National Consultant to provide technical support to the drafting of a Gender Policy and Costed Action Plan for the Ministry of Labor (MOL

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Background

Background UN 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.

UN Women’s goal in Liberia is to promote women’s human rights and gender equality which are key in sustaining and furthering achievements in stability and development. In this regard, its programming in the Country is connected to five corporate priority areas: women’s leadership and political participation; enhancing women’s economic empowerment; engaging women in all aspects of peace and security processes; advancing women’s rights to live free from violence and Gender Responsive Governance.

The Ministry of Labor established first as Labor Congress of Liberia in 1953, its core function is to maintain a stable industrial relations climate through the early apprehension and resolution of labor disputes. This necessitates a pro-active approach by initially involving the parties in consultation, especially as it relates to strikes where discussions focus on terms of resumption that provide for a return to normalcy. Normally, such terms imply a reversion to the status quo; no victimization by either party; no acrimony; and a date for conciliatory talks where the ministry utilizes its expertise to resolve the issues at conciliation or arbitration as provided for in the Collective Labor Agreement. In other words, where a strike is involved the parties do not necessarily have to request assistance, since the function of the ministry is to maintain industrial stability requires its intervention.

The Ministry carry out the following Functions: • To regulate standards, monitor, enforce and ensure compliance with the Labor practices Laws of Liberia.

• Register Aliens and issue Work Permits to alien who seek employments within the boundaries of the Republic of Liberia

• Coordinates and facilitate fight against Human Trafficking to reduce the risk of victimization. • Ensures the protection of children from the worst forms of child labor.

• Promote the smooth operation of the Trade Unions in Liberia.

• Immediate resolution of conflict between employers and employees The Ministry has two departments:

1. Administration and

2. Planning and Manpower Development with several bureaus headed by Assistant Ministers, namely: Labor Standards, Trade Union Affairs, and Regional Labor Affairs; and Bureau of Employment.

In Liberia, gender gaps are one of the most pressing challenges facing the labor market. The MOL strives to mainstream gender in all its action plans and policies. Women are substantially less likely than men to participate in the Labor market, and once in the workforce, they are also less likely to find jobs than men. Indeed, their access to quality employment opportunities remains restricted. Overall, for example, women are more likely to work longer hours than men when both paid and unpaid work is considered. Moreover, when in paid employment, on average, women work fewer hours for pay or profit either because they opt to work part-time or because part-time work is the only option available to them.

Against this backdrop, UN Women Liberia through the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection that is responsible to ensure a well-coordinated system-wide approach in mainstreaming gender in our development process and across all line ministries and agencies seeks to hire a National Consultant to develop an internal Gender Policy and a costed action plan for the Ministry of Labor.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the assignment

The main objective of this consultancy is to draft and finalize the Gender Policy for the MOL and develop a five-year costed action plan with clear goals and targets, in a participatory manner. In addition, the assignment will envisage to institute mechanisms that promote gender sensitive planning, budgeting, implementation and monitoring. At the same time, it will also foresee that adequate resources are allocated, training needs identified, and capacity building opportunities are available to benefit women, men, girls and boys equitably.

The Gender Policy for the MOL will articulate the gender responsiveness of local governance and decentralization in developing and coordinating a gender-responsive strategy to meet the challenges in the ministry and equip employees with the relevant skills and knowledge to become real agents of change in coping with the situations from a gender perspective. It will be a realistic document that reflects the real life needs and challenges of those who are most vulnerable and exposed to discrimination in the Ministry.

Scope of work and tasks Under the overall guidance of the Deputy Country Representative of UN Women Liberia and direct supervision from the Program Specialist on Gender Responsive Budgeting, and in close collaboration with the Assistant Minister for Planning Manpower Development, the Consultant will perform the following tasks: Task 1. Desk Review and development of the consultancy plan 1) Conduct a desk review of existing relevant documents;

2) Conduct preliminary consultations with the MOL Senior Management and the Gender Unit of the MOL, Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection (MGCSP), Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, GRB Technical Working Group and UN Women for development of a consultancy plan/inception report.

Task 2. Conduct an institutional gender assessment or gender audit to inform the development of the Gender Policy at the MOL

1) Data collection: conduct desk review and interviews to prepare institutional assessment and capacity building needs to facilitate preparation of the Gender Policy;

2)? Lead and manage data processing and analysis;

3) Develop a well-structured gender assessment/gender audit report that comprehensively outline the findings, methodology, challenges, recommendations, list of persons interviewed;

4) Conduct a workshop to enhance their capacity in gender mainstreaming.

Task 3. Develop a Gender Policy and Costed Action plan with the MOL

1) Based on the gender assessment/gender audit results, finalize the Gender Policy and develop a detailed Costed Action Plan (2021-2025) with clear goals and targets. The plan should further state roles and responsibilities for concerned stakeholders and outline an implementation, monitoring and evaluation and reporting framework and include an indicative budget;

2) Develop a concept note to organize the workshop for the validation of the Gender Policy and facilitate the validation workshop;

3) Incorporate recommendations from the validation workshop into the Gender Policy and the Costed Action Plan

4) Submit the Gender Policy for approval by MOL Senior Management

5) Make preparation and work with the MOL Gender Unit for the Launch of the Gender Policy and ensure its dissemination including its publication on the MOL website

Task 4. Strengthen the capacity of the MOL Gender Unit and the Senior Management to facilitate implementation of the Gender policy

  1. Develop a term of reference for the gender unit at MOL,

2. Conduct a capacity building training for staff of the gender unit

IV. Expected Deliverables

The consultant will produce the following deliverables:

#DeliverablesIndicative Deadline1Consultancy work plan/inception report23 October 20202Report of the Institutional Gender Assessment/Gender Audit6 November 20203Validated and approved Gender Policy and Costed Action Plan for MOA. The policy will incorporate goals and targets and will further describe tasks and responsibilities, implementation, monitoring and evaluation and reporting frameworks with indicative budget27 November 20204TOR of the Gender Unit at the MOA

Capacity building training for the staff of the Gender Unit (based on the capacity needs assessment) and final report containing results, changes in knowledge and skills, and recommendations, as well as annexes (pre- and post-tests questionnaires)

Consultancy report containing results, changes in knowledge and skills, and recommendations, as well as annexes (pre- and post-tests questionnaires) 18 December 2020All the deliverables, including annexes, notes and reports should be submitted in writing in English. Upon receipt of the deliverables and prior to the payment of the first installment, the deliverables and related reports and documents will be reviewed and approved by UN Women. The period of review is one week after receipt.

Inputs

- UN Women and MOL will provide the Consultant with background materials relevant to the assignment;

- The Consultant is expected to work using his/ her own computer;

- The Consultant will be based at MOL; and

- MOL shall facilitate consultations/meetings between the consultant and relevant stakeholders;

Competencies

Performance evaluation: Consultant’s performance will be evaluated based on timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.

Evaluation

Applications will be evaluated based on the Cumulative analysis.

• Technical Qualification (100 points) weight; [70%]

• Financial Proposal (100 points) weight; [30%]

A two-stage procedure is utilised in evaluating the proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposal being completed prior to any price proposal being compared. Only the price proposal of the candidates who passed the minimum technical score of 70% of the obtainable score of 100 points in the technical qualification evaluation will be evaluated.

Technical qualification evaluation criteria: The total number of points allotted for the technical qualification component is 100. The technical qualification of the individual is evaluated based on following technical qualification evaluation criteria:

Technical Evaluation Criteria Obtainable Score

Experience and skills 90 %

Language and other skills 10 %

Total Obtainable Score 100 %

Only the candidates who fit the minimum requirements will be longlisted and may be requested further documentation. Candidates with a minimum of 70% of total points will be considered as technically qualified candidates and will be shortlisted for potential interview.

Financial/Price Proposal evaluation:

  • Only the financial proposal of candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% score in the technical evaluation will be considered and evaluated.
  • The total number of points allotted for the price component is 100.
  • The maximum number of points will be allotted to the lowest price proposal that is opened/ evaluated and compared among those technically qualified candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% score in the technical evaluation. All other price proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.

    Annex I: Financial Proposal

**BREAKDOWN OF COSTS SUPPORTING THE ALL-INCLUSIVE FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

Breakdown of Cost by Components:**

DeliverablesPercentage of tatal price (weigh) for paymentFixed PriceDue DateConsultancy work plan/inception report10% 23 October 2020Report of the Institutional Gender Assessment/Gender Audit 20% 6 November 2020Validated and approved Gender Policy and Costed Action Plan for MOL. The policy will incorporate goals and targets and will further describe tasks and responsibilities, implementation, monitoring and evaluation and reporting frameworks with indicative budget 40% 27 November 2020TOR of the Gender Unit at the MOL

Capacity building training for the staff of the Gender Unit (based on the capacity needs assessment) and final report containing results, changes in knowledge and skills, and recommendations, as well as annexes (pre and post-tests questionnaires)30% 18 December 2020The lump sum costs should include all travels and administration costs and expenses related to the consultancy. All prices/rates quoted must be exclusive of all taxes. The lump sum costs must be accompanied by a detailed breakdown of costs calculation;

Required Skills and Experience

Required experience and qualifications The Consultant should fulfill the following requirements:

a. Education

Master’s degree is required, but PhD would an added advantage in Gender Studies, social sciences, political science, governance or other related fields.

b. Experience:

- At least 3 years of proven experience in gender and gender mainstreaming;

- Proven exposure/experience in gender and emergency including the design/development/implementation of capacity development support programmes

- Proven experience in leading and facilitating workshops;

- Previous experience in conducting gender audits and developing gender policies would be an asset; and

Language and other skills: - Proficiency in oral and written English

- Ability to effectively utilize computer software (i.e. MS Excel, Access, oracle, SPSS etc.) for database development and management.

- Excellent facilitation and training skills

VI. Submission of application Interested candidates are requested to submit electronic application to [email protected] no later than 10 October 2020.

Submission of package

1. Cover letter;

2. CV, including contact information of 3 referees;

3. Financial proposal. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount per each deliverable, including any travel, per diem and administrative fees, based on the template in Annex 1. The lump sum costs must be accompanied by a detailed breakdown of costs calculation.

All applications must include (as an attachment) a CV and financial proposal. Applications without a financial proposal will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further processing. Please note that only short-listed candidates will be invited for the interview.

Selected candidates will need to submit prior to commencement of work:

1. A copy of the latest academic certificate

2. UN Women P-11 form, available via http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment

3. A statement from a medical doctor of ‘good health and fit for travel’

4. Before any travel outside of Monrovia, the consultant will need to provide proof (certificate) of “Basic and Advanced Security in the Field” (which can be accessed here: undss.trip.org)

Added 3 years ago - Updated 3 years ago - Source: jobs.undp.org