National Consultant - Senior Gender Advisor

Contract

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Background

Gender equality, centred in human rights, is both a development goal on its own and a critical factor for achieving sustainable development. It underlies one of the guiding principles of the 2030 Agenda for Development – the concept of 'leaving no one behind'.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN's global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. Gender Equality is one of the core objectives of UNDP and is implemented throughout the organization in a two-pronged approach: mainstreaming gender in all core practices; and dedicated interventions that empower women and promote gender equality. UNDP supports partners to eliminate gender inequalities through targeted, gender-focused programmes and by working to ensure that all development efforts consider the experiences, needs, and contributions of women.

By removing structural barriers to gender equality and promoting women’s participation in the decisions that affect their lives, success in eradicating poverty and inequality, building resilience to disasters, climate change and conflict, and driving sustainable development can be achieved. UNDP believes that the gender inequalities and discriminatory attitudes and practices that hold women back, must be confronted and eliminated, if we are to leave no one behind. In these efforts, UNDP works with governments and key UN partners, including UN Women, UNFPA and UNICEF, IOM, UNHCR, OHCHR, UN Pulse Lab Kampala, UNCDF, as well as with civil society organizations, foundations, academia and the private sector.

Country Context:

The Government of Uganda has over the last 20 made significant progress in promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women in political, economic and social domains. Notable among these is the country’s gender responsive legal and regulatory framework, institutionalization of gender concerns in the national development planning and budgeting processes; the increase in women’s literacy rate from 45% in 1995 to 65%; increased the enrolment of girls at several levels of education and the percentage of female Members of Parliament (MPs); and progress in the acquisition of titled land by women.

Despite the strong normative framework on gender equality and progress in the political and decision-making arena, gaps remain in enforcement. Other conditions sustaining gender inequality in Uganda remain salient, including gender disparities in access to finance (income, credit), to entrepreneurship and control over productive resources like land is limited due to cultural tradition and customary laws.

UNDP is supporting national efforts to address gender inequality and in framing solutions to overcome the current barriers to women’s political and economic participation. The Government of Uganda/ UNDP Country Programme 2016 – 2020 recognizes gender equality and women’s empowerment as the cornerstone for sustainable and inclusive development. This includes (i) providing technical assistance to the Government for: gender responsive legislation; and policy formulation, implementation and service delivery; (ii) working with the private sector to develop innovative practices to expand economic opportunities for women and youth; and (iii) strengthening the advocacy capacity of civil society.

In addition to the above-mentioned, UNDP is developing a new Country Programme Document (CPD) which will span 2021-2025. The new CPD would need to integrate gender considerations in a robust and strategic manner.

It is within the above-mentioned context that UNDP is looking to recruit a Gender Advisor to support the Country Office’s diverse gender portfolio that includes gender programming in the development context, GBV Prevention and gender mainstreaming in the humanitarian development nexus.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Resident Representative, the Gender Advisor advises Senior Management on gender policies and trends and relevant linkages to UNDP programmes; provide analysis for formulation of strategies and briefings to Senior Management; advocate for and represents UNDP in his/her area of expertise as requested by his/her supervisor.

The Advisor will also be required to develop and support a coherent and systematic approach to gender mainstreaming in the programmes; act as a programme policy advisor in planning and monitoring of programme activities; provides support in overall coordination of the UNDP Gender Programming in line with the UNDP Gender Equality Strategy and lead resource mobilisation efforts.

The Gender Advisor may supervise and lead a team of UNDP experts, international and national and project staff. The Gender Advisor is expected to maintain a network with colleagues from UNDP, UN Agencies, Government officials, multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors and civil society.

Summary of key functions:

• Gender Analysis and strategic/policy advice to UNDP management;
• Knowledge Management;
• Gender mainstreaming in CO programming:
• Strategic partnership building and resource mobilization;
• Advocacy and promotion of UNDP mandate and contributions to gender equality.

Gender Analysis and strategic advice to UNDP management:

• Compilation, analysis and interpretation of gender and GBV/FSV issues and statistical data, thorough research and preparation of quality analysis and reports.
• Provision of quality analysis and substantive inputs to United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), CPD and other strategic documents.
• Advice on possible areas for UNDP support and adjustment of on-going programmes to ensure that UNDP programmes are in line with national policies and priorities.
• Production and launch of gender reports.
• Contribution to sub-regional, regional and inter-agency initiatives related to gender issues.

Knowledge Management:

• Facilitate knowledge building and mainstreaming of gender in related perspectives within UNDP programmes and actively participates in corporate UNDP knowledge creation.
• Provision of policy options and high-quality advisory inputs to UNDP programmes and projects to ensure these are responsive to national policies, priorities and strategic plans, and advance UNDP's corporate goals.
• Sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice through identification of best practices and lessons learned.
• Assessment of the country's gender policies and their impact on poverty reduction, growth, equity, etc.
• Conduct research, synthesize best practices, and codify project experiences on the ground in comprehensive knowledge products to promote learning.
• Training and capacity building support for UNDP staff and Government officials, public institutions, including at subnational and community level on gender issues.

Gender mainstreaming in CO programming:

• Effective application of Results Based Management tools, establishment of management targets and monitoring achievement of results;
• Design and formulation of CO programme within the area of responsibility, translating UNDP priorities into national interventions. Coordination of programme implementation with the executing agencies;
• Effective monitoring, measuring the impact of the CO programme and evaluation. Constant monitoring and analysis of the programme environment, timely readjustment of programme;
• Quarterly reports are regularly prepared on activities, outputs and outcomes. Preparation of donor reports;
• Organization of cost-recovery system for the services provided by the CO to projects in close collaboration with Operations Manager.

Strategic partnership building and resource mobilization:

• Develop partnerships with other UN Agencies and task teams, including strengthening UNDP’s partnerships with government institutions, bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors, private sector, civil society based on strategic gender equality and women’s empowerment goals in line with country needs and donors' priorities;
• Represent UNDP in different working groups, inter-agency, national conferences and meetings to advocate UNDP’s policy and initiatives on gender equality and women’s empowerment;
• Maintain active relationships/partnerships with Government, UN System, international community, inter-government and non-governmental organizations, institutes and academia on women’s issue to enhance collaboration, resource mobilization and share and influence agenda and priority setting;
• Analyse and research of information on development partners and prepare substantive briefs on opportunities for cooperation.

Advocacy and promotion of UNDP mandate and contributions to gender equality:

• Public and policy advocacy for corporate gender policies, the Sustainable Development Goals, pro-poor and equitable economic growth by participating in relevant forums, conferences and trainings;
• Support to monitoring progress and formulation of strategies towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals;
• Management of events and publications on gender issues.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism;
• Integration in a multidisciplinary environment .

Functional Competencies:

• Solid knowledge of international and national frameworks and instruments on gender equality and Uganda’s commitments and obligations on gender equality;
• Substantive experience and record of accomplishment in the area of gender equality and women's empowerment issues;
• Proven experience of policy level work, solid experience in gender analysis, gender mainstreaming, gender sensitive, gender responsive and gender transformative programming;
• Solid analytical skills with proven experience of producing analytic reports and knowledge products;
• Proven ability to advocate and provide policy advice;

• Knowledge of sustainable human development concept and the global Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 is a strong asset;

• Knowledge of methodologies and best practices for promoting gender equality, equity and women empowerment in general and in the Sub Saharan region in particular;

• Experience with implementing gender mainstreaming agendas across a variety of sectors, including experience gender mainstreaming in governmental bodies;
• Knowledge of UNDP Uganda Country Programme is an asset;
• Experience in working with CSOs, UN Agencies, and Governmental organizations;
• Ability to lead strategic planning, programme development and implementation, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to develop and maintain strong partnerships and mobilize resources;
• Experience working with and building capacity of national women’s machineries or similar institutions.

Managerial Competencies:

• Ability to plan work assignments, establish priorities and to meet strict assignment deadlines;
• Ability to build strong relationships with colleagues and to focus on impact and results;
• Demonstrated aptitude to build effective partnerships with a diverse group of stakeholders;
• Compelling communication (verbal and written) skills, including ability to prepare reports, formulate and defend sound recommendations and articulate options concisely conveying maximum necessary information;
• Negotiating skills and ability to work at all levels with others to reach mutually benefiting and lasting understandings;
• Excellent interpersonal skills; capacity to recognize and respond appropriately to the ideas, interests and concerns of others;
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with people in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree) in the social sciences, economics, public policy, or international development. A concentration in gender is a strong asset.

Experience:

• At least ten years of progressively responsible relevant work experience and demonstrated track record that combines intellectual, strategic and managerial leadership in development programmes, the majority of which should include having undertaken and led substantive programming research on gender and development in key issue areas; (at least 3 years at international level)
• Experience working in humanitarian and development contexts;
• Experience in coordination and advocacy;
• Experience in building and maintaining relationships with government institutions and other partners;
• Strong public speaking skills and representational experience;
• Experience at the international level, preferably in developing countries within the UN system an asset;
• Experience in the region is also an asset

Language:

Fluency in English language, including excellent drafting and presentation skills.

Deliverables:

• Inception Report and Detailed Work Plan. This will be prepared, indicating priority activities, expected results, indicators and timeframe for each of the specific roles under the 5 broad task areas/functions listed above. (within first two weeks of assignment)

Cumulative Monthly Report. The work plan will be reviewed monthly and adjusted as necessary in consultation with the Deputy Resident Representative and UNDP Resident:

• Representative (Monthly reports on agreed workplan submitted and discussed with SMT); (Monthly)
• Final report outlining the main results of the consultant showing lessons learnt and making recommendations on sustainability mechanisms (Cumulative report, End of Sixth Month of assignment).

Evaluation Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology: Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation.

Criteria Weight Technical: 70% (70 points):

• Criteria 1: Education (10 points);
• Criteria 2: At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level, in gender and development (30 points);
• Criteria 3: Professional background in gender and/or women, governance, and sustainable development is an asset. (20 points);
• Criteria 4: Languages (10 points).

Financial: Lowest Financial Proposal: 30% (30 points):

The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula:

Contract will be awarded to the technically qualified consultant who obtains the highest combined score (financial and technical);

The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula: (Lowest Bid Offered*)/ (Bid of the Consultant) x 30; 'Lowest Bid Offered' refers to the lowest price offered by Offerors scoring at least 49 points in the technical evaluation.

Submission of Application:

The candidate is required to submit an electronic application directly uploaded on the UNDP jobs website with all the requirements as listed here below. Annexes and further information may be downloaded on http://procurement-notices.undp.org no.93638.

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document to this website - http://jobs.undp.org no. 69443.

• Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP (Annex II);
• Personal CV, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.

Technical proposal:

• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
• A methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment;
• Financial proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided (Annex II);
• Annexes 1 and II - may be downloaded from the UNDP Procurement Notices Website -http://procurement-notices.undp.org/. For further clarifications, please contact; [email protected]; [email protected]