Researcher - Women Legal and Economic Empowerment for Sustainable Development

Background

The 12th National Economic and Social Development Plan (NESDP 2017-2021) articulates a clear vision for greater security, prosperity and sustainability, and seeks to foster greater equality within the next five years while preparing for the graduation of Thailand towards a high-income country within the next ten years. The 12th Plan has coincided with grater regional integration through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community, and a bolder global development agenda elaborated through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2016.

The Thai government gives high importance to translating and incorporating the global agenda and goals into concrete action, policy and laws, both at local and national levels. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 — one of the 17 SDGs — aims to achieve gender equality and to recognize and ensure women’s full participation in economic and public life. Gender equality is both a goal in and of itself but there is also a strong interdependence between all the goals to achieve paths to sustainable development. This includes goal 16 which is dedicated to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, the provision of access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable institutions at all levels. Gender equality, peace and the achievement of the sustainable development goals are intrinsically linked. This means that addressing the specific needs and priorities of women and improving women’s legal rights and economic opportunities requires careful attention, and specifically designed and targeted interventions to truly implement the 2030 SDGs agenda applying the principle of “leaving no one behind”. Equally important is that women are also powerful actors in promoting social cohesion and accelerating economic recovery, increasing the sustainability of peace and building a culture of tolerance and inclusion. Without peaceful, inclusive societies, women would be deprived of their rights, freedom and opportunities. In order to overcome such challenges, women need to be empowered to ensure equal access to suitable means of legal assistance.

In this context, Thailand Institute of Justice and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) seek a national consultant to conduct a research on Women Legal and Economic Empowerment for Sustainable Development, using the case of the southern border provinces of Thailand. This research is part of TIJ’s research on Legal Empowerment and Sustainable Development: path to fair and equal justice for women in the ASEAN region.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work:

The Researcher will work under supervision of Country Programme Coordinator (Thailand and Lao PDR) of UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. The research should cover the following points:

• Highlight symbolic links between sustainable development Goal 5 on Gender Equality and Goal 16 on Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions;
• Analyse how legal and economic empowerment of women pave the way towards sustainable development;
• Share findings, knowledge and best practices from pilot communities in the southern border provinces on legal and economic empowerment for women in the areas but not limit to: Women access to justice, Women participating in peace dialogues and Women’s economic empowerment to promote cohesive, peaceful and resilient society.

The primary role of the National Consultant includes:

• Develop a workplan for the research with timelines, including field work, taking into consideration local context;
• Develop survey tools and a research methodology;
• Organize an inception workshop with relevant stakeholders to validate the research methodology;
• Conduct one research study with qualitative and quantitative data based on the existing work on women legal assessment of UN Women’s programming, addressing knowledge gaps. The final report should include a discussion of survey tools, methodology, field mission reports, an analysis of the data, an analysis of the mappings as relevant, key findings and recommendations;
• Conduct a minimum of two focus group discussions on the findings of the research for a minimum of 10 participants per discussion. One of the discussions must be a validation of the research findings. The discussions must be conducted in either Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. The contractor is expected to cover all the costs related to the discussions organization including the travel costs.

Expected Deliverables and Time Frame:

• Workplan, survey tools and a research methodology - 25 August 2017;
• Inception workshop with relevant stakeholders to validate the research methodology - 15 September 2017;
• First draft of research study with qualitative and quantitative data - 30 September 2017;
• Two focus group discussions on the findings of the research for a minimum of 10 participants per discussion - 15 October 2017;
• Final draft research study with qualitative and quantitative data in Thai with the executive summary in English - 31 October 2017;

Contract period and work location:

The consultant will be working from home and will be required to travel to Narathiwat, Thailand to conduct inception workshop and focus group discussions. Flight costs between the consultant’s home location and the workshop location will be reimbursed by UN Women and DSA will be provided for the relevant dates. The contract will commence tentatively on 21 August 2017 and will conclude on 15 November 2017.

Competencies

Integrity:

• Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Professionalism:

• Demonstrating professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive of work.

Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity:

• Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Conflict Management:

• Addressing conflicts proactively while acknowledging different feelings and views.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Masters or equivalent in Political Science, International Relations, Women Studies, Social Science or other gender and development fields.

Experience: 

• Minimum 7 years of relevant work experience, with demonstrable expertise in writing and researching on thematic areas of Women, Peace and Security and particularly on National Action Plans on Women, Peace and Security in Asia-Pacific;
• Strong publication record on Women, Peace and Security issues.

Language:

• Excellent command of English (oral and written);
• Other UN languages an asset.

Submission of application:Interest candidates are encouraged to submit electronic applicationSubmission package includes:

• Updated CV;
• Personal History Form(P11);
• Financial proposal: the financial proposal shall specify a lump sum total amount breaking down the daily professional fee, proposed number of working days and travel related cost (i.e. airfare from the consultant’s home location to Narathiwat, Thailand), UN Women will provide the living allowance.

All applicants must include (as an attachment) the CV, P11, technical and financial proposals. Applications without financial proposal will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.