National Consultant to undertake a Final Evaluation of the project implemented by UN Women Kazakhstan in close cooperation with UNICEF, UNFPA and UNDP Kazakhstan

Consultant

Overview

Evaluate UN Women project effectiveness in Kazakhstan.

You have:

• At least a master's degree in economics, social sciences, international relations, development studies, gender or related area.
• 3 years of relevant experience and involvement in several evaluations of development projects.
• Strong experience/knowledge of gender equality, or/and a women's economic empowerment and elimination of the domestic violence at the country level.
• Demonstrated analytical and presentation skills and ability to collect data and structure information.
• Demonstrated facilitation and communications skills, experience in participatory approaches and ability to negotiate amongst a wide range of stakeholders.
• Excellent knowledge of English and Russian, working knowledge of Kazakh.

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.

UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to implement these standards. It stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on five priority areas: increasing women’s leadership and participation; ending violence against women; engaging women in all aspects of peace and security processes; enhancing women’s economic empowerment; and making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting. UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality.

The Government of Kazakhstan has taken important steps to eliminate gender-based inequalities and improve the status of women. Kazakhstan ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1998 and Beijing Platform for Action in 1995. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was ratified in 1989. In 2015 Kazakhstan has joined the Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030. The National Commission for Women and Family Affairs and Demographic Policy under the President of Kazakhstan was created by a presidential decree in 1998, to implement gender and family policy and coordinate work among the Government, Civil Society, and International community. Furthermore, in 2009, laws On State Guarantees of Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities of Men and Women and On Prevention of Domestic Violence were adopted. In 2021 Kazakhstan has joined two Action Coalitions (GBV and Economic Justice and Rights) in a framework of the Generation Equality Forum 2021 and the Global Acceleration Plan for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment.

While Kazakhstan’s gender equality framework is sound, realization of the gender policy and implementation of the laws are not yet complete. In this regard, with the support of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the National Commission for Women and Family Affairs and Demographic Policy, in 2019 UN Women Kazakhstan launched the project “Assistance in strengthening national capacity, coordinating, and creating effective interdepartmental measures to implement family and gender policies, expand women's contribution to national production and its growth in order to effectively implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 5, 8 and 10 and introduce multisectoral approach to combat domestic violence in the Republic of Kazakhstan” with the total budget $2,143,311.

Duties and Responsibilities

The main purpose of this final evaluation is to assess the programmatic progress and performance of the above-described intervention from the perspective of relevance, coherence, effectiveness, impact, organizational efficiency and sustainability. The evaluation will identify the efficiency and effectiveness of joint initiatives of the UN Women in Kazakhstan, UNDP, UNFPA and UNICEF.

The UN Women Evaluation Policy and the project “Assistance in strengthening national capacity, coordinating, and creating effective interdepartmental measures to implement family and gender policies, expand women's contribution to national production and its growth in order to effectively implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 5, 8 and 10 and introduce multisectoral approach to combat domestic violence in the Republic of Kazakhstan” are the main guiding documents that set forth the principles and organizational framework for evaluation planning, conduct and follow-up in UN Women. These principles are aligned with the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) Norms for Evaluation in the UN System, Standards for Evaluation in the UN System and Ethical Guidelines

Findings of the final external evaluation will inform UN Women Kazakhstan, UNDP, UNFPA and UNICEF, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Kazakhstan and National Commission future work in the area of gender and family policy, women’s economic empowerment, and ending violence against women and girls. The external evaluation will further identify lessons learned, best practices and challenges of the Project and will greatly inform the development of the follow-up programmatic interventions. The evaluation will not be able to fully assess the Project’s performance, as some activities are still ongoing; however, it will address the following questions with the results and evidence that is available to date.

The primary intended users of this evaluation are:

• UN Women Kazakhstan CO, UNDP, UNFPA, and UNICEF
• Programme/project partners
• National government institutions
• Civil society representatives
• Donors and development partners
• UN Country Team and GTG

Primary intended uses of this evaluation are:

1. Learning and improved decision-making to support the development of the next Programme/project;
2. Accountability for the development effectiveness of the joint collaboration of the UN agencies in terms of contribution to gender equality and women’s empowerment;
3. Capacity development and mobilisation of national stakeholders to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women.

The final evaluation of the Project implemented by UN Women in close collaboration with UNICEF, UNFPA and UNDP “Assistance in strengthening national capacity, coordinating, and creating effective interdepartmental measures to implement family and gender policies, expand women's contribution to national production and its growth in order to effectively implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 5, 8 and 10 and introduce multisectoral approach to combat domestic violence in the Republic of Kazakhstan” will be conducted at the end of project implementation and will cover the entire duration of the project 2019-2021.

The final evaluation of the project is to be conducted externally by an International consultant and a National consultant. It is planned to be completed in 35 days.

The evaluation shall cover all aspects of the project, and broadly allocate resources (time) in relation to the relative expenditure between the various project components.

The evaluation team is expected to undertake a rapid evaluability assessment in the inception phase of the evaluation. This should include the following:

1. An assessment of the relevance, appropriateness and coherence of the implicit or explicit theory of change, strengthening or reconstructing it where necessary through a stakeholder workshop;
2. An assessment of the quality of performance indicators in the DRF and OEEF, and the accessibility and adequacy of relevant documents and secondary data;
3. A review of the conduciveness of the context for the evaluation;
4. Ensuring familiarity with accountability and management structures for the evaluation.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity;
• Integrity;
• Professionalism.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration.

To learn more about UN Women values and competencies, please follow the link https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Required Skills and Experience

The National Consultant must possess the following qualifications:

Education:

• At least a master’s degree in economics, social sciences, international relations, development studies, gender or related area;

Experience:

• At least a master’s degree in economics, social sciences, international relations, development studies, gender or related area;
• 3 years of relevant experience and involvement in several evaluations of development projects;
• Strong experience/knowledge of gender equality, or/and a women’s economic empowerment and elimination of the domestic violence at the country level;
• Demonstrated analytical and presentation skills and ability to collect data and structure information;
• Demonstrated facilitation and communications skills, experience in participatory approaches and ability to negotiate amongst a wide range of stakeholders;
• Experience within the United Nations system will be considered an asset;

Language:

• Excellent knowledge of English and Russian, working knowledge of Kazakh.

Qualified and interested candidates can view the vacancy and apply online at https://jobs.undp.org/ The system will only accept one document. The interested candidates must submit the following documents/ information to demonstrate their qualification:

• Letter of Intent with justification of being the most suitable for the work, vision and working approach, specifically indicating experience of carrying out evaluations and in producing out analytical reports, etc.;

• Duly filled Personal History Form (P11) and/or CV, including records on past experience in similar projects/assignments and specific outputs obtained.

• Financial proposal (in KZT) - specifying an all-inclusive daily fee, and the lump sum for the envisaged number of working days. The financial offer should include all costs related to completion of the task under the current Terms of Reference. In general, travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket shall not be accept. The consultant will be provided with the necessary administrative and logistical support to enable them deliver on the expected outputs

Considering epidemiological situation in Kazakhstan and other countries, candidate should submit 2 financial proposals: (a) with travel expenses (onsite data collection); (b) without travel expenses (online data collection).

Evaluation Process

Applicants must meet the above minimum qualification requirements which will be included in the technical evaluation process in the future. The next stage of the assessment process will be maintained by cumulative analysis methodology of technical proposal (70%) and the financial proposal (30%) of the candidate.

• Technical Qualification (350 points) weight; [70%]
• Financial Proposal (150 points) weight; [30%]

A two-stage procedure is utilised in evaluating the applications, with evaluation of the technical application 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 350 points in the technical qualification evaluation will be evaluated (min 245).

Technical qualification evaluation criteria:

Applicants must meet the above minimum qualification requirements which will be included in the technical evaluation process in the future. The next stage of the assessment process will be maintained by cumulative analysis methodology of technical proposal (70%) and the financial proposal (30%) of the candidate. - Technical Qualification (350 points) weight; [70%]

- Financial Proposal (150 points) weight; [30%]

Criteria

Maximum points

Education

At least a master’s degree in economics, social sciences, international relations, development studies, gender or related area

60

Professional work experience

3 years of relevant experience and involvement in several evaluations of development projects;

Strong experience/knowledge of gender equality, or/and a women’s economic empowerment and elimination of the domestic violence at the country level;

Demonstrated analytical and presentation skills and ability to collect data and structure information;

Demonstrated facilitation and communications skills, experience in participatory approaches and ability to negotiate amongst a wide range of stakeholders;

Experience within the United Nations system will be considered an asset;

60

60

50

50

40

Languages

Language proficiency in English Russian and or Kazakh language skills are considered an asset

20

10

Maximum total technical scoring (70%)

Minimum technical scoring to be qualified for financial evaluation (70%)

350

245

Only candidates, who will accumulate at least 245 (70%) points of the maximum 350 points during the technical evaluation process, will be qualified for financial proposal*.

*Each candidate must submit consolidated financial proposal (a "consolidated financial proposal" that includes applicant's all expenses required to perform the tasks, including travel expenses for the task, etc.)

Kindly note, that the system will only allow one attachment, hence all supporting document e.g. P11, CV and financial proposal must be scanned as one attachment. Applications without the completed UNDP P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

For more detailed information please refer to ToR here:

Kindly note, that the system will only allow one attachment, hence all supporting document e.g. P11, CV and financial proposal must be scanned as one attachment. Applications without the completed UNDP P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

For more detailed information please refer to ToR here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V9P1EnzTOSmZW7S21SrvbNQ2856Jq6b1/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=111618507603230252158&rtpof=true&sd=true

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.)

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Potential interview questions

Added 4 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org