Technical Consultant - Mission LiFE (Two Positions) (Open to Indian Nationals Only)

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’s India Country Office works towards promoting women’s leadership in governance and participation in intergovernmental processes, UN interagency coordination, women’s economic empowerment and ending violence against women and girls.

Under its comprehensive and unique mandate of normative support and coordination, UN Women is expected to provide strong and coherent leadership in support of countries’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society, the nodal government agency, private sector and other relevant actors.

The Intergovernmental Processes and Coordination Division is UN Women’s interface with intergovernmental bodies, including the Commission on the Status of Women, the Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly, the G20, as well as with other intergovernmental processes and events.

UN Women operates in coordination with the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office (UNRCO) in the Country, which supports the work of, and coordinates activities of, the UN Country Team in its engagement with the Government of India as defined by the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF). The UNRCO coordinates activities related to common programming including Agenda 2030, joint programmes, joint programming activities and development coordination work. This is done in conformity with the objectives and priorities of the Government, and the mandates and objectives of the United Nations agencies in India.

The Resident Coordinator’s Office is focused on the advancement of sustainable development, leaving no one behind, and with the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions as an overarching objective, consistent with the integrated nature of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

UN Women and the UNRCO are supporting the NITI Aayog, in providing technical policy and implementation guidance on Mission LiFE. LiFE was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP26), to bring individual behaviours at the forefront of the global climate action narrative.

LiFE envisions replacing the prevalent 'use-and-dispose' economy with a circular economy, which would be defined by mindful and deliberate utilization. The Mission intends to nudge individuals to undertake simple acts in their daily lives that can contribute significantly to climate change when embraced across the world.

LiFE plans to leverage the strength of social networks to influence social norms surrounding climate. The Mission plans to create and nurture a global network of individuals, namely ‘Pro-Planet People’ (P3), who will have a shared commitment to adopt and promote environmentally friendly lifestyles. Through the P3 community, the Mission seeks to create an ecosystem that will reinforce and enable environmentally friendly behaviours to be self-sustainable.

The Technical Consultant(s) for Mission LiFE supports the NITI Aayog on effective management of Mission LiFE on behalf of the NITI Aayog, UNRCO and UN Women by providing substantive inputs to policy strategy, action plans, drawing linkages with global normative commitments and convergence with national policies and schemes, supporting intergovernmental dialogues, and documentation. The consultant(s) will also support the NITI Aayog’s engagement with other national Ministries and State Department. She/he works closely with the NITI Aayog and UNRCO and UN Women to ensure successful implementation of programmes under Mission LiFE.

UN Women and UNRCO will be placing Technical Consultants at the NITI Aayog to provide support on Mission LiFE and will directly report to NITI Aayog, under the overall supervision of the UNRCO and UN WOMEN. The Policy Specialist/ Technical Consultant will also meet with UNRCO and UN Women once a fortnight or when required to discuss work undertaken.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Tasks :

• Strategy: Work with the Senior Program Manager of LiFE to periodically align on assigned deliverables and timelines for Global LiFE
• Research: Conduct independent research for LiFE-related publications, as assigned, and/or assist global professors with their research projects related to LiFE.
• Communication: Assist with draft reports, op-eds, presentations and other communication materials related to LiFE, as assigned.
• Stakeholder Management: Work closely with different stakeholders, internal and external, to ensure smooth, timely and high-quality deliverables.
• Knowledge Management: Assist with processes and structures to ensure adequate knowledge management for LiFE; Assist with processes to ensure periodic updates to internal members at NITI Aayog.
• Any other relevant work assigned by the reporting manager from time to time.

Technical Advice and Strategic Support to Mission LiFE to further align with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, focusing on Goal 5, and COP commitments:

• Provide technical advice on Strategy Design, Implementation Plans, Monitoring and Evaluation and Documentation of Mission LiFE in line with sustainable development goals, with focused inclusion of Goal 5 on Gender Equality, and COP Commitments;
• Develop concept notes, issue notes, background documents, scoping notes on key priorities/ thematic areas identified.
• Support in organising Working Group meetings; prepare presentations, interventions, position papers, as guided by NITI Aayog.

Strategic Thinking and Coordination to Strengthen NITI Aayog’s Strategic Engagement with multiple stakeholders:

• Support NITI Aayog’s engagement with identified stakeholders by contributing to the design of a strategic approach to embed the SDGs and COP resolutions in Mission LiFE to further accelerate global progress towards the SDGs.
• Support preparation of draft outcome documents for Mission LiFE, including mainstreaming of gender and inclusion perspective; and documentation.
• Engage in policy resource and support preparation ahead of respective meetings and in relation to the 2030 Agenda and COP.
• Provide substantive information and coordinate stakeholder engagement in key areas priorities areas including, Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030; COP; Disaster Risk Resilience; Women-led Development and other related areas.
• Provide support to coordinate with various Line Ministries/Departments of GoI, Think Tanks, International Organizations, including UN and other identified Invitees.
• Support the smooth functioning of Mission LiFE, including through overseeing reporting processes and providing advice to, and sharing institutional knowledge with the NITI Aayog.

Research and Analysis:

• Analysis of documents/references from different departments.
• Undertake research and documentation work for NITI Aayog.

Any other duties assigned by the Direct Supervisor in MEA & UNRCO and UN Women.

Key Deliverables:

• Substantive positioning of the NITI Aayog within Mission LiFE.
• Background papers and fact sheets on Mission LiFE priority areas, as required.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity.
• Demonstrating sound judgement.
• Self-development, initiative-taking.
• Acting as a team player and facilitating team work.
• Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively.
• Managing conflict.
• Learning and sharing knowledge and encouraging the learning of others. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member.
• Informed and transparent decision making.

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to Government of India and UN in India’s mission, vision and values;
• Sound knowledge on one or more thematic areas relevant to the priorities of India’s Mission LiFE, including climate and environment; gender; health; energy and disaster management.
• Experience in policy making, analysis or advocacy.
• Excellent coordination skills; good writing and analytical skills.
• Experience in speech writing, analytical writing and preparing negotiation strategy.
• Demonstrated ability to analyse policy and strategies from a gender perspective;
• Produces qualitative, accurate outputs with considerable attention to detail, in a timely manner;
• Manages complexities, shifting priorities, and is able to work effectively without constant supervision;
• Maintains constructive, effective business relationships with clients and partners;
• Adheres to deadlines and follows up on time-bound issues;
• Maintains diplomacy, tact and strict confidentiality with internal and external partners and clients;
• Strong interpersonal and communication (verbal, listening, writing) skills;
• Organization skills (time management, efficient administration, multi-tasking and fast-paced);
• Ability to work under pressure within strict deadlines;
• Ability to adapt quickly to work demands, and changing deadlines;
• Willingness to “inter-change” work functions with other staff within the Unit, when required.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Post Graduate degree in Social Sciences/Economics/Development Studies/ Gender Studies/ Political Science/International Relations/International Law/Public Administration from a reputed Indian/International university.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience at the national or international level in providing management advisory services and hands-on experience, preferably with the Government, in design, monitoring and evaluation of development projects.
• Some experience working for the Government and/ or United Nations in support of normative intergovernmental processes is an advantage.
• Experience in the use of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and in handling web-based management systems.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Hindi.

Application:

Interested applicants should apply to this announcement through UNDP jobs site: jobs.undp.org

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/about-us/jobs;
• Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment;
• Applications should be submitted along with latest CV and statement of purpose/cover letter stating your interest in this role;
• Applications received after the close date will not be accepted;
• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Evaluation and Selection Criteria:

Criteria for shortlisting of CVs will be based on the following assessment:

• Required Qualification (5 points);
• Minimum Experience relevant to the assignment (5 points);

• Experience working for the Government and/ or United Nations in support of normative intergovernmental processes is an advantage. (5 points).

  The evaluation process for selection of the candidate will be based on the following assessment:

• Interview (100 points)

Please Note:

• For an assignment requiring travel, consultants of 65 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work prior to engagement in the consultancy.
• Due to large number of potential applicants only competitively selected candidates will be contacted for remaining steps of the selection process.
• This is a full-time assignment. The consultant is expected to disclose any outside activity and shall not be permitted to take up any outside work during the course of this assignment.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.