Job Identification : 11201
Locations : Home Based
Posting Date : 06/05/2023, 06:14 AM
Apply Before : 06/20/2023, 03:59 AM
Job Schedule : Part time
Grade : P4
Vacancy Type : Temporary
Contract Duration : 4 months
Education and Work Experience : Master’s Degree – 7 year(s) experience
Other Criteria
Professional experience with public policy and working with parliamentarians and parliamentarian organizations is essential
Required Languages : English
Vacancy Timeline : 2 Weeks
Job Category : Population & Development
Job Description
Purpose of consultancy:
Population ageing is one of the major demographic shifts taking place in the region, including in countries that also have a large young population at present. Asia-Pacific is currently home to over half the world’s population over 60 years of age and by 2050 close to 1.3 billion older persons will be living in the region. Rapidly ageing countries need to urgently design and implement rights-based economic and social reforms to ensure that older people continue to make a valuable contribution to the economy and society and are able to exercise their rights to income security and essential health and social services.
To achieve the ICPD Programme of Action (POA), it is important that UNFPA is able to support a conducive environment in the region to fulfil sexual and reproductive rights for all. The ICPD Programme of Action, adopted in 1994 by 179 Member States, lays out a far-sighted plan for advancing human well-being that places the human rights of individuals, rather than numerical population targets, at the centre of the global development agenda. It emphasizes the value of investing in women and girls, both as an end in itself and as a key to improving the quality of life for everyone. And it affirms the importance of sexual and reproductive health, including family planning, as a precondition for women’s empowerment. It calls for an end to gender-based violence and harmful traditional practices, including female genital mutilation. Further, the Programme of Action highlights the crucial links between sexual and reproductive health and rights with almost every aspect of population and development, from urbanization, migration and ageing to changing family structures and the importance of addressing the rights of young people. It calls attention to the ways in which investing in women and youth, especially in their sexual and reproductive health, can impact environmental sustainability and population dynamics.
UNFPA APRO has prioritized political scanning as a future-focused exercise that empowers staff and partners to prepare for a range of possibilities, taking advantage of elements that can be controlled while mitigating risk—and creating opportunity—from external forces beyond UNFPA’s immediate control. As part of this process, APRO would like to engage a consultant to work with UNFPA APRO and COs in the region to:
- Assess entry points at national, state and local levels with decision makers, including parliamentarians, parliamentary national committees and with other key decision makers/political influencers.
- Enable UNFPA to identify areas of opportunity for strategic engagement, policy dialogue and build on and expand ongoing engagement with a range of political leaders and stakeholders in the region.
The mapping will focus on three main groups:
- Parliamentarians and national parliamentary committees. The analysis will focus on mapping parliamentarians and committees in countries with a review of the political system
- State and local governments. The analysis will focus on mapping elected officials at state and local levels.
- UNFPA Asia and the Pacific regional and country offices. The analysis will include an internal discussion on how UNFPA has engaged at the political level with various political leaders and influencers.
UNFPA Asia and the Pacific will work with a consultant to develop a methodology to collect and analyse information using a phased approach from 36 countries (22 UNFPA Country Offices in Asia and 14 countries in the Pacific), where possible, in the region to address suggested key questions such as, but not limited to: Parliamentarian mapping
- Where available, what has been debated in the parliament on our agenda during the past 2-3 years by studying the Hansards or other public parliamentary records?
- Is the population and development national committee functional at national level and how has the committee weighed in on legislation and policy in relation to the ICPD agenda?
- Which national parliamentary committees does UNFPA engage with, and/or would UNFPA like to engage with? What are the enablers for this relationship? What are the risks?
- Where available, what are parliamentarians’ personal and public stance on ICPD POA? Are there parliamentarians that speak out against the ICPD agenda ? What are their key messages?
- Who are the opponents of ICPD PoA within parliament? Are they in positions of influence? Do they have strong networks of supporters?
- Which regional and global/regional parliamentary bodies have effective networks at country level to advance the ICPD agenda?
Local and state governments mapping
- Are there regional and national mayoral networks UNFPA APRO and UNFPA COs could engage with and in what capacity?
- What are the key sources of information local and state governments use to make decisions on the ICPD areas of work?
UNFPA and engagement mapping
- How have UNFPA country offices (COs) engaged with parliamentarians during the past 2-3 years?
- How have/do COs and parliamentarians collaborate on the realisation of accepted recommendations of the human rights mechanisms to advance the ICPD POA?
- How do COs and parliamentarians collabore on deferred UPR recommendations related to the ICPD PoA?
- How have COs engaged with state and local government allies during the past 2-3 years?
- How have COs engaged with key influencers these decision makers in the past 2-3 years?
These questions are a sample of potential questions and can be revised in discussion with the successful consultant and the Working Group.
In addition, based on the findings above, the project will aim to develop and identify key messages and resources that political and decision makers need to make decisions that align with the ICPD Programme of Action.
Scope of work: (Description of services, activities, or outputs)
In partnership with UNFPA Asia and the Pacific Country Offices, the consultant will be expected to:
- Develop a methodology for the mapping ensuring that the methodology and tools are self-guided and can be implemented in the following years by UNFPA country offices;
- Conduct a literature review of relevant materials;
- Develop an inception report and discuss it with UNFPA for finalization;
- Develop a methodology and tool for selecting countries for data collection and routinely updating internal country political mapping profiles during the project;
- Coordinate and conduct a mapping of parliamentary national committees in each country (36 countries) working in UNFPA’s mandated areas of work during the project period;
- As agreed in the inception report, coordinate and conduct surveys, interviews and focus group discussions with selected UNFPA country office senior leaders and staff, implementing partners, key national and regional counterparts and other stakeholders based on the approved methodology;
- Produce reports, internal country profiles and final report/atlas outlining strategic engagement with national committees and other key stakeholders at national level; and
- Present key findings to UNFPA Asia and the Pacific and provide recommendations how UNFPA country offices can regularly implement the mapping by themselves in the following years.
Duration and working schedule: 75 days from June to September 2023
Place where services are to be delivered: Home-based
6. Delivery dates and how work will be delivered:
By 15 July 2023, Inception report with literature review on secondary data, planned methodology for obtaining primary data & timeline to be submitted for approval to the Working Group.
By 30 September 2023, Draft rapid assessment tool developed.
Produce a draft report/profiles Conduct initial surveys, interviews and/or focus group discussions depending upon the agreed methodology.
Develop country level profiles and updated parliamentarians list.
Present key findings to UNFPA Asia and the Pacific regional and country offices.
Bt 31 December 2023
Develop a 2023 political mapping Atlas based on data collected during the year
Present key findings to UNFPA Asia and the Pacific regional and country offices.
The work produced under this TOR will be property of UNFPA and will be for UNFPA internal use only.
The product will be delivered electronically
Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadline:
Regular updates will be provided via email and discussed through virtual meetings. A virtual technical advisory committee consisting of members of the UNFPA APRO inter-linkages Working Group, regular/periodic monitoring and approvals will be established. Changes to agreed methodology and timelines require prior written approval from the Working Group.
Supervisory arrangements: The consultant reports to Technical Specialist on Population & Development
Expected travel: None
Required expertise, qualifications:
- At least 7 years of relevant professional experience with a master degree in a disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, geography, development studies, political science, social sciences, international relations, public policy or any other relevant discipline with a strong focus on qualitative analysis
- Experience with public policy and working with parliamentarians and parliamentarian organizations is essential
- Robust analytical skills and qualitative focus required. Strong knowledge and understanding of quantitative and qualitative research is required;
- Excellent analytical and drafting skills, and the ability to work quickly and produce concise, high quality reports in English;
- Cultural, social and political awareness and sensitivity, particularly in relation to the subject matter is required;
- Knowledge of or preferably direct field experience in Asia and the Pacific is preferred;
- Fluency (written and spoken) in English. Knowledge of other Asia and the Pacific languages would be an advantage;
- Knowledge of the UN system and other international development organizations strongly desired
- Demonstrated ability to network within the development partners community;
- Familiarity and experience in health/reproductive health and gender based violence programming in humanitarian setting and resilience an advantage;
Disclaimer:
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