National Consultant – WPS Technical Lead (Open to Sri Lankan nationals only)

Consultant

Contract

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

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality and 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 and the third gender as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

All human development and human rights issues involve gender dimensions. Globally, UN Women focuses on key priority areas that are fundamental to women’s equality, that can unlock progress across the board. The six priority areas include increasing women’s leadership and participation in political spaces, ending violence against women, enhancing women’s economic empowerment, engaging in all aspects of women peace and security processes, making gender equality central to national planning and budgeting through Gender Responsive Budgeting and advancing gender in intergovernmental processes.

The UN Security Council Resolution 1325 recognizes that conflict affects women and girls differently when compared to men and boys, and that women must be part of conflict resolution and long-term peacebuilding processes. In this regard, UN Women has a universal mandate to assist countries and the UN system in progressing more effectively and efficiently towards achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women, as well as upholding women’s rights. UN Women plays a critical role in the development and strengthening of international norms and standards alongside their implementation through operational and coordination activities, while also informing the development of those norms and standards through experiences on the ground. It has also established strategic partnerships and networks with a wide range of stakeholders, including governments, women’s human rights advocates, and civil society organizations.

In Sri Lanka, UN Women, with financial assistance from the Government of Japan, provided technical support for the formulation and validation of the country’s first National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAP WPS). The NAP WPS was formulated under the leadership of the Ministry of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment. The NAP responds to the needs and priorities of women affected by conflict and crises, highlights the importance of women’s equal participation in maintaining peace and security and addresses the structural inequalities that impede gender equality in the country. The NAP was adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers on 27 February 2023 and subsequently launched on 08 March 2023.

At their request, UN Women is supporting the Government of Sri Lanka in its implementation of the NAP WPS in collaboration with government and non-government stakeholders. Parallelly, UN Women remains committed to supporting the broader WPS agenda in Sri Lanka, in support of civil society initiatives. Against this background, UN Women is recruiting a National Consultant – WPS Technical Lead to provide technical support and coordination to UN Women’s work on WPS with government and non-government stakeholders.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Office – UN Women Sri Lanka, the National Consultant is expected to fulfil the following tasks:

1. Function as the main focal point for UN Women on the NAP WPS with the National Steering Committee and the 6 Thematic Committees.
2. Conceptualise and facilitate re-orientation workshops/trainings on the NAP WPS for relevant officials of the Ministry of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment.
3. Conceptualise and facilitate orientation workshops/trainings on the NAP WPS for the members of the National Steering Committee and the 6 Thematic Committees.
4. Conceptualise and lead dialogues with civil society organisations engaging on the WPS Agenda.
5. Conceptualise and facilitate orientation for local government officers on the NAP WPS and its implementation.
6. Provide technical support to relevant experts/consultants on monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and costing and financing of the NAP, as required.
7. Draft quarterly and annual progress reports for UN Women on the status of NAP WPS implementation, including efforts by both government and non-government stakeholders, and recommendations.
8. Design and support implementation of activities to strengthen outreach to local-level stakeholders on the NAP WPS.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

The Consultant - WPS Technical Lead will remain accountable for the timely submission of the deliverables as per the timeline given below. The consultant’s duties and responsibilities have been defined as follows:

No

Tasks and Deliverables

Target Submission Date

1

Provide the necessary technical advisory and support to implementation of initiatives as specified under Section II on Duties and Responsibilities in the ToR.

Deliverable: 3-4 page report detailing the tasks undertaken for UN Women Sri Lanka Office per month, including key recommendations, challenges, risk mitigation, and next steps.

The report must contain specific annexures, including but not limited to concept notes, agenda, reports documenting the proceedings from all workshops/dialogues/meetings, progress reports, presentations etc.)

30 September 2023

30 October 2023

30 November 2023

15 December 2023

31 January 2024

25 February 2024

Duration of Assignment and Duty Station:

The consultant is expected to work part-time (10 days per month), starting from September 2023 – February 2024. The consultancy is primarily home-based. However, the consultant is expected to attend in-person meetings, visit the UN Women Sri Lanka Office located at 202-204, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7 when requested, and undertake travel to project locations along with the project team as required by the project. The cost of most economic and direct travel on mission must be pre-approved by Head of Office of UN Women Sri Lanka and it is reimbursable upon submission of evidence of travel, following UN Women Travel Guidelines.

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

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to administer administrative processes and transactions;
• Ability to perform work of confidential nature and handle a large volume of work;
• Good knowledge of administrative rules and regulations;
• Good IT and web-based management skills.

Please visit https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf for more details on UN Women Values and Competencies Framework.

Required Skills and Experience

• Master’s degree in gender/women's studies, conflict and peace studies, human rights, international development, public policy, law or a related field in the social sciences is required.
• In the absence of a Master’s degree, a Bachelor’s degree in the above mentioned fields with additional experience of 2 years will be considered.
• Minimum 5 years of progressive experience at the national or international level on WPS, peacebuilding and reconciliation is required.
• Experience in working with national and sub-national levels of government is required.
• Experience in facilitating dialogue among government and civil society is required.
• Demonstrated knowledge in the areas of gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Familiarity with UN system or other international organizations is desirable.
• Outstanding organizational and time-management skills.
• Availability and willingness to travel to the project districts.
• Proficiency in English and one of the local languages (Sinhala/Tamil) is required.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be evaluated based on a desk review of submitted applications including a writing sample on WPS, peacebuilding or related topic.

• P11 Form + writing sample (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 for the financial assessment.

Technical qualification evaluation criteria:

The total number of points allocated for the technical qualification component is 100. Only the candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% of total points will be considered as technically-qualified candidate.

Technical Evaluation Criteria

Obtainable Score

Education

• Master’s degree in gender/women's studies, conflict and peace studies, human rights, international development, public policy, law or a related field in the social sciences is required.
• In the absence of a Master’s degree, a Bachelor’s degree in the above mentioned fields with additional experience of 2 years will be considered.

20 %

Experience and skills

• Minimum 5 years of progressive experience at the national or international level on WPS, peacebuilding and reconciliation is required.
• Experience in working with national and sub-national levels of government is required.
• Experience in facilitating dialogue among government and civil society is required.
• Demonstrated knowledge in the areas of gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Familiarity with UN system or other international organizations is desirable.
• Outstanding organizational and time-management skills.
• Availability and willingness to travel to the project districts.

60 %

Language and report writing skills

• Proficiency in English and one of the local languages (Sinhala/ Tamil) is required.

20 %

Total Obtainable Score

100 %

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 allocated 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 technical 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.

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

Interest candidates are encouraged to submit electronic application to hr.bangkok@unwomen.org with cc to nemanika.amarasinghe@unwomen.org no later than 7 September 2023.

Submission package includes:

• Personal History Form (P11) can be downloaded from https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/P_11_form_UNwomen%20-JUL%202021.docx
• Writing sample on WPS, peacebuilding or related topic relevant to this assignment.
• Financial proposal as per template below:

All applicants must include (as an attachment) the P11, writing Sample and financial proposal. Applications without financial proposal will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

No.

Tasks and Deliverables

Amount (LKR)

Lump Sum fee (equivalent to daily fee x no. of days)

Number of days refers to actual days that the consultant works in order to produce deliverables as required by the ToR, NOT the number of days covering the whole period of consultancy.

1. 3–4-page report (and annexures) detailing the tasks undertaken for UN Women Sri Lanka Office for the month of September 2023

   2.

3–4-page report (and annexures) detailing the tasks undertaken for UN Women Sri Lanka Office for the month of October 2023

3.

3–4-page report (and annexures) detailing the tasks undertaken for UN Women Sri Lanka Office for the month of November 2023

4.

3–4-page report (and annexures) detailing the tasks undertaken for UN Women Sri Lanka Office for the month of December 2023

5.

3–4-page report (and annexures) detailing the tasks undertaken for UN Women Sri Lanka Office for the month of January 2024

6.

3–4-page report (and annexures) detailing the tasks undertaken for UN Women Sri Lanka Office for the month of February 2024

Total (LKR)

PAYMENTS:

Payments for this consultancy will be based on the achievement of each deliverable and certification that each has been satisfactorily completed. Payments will be made upon submission of deliverables with an approval of Head of Office at UN Women Sri Lanka.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION STATEMENT

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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Added 8 months ago - Updated 7 months ago - Source: jobs.undp.org