By continuing to browse this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Read our privacy policy

National consultant to support the IT Girls Mentorship Program Implementation

Pristina

  • Organization: UNWOMEN - United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
  • Location: Pristina
  • Grade: Consultancy - National Consultant - Locally recruited Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Information Technology and Computer Science
    • Children's rights (health and protection)
    • Project and Programme Management
  • Closing Date: Closed

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; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

 

Since 2015, UNDP, UNICEF, and UN Women have been supporting IT Girls - a joint UN initiative that aims to bridge the digital gender gap and promotes equal opportunities for women and men in education and career in the information and communication technologies (ICT). Through the promotion of gender equality and equality of opportunities, adolescent girls aged 13-18 have benefited from advanced and targeted interventions aimed at acquiring digital skills and increasing their knowledge about the importance of their greater participation in the field of ICT. Young female ICT professionals have been included as role models for younger generations, and as part of ongoing awareness raising and advocacy towards increasing opportunities for girls and women in ICT.

 

IT Girls aims to constantly build a wide network of girls and women who are interested in ICT and STEM aspiring to learn from each other and share their experiences, challenges and lessons learnt through networking and mentoring modalities. Mentorship is one of the most widespread initiatives worldwide to support females' development throughout their life course in the digital sector. Mentoring initiatives help mitigate the effects of the women's confidence gap and their tendency to have weaker networks in the professional sphere. Mentors also often act as role models who help dispel the ambition gap and overcome barriers such as stereotypes associated with certain professions. IT Girls views mentorship as an opportunity for technical skills development, support to personal branding, and leadership skills development for young women looking to study or are already studying ICT related programs, as well as junior and senior professionals in the industry.

 

During two cycles of our Mentorship Programme, 112 women and girls were reached through many different activities, including workshops, meetups, and work in mentoring pairs, improving their knowledge on digital marketing, programming languages, artificial intelligence, cyber security and data protection, robotics, public speaking, communication and presentation skills, career development, time management, CV, and motivation letter writing, etc. The IT Girls vision for the mentorship program in the IT sector in BiH is for women and girls in IT in BiH to have a safe space and community for networking, support, training, knowledge sharing, skills, and ideas which they belong to throughout all the various stages of their life, education, and career. The two cycles of the mentorship program included a total of 36 mentorship pairs coming from 20 different BiH communities.

 

During the third mentorship cycle, IT Girls plans to continue nurturing the atmosphere of creating the safe space for women and girls in IT, including women coming from marginalized groups of population, focusing on women with disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to increase employment opportunities and demonstrate that the online world is for all young women and girls and has the ability to overcome all the barriers.

 

The reason behind this decision is that in the FBiH, records on employed persons with disabilities are kept by the employment service based on the person's residency. However, the Fund lacks information on the number of PwD working in the open labor market. The Republika Srpska Fund is required by law to keep records on employed PwD in the RS. However, this Fund has only information on the number of employees in the real sector because it is responsible for the payment of financial incentives and refunds of contributions paid to employers. The Fund of the Federation of BiH does not have data on the number of employed PwD, while according to the Fund of Republika Srpska, the number of employed PwD in the real sector was 1,190 people in 2020 (Institution of the Human Rights Ombudsman of BiH, 2021). When it comes to the number of employees with disabilities through the incentive programs, in the FBiH, in the period 2018-2020, a total of 1,910 persons were employed,and in the RS, 92 persons (Institution of the Human Rights Ombudsman of BiH, 2021). Hence, it is possible to conclude that the issue of employment of PwD is largely regulated in FBiH and RS. However, when it comes to employment possibility, inclusion to society and social protection, the system is decentralized, non-integrated and mostly unregulated.

 

In order to do so, UN Women in BiH is seeking to engage a national consultant who would lead the process of implementation of the third cycle of the IT Girls Mentorship Program. In order to increase accessibility and inclusivity of IT Girls programs and actions, this cycle of mentoring will focus on young women, including women coming from marginalized groups of population, focusing on women with disabilities.

 

The overall objectives of IT Girls mentorship program are to get more girls and women interested in ICT, entrepreneurship, and business leadership, to improve visibility of female professionals in local IT companies, to further expand the companies’ female talent pools, and to get more companies interested in developing and running mentorship programmes. Besides, mentoring initiatives help mitigate the effects of women's confidence gap and their tendency to have weaker networks in the professional sphere. Mentors also often act as role models who help to dispel the ambition gap and overcome barriers. The results and lessons learnt from this process will further inform strategic areas of intervention for IT Girls initiative and three implementing UN agencies (UNDP, UNICEF, and UN Women) as well as UN Women’s programming.

 

Building on the existing resources and lessons learnt, implementing a third cycle of the mentorship program with all its components, including defining purpose, outcomes, open call for applications, profiles of mentors and mentees, matching methodology, working method, and impact evaluation system and accompanying tools. The program should reflect IT Girls' vision and goals when it comes to empowering girls and women in ICT.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the IT Girls Project Associate and overall supervision of the UN Women WEE Programme Coordinator, the National Consultant will be responsible for the following:

Set up and facilitate the mentorship program cycle with up to 20 mentor/mentee pairs

  • Liaise with relevant experts on disability and inclusion to target and engage at least 30% of women from marginalized groups including women with disabilities.
  • Formulate a call for mentors and a call for mentees against previously defined profiles and criteria.
  • Support and facilitate capacity building of chosen mentors in the area of disability and inclusion and sensitivity to the needs of marginalized groups of women.
  • Support the team in selection and matching of mentors and mentees based on the previously designed methodology.
  • Facilitate and monitor the mentorship process by organizing check-in sessions with mentor and mentee to track progress and help overcome challenges.
  • Provide mentorship pairs with resources depending on the objectives of the mentorship process.
  • Capture metrics and feedback throughout the program cycle including short interviews (at least six) with mentors and mentees, and five successful stories.

Review and take stock of the mentorship program third cycle 

  • Review the success of the third cycle based on the previously defined impact evaluation framework and metrics and report to UN Women.
  • Capture specific lessons learnt in the area of inclusivity and accessibility of the mentorship cycle.

The following products and deliverables are expected to be completed by the National Consultant according to an agreed schedule:

Key Deliverables

Estimated days

Tentative deadlines

Deliverable 1.

Initial meeting conducted with UN Women and submitted work plan; Matching mentorship matrix and report on the applicants’ number, mentorship pairs, etc. submitted and approved by UN Women Matching mentorship matrix and report on the applicants’ number, mentorship pairs, etc. submitted and approved by UN Women

7

22 September 2022

Deliverable 2.

One (1) workshop designed and implemented for chosen mentors in the area of disability and inclusion; One (1) workshop with mentorship pairs facilitated and implemented; meeting minutes from the two workshops developed, submitted, and approved by UN Women

9

    3 October 2022

Deliverable 3

Drafted and submitted mid-evaluation report on the third cycle of the Mentorship Program based on already designed metrics; Final report, evaluation, transcripts of at least six interviews, and five successful stories submitted and approved by UN Women

10

16 December 2022

TOTAL

26

 

 

All deliverables should be submitted to the IT Girls Project Officer and UN Women WEE Programme Coordinator. Final report on the consultancy should be delivered by 15 December 2022 in English and should not exceed 10 pages. 

  • Workplan for the entire consultancy
  • Call for participation designed for mentors and mentees
  • Metrics and feedback including at least six interviews and five successful stories
  • Final report to UN Women and mentorship program participants with recommendations on the results of the program and next steps.

Competencies

Core Values:

  • Respect for Diversity;
  • Integrity;
  • Professionalism.

Core Competencies:

  • Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues and women’s rights, rights of PWDs
  • Accountability
  • 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: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

 

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning

  • Shares knowledge and experience
  • Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside UN Women
  • Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills
  • Development and Operational Effectiveness
  • Demonstrates excellent written and oral communication skills. Communicates sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies
  • Demonstrates very good understanding of and experience in communications and outreach/advocacy
  • Ability to perform a variety of standard specialized and non-specialized tasks and work processes that are fully documented, researched, recorded and reported
  • Ability to review a variety of data, identify and adjust discrepancies, identify and resolve operational problems
  • Uses Information Technology effectively as a tool and resource

Leadership and Self-Management

  •     Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback
  •     Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
  •     Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure
  •     Proven networking skills and ability to generate interest in UN Women’s mandate
  •     Identifies opportunities and builds strong partnerships with clients and partners

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

  • BA degree in psychology, education, social science, ICT, education, management, or related fields. Master’s degree in social sciences will be considered an asset.

Skills and Experience:

  • At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in the field of management, education, and/or lifelong learning;
  • Experience in designing and/or implementing mentorship programmes
  • Experience in providing/implementing trainings for persons with disabilities (PWD) (at least two trainings developed/implemented);
  • Experience in barriers women experience in the labour market

Language requirements:

  • Fluency in written English and oral and written Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian are required;

Other skills:

  • Good computer skills in Windows environment, knowledge of internet communication and command of MS Office applications (Word, Excel, Power Point), Zoom and MS Teams

Evaluation 

UN Women applies a fair and transparent selection process that takes into account both the technical qualification of potential consultants as well as the financial proposals submitted in support of consultant applications. Candidate applications will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of applicant experience, qualifications and a financial proposal. The contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

  • responsive/compliant/acceptable,
  • and having received the highest score out of technical and financial criteria defined below.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 50 points in the technical evaluation will be considered for an interview. Top 3 candidates (with highest number of points in the technical evaluation) will be interviewed. The final technical evaluation score of the top 3 candidates will be determined after the interview.

Criteria:

Technical Evaluation – documents based (70%) – 70 points

  • BA degree in psychology, education, social science, ICT, education, management, or related field is a requirement, Master’s degree social sciences will be considered an asset.
  • At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in the field of management, human resources, education, and/or lifelong learning; (20 points)
  • Experience in designing and/or implementing mentorship programmes.(20 points)
  • Experience in providing/implementing trainings for persons with disabilities (PWD) (at least two trainings developed/implemented); 20 points)
  • Experience in barriers women experience in the labour market (10 points)
  • Fluency in written and oral English and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian are required.

Financial Evaluation - based on submitted offer (30%)

Evaluation of submitted financial offers will be done based on the following formula: S = Fmin / F * 30

S - score received on financial evaluation;

Fmin - the lowest financial offer out of all the submitted offers qualified over the technical evaluation round;

F - financial offer under the consideration.

 

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents:

  1. Expression of interest
  2. Detailed financial proposal inclusive of all costs (which includes consultancy fees, travel if applicable, accommodation)
  3. Completed UN Women Personal History (P11) form, that can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment

For any additional information, please contact unwomen.bih@unwomen.org.

 

How to Submit the Application: To submit your application online, please follow the steps below:

  • Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11)- http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment
  • Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), the Financial Proposal, and Expression of Interest into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded;
  • Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement);
  • Click 'Apply Now' button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click 'Submit Application;'
  • Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above);
  • You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

Qualified women and men and members of minorities are encouraged to apply. UN Women applies fair and transparent selection process that would take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals.

 

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.)

 

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

This vacancy is now closed.
However, we have found similar vacancies for you: