Local Consultant to Conduct Focus Group Discussions (Open to Maldivian Nationals Only)

Background

Within the past decade, Maldives has made substantial progress on the economic front which is evidenced by its movement to the upper middle-income country status. At present, the country’s GDP growth is mainly driven by large infrastructure projects and construction of social housing. The ensuing voluntary migration to Greater Male’ has resulted in larger disparity between the capital Male’ and the atolls. Additionally, the limited space and the high cost of living in Male’ has resulted in a surge of social issues including high crime rates and drug use across greater Male’ area. Additionally, remote islands with smaller populations have limited access to quality services and face greater isolation.

Youth represent nearly 47% of the population and the impact of this inequality affects the youth population the most. National assessments indicate that almost 20% of young men and 26% of young women are neither employed nor in school. Without the means to pursue their career and earn an income and coupled with increasing conservative values, youth face a greater risk from getting disengaged from society and resorting to violence and drug related crimes. Therefore, strategies to mitigate the risk of violence need to address the societal issues faced by youth at present.

In addition, the increase in geographical inequality has further marginalised women, particularly young women in the atolls who are eager to work for their livelihood but are often faced with limited opportunities to do so. In a country where sexual and gender-based violence is highly prevalent, with 1 in 3 women between ages of 15-49 having experienced some kind of physical or sexual abuse at some point in their lifetime, the increase in women’s dependence on their male family members/spouses greatly increases their risk of facing violence in the future. Moreover, high levels of gender inequality and gender-based violence in the country have also been found to be an indicator for increased vulnerability to political violence and the use of more severe forms of violence in conflict. As such, prevention efforts need to focus on women’s experiences and their participation in political, social and economic life. The promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment in itself serves as a direct counter-measure and places women at the forefront of leading the change and shaping communities.

In this regard, UNDP through its Integrated Governance Programme (IGP) is conducting Focus Group Discussions with youth to discuss their perspective on peace and tolerance through the use of art as a tool to express their concerns and priorities. Further discussions will also be held with members of Women’s Wings and Youth Wings of political parties with a particular focus on the roles women and men in the society and the barriers faced by women in public life. As such, UNDP is seeking the service of a local consultant to lead these Focus Group Discussions.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance of UNDP, the consultant will undertake the following tasks:

• Review national assessments, survey on youth engagement in the country. Based on this develop a questionnaire and methodology for Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and a detailed work plan for the initiatives.
• Plan, coordinate and facilitate Focus Group Discussions (FGD) for participants from the atolls Ha, HDh, Sh, GA, GDh, Fuvahmulah, Addu and Male’. The FGDs will be held in HDh. Kulhuduffushi, GDh. Faresmaathodaa, Fuvahmulah and Male’. A maximum of 30 participants from each atoll will be brought to the closest selected island (e.g. participants from Ha, Sh and participants from other islands of HDh will be brought to HDh. Kulhuduffushi) and separate sessions will be conducted for participants from each atoll.
• The consultant is expected to arrange their own logistics along with that of the participants and the non-UNDP members of the team.
• Submit a report of the findings of the FGDs.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

The consultant will be responsible for the following deliverables;

• Detailed work plan and methodology
• Coordinate the logistics and facilitate the FGDs
• Final report which includes the data collected and findings from the FGDs.

The following table shows an indication of the duration for the deliverables;

Deliverables/ Outputs	Estimated Duration to Complete
Detailed work plan, methodology and questionnaire	5 days
Coordinate and facilitate the FGDs	20 days
Final report	5 days

Institutional Arrangement

The consultant will work under the guidance of UNDP and will be accountable to the assigned Programme Officer, IGP, for each deliverable as stipulated in the proposal. The consultant will work as part of a team consisting of UNDP staff and another consultant. Meetings with UNDP senior management will be held as and when needed.

Duty Station: Male’ with travel to selected islands

Competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UN/UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to conduct research and analysis and strong synthesis skills
• Builds strong relationships with stakeholders, focuses on impact and result for the stakeholders and responds positively to critical feedback; consensus-oriented
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
• Regional and National Knowledge is highly desirable
• Ability to write reports particularly for International Funded project
• Demonstrates ability to manage complexities and work under pressure, as well as conflict resolution

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in gender studies, law, development studies or related social science

Experience

• Minimum 1-2 years’ experience in facilitating focus group discussions and handling logistics.

• Familiarity with developmental issues in the Maldives will be highly desirable.

Language requirement

• Fluent in Dhivehi and English.

Application Documents

• The application must include a letter of interest to undertake this task, the CV, Personal History Form (P11), and a financial proposal (indicating the daily fee (in MVR) and other costs for the assignment).
• The applicant must also submit the reference letters from past supervisors/clients. To download P11, kindly please visit the link: http://www.mv.undp.org/content/maldives/en/home/operations/jobs
• Please combine all the documents into one single file, as the system will allow for only one document to be uploaded.
• We will only accept online applications