National Consultant to Support 5 Private Sector Companies on Preventing and Addressing Violence and Harassment Against Women at Work

Contract

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

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.

In line with UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2018-2021, the UN Women Egypt office is contributing to three interdependent and interconnected outcomes:

• Women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems.
• Women have income security, decent work and economic autonomy.
• All women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence.

Women’s economic empowerment is central to realizing women’s rights and gender equality. Women’s economic empowerment includes women’s ability to participate equally in existing markets; their access to and control over productive resources, access to decent work, control over their own time, lives and bodies; and increased voice, agency and meaningful participation in economic decision-making at all levels.

In addition, empowering women in the economy and closing gender gaps in the world of work are key to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 5, to achieve gender equality, and Goal 8, to promote full and productive employment and decent work for all; also Goal 1 on ending poverty, Goal 2 on food security, Goal 3 on ensuring health and Goal 10 on reducing inequalities.

The private sector is a key partner in efforts to advance gender equality and empower women. Research shows that women’s economic empowerment contributes to economic growth, innovation, and increased performance of companies. More than 30 per cent of private sector leaders report increased profits from efforts to empower women in emerging markets (McKinsey 2010) and companies with more than one-woman board director generated additional annual return of 3.5 per cent (McKinsey 2007, Catalyst 2014). Hence, ensuring the inclusion of women’s talents, skills, and energies—from executive offices to the factory floor and the supply chain—requires intentional actions and deliberate policies.

Under the framework of the United Nations Partnership Development Framework (UNPDF) and in alignment with the objectives of the Economic Empowerment pillar of the National Strategy for Women’s Empowerment (NSWE) and the objectives of the Closing the Gender Gap Accelerator, UN Women is working with the private sector through the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) [1].

Established by UN Global Compact and UN Women, the WEPs are informed by international labour and human rights standards and grounded in the recognition that businesses have a stake in, and a responsibility for, gender equality and women’s empowerment. The WEPs are a primary vehicle for corporate delivery on gender equality dimensions of the 2030 agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. By joining the WEPs community, the CEO signals commitment to this agenda at the highest levels of the company and to work collaboratively in multistakeholder networks to foster business practices that empower women. These include equal pay for work of equal value, inclusive supply chain practices and zero tolerance against sexual harassment in the workplace. To date, more than 59 business leaders from Egypt have signed the CEO Statement of Support therefore, signaling their support to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and more specifically, to the guidance offered by the WEPs.

Based on the Gap Analysis and Action Plans developed by some of those companies, the issue of addressing sexual harassment in the workplace came up as an important area of focus with the need to have internal policies and clear reporting mechanisms in place.

Objective of the Assignment

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Deputy Country Representative, and the day-to-day supervision of the UN Women Programme Coordinator and Programme Analyst, UN Women seeks to recruit a consultant to support in promoting uptake and implementation of policies to eliminate violence and harassment in the workplace within 5 private sector companies. Specifically, the consultant will be responsible for supporting 5 private sector companies of diverse profiles to adopt and implement policies against workplace violence and harassment by providing them with guidance, training and technical support.

Working in consultation with the company’s leadership and key internal stakeholders and guided by existing tools developed under UN Women WEPs support, such as a policy on eliminating sexual harassment and a checklist of recommended actions, the consultant will apply and/or contextualize these tools to the case of each company, including the standard operating procedures that lay out reporting and grievance mechanisms for the cases and train staff on policy implementation.

[1] For further information please consult WEPs platform https://www.weps.org/

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Review the ILO report on “Gap Analysis: The Extent to which Laws, Regulations, Policies and Measures in Egypt Meet the Provisions of the Violence and Harassment Convention (C190)” as well as relevant laws, policies and national frameworks related to women’s employment in the private sector such as the Unified Labor Law (Law No. 12 of 2003) and its Executive Regulations, the Ministry of Manpower Decrees No. 43 and 44 of 2021, the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women and the Ministry of Manpower national strategy for gender equality in the work place.
2. Review relevant international standards on gender equality at work, including on (a) Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, (b) Prevention of Sexual Harassment and Abuse of Authority, and (c) Ethics and Integrity at the UN, and ILO conventions and standards on decent work, including Convention 190, as well as UN Women existing training materials on protection from sexual exploitation and abuse.
3. Conduct meetings with the company’s leadership and key internal stakeholders (including human resources, sustainability, and procurement) to raise their awareness of the multidimensional issue of violence and harassment against women at work and ensure their internal buy-in and support from the start.
4. Conduct a review of each company’s key documents to understand if and how prevention and response to violence and harassment against women at work is framed (e.g., Code of Conduct, Anti-harassment Policies, Grievance Mechanism; Leave Policy).
5. Provide technical assistance to the company to conduct a self-assessment following a participatory approach to assess each company’s policies and practices regarding prevention, response, and remedial actions regarding violence and harassment against women at work to identify gaps in the company’s strategy, programs, and policies and develop an action plan.
6. In collaboration and close consultation with the company’s leadership and key internal stakeholders, develop a tailored policy and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to prevent violence and harassment against women at work building on the review of literature conducted. SOPs should detail, among other areas, mechanisms for confidential, anonymous grievance, resolution, and non-retaliation that would be accessible to all the workforce to enable them to report incidents on violence and harassment against women at work in addition to a Sexual Harassment focal point(s).
7. Conduct at least two trainings for each company to raise awareness on how to prevent violence and harassment against women at work and the new policy and SOPs developed.

Deliverables

Timelines

1. Report on the desk review of the ILO report on “Gap Analysis: The Extent to which Laws, Regulations, Policies and Measures in Egypt Meet the Provisions of the Violence and Harassment Convention (C190)” as well as relevant laws, policies and national frameworks related to women’s employment in the private sector such as the Unified Labor Law (Law No. 12 of 2003) and its Executive Regulations, the Ministry of Manpower Decrees No. 43 and 44 of 2021, the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women and the Ministry of Manpower national strategy for gender equality in the work place.

2 Days

2. Report on the review of relevant international standards on gender equality at work, including on (a) Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, (b) Prevention of Sexual Harassment and Abuse of Authority, and (c) Ethics and Integrity at the UN, and ILO conventions and standards on decent work, including Convention 190, as well as UN Women existing training materials on protection from sexual exploitation and abuse.

2 Days

3. Report on outcome of the meetings with the leadership and key internal stakeholders of the 5 companies.

10 Days

4. Report on the findings from the review of each company’s key documents to understand if and how prevention and response to violence and harassment at work is framed.

10 Days

5. Internal self-assessment and action plan developed for 5 companies following a participatory approach to assess each company’s policies and practices regarding prevention, response, and remedial actions regarding violence and harassment at work.

25 Days

6. Tailored policy and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for 5 companies on prevention of violence and harassment at work building on the review of literature conducted.

15 Days

7. Minimum two training workshops conducted for each company to raise awareness on how to prevent violence and harassment in the workplace and the new policy and SOPs developed, including results from pre and post surveys.

10 Days

Competencies

Core Values

• Respect for Diversity;
• Integrity;
• Professionalism.

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/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

• Knowledge and expertise in gender research and policy analysis;
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills;
• Excellent negotiation skills;
• Ability to draft and communicate high quality, clear and concise outputs;
• Familiarity with statistical analysis and indicators, especially gender-related statistics and indicators;
• Capacity to set priorities, self-organize research work and to plan, prioritize and deliver tasks on time;
• Capacity to engage and communicate with partners from private sector and leverage partnerships within WEPs and other platforms;
• Ability to engage with all levels of private sector employees (management, white collar, and blue collar);
• Knowledge and use of computer office tools (word, database, spreadsheets, etc.).

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, human rights, gender/women's studies, international development, or a related field, is required.
• Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, human rights, gender/women's studies, international development, or a related field would be an added advantage.

Experience

• At least 10 years of relevant work experience, including in the areas of advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, addressing violence and harassment against women in the workplace, promoting gender responsive employment policies and practices, developing and implementing ESG strategies and implementing the Women’s Empowerment Principles and/or the Gender Equity Seal, is required.
• Experience in conducting training for gender equality using participatory approaches, ****is required.****
• Experience working with the private or public sector to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment issues, is required.

Language

• Fluency in written and spoken English and Arabic, is required.

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)

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, human rights, gender/women's studies, international development, or a related field. (10 points)
• At least 10 years of relevant work experience, including in the areas of advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, addressing violence and harassment against women in the workplace, promoting gender responsive employment policies and practices, developing and implementing ESG strategies and implementing the Women’s Empowerment Principles and/or the Gender Equity Seal. (30 points)
• Experience in conducting training for gender equality using participatory approaches. (10 points)
• Experience working with the private or public sector to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment issues. (10 points)
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Arabic is required. (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.

Application

Interested Individual Consultants must submit the following documents/information in English to demonstrate their qualifications:

• A cover letter with a brief presentation of your consultancy explaining your suitability for the work and link to portfolio of work.
• UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment; make sure that you provide a valid email address for future communications.
• Proposed inclusive daily rate EGP/ covering all expenses to carry out the assignments detailed in this terms of reference.

IMPORTANT: The above-mentioned documents should be merged in a standalone file including all of them, since the online application submission does only permit to upload one file per application.

Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification.

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.)