National consultant to support drafting of Gender Equality Index Report in Albania

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. Placing women's rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women in Albania has provided support to national and local stakeholders in strengthening democratic governance and advancing women’s rights through initiatives aimed at mainstreaming gender in policy planning and budgeting. Building on results achieved to date, and aiming to ensure sustainability of GRB interventions, in 2020 UN Women initiated a regional programme with participation of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Serbia, and North Macedonia on “Transformative Financing for Gender Equality towards more Transparent, Inclusive and Accountable Governance in the Western Balkans” (2020-2024) funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation. The main programme approach will be transformative financing as an enabling factor for policy and financing actions to accelerate implementation of existing national and international commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Within the scope of the regional project and in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, UN Women is supporting the preparation of the second Gender Equality Index (GEI) for Albania, following the methodology developed by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). The GEI report preparation and publication is led by the Albanian Statistical Office (INSTAT) and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection.

Scope of Work

The main objective of the assignment is to support the government of Albania by drafting an analytical narrative report for the second Gender Equality Index for Albania, based on the data computed by INSTAT. Specifically, INSTAT will provide the scores of the Gender Equality Index for Albania and the report will be used to provide contextual understanding of the results of the Gender Equality Index. With this ToR, UN Women is seeking to hire a national consultant who will be responsible for drafting the report in coordination with both institutions.

Duties and Responsibilities

Based on the above-described objectives of the assignment, under the supervision of the National Planning and Budgeting Programme Manager in close coordination with MoHSP and INSTAT, the national consultant will undertake the following tasks and responsibilities:

• Gather and classify the available information necessary for drafting the report contextualizing results of the second national Gender Equality Index with the data for the EU28 and accession countries where GEI exists.
• Conduct consultations with INSTAT to review and outline the main messages of the draft report.

• After initial consultations develop a methodology and workplan.

• Use the methodology of the European Institute for Gender Equality for drafting the report.

• Use the data and information that INSTAT has gathered to prepare the report.
• Prepare a draft version of the Gender Equality Index Report for Albania to be shared with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, INSTAT and EIGE for comments. Written record of how comments have been addressed to be kept.

• Draft final Gender Equality Index Report for Albania with comments integrated.

• Submission of the final Gender Equality Index Report for Albania.

Deliverables****:

The consultant will be expected to submit the following deliverables within the indicative timeframe:

1. Notes or minutes of meetings (including participants’ lists) held with INSTAT and other stakeholders. Submit to and finalize after approval of UN Women. (1 Day - 10 August 2022)

2. Submit a methodology and workplan and finalize after UN Women’s approval. (2 Days - 15 August 2022)

3. Submit the first draft Gender Equality Index Report for Albania and finalize after UN Women’s approval (in English). (15 Days - 10 September 2022)

4. Submit the final draft Gender Equality Index Report for Albania after comments by Ministry of Health and Social Protection, INSTAT and EIGE. Written record of how comments have been addressed to be kept. Finalize after UN Women’s approval. (5 Days - 25 September 2022)

5. Submit the final Gender Equality Index Report for Albania with final comments integrated. Finalize after UN Women’s approval. (5 Days - October 2022)

6. Participate in the launching event of the report and prepare required presentation based on agreement with MHSP, INSTAT and UN Women. (1 Day - during October 2022)

7. Brief final consultancy report covering essential issues. (1 Day - 15 October 2022)

Total days = 30

Competencies

Competencies:

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• 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:

• Ability to share knowledge and experience.
• Demonstrates excellent written and oral communication skills. Communicates 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.
• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback.
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure.
• Proven networking skills and ability to generate interest in UN Women’s mandate.
• Identifies opportunities and builds strong partnerships with clients and partners.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Master's degree or equivalent in social sciences, gender/women studies, economics statistics, international development, or other related/ social science fields.

Work Experience:

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in preparing national gender reports, conducting gender analysis, gender statistics, and gender research.
• Proven background and experience at the national and/or international level in conducting needs assessment and/or capacity assessment on existing data, methodologies and/or monitoring and evaluation systems from a gender perspective.
• Evidence of producing high-quality written reports on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Prior experience in conducting tasks similar to the ones outlined in this TOR will be considered a distinct advantage.
• Experience working with UN Agencies or other international organizations is desirable.

Other skills:

• Excellent writing and analytical skills.
• Excellent research skills.
• Excellent communication skills.

Language Requirements: Excellent written and oral English and Albanian communication skills are required.

Scope of Financial Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

• Financial Proposal specifying the total fee in Albanian Lek for the tasks (30 days).

Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services and travel- missions).

• Payment will be made as per the payment schedule in the contract upon (i) satisfactory completion of tasks; (ii) provision of deliverables specified in the ToRs; (iii) submission of and approval of final draft; and (iv) submission of the respective invoice.

Recommended Presentation of Offer:

Qualified and interested candidates are asked to submit their application no later than 3 August 2022

• A Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability including a brief description explaining why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment.
• UN Women Personal History Form (P11) including past experience in similar assignment/s. The form can be downloaded from link https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form-en.doc
• Financial Proposal - Financial proposal specifying the daily fee in Albanian Lek. Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall consider various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g., fee and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services).

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 has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and

• Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

  Technical Evaluation –70 points:

• Masters’ degree or equivalent in social sciences, gender/women studies, economics, statistics, international development, or other related/social science fields (max 10 points).

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in preparing national gender reports, conducting gender analysis, gender statistics, and gender research (max 15 points).

• Proven background and experience at the national and/or international level in conducting needs assessment and/or capacity assessment on existing data, methodologies and/or monitoring and evaluation systems from a gender perspective (max 15 points).
• Evidence of producing high-quality written reports on gender equality and women’s empowerment (max 15 points).
• Prior experience in conducting tasks similar to the ones outlined in this TOR will be considered a distinct advantage (max 10 points).
• Experience working with UN Agencies or other international organizations is desirable (max 5 points).

Financial Evaluation – 30 points

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.

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. The calculation formula applied is as follow:

p = 30 (µ/z); where: p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated; µ = price of the lowest priced proposal; z = price of the proposal being evaluated.

How to Submit the Application: To submit your application online, please follow the steps below:

• Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11) https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form-en.doc
• Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), the Financial Proposal, and Cover Letter into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded;
• Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement);
• Click 'Apply Now' button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click 'Submit Application;'
• Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above);
• You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

Notes:

• UN Women retains the right to contact references directly. Due to the large numbers of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.
• The consultancy post is open to local (Albanian) individuals or foreign individuals with valid temporary or permanent residence in Albania.
• Applications without the financial offer will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
• The individual consultants should take the mandatory learning security course prior to commencement of assignment– details will follow before the issuance of contract.

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.

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.)