National Consultant: Gender Advisor to the Office of Vice Minister for ASEAN Affairs under the Spotlight Initiative and UN Women Core Programming

Location : Dili with possible travel in the municipalities, Timor Leste

Application Deadline : 31-Aug-23 (Midnight New York, USA)

Additional Category : Gender Equality

Type of Contract : Individual Contract

Post Level : National Consultant

Languages Required : Starting Date : (date when the selected candidate is expected to start)

18-Sep-2023

Duration of Initial Contract : 18 September 2023 – 18 September 2024

Expected Duration of Assignment : 1 Year

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. 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; fosters women’s empowerment and equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action, peace and security. UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality, and in all deliberations and agreements linked to the 2030 Agenda. The entity works to position gender equality as fundamental to the Sustainable Development Goals, and a more inclusive world.

UN Women’s goal in Timor-Leste is to promote women’s human rights and gender equality as the country works towards sustaining and furthering achievements in stability and development. This includes efforts to ensure women’s right to live free from any form of violence, efforts to advance women’s economic empowerment and women’s leadership and participation in support of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, and advance international agreements and commitments related to gender equality and women’s empowerment, including through adequate planning and budgeting.

UN Women provides support to the Government of Timor-Leste in implementing its commitments in promoting gender equality and women’s rights in line with international, regional and national normative and legal frameworks, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and its Concluding Observation 2023, Beijing Platform for Action, UNSCR 1325, National Strategic Plan (2011-2030), National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence and the National Action Plan on the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (NAP 1325). Furthermore, UN Women, as a UN Agency as well as in its capacity as the technical coherence agency for the EU – UN Spotlight Initiative has been working with key stakeholders, including but not limited to – civil society organisations, Ministry of Justice, Secretary of State for Equality and Inclusion and National Parliament, to ensure that the country’s policies and laws are grounded in a women’s rights perspective. And as such, UN Women works closely with the Government of Timor-Leste in mainstreaming gender and advance women’s meaningful leadership in the sector of diplomacy and international affairs at all levels.

In November 2022, the ASEAN agreed, in principle, to admit Timor-Leste as the 11th member of the ASEAN. A road map for the full membership of Timor-Leste in the ASEAN was adopted in May 2023. Timor-Leste demonstrates its full commitment in advancing regional WPS agenda and promoting the WPS localization in Timor-Leste. UN Women will continue to provide technical support tailored to the local political and economic context for the accession of Timor-Leste to the ASEAN and ensure women’s voices and concerns are visible in the implementation of the Road Map for the Full Membership of Timor-Leste in ASEAN, which was adopted in the 42nd ASEAN Summit in 2023.

UN Women, through an in-house Gender Advisor (National Consultant), will provide expert policy advice and technical assistance to the Office of Vice Minister for ASEAN Affairs in conducting in-depth gender analysis and strengthening institutional capacity in mainstreaming gender in all aspects of the foreign policies of Timor-Leste, and all processes for the accession of Timor-Leste into the ASEAN.

Duties and Responsibilities

•  Overall objective of the assignment

The overall objective of the proposed consultancy is to provide technical assistance and capacity development support to the Office of Vice Minister for ASEAN Affairs in conducting in-depth gender analysis and strengthening institutional capacity in mainstreaming gender in all aspects of the foreign policies of Timor-Leste, and all processes for the accession of Timor-Leste into the ASEAN, in compliance of the international and the ASEAN’s normative and legal and policy frameworks, including CEDAW, SDGs and UNSCR 1325, and other gender equality commitments.

•  Scope of work/Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of UN Women Head of Office, and direct supervision of the UN Women WPS Programme Officer, and in coordination with the Office of Vice Minister for ASEAN Affairs and UN Women -Spotlight Initiative and WPS teams, the assignment of the Gender Advisor (National Consultant) will include but not necessarily be limited to the following:

•  Provide technical expertise to the Office of Vice Minister for ASEAN Affairs in mainstreaming gender equality in all aspects of the policies and strategies related to foreign affairs and diplomacy, accession to ASEAN, and international and regional cooperation.
•  Conduct in-depth gender data analysis and provide policy advice to the Office of Vice Minister for ASEAN Affairs in developing strategies and policies to increase women’s participation and leadership in diplomacy sector, and apply gender lens in mandates, policies and resolution development.
•  Provide technical assistance to the Office of Vice Minister for ASEAN Affairs to identify, conduct analysis and assessment, plan and implement thematic activities assigned under the Peacebuilding pillar of the second NAP 1325, complementary to NAP GBV (2022 -2032) in Timor-Leste. Strengthen the capacity of Government of Timor-Leste in implementation, monitoring and reporting of the second NAP 1325 in line with the recently adopted Regional Plan of Actions on WPS, and in preparation for its accession to ASEAN.
•  Provide gender analysis to the Office of Vice Minister for ASEAN Affairs, and elaborate gender-responsive propositions to the proposed and current law, policies and normative frameworks developed by the Ministry and its coordinated central executive bodies. Support the Office of Vice Minister for ASEAN Affairs in raising institutional gender awareness and its capacity in mainstreaming gender in laws and policies.
•  Provide support to the Office of Vice Minister for ASEAN Affairs to strengthen engagement between the Government of Timor-Leste and the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW) in issues promoting gender equality and empowerment of women and girls in sustaining peace and development, including Ending Violence Against Women and Girls. Develop capacity of the Office of Vice Minister for ASEAN Affairs in understanding and implementing commitments in the ASEAN Declaration on the Gender-Responsive Implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, and other ASEAN’s policies and strategies on gender equality.
•  Organize workshops and/or dialogues to promote cross-regional collaboration and exchange of good practices amongst the existing ASEAN Member States and Timor-Leste on advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment, and the regional and local WPS agenda.
•  Provide communications support as requested by the Office of Vice Minister for ASEAN Affairs.
•  Provide support to UN Women in the continued technical leadership and networking for UN Women’s strategic posture.
•  Duration of the assignment

The total duration of the contract will be from 18 September 2023 – 18 September 2024.

•  Expected Deliverables

The consultant is expected to submit a Monthly Report by 18th of each month with the following:

•  Monthly Workplan along with clear timelines for identified areas of support for the Office of Vice Minister for ASEAN Affairs and UN Women. The Monthly Workplan should be designed and planned in coordination with the Office of Vice Minister for ASEAN Affairs and UN Women at the beginning of each month, and the Workplan should be shared by 5th of each month. The final Monthly Workplan should be attached as an Annex in the Monthly Report.
•  Monthly progress reports against proposed Workplans, including the reports documenting logistics support and coordination required for meetings/discussions with Parliamentarians and/or government partners, as well as notes from meetings and events.
•  Documentation of policy advice, analysis and technical support provided to Ministry of Interior and other line ministries.
•  Workplan, tools and presentation materials developed for the knowledge exchange events, dialogues, capacity development activities and trainings. Reports documenting the detailed results of the events and trainings organized, with the detailed analysis of the pre- and post- tests for all trainings.
•  Inputs
  •  The consultant is expected to use her/his own computer, presentation equipment and software for related tasks.
  •  The Office of Vice Minister for ASEAN Affairs and UN Women will provide the Consultant with working space (a desk and a chair), and necessary documents for desk review.
  •  UN Women will provide transportation to the other municipalities for activities required in the duty of its function.
  •  UN Women will provide Daily Subsistence Allowance to cover expenses related to work outside of Dili when applicable, and upon reception of a Travel Authorization.
  •  The cost of telecommunication and transportation within Dili will be covered by the consultant.

Competencies

Core Values:

•  Respect for Diversity
•  Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
•  Creative Problem Solving
•  Effective Communication
•  Inclusive Collaboration
•  Stakeholder Engagement

Leading by Example Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Functional Competencies:

•  Strong commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women, with demonstrated experience of researching or working on gender issues;
•  Strong research and writing skills, with strong analytical skills and creative thinking;
•  Ability to think and work logically and work precisely with attention to detail;
•  Initiative, sound judgment and demonstrated ability to work harmoniously with staff members of different national and cultural backgrounds;
•  Previous experience (also volunteer experience) from the non-profit sector is an advantage.
•  Ability to multi-task and address competing priorities
•  Ability to produce quality deliverables in a timely manner
•  Strong computer skills, including Word, Excel, and Power Point

Required Skills and Experience

•  Performance evaluation:

Contractor’s performance will be evaluated against such criteria as: timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.

•  Required skills and experience:

Education:

•  Master’s degree in Political Science, International Relations, Public Administration, Social Science, Law, Gender and Development or other relevant field with 4 years of relevant work experience, or Bachelor’s degree with 6 years of relevant experience.

Experience:

•  4 years of relevant work experience (or bachelor’s degree, 6 years) in gender equality, women’s rights, EVAW and WPS and public policy;
•  Extensive knowledge of the ASEAN and its normative policy frameworks in the areas including gender equality and women’s empowerment and WPS; proven experience in working with the ASEAN Secretariat, and providing technical assistance to the Government in facilitating regional high-level dialogues, trainings, consultations, including with Government counterparts in Timor-Leste and in the Region;
•  Proven experience in gender analysis of international, ASEAN and national policies and strategies related to gender and development, diplomacy and foreign affairs, WPS and governance; and
•  Proven experience in capacity development of government institutions and civil society organizations on CEDAW, UNSCR 1325 and SDGs.

Language and other skills:

•  Proficiency in oral and written English and Tetum. Knowledge of Portuguese is an advantage.
•  Computer literacy and ability to effectively use office technology equipment, IT tools, ability to use Internet and email.
•  Submission of application

Interested candidates are requested to submit electronic application to UNDP Job Site no later than 1 September 2023.

•  Submission of package:
•  Cover letter & Copy of the latest academic certificate
•  CVs or P11, including contact information for 3 references;
•  Financial proposal. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount per month and/ or the daily professional fee in USD and other related admin & travel costs.

Please note that the submission package needs to be uploaded in one file/ document to UNDP Job site

Selected candidates will need to submit prior to commencement of work:

•  UN Women P-11 form, available her from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment
•  A statement from a medical doctor of ‘good health and fit for travel’.
•  For any travel outside of Dili, UN Women will require the consultant to provide the certificate proving completion of BSafe training (see trip.dss.un.org).
•  Evaluation

Applications will be evaluated based on the Cumulative analysis.

•  Technical Qualification (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.

•  Technical qualification evaluation criteria:

The total number of points allocated for the technical qualification component is 100. The technical qualification of the individual is evaluated based on following technical qualification evaluation criteria: Technical Evaluation Criteria

Obtainable Score

Education

20 %

Experience and skills

60 %

Language and other skills

20 %

Total Obtainable Score

100 %

Only the candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% of total points will be considered as technically qualified candidate.

•  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.
•  Payments

Payments for this consultancy will be based on the achievement of each deliverable and certification that each has been satisfactorily completed. Payments will not be based on the number of days worked but on the completion of each stated deliverable within the indicated timeframes.

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.