UN Women International consultant to support state institutions with capacity development on Gender Responsive Budgeting and gender budget analysis of sectoral programmes in Social Protection and/or Employment in Belarus.
Vacancy Number: Pr21/02256
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, the 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.
At the regional level, UN Women assist efforts to uphold agreed gender equality norms, working through regional coordination mechanisms and UN Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG) teams. UN Women co-chairs the UN coordination mechanism, Issue Based Coalition on Gender, jointly with UNFPA and provides technical support on strengthening gender equality and the empowerment women, promoting joint action at the regional level in support of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as supporting the work of UN country teams on gender mainstreaming. At the country level, UN Women works with resident coordinators and other UN entities through UN country teams, leading gender theme groups, and actively engaging in joint results groups and joint programmes to strategically address gender-based inequalities. UN Women is supporting roll out of country-level UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks (UNSDCF) and support and engagement to RCs and UNCTs with technical expertise for gender responsive UNDAF evaluations, development of Gender Briefs, review of draft CCAs, results frameworks, participation in strategic prioritization retreats, national consultation and validation processes, capacity building on gender data and statistics as well as in inter-agency support.
In Belarus, UN Women is engaged as Non-Resident Agency and is working closely with the UN Country team to support national stakeholders in advancing gender equality agenda in the country, in line with the objectives and priorities set in the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2021 -2025.
With the aim to advance implementation of the objectives set under 3 Outcomes of the UNSDCF and to accelerate the realization of the 2030 Agenda, the UNCT has developed a Joint Project “Promoting new tools of sustainable development budgeting that prioritize vulnerable populations in Belarus” (hereinafter SDG project). The Joint project is implemented by UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA and UN Women and contributes -among others – to the implementation of the Objective 1 of the Belarus National Action Plan on Gender Equality.
The UN SDG project is structured around 4 UNSDCF Outcomes:
- Outcome 1: By 2025, adolescents, youth, families with children and vulnerable groups practice safer and healthier behaviors and enjoy better access to quality healthcare services (SDG 3 and 5 and LNOB)
- Outcome 2: By 2025, adolescents, youth, families with children and vulnerable groups, enjoy better access to gender-responsive, inclusive and labor-market-oriented education, improved social protection system, more restorative approaches to justice, and opportunities to strengthen their families’ resilience. (SDG 1, 8, 16 and LNOB)
- Outcome 3: By 2025, improvements in data collection, gender equality policies, and child and gender budgeting have created conditions for men and women of all ages, including those aged 65 years and older, as well as girls and boys, to better realize their rights and increase the quality of their lives, including through increased opportunities for employment and better protection from gender-based and domestic violence. (SDG 5, 17 and LNOB)
- Outcome 4: By 2025, improvements in data collection, gender equality policies, and child and gender budgeting have created conditions for men and women of all ages, including those aged 65 years and older, as well as girls and boys, to better realize their rights and increase the quality of their lives and better protection from gender-based and domestic violence. (5, 16 and LNOB)
UN Women is directly responsible for implementation of Outcome 4 and through the SDG project will aim at achieving the Output whereas “Wider opportunities are provided to apply the principles of gender analysis of legislation, gender budgeting and gender equality mainstreaming in developing state programmes and allocating budget resources (SDGs 5.6, 5.c, 5.4,5.5). UN Women is working closely with the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection (MLSP) and will be extending technical and expert support to public officials in strengthening national capacities on Gender budget analysis and planning in programming, will support with carrying out sector specific analysis and mentor officials in applying GRB tools in developing sectoral programmes, as well as design guidelines and checklists.
To support the MLSP in implementing the obligations under the 2030 Agenda and the newly adopted National Action Plan on Gender Equality (2021-2025) UN Women is seeking to recruit an international consultant to extend expert support and train and mentor MLSP on gender responsive sectoral planning and budgeting.
Scope of work
The objective of the assignment is to strengthen the capacities of MLSP officials – sector specific employees and finance departments – to mainstream gender equality in policies and budget by using Gender Responsive Budgeting (hereinafter GRB) tools. More specifically, the aim of the consultancy is to train key civil servants in applying GRB tools through specific sectoral analysis of programmes and budgets, developing gender indicators, using specific GRB guidelines, methodological materials for designing and monitoring tools (checklists) for assessing the gender responsiveness of programmes, as well as their impact on target population. Furthermore, based on the GRB analysis, the capacity development exercises, the consultant will also mentor the public officials on analyzing sectoral programmes and recommending/suggesting amendments of related indicators, baselines and targets, as well as advocating for sufficient allocation of public resources for their implementation.
The Consultant is expected to work in close coordination with the International Consultant on Public Finance Management and Gender (hereinafter PFMG), and support the public servants with mentoring and learning‐by‐doing, developing materials, participating in debriefing meetings and high-level events, etc.
Based on the above-described objectives of the assignment, under the supervision of the Programme Specialist of UN Women Moldova CO[1] the UN Women Regional Adviser on GRB, and in close coordination with the Development Coordination Officer of the UN Resident Coordinator Office in Belarus, the International consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks and responsibilities:
- Work closely with the MLSP and carry out a desk review of the existing process of strategic planning and budgeting, including on development of sectoral programmes and their alignment with national SDG Agenda as well as the NAP on GE.
- Jointly with the MLSP responsible officials, develop the methodology and questionnaire to carry out capacity needs assessment on Gender Responsive Budgeting of the sectors covered with this consultancy (Social Protection and/or Employment) and obtain the necessary validation.
- Jointly with the international expert on PFMG, adapt the existing UN Women training curricula on GRB, for the public officials from MLSP and potentially from Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy tailored for officials working on sectoral policy development and on financing.
- Deliver first round of 2 days training for select group of public officials, based on the capacity needs assessment and training curricula adopted.
- Work jointly with the officials from MLSP in identifying criteria for selection of the sectoral programme for GRB analysis and carry out the analysis of the identified programme and all supporting documents offered, draw conclusions and recommendations for improvements.
- Jointly with the International Expert on Public Finance Management, deliver the second round of advanced 3 days training on sector specific GRB, including findings and recommendations from the GRB analysis of the sectoral programme. Use this training as a validation of the findings of the analyses and the recommendations.
- Mentor public officials from MLSP and work closely with them to assess the possibility of inclusion of the recommendations of the select sectoral programme to budget documents including changes in allocations.
- Jointly with the International Expert on PFMG participate in strategic meetings with Ministry of Finance and other line ministries and, based on the consultations and desk research on PFM strategy and Budget cycle, develop a guideline on how to introduce GRB in Belarus, and align it with SDG agenda, if possible.
- Jointly with the International Expert on Public Finance Management and the focal points from MLSP, develop gender policy checklists and guidelines on how to introduce GRB in Belarus;
- Submit detailed Final Assignment Report with description of undertaken activities, their short‐term and long‐term results, with recommendations on future steps for UN Women for further improvement of work on GRB in Belarus.
Requirements for experience
Core Values/guiding principles:
- Integrity – Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
- Professionalism – Demonstrate professional competence and Consultant knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.
- Cultural sensitivity and respect for diversity – Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Additionally, the individual should have an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.
Core Competencies:
- Planning & Organizing – Develops clear goals in line with agreed strategies, identifies priorities, foresees risks and makes allowances accordingly.
- Organizational Awareness – Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
- Teamwork – Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
- Accountability – Takes ownership of all responsibilities and delivers outputs in accordance with agreed time, cost and quality standards.
Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://unwomen.sharepoint.com/management/Human-Resources/2016%20HR%20Intranet/Values%20and%20Competencies/Values%20%26%20competencies_updated_EN.pdf
Functional Competencies:
Knowledge Management and Learning
- Shares knowledge and experience
- Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside UN Women
- Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills
- Development and Operational Effectiveness
- Demonstrates excellent written and oral communication skills. Communicates sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies
- Demonstrates very good understanding of and experience in communications and outreach/advocacy
- 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
Leadership and Self-Management
- 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
Academic Qualifications
- Frist level University Degree in public administration, social studies, development studies, gender studies and/or international relations, or any other degree relevant to the requirements of the TOR. A Master’s degree is considered a strong asset.
Experience
- A minimum of 7 years of demonstrated professional experience in the area of gender equality with focus on gender responsive policy making and budgeting.
- Previous experience in designing and delivering training and/or mentoring programmes on gender equality and gender mainstreaming in policy making and budgeting.
- Experience and knowledge on central level strategic planning, policy making and budgetary processes in the Belarus or in countries from the Eastern European Region.
- Familiarity with country and regional context on gender equality is considered an asset.
- Previous experience working with international organizations is considered an asset.
- Knowledge and experience on GRB is considered an asset.
Language
- Fluency in English is required. Fluency in Russian language is considered as asset.
Documents to be included
- Short Letter of interest,
- Financial proposal in USD indicating a total lump sum for the delivery as per above description. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (consultancy fee, travel and any other possible costs). Considering the COVID-19 pandemic and inability to predict whether on-line or face to face meetings/trainings will be possible, please do not include in financial offer travel cost.
- Completed UN Women Personal History (P11) form, that can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment
- UN Women applies fair and transparent selection process that would take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals.
Financial proposal
Financial proposal in USD indicating a total lump sum for the delivery as per above description. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (consultancy fee, travel and any other possible costs). Considering the COVID-19 pandemic and inability to predict whether on-line or face to face meetings/trainings will be possible, please do not include in financial offer travel cost.
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