UN Women - International Consultant for the Final Evaluation of the “Promoting Gender Responsive Policies and Budgets: Towards Transparent, Inclusive and Accountable Governance in the Republic of North Macedonia”

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; the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development; human rights; as well as humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women's rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women Programme Office in the Republic of North Macedonia in line with the priorities set in the UN Women Strategic Plan and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2021-2025), is supporting the country to fulfil National and International commitments to gender equality and empowerment of women.

Over the past years, UN Women has provided extensive support to national and local stakeholders to strengthen democratic governance and advance women’s rights through initiatives aimed at mainstreaming gender in policy planning and budgeting.

UN Women Programme Office in North Macedonia is implementing a four-year Project “Promoting Gender Responsive Policies and Budgets: Towards Transparent, Inclusive and Accountable Governance in the Republic of North Macedonia” (2018-2022), funded by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The project supports Government stakeholders at central and local level on the implementation of gender responsive budgeting, and the civil society organizations and oversight bodies on strengthening the accountability towards gender equality commitments.

2. Description of the programme/project

2.1        Project strategy and key objectives

The project relies on past and ongoing efforts, lessons learned and good practices on gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) and responds to the increasing demand created for GRB expertise, knowledge and tools at both central and local level in the country. 

At central level, the project applies strategies focused on engendering the Public Finance Management reform, to promote more inclusive and transparent governance, accountable to the needs and interests of women and men, including the most vulnerable groups. The project supports the longstanding vision of strong national gender machinery, which uses its full potential and has taken the lead in ensuring policies and laws fully embed gender equality principles and gender is mainstreamed in sectoral programmes of state institutions and line ministries. 

At local level, the project interventions are focused on policies and budgets to improve the life of women and men from the most vulnerable groups, particularly by upscaling proven approaches and good practices identified in previous GRB interventions. Additionally, the project is further promoting the use of GRB as a tool to enable local governments to recognize the value and potential for local development and inclusive growth by investing in gender-responsive social services, specifically social protection and care services. The project applies a human-centered approach by finding solutions based on the needs identified by beneficiaries themselves, who act as agents of change.

CSO networking and advocacy efforts are supported to enable structured and continued oversight and analysis of budgetary allocation and spending from a gender perspective, as well as to generate missing watch dog evidence and expert policy recommendations. The interventions are backed-up with capacity building efforts for providers and users of gender data, statistics and its usage for evidence-based policy analyses and interventions.

Overall objective of the project is to improve women’s lives and support the inclusion of the most vulnerable groups through systematic and sustainable integration of gender perspective at all stages of national and local policy-making and budgeting processes.

The project is focused on the following outcomes:

Outcome 1.  The Government’s public finance management and the strategic planning processes are improved to respond to the different needs of women and men as a result of effective application of gender responsive budgeting 

Outcome 2. Civil society organizations, women, including the most vulnerable actively participate in planning and decision-making mechanisms, and their priorities are fully reflected in public policies and budgets. 

Under the Outcome 1, new Organic Budget Law was adopted by the Government of North Macedonia (pending Parliamentary review and adoption) which for the first time includes gender equality among its key budgetary principles, while GRB provisions are incorporated in articles related to the financial plans/requests of the budget users. The new law is expected to improve accountability among budget users in terms of gender equality and to facilitate the process of mainstreaming gender into relevant secondary legislation and strategic and other operational documents linked to public finance management.

Important progress was made towards advancing GRB in the national strategic planning and policy making processes: new National Strategy for Gender Equality (2021-2026) was adopted by the Government which includes gender responsive budgeting among the key strategic objectives; the Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (2021 – 2027) and the Strategy for Regional Development of the Republic of North Macedonia (2021 – 2031) for the first time include gender specific objectives and indicators.

The establishment of the first resource Center of gender responsive policy making and budgeting was initiated under direct leadership of the Department for Equal Opportunities (DEO) at the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP), to serve as a knowledge hub for continued capacity development of public administration.

In addition, under the leadership of the DEO, line ministries were exposed to continuous capacity strengthening and expert support on gender mainstreaming in sectoral policies and strategic planning by using GRB as a tool.  With expert and mentoring support under the project, 14 institutions and 3 state agencies implemented the government methodology on GRB ensuring that gender specific budget allocations are made under selected sectoral programmes.

Through UN Women mentorship and capacity building support, local officials from 31 municipalities improved their capacities on mainstreaming gender in sectoral programmes and application of GRB tools in local planning and budgeting to respond to the needs of women and the most vulnerable, including the newly emerged Covid-19 related needs.

Furthermore, the project supported the Members of Parliament (MPs) to take initiatives to monitor and advocate for gender responsive policies and budgets. Members of Parliament were exposed to learning and capacity strengthening on gender responsive legislation and oversight of the national budget to better address the needs of women and men while the Parliamentary Institute received capacity building support on application of gender perspective in analytical and research papers for the MPs.

Under the Outcome 2, support was provided to civil society organizations to effectively carry outreach and awareness raising activities to increase active women’s participation in public life and decision making. As a result of the advocacy efforts of grassroot CSOs supported within the project, needs and priorities of women and the most vulnerable have been closely considered in local programmes and budgets in 16 municipalities.

In addition, support was extended to project partner`s initiatives for promoting gender mainstreaming in local governance and local service delivery, exchange of proven approaches and practices nationally and regionally, as well as expanding the availability of e-learning and online resource sharing on GRB.  Through the Association of the local-self-government units in North Macedonia (ZELS), knowledge and skills on GRB were expanded among local policy makers and practitioners across the country while the Network of Associations of Local Authorities in SEE (NALAS) has advanced its e-learning course on Gender mainstreaming at local level by making it available for local governments in SEE.

Finally, number of policy and budget assessments were supported under the project, including in the context of COVID-19 and its impact on lives of women and men, at both central and local level.

2.2        Project beneficiaries and stakeholders

The target groups of the project include state institutions relevant for central and municipal budgeting processes, as well CSOs as important actors in empowering women and seeking accountability to gender equality: 

(Outcome 1) Budget and finance unit in the Ministry of Finance as lead actors in the public finance management and the driver of the reforms towards programme and performance budgeting.  

Finance units of central and local level budget users leading the process of budget preparation in line with the budget instructions, with the aim to equip them with the tools and skills for responding to the new programme budget requirements and capacities to formulate gender equality objectives and indicators for the budget programmes, sub-programmes and activities/projects and do better costing of the specific interventions.  

Civil servants in select line ministries and local self-government units as key actors in the design, implementation and evaluation of public policies given that they require further capacity development, mentoring in the integration of gender into public policy making and budgeting;

Gender Machinery in the country which includes the Department for Equal Opportunities at the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, line ministries’ coordinators for equal opportunities and municipal coordinators for equal opportunities, as key actors and main drivers in mainstreaming gender in policy and budgetary processes given they require increased capacities to assume their role of drivers of change on gender equality.

MPs and Local Councilors as key actors for overseeing the implementation of gender equality legislation and strategies given that they require further support to recognize gender relevant issues in legislations, public policy and budgets and raise these issues in relevant fora. 

(Outcome 2) CSOs as key actors in holding governments accountable to their commitments and advocating for women’s needs in setting public policy goals given that they require further support to effectively use GRB tools in performing needs-based analysis, budget monitoring and advocacy. 

Women and socially excluded groups have ultimate benefit from the project, through direct participation in policy planning and empowerment interventions, such as outreach and awareness raising and implementation of grant-schemes for women’s grassroot organizations, with focus on the most excluded.

2.3        Project budget, geographical scope and timeframe

The project duration is from October 2018 until September 2022. Total project budget is USD 3,672,109.29; SDC contribution: USD 1,998,602.04; SIDA: USD 1,281,067.68; UN Women contribution: USD 392,439.57.

The project activities are being implemented in the Republic of North Macedonia.

In parallel, the project is implemented in synergy with the Regional UN Women GRB programme and benefits from regional initiatives implemented under the regional project.

2.4        Project Management

Operational Management

The Programme Presence Office team is providing overall technical, programme and operations management, oversight and quality assurance for project implementation and coordination and provision of administrative and operational support for the project. The project is managed through direct implementation of UN Women. The overall management responsibility and administration of the project l rests with the North Macedonia Programme Presence supported technically by the Regional Office of UN Women for Europe and Central Asia in Istanbul.

The management structure is composed of a national team of: One country Programme Analyst (full time), two project coordinators (full time), Operations Associate (full time), administrative assistant (full time) and communications officer (full time). The project is envisaged as part of UN Women regional interventions on GRB and is closely advised by a regional technical advisor.

The familiarity and extensive experience with government procedures and working methods will help the project team mitigating potential challenges and obstacles to GRB implementation. The GRB project team will be the key provider of technical expertise in the field.

The Project Advisory Board

The Project Advisory Board (PAB) is established to monitor the progress of project implementation. The PAB provides high level technical support to assure that the project maintains its relevance in conforming to identified needs and priorities and responds to new developments in the country. The PAB acts as the main quality assurance body providing strategic and policy guidance to support the achievement of project results. The board consists of selected experts in the area of gender mainstreaming and gender responsive budgeting, partners in the project, donor/s and other key stakeholders.

The project management structure ensures unremitted execution of the programme and the budget, close interactions among the team members and facilitates exchange of experience and learning. The structure allows team members to achieve open and effective communication and be able to achieve project results in close collaboration with project partners and stakeholders. 

UN Women implements the project in close collaboration with key stakeholders, including gender equality mechanisms on both central and local level, line ministries, local self-government units, CSOs, Association of the units of local self-government of the Republic of North Macedonia (ZELS), Network of Association of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS) and relevant state and academic institutions. UN Women signed cooperation agreements (Partner Agreements and MoUs) with the project stakeholders, which also act as responsible parties for the implementation of specific project components.

3. Evaluation Purpose and Use

3.1        Evaluation scope

The final evaluation of the project will be conducted during the final year of project implementation. The evaluation is scheduled between March 2022 and July 2022 (estimated 4 months).

The evaluation includes a data collection mission to Skopje and field visits/meetings in up to five selected local self-governments in North Macedonia. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation onsite data collection might need to be replaced by online data collection. This will be revisited and agreed with UN Women during the inception phase of the evaluation.

The evaluation shall cover all aspects of the project, and broadly allocate resources (time) in relation to the relative expenditure between the various project components.

3.2        Evaluation purpose

A final project evaluation will be conducted with a special focus on lessons learnt both from programmatic and coordination perspectives. The main purpose of this final evaluation is to assess the programmatic progress and performance of the above described interventions from the point of view of relevance, effectiveness, impact, organizational efficiency and sustainability. The evaluation will not be able to fully assess the project performance, as some activities are still ongoing; however, it will address the following questions with the results and evidence that is available to date.

The findings of the evaluation will contribute to effective programming, organizational learning and accountability. The findings of the evaluation will moreover be used to engage policy makers and other stakeholders at central  and local levels in evidence-based dialogues and to advocate for gender-responsive strategies to promote inclusive local and national economic development with a particular focus on rural women. The evaluation should also provide specific recommendations as to the priority areas that should be considered in next projects implemented by UN Women North Macedonia office, including interventions that require continued support, successful interventions for expansion, and recommendations on prioritizing interventions to maximize impact. 

The evaluation will follow a participatory approach that will include a twofold management structure were all key partners will be represented and additional consultation with key stakeholders, governmental representatives from relevant ministries and national institutions, with local government representatives, with civil society representatives and active women’s groups as well as key donor partners.

3.3        Evaluation objectives

The specific evaluation objectives include:

• Analyse the relevance and coherence of the project objectives, strategy and approach at the national and local levels for the Government support to comply with national and international gender equality commitments.
• Assess effectiveness of the project intervention on the target group across the two outcomes.
• Assess organizational efficiency and coordination mechanisms in progressing towards the achievement of the project results, including the achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment results as defined in the intervention.
• Assess the sustainability of the results and the intervention in advancing gender equality in the target group.
• Analyze how human rights-based approach and gender equality principles are integrated in the project implementation
• Asses how the intervention and its results relate and contribute to the Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals
• Identify and document lessons learned, good practices and innovations, success stories and challenges within the project, to inform future work of participating UN agencies in the frameworks of gender mainstreaming and good governance.
• Identify strategies for replication and up-scaling of the project’s best practices.

4. Evaluation Management Structure

Evaluation Management Group

An Evaluation Management Group (EMG) will be conformed and will be the main decision-making body for the evaluation and is composed of UN Women project team members, UN Women North Macedonia Head of Office, and UN Women ECA RO Evaluation Specialist who will provide quality assurance support throughout the evaluation process. The EMG will be responsible for the overall management of the evaluation and will oversee the day to day business of the evaluation and communication with the Evaluation Team. UN Women North Macedonia representative will be responsible for day-to-day management of the evaluation and the coordination for the field visits, including logistical support.

Evaluation Reference Group

An Evaluation Reference Group (ERG) will be established to ensure that the evaluation approach is relevant to stakeholders, and to make certain that factual errors or errors of omission or interpretation are identified in evaluation products. The reference group will provide input at key stages of the evaluation: inception report; draft and final reports. The ERG will be composed of Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Water Economy, State Audit Office, local self-government units supported by the project, women CSOs representative and experts in gender responsive budgeting. The ERG will be consulted on key aspects of the evaluation process. The group will be composed to ensure that all relevant stakeholders’ groups and perspectives are represented, including from CSOs.

Evaluation Approach, Methodology Criteria and Questions

The evaluation will assess progress and challenges for each of the two outcomes, with measurement of the specific results achievements and gaps and how and to what extent these have affected overall progress. It will consist of a desk review, in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, such as the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Water Economy, local self-governments units supported by the project, ZELS, NALAS, Academia and women`s CSOs and grassroot organizations involved in project implementation or addressing the needs and representing the interests of specific groups of women.

The evaluation will be a transparent and participatory process involving relevant stakeholders and partners in North Macedonia. The evaluation will follow gender equality and human rights principles, as defined in the UN Women Evaluation Policy[1] and adhere to the United Nations norms and standards for evaluation in the United Nations system[2]. The evaluation methodology will employ mixed methods. A more detailed evaluation methodology will be proposed and agreed with the evaluation team and will be presented in the evaluation inception report.

The evaluation is a final project evaluation and both a summative approach focusing on capturing the lessons learned during the implementation and assessing the achievement of the results at output and outcome levels, as well as a formative, forward-looking approach assessing the applicability of the results will be employed. The evaluation methodology will furthermore follow a ToC approach and employ mixed methods including quantitative and qualitative data collection methods and analytical approaches to account for complexity of gender relations and to ensure participatory and inclusive processes that are culturally appropriate. Methods may include but are not limited to:

• Desk review of relevant documents such as project documents, progress reports, financial records, meeting minutes and monitoring reports, and secondary data or studies relating to the country context and situation analysis.
• Online consultations and discussions with the senior management and project management staff.
• Semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, surveys with direct and indirect beneficiaries, implementing partners, donor and other stakeholders.
• Field visits to and observation at selected project sites.

Data from different research sources will be triangulated to increase its validity. The proposed approach and methodology has to be considered as flexible guidelines rather than final requirements, and the evaluators will have an opportunity to make their inputs and propose changes in the evaluation design. The methodology and approach should, however, incorporate human rights and gender equality perspectives. It is expected that the Evaluation Team will further refine the approach and methodology and submit a detailed description in the inception report.

The evaluation will include Relevance, Coherence, Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Sustainability and Impact criteria. More specifically, the evaluation will address the following evaluation questions that will be further refined once the evaluation team is recruited[3]:

• To what extent was the design of the intervention and its results relevant to the needs and priorities of the beneficiaries? Was the choice of interventions relevant to the situation of the target group?
• To what extent is the intervention consistent with the key national policy and strategic documents in the area of gender equality and women’s empowerment, and reflect national/subnational priorities and commitments on GRB?
• To what extent key stakeholders were involved in programme’s conceptualization and design process?
• To what extent has gender and human rights principles and strategies been integrated into the project design and implementation?
• To what extent is the intervention aligned with international agreements and conventions on gender equality and women’s empowerment?
• To what extent was the design of the intervention relevant to gender equality priorities in the country? Does the project address the needs and priorities of women in Republic of North Macedonia?
• To what extent project contributed to advancing the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 2030 Agenda?

Coherence

 Internal coherence

• To what extent does the project fit within UN Women’s Strategic Plan and interrelated three-fold mandate and UN Women’s work in North Macedonia?
• Are there any synergies and inter-linkages between the project and other interventions of UN Women in North Macedonia and the Western Balkan Region?

External coherence

• To what extent is the intervention consistent with the national development strategies in the area of gender equality, gender mainstreaming and women’s empowerment, and reflect national priorities and commitments on GE?
• How does project reflect and align with national strategic plans and normative frameworks and North Macedonia`s international obligations and commitments in the field of women’s rights and gender equality?
• To what extent the project is in complementarity, harmonized and coordinated with the interventions of other actors’ interventions in the same context?
• To what extent the implementation of the project ensures synergies and coordination with Government’s and key partners relevant efforts while avoiding duplications? 
• What is UN Women’s comparative advantage in North Macedonia to implement this project?
• To what extent is the project aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework in North Macedonia?

Effectiveness:

• To what extent have the expected results of the project been achieved on both outcome and output levels?
• What are the reasons for the achievement or non-achievement of the project results? Has the project achieved any unforeseen results, either positive or negative? For whom? What are the good practices and the obstacles or shortcomings encountered? How were they overcome?
• How effective have the selected programme strategies and approaches been in achieving programme results?
• How well did the intervention succeed in involving and building the capacities of rights-holders, duty-bearers, as well as the project partners?
• To what extent are the programme approaches and strategies innovative for implementation of GRB in North Macedonia? What -if any- types of innovative good practices have been introduced in the programme for the achievement of the results?
• Is there a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities by all parties involved?

Efficiency:

• Have resources (financial, human, technical support, etc.) been allocated strategically to achieve the project outcomes?
• Has there been effective leadership and management of the project including the structuring of management and administration roles to maximize results? Where does accountability lie?
• Have the outputs been delivered in a timely manner?
• To what extent are the project monitoring mechanisms in place effective for measuring and informing management of project performance and progress towards targets? To what extent was the monitoring data objectively used for management action and decision making?
• Were there any constraints (e.g. political, practical, bureaucratic) identified in the implementation of the different actions and what level of effort was made to overcome these challenges?
• What is the likelihood that the benefits from the project will be maintained for a reasonably long period of time after the project phase out? 
• To what extent the intervention succeeded in building individual and institutional capacities of rights-holders and duty-bearers to ensure sustainability of benefits and more inclusive practices to local development and good governance?
• How effectively has the project generated national ownership of the results achieved, the establishment of partnerships with relevant stakeholders and the development of national capacities to ensure sustainability of efforts and benefits?
• What steps were taken to develop and/or reinforce the operating capacities of national partners during the implementation of the programme?
• To what extent has the project been able to promote replication and/or up-scaling of successful practices?
• To what extent has the exit strategy been well planned and successfully implemented?
• How effectively has project contributed to the establishment of effective partnerships and development of national capacities?

Gender Equality and Human Rights

• How did the broader human rights context within the country has informed the design and implementation of the project?
• To what extent participation and inclusiveness (with respect to rights holders and duty bearers) was maximized in the project’s planning, design, implementation and decision?
• To what extend disability inclusion was integrated in project planning and implementation?
• To what extent HRBA and gender transformative approaches have incorporated into the design, monitoring and reporting of the project?

The above questions are expected to be revised and refined by the evaluation team during the inception phase of the evaluation It is also expected that the evaluation team will develop an evaluation matrix, which will relate to the evaluation  questions , the areas they refer to, the criteria for evaluating them, the indicators and the means for verification as a tool for the evaluation. Final evaluation matrix will be approved in the evaluation inception report.

6. Evaluation Process, duties and responsibilities of the Evaluation Team

6.1        Evaluation process

The evaluation process is divided in five phases:

1. Preparation, mainly devoted to structuring the evaluation approach, preparing the TOR, compiling programme documentation, and hiring the evaluation company;
2. Inception, which will involve consultations between t

Duties and Responsibilities

Expected deliverables

The evaluation team is expected to deliver:

• An inception report: The evaluation team will present a refined scope, a detailed outline of the evaluation design and methodology, evaluation questions, and criteria for the approach for in-depth desk review and field work to be conducted in the data collection phase. The report will include an evaluation matrix and detailed work plan.  A first draft report will be shared with the evaluation management group and, based upon the comments received the evaluation team will revise the draft.  The revised draft will be shared with the evaluation reference group for feedback. The evaluation team will maintain an audit trail of the comments received and provide a response on how the comments were addressed in the final inception report. 
• Presentation of preliminary findings: A PowerPoint presentation detailing the emerging findings of the evaluation will be shared with the evaluation management group for feedback. The revised presentation will be delivered to the reference group for comment and validation. The evaluation team will incorporate the feedback received into the draft report.
• A draft evaluation report: A first draft report will be shared with the evaluation management group for initial feedback. The second draft report will incorporate evaluation management group feedback and will be shared with the evaluation reference group for identification of factual errors, errors of omission and/or misinterpretation of information. The third draft report will incorporate this feedback and then be shared with the reference group for final validation. The evaluation team will maintain an audit trail of the comments received and provide a response on how the comments were addressed in the revised drafts.
• The final evaluation report: The final report will include a concise Executive Summary and annexes detailing the methodological approach and any analytical products developed during the course of the evaluation. The structure of the report will be defined in the inception report.
• Evaluation communication products: Online presentation of the preliminary findings (date TBD), a PowerPoint/Prezi presentation of the final key evaluation findings and recommendations, and a 2-pager/infographics on the final key findings, lessons learned and recommendations in a format preferably adjustable for individual project sites both in English and Macedonian.

Payment will be issued in two instalments upon the satisfactory submission of the deliverables cleared by the evaluation task manager to certify that the services have been satisfactorily performed:

40% upon approval of evaluation inception report

60% upon the validation of the final evaluation report and communication products.

8.2        Evaluation time frame

The project evaluation will be conducted between March 2022 and July 2022.The preliminary calendar for the process is detailed in the table below.

[1] Due to the Covid19 pandemic situation onsite data collection might need to be replaced by online data collection. This will be revisited and agreed with UN Women during the inception phase of the evaluation.

Competencies

Core Values:

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 expert 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

Competencies:

• Sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age
• Strong analytical, writing and reporting abilities
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, ability to lead a team and negotiate amongst a wide range of stakeholders
• Commitment to quality products and deadlines

Required Skills and Experience

• At least a Master’s degree in economics, social sciences, international relations, gender studies or a related area. A Bachelor’s degree may be accepted with +2 years’ experience.
• At least 7 years international experience in conducting evaluations of strategies, policies and/or development programmes and projects;
• Proven experience of designing and leading or participating in gender-responsive and human rights-based evaluations utilizing participatory approaches and methodologies;
• Experience in gender equality and women’s empowerment, gender mainstreaming, gender analysis

Language:

• Proficiency in written and spoken English language;
• Knowledge of Macedonian language will be considered an asset.

Application procedure:

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application:

• Cover letter to include a brief overview in English (unedited text) about which of your previous experiences makes you the most suitable candidate for the advertised position.
• P11 with past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted.
• Financial Proposal specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (daily rate and number of anticipated working days and other possible costs, travel cost excluded). Possible field visits will be arranged and covered by UN Women in accordance with the Covid 19 travel restrictions.

Evaluation of applicants:

Consultants will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of qualifications and financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

1. Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
2. Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.

Financial Evaluation (30%) – max. 30 points:

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion. A suggested formula is as follows:

p = 30 (µ/z)

Using the following values:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Evaluation TOR Annexes

1. UNEG Code of Conduct for Evaluations [1]
2. UNEG Ethical Guidelines[2]
3. UNEG Norms for Evaluation in the UN System[3]
4. UNEG Standards for Evaluation in the UN System[4]
5. UNEG Guidance Integrating Human Rights and Gender in the UN System[5]
6. UN Women Evaluation Handbook[6]
7.  National Strategy on Gender Equality 2013-2020, and National Action Plan on Gender equality (2018-2020)[7]
8. Law on Equal Opportunities of Women and Men[8]
9. How to Manage Gender Responsive Evaluation. Evaluation Handbook[9]
10. Final Evaluation of the programme “Promoting Gender Responsive Policies in South East Europe” in Albania, Bosnia and Hercegovina, FYR Macedonia and the Republic of Moldova[10]

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.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

[1]  http://www.unevaluation.org/document/detail/100

[2] http://www.unevaluation.org/document/detail/102

[3] http://www.uneval.org/document/detail/21

[4] http://www.uneval.org/document/detail/22

[5] http://www.uneval.org/document/detail/1616

[6] http://genderevaluation.unwomen.org/en/evaluation-handbook

[7] https://www.mtsp.gov.mk/dokumenti.nspx

[8]https://www.legislationline.org/download/id/9677/file/NMAC_on%20Equal%20Opportunities%20of%20Women%20and%20Men.pdf

[9] www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2015/4/un-women-evaluation-handbook-how-to-manage-gender-responsive-evaluation

[10] https://gate.unwomen.org/Evaluation/Details?evaluationId=11388.