UN Women: National Consultant/ Group of consultants on Strategic Planning for Local Public Authorities .

Vacancy Number: Pr21/02205

Location:Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline: 12 Apr 2021, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Application Extended deadline:
15 Apr 2021, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Starting date: 15 Apr 2021
Reference to the project: UN Women
Expected Duration of Assignment:Up to 150 days, from April 2021 to February 2022
Submission Instructions:

Interested candidates are invited to submit their online applications by April  12, 2021 with the following documents.

  • Duly filled Personal History Form PHF11/CV (downloadable from http://www.unwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/P_11_form_UNwomen.doc). If a team of consultants apply, the P11 should be presented for all team members;
  • Letter of Intent to include a brief overview about which of your/ team members’ previous experiences makes you/the team the most suitable candidate for the advertised position and refence to similar previous assignments.
  • Financial proposal – specifying a total lump sum amount for the task specified in Terms of References. The Financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (daily rate). Please see ANNEX I and ANNEX II.

Supporting Documents:
Annex I Price Proposal Guideline and Template.pdf
Annex II Price Proposal Submission Form.pdf
ToR National Consultant/ Group of consultants on Strategic Planning for Local Public Authorities
Personal History Form (P11) UN Women
UN Women Conditions of Service Consultants



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. Placing women's rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world.     

The work of UN Women in Moldova is guided by its Country Strategic Note for 2018-2022, aligned with the Republic of Moldova–United Nations Partnership Framework for Sustainable Development 2018–2022the Global Strategic Plan of UN Women for 2018-2021, the National Strategy on Gender Equality for 2017-2021 (NSGE), the National Strategy for prevention and combating violence against women and domestic violence for 2018-2023 elaborated in line with the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention). UN Women Strategy for Moldova 2018-2022 focuses on three main areas: 1) strengthening women's participation in politics and decision making, 2) economic empowerment of women and 3) ending violence against women and girls. To achieve progress under these areas, UN Women works with a variety of national and international partners and as part of different national and regional initiatives.   

Based on the European Commission Decision ENI/2018/041-302 regarding the Annual Action Programme 2018 in favor of the Republic of Moldova for support for the implementations of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement, UN Women Moldova CO is implementing a  three-year project (January 2020 – December 2022) under the name "Strengthened Gender Action in Cahul and Ungheni districts" (hereinafter EVA). The project is implemented in line with and in contribution to the Gender Action Plan II (GAP II) of European Commission "Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment: Transforming the lives of girls and women through external relations 2016-2020", adopted in September 2015.  

The project started in January 2020, being funded by the European Union, co-founded and implemented by UN Women Moldova Country Office and in partnership with UNICEF. The overall purpose of the EVA Project is to promote gender equality, women's empowerment through strengthened implementation of gender mainstreaming in local policies and combating gender-based and domestic violence affecting women and children in two focal regions: Ungheni and Cahul.

The principles of gender equality and women empowerment are central to the EVA Project, as women in Moldova continue to face gender inequalities when it comes to decision-making, the labor market, the gender pay gap, as the regulatory framework still impedes women to participate and have certain occupations and allows for discrimination based on age, disability, marital status, etc.

One of the expected results under the EVA Project is that gender equality is promoted and mainstreamed in local policymaking and decision-making. Thus, it is envisaged to integrate gender equality in local policies and budgets (or in local policy making), through training elected and appointed representatives of the LPAs on gender equality and gender mainstreaming and its implications for decisions taken by the LPAs;  supporting LPAs to contribute to the principles of the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life; raising the awareness and capacities of local CSOs and gender advocates – as rights holders - to monitor the implementation of policies and budgets from the gender equality perspective and demand accountability of duty bearers; raising awareness of local population from selected regions on gender equality and empowering women to actively participate in local decision-making processes.

Another set of expected results under the EVA project refers to greater access to effective survivor-focused multidisciplinary services for domestic violence victims, including sexual violence and violence prevention programmes piloted in local schools and communities. These should be achieved through a range of interventions, inclusively through strengthening the capacities of the multidisciplinary teams for an effective protection of women/children victims of domestic violence, empowering domestic violence survivors, and using innovative tools to raise the capacities of local civil society to change attitudes and behaviors on violence against women and gender-based violence. 

RATIONALE

Women and girls constitute more than half of the population of Cahul and Ungheni localities, yet they are under-represented in the bodies that make key decisions affecting their lives, representing circa 36% of the members in the Local Councils and 31,4% of mayors.

Gender stereotypes negatively affect women's participation in politics and public life. Besides this, the low level of knowledge of the local public authorities and civil servants on how to mainstream gender equality principles and gender responsive budgeting leads to gender blind Local Strategies which do not respond to different needs of men and women, girls and boys, and adversely affects the access of women to services and economic opportunities.

An evaluation of the local strategic plans in 24 localities of the Cahul and Ungheni district, partners of UN Women in the framework of EVA project, revealed that seven of them do not currently have a Local Development Strategy, as the previous document expired, or they never had one.  

The localities that do have a Local Development Strategy, on the other hand, do not use gender data or gender analysis in the elaboration process as LPA representatives fragmentally acquainted with the principles and tools of gender analysis and interpretation of gender disaggregated data.

In order to support localities from Cahul and Ungheni districts to become gender champion communities, UN Women EVA Project will support seven LPAs in the process of developing Local Strategies in a participatory and gender sensitive manner.

Scope of work

UN Women within EVA project seeks to contract one consultant/team of consultants (hereinafter "the Consultant") to support seven LPAs to develop Local Strategies in a participatory and inclusive manner. The Consultant will work closely with the UN Women partners to align the strategic documents to gender equality principles ensuring gender mainstreaming of the Local Strategies from the early stages of the strategic planning process. 

The Consultant/ team of consultants is/are expected to work under the EVA Programme Officer on Gender Mainstreaming supervision and in close collaboration with the EVA Local Coordinators and partner organizations to effectively achieve results.

More specifically, the consultant/consultants will be responsible for the following main tasks:

  1. Conduct an analysis of the current situation in seven EVA partner communities with expired or non-existent Local Development Strategies, identifying strengths and weaknesses, development opportunities and possible risks for the communities, through active involvement of the main local stakeholders;
  2. Support and coach seven local authorities to conduct participative and transparent consultations with relevant stakeholders and different population groups to identify key development priorities in a gender sensitive manner. UN Women partners working on gender mainstreaming of the local public policies will be involved in the consultations and ensure gender principles are respected from the early stages of the Strategic planning process.
  3. Actively support local authorities to develop the main components of the Local Development Strategy together with the local stakeholders and various population groups (mission, vision, prior directions, main strategic objectives, etc.), ensuring a transparent and participative process;
  4. Assist local authorities from at least seven partner communities to conduct consultations with local stakeholders and various population groups to identify community resources and solutions to be introduced in the Action Plan as measures to achieve the main strategic objectives;
  5. Drafting the Action Plan of the Strategy in close cooperation with the local stakeholders and in partnership with AXA Consulting and CRAION Contact Cahul for ensuring gender mainstreaming of the document. The Strategy should also contain an appropriate Monitoring and Evaluation mechanism to the Action Plan, including collecting sex desegregated data and gender analyses of the local situation;
  6. Provide the final version of the Strategy to the LPA for being approved;

DELIVERABLES

The assignment should be carried out within a period of 12 months, not exceeding 150 working days, with the incumbent being responsible for delivering services in agreement with the weekly work plans established, including the deliverables stated in the table below.

The consultant/consultants should be ready to conduct the assignment inclusively if the COVID-19 restrictions are maintained.  

 

No

Activities and Deliverables

Tentative timeframe for completion of task

Tentative # of days required for accomplishment of task

1.        

Detailed Work Plan with a description of activities to be undertaken and applied methodologies, developed and submitted. To include: Specific activities and tasks, estimated timeline and deliverables form each activity/task

April 2021

2 days

2.        

On-field research to analyze the current situation in seven EVA partner communities (Task 1)

April - May 2021

21 days

3.        

Support the organization of seven public consultations with relevant stakeholders and different population groups in the partner communities (Task 2)

 

June-July 2021

28 days

4.        

Provide the draft of the first part of the Local Development Strategy (current situation, mission, vision, prior directions and main strategic objectives) in line with comments and suggestions received in the consultation process (Task 3)

August - September 2021

21 days

5.        

Support public consultations in seven communities for identifying resources for the Strategy implementation (Task 4)

September – October 2021

28 days

6.        

Provide the draft of the Action Plan with measures, responsible parties, estimated costs, timeline and sources of funds, M&E, for seven localities (Task 5)

November - December 2021

35 days

7.        

At least six Local Development Strategies developed in a participatory and inclusive manner, that are gender responsive, evidence-based, result oriented, budgeted, submitted to LPAs

December – January 2022

7 days

8.        

Progress reports on deliverables submitted to the Programme officer

April – February 2022

6 days

9.        

Final report with insights, evaluation, lessons learned, conclusions and recommendations for EVA Project elaborated and submitted.

February 2022

2 days

 

TOTAL

 

150 days

Requirements for experience

Education (of the consultant or of the team leader if a team of consultants apply):

  • Master's degree or equivalent in Economics, Public Administration, Law, Social Sciences, or other development related sciences.
  • A first-level university degree in combination with three additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
  • Additional training and certification in Strategic planning would be an advantage.

 

Experience (of the consultant or of at least of 50% of the team members if a team of consultants apply):

  • Minimum five (5) years of relevant practical experience in Strategic planning.
  • Minimum two (2) years of relevant experience in working with local public authorities.
  • Proven experience in drafting at least one similar document should be proved while applying in the Motivation letter.Proven experience in applying tools and techniques in the development, including organization of public consultations, research, developed M&E tools etc., will be considered an asset.
  • Experience in conducting qualitative and quantitative social research.

Language requirements:

  • Fluency in written and oral Romanian, Russian, English are required.

Other skills/ requirements:

  • Computer literacy and ability to effectively use office technology equipment, IT tools, ability to use Internet and email.
  • Availability to travel within Moldova for the implementation of the contract.

VALUES AND COMPETENCES

Core Values

  • Respect for Diversity
  • Integrity
  • Professionalism

Core Competencies

Documents to be included

  • Duly filled Personal History Form PHF11/CV (downloadable from http://www.unwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/P_11_form_UNwomen.doc). If a team of consultants apply, the P11 should be presented for all team members;
  • Letter of Intent to include a brief overview about which of your/ team members’ previous experiences makes you/the team the most suitable candidate for the advertised position and refence to similar previous assignments.
  • Financial proposal – specifying a total lump sum amount for the task specified in Terms of References. The Financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (daily rate). Please see ANNEX I and ANNEX II.