors and women members of the Turkish Parliament as well as UN Women Turkiye staff,
• Contributing to the reporting on the results of the trainings to the partner of UN Women for candidate trainings and preparing a comprehensive combined final report.

Final Combined Report of the Trainings on Digital VAWP and Safety

30

15 January 2024

- Designing a full-fledged communication and advocacy campaign especially prioritizing social media channels UN Women Turkiye is using targeting local elections in 2024 in line with the objectives of Women Lead project and UN Women Turkiye’s communications strategy.

- Contributing to the reporting on the results of the campaign

- Creating monthly communication and advocacy plan for the social media content management of the campaign which includes implementing digital strategy for assets (videos, static/dynamic posts and stories, polls). The plan should include approach, key messages, channels and the methods for tracking the number of individuals reached and evidence.

- Designing and developing appealing visuals in line with the latest trends following sponsoring social media policies and guidelines (secure copyrights if needed).

Final Communications and Advocacy Campaign Plan and Asset Package for Local Elections

25

2 February 2024

Total

100 w/d

The mentioned number of working days has been estimated as being sufficient/feasible for the envisaged volume of work to be completed successfully and is proposed as a guideline for the duration of assignment. It cannot and shall not be used as criteria for completion of work/assignment. The provision of envisaged deliverables approved by the UN Women Programme Specialist shall be the only criteria for national consultants’ work being completed and eligible for payment/s.

National Consultants shall be paid upon successful completion of the deliverables in 4 installments as per the above table. Payment shall be affected only if the deliverables are submitted to and approved by the Programme Specialist.

The consultant should submit all the deliverables in an editable format.

Without submission and approval of the deliverables, Consultants shall not receive any payment even if they invest time for this assignment.

During assignment’s related missions, the National Consultants may use the facilities of the office (i.e. internet access, printing, copying, local phone calls, etc.). However, s/he is expected to use his/her own personal computer. All the payments to the Consultant will be processed in Turkish Lira.

Travel:

The assignment is home-based with domestic travel. For this assignment, the National Consultant will need to travel 9 times. There are planned to be maximum 5 candidate trainings in different provinces of Turkiye, 1 training for women members of the Turkish Parliament, 2 trainings for women local councilors in Eskisehir and Mersin and 1 training for UN Women Turkiye staff in Ankara.

The Consultant will be responsible for all travel and accommodation expenses and daily subsistence allowances associated with undertaking this assignment. All travels and logistical arrangements shall be coordinated with UN Women in Turkey and shall be included in the total contract amount of the contractor.

Mandatory Courses:

The Consultant shall complete all the mandatory and further required UN courses, training and modules on time. Their certificates shall be submitted to the Hiring Manager during the contract preparation process. Please note that the required training courses could vary based on contract content and duration, the nature of the work and inclusion of travel. Hence, the Consultant is obliged to follow the instructions of his/her Hiring Manager upon which training modules to complete and when to complete them.

IV. Key Performance Indicators

• Timeliness, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered,
• Willingness to shares knowledge and experience,
• Demonstration of excellent written and oral communication skills and communicating sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies,
• Ability to perform a variety of standard specialized and non-specialized tasks and work processes that are fully documented, researched, recorded and reported,
• Ability to review a variety of data, identify and adjust discrepancies, identify and resolve operational problems,
• Uses Information Technology effectively as a tool and resource,
• Adherence to UN Women standards and rules.

Competencies

V. Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Functional Competencies:

• Strong interpersonal, teamwork and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and proactively solve problem;
• Capacity to plan, priorities and deliver tasks on times;
• Capacity to engage with stakeholders to receive inputs for analysis and reporting;
• Ability to research, analyze, compare and present complex information.

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

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.)

Required Skills and Experience

VI. Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Masters degree in communications is required.

Experience:

• Minimum 7 years’ experience in the field of designing and implementing communications advocacy campaigns and strategies is required.
• Experience in designing and implementing communications advocacy campaigns and strategies in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment is an asset,
• Experience in capacity building activities on digital violence against women is a strong asset,
• Experience working with CSOs is an asset,
• Previous experience with the United Nations or similar organisations in this or a related field would be considered an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in written and spoken Turkish and English is required.

VII. Travel

The assignment is home-based with domestic travel. For this assignment, the National Consultant will need to travel 9 times. There are planned to be maximum 5 candidate trainings in different provinces of Turkiye, 1 training for women members of the Turkish Parliament, 2 trainings for women local councilors in Eskisehir and Mersin and 1 training for UN Women Turkiye staff in Ankara.

The Consultant will be responsible for all travel and accommodation expenses and daily subsistence allowances associated with undertaking this assignment. All travels and logistical arrangements shall be coordinated with UN Women in Turkey and shall be included in the total contract amount of the contractor.

VIII. Application Procedure

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application:

• Cover letter to include a brief overview about which of your previous experiences makes you the most suitable candidate for the advertised position.
• CV in English containing the relevant educational and professional experience.
• Signed UN Women Personal History (P11) Form including past experience in similar assignments which can be downloaded at https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process
• Financial proposal to be sent via e-mail to [email protected] indicating the name of the position applied in the subject line of the e-mail no later than the application deadline - Please see Annex I: Price Proposal Guideline and Template and Annex II: Price Proposal Submission Form.

When applying; the Cover Letter, CV and the signed P11 Form should be merged into one (1) single PDF document since the system will allow only to upload maximum one document. Therefore, please combine these forms and documents into one (1) single PDF document and upload them to the system.

As for Financial Proposal, please send them/it separately via e-mail to [email protected] indicating the name of the position applied in the subject line of the e-mail. Since they will be sent separately via e-mail, Financial Proposals should not be uploaded to the system or be included in the merged PDF which shall consist of the applicant’s Cover Letter, CV, and Signed P11 Form. Please make sure to not include the Financial Offer in the merged PDF.

Should they be short-listed in consideration of the consultancy, candidates should be able to quickly submit degree certificates, medical certifications, or any other requested document.

Incomplete applications such as applications without a financial proposal may not be considered. Applicants are responsible to make sure to have provided all the requested application materials before the deadline.

IX. Evaluation of Applicants

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer receives the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.

Total points

Max. Points

Technical Evaluation (70%)

70

• Masters degree in communications is required.

10

• Minimum 7 years’ experience in the field of designing and implementing communications advocacy campaigns and strategies is required. (7 years – 15 points, for 7+ years – 20 points)

20

• Experience in designing and implementing communications advocacy campaigns and strategies in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment is a strong asset. (0: without experience 15:Demonstrated experience)

15

• Experience in capacity building activities on digital violence against women is a strong asset. (0: without experience 15:Demonstrated experience)

15

Experience working with CSOs is an asset. (0: without experience 5:Demonstrated experience)

5

Fluency in English and Turkish is required.

(0: no 5:yes)

5

Financial Evaluation (30%)

30

TOTAL

100

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 suggested formula is as follows:

p = 30 (µ/z)

Using the following values:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

An interview/practical test may also be used for the selection of best candidates.

Annex I: Price Proposal Guideline and Template

The prospective Individual Consultant should take the following explanations into account during submission of his/her price proposal.

1.Daily fee

The daily price proposal should indicate a "lump sum amount" which is "all-inclusive"; All costs (professional fees, communications, consumables during field related missions, etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Contractor needs to be factored into the proposed price.

UN Women will not withhold any amount of the payments for tax and/or social security related payments. UN Women shall have no liability for taxes, duties or other similar charges payable by the Individual Contractor in respect of any amounts paid to the Individual Contractor under this Contract, and the Contractor acknowledges that UN Women will not issue any statements of earnings to the Individual contractor in respect of any such payments.

2.Travel costs

The assignment is home-based with domestic travel. For this assignment, the National Consultant will need to travel 9 times. There are planned to be maximum 5 candidate trainings in different provinces of Turkiye, 1 training for women members of the Turkish Parliament, 2 trainings for women local councilors in Eskisehir and Mersin and 1 training for UN Women Turkiye staff in Ankara.

The Consultant will be responsible for all travel and accommodation expenses and daily subsistence allowances associated with undertaking this assignment. All travels and logistical arrangements shall be coordinated with UN Women in Turkey and shall be included in the total contract amount of the contractor.

In the case of any additional unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs should be agreed upon, between UN Women in Turkey and the Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

3.Currency of the price proposal

The applicants are requested to submit their price proposals in USD. The payments will be made in TRY with the UN Exchange Rate valid at the time of the payment.

Annex II: Price Proposal Submission Form

To: United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

Ref: National Consultant – Design of a Campaign on Local Elections and Digital Volence against Women in Politics

Dear Madam/Sir,

I, the undersigned, offer to provide professional consulting services to UN Women within the scope of the referred Assignment.

Having examined, understood and agreed to the Terms of Reference and its annexes,

the receipt of which are hereby duly acknowledged, I, the undersigned, offer to deliver professional services, in conformity with the Terms of Reference.

Based on the deliverables and estimated working days summarized in the ToR, my maximum total price proposal for the assignment is given below:

Costs

USD

Daily Fee, all inclusive

Deliverable 1: Guideline on Digital VAWP, Safety and Security

Deliverable 2: Final Communications and Advocacy Campaign Plan and Asset Package for VAWP

Deliverable 3: Final Combined Report of the Trainings on Digital VAWP and Safety

Deliverable 4: Final Communications and Advocacy Campaign Plan and Asset Package for Local Elections

Travel Fee

Domestic Flight Tickets and Transfer Cost x 9

(This is in line with the maximum estimated number of travels for this assignment. The domestic flight ticket will be from the city where the mission originated to other mission provinces. The price should reflect the fee of a round travel for 9 times as well as the transfers within the city where the mission originated and the city of mission. For each travel the Consultant will be paid for one item.)

Daily Substance Allowance (DSA) Cost x 12

(This is in line with the maximum estimated number of travels for this assignment. The missions may be for one day DSA or maximum two days DSA based on the number of nights spent in the city of mission. As per UN Women guidelines; the DSA consists of accommodation (50%), breakfast (6%), lunch (12%), dinner (12%) and miscellaneous expenses (20%). The DSA fee of the Consultant should indicate the lump sum fee for accommodation, breakfast, lunch, dinner and miscellaneous expenses. The Consultant will receive reduced DSA for the items as per the percentages stated above covered within the organization provided by UN Women. Important notice: For each night away from the duty station, the Consultant will be paid one day DSA.)

Total Travel Fee

Total Fee (Deliverables + Travel)

I confirm that my financial proposal will remain unchanged. I also confirm that the price that I quote is gross, and is inclusive of all legal expenses, including but not limited to social security, income tax, pension, etc., which shall be required applicable laws.

I agree that my proposal shall remain binding upon me for 90 days.

I understand that you are not bound to accept any proposal you may receive.

[Signature]

Date:

Name:

Address:

Telephone/Fax:

Email:

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Added 11 months ago - Updated 11 months ago - Source: jobs.undp.org