International Consultant to support the UNCT-Tajikistan Gender Capacity Needs Assessment and develop UNCT Gender Capacity Development Plan

Background

At the 59th Session of the UN General Assembly, Member States, in adopting the Triennial Comprehensive Policy Review (TCPR) of Operational Activities for Development of the UN System called on all UN organizations to: “mainstream gender and to pursue gender equality in their country programmes, planning instruments and sector-wide programmes and to articulate specific country-level goals and targets in this field in accordance with the national development strategies”.

In 2021-2022, the UN Country Team (UNCT) in Tajikistan put significant efforts to ensure the Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (GEEW), as a fundamental human right, which is vital to a fully inclusive, equitable and sustainable development. The key UNCT documents, Common Country Analysis (CCA) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) paper (signed in June 2022), applying the principle of leaving no one behind (LNOB) and reaching the furthest behind first, prioritized human beings’ dignity and placed the most marginalized first – women and girls being too often on the top of the LNOB list.

The UNCT-Tajikistan has made an explicit focus on the above integration throughout the CCA/UNSDCF process, aiming at putting the GEEW at the heart of programming and consistently promoting the meaningful participation of men and women and the empowerment of women and girls.

 Currently, the United Nations Country Team in Tajikistan, led by the Resident Coordinator, is comprised of 19 UN entities. The UNSDCF 2023-2026 has been developed in close cooperation with the Government of Tajikistan, civil society and other key actors in order to respond to national needs and priorities.  There are three strategic priorities for cooperation and four expected outcomes.

Strategic Priorities
Strategic Priority I. Inclusive human development	Outcome 1. Inclusive human development By 2026, health, food security and nutrition, education and social protection systems and services are more effective, inclusive, gender-sensitive, and adequately financed
Strategic Priority II. Shared, resilient prosperity and sustainable, climate-responsive development	Outcome 2. Sustainable, inclusive, and green economic growth By 2026 public institutions and the private sector collaborate to implement innovative and gender-responsive policy frameworks and actions to green the economy and strengthen inclusion of vulnerable groups Outcome 3. Integrated management of climate and environmental risk By 2026, natural resources management is inclusive and sustainable with integrated policy frameworks and actions to enhance climate-change adaptation and livelihoods of vulnerable groups
Strategic Priority III. People-centered governance and rule of law	Outcome 4.  People-centred governance and rule of law By 2026, governance is more inclusive, transparent and accountable, serving to protect human rights, empower women, and reduce violence and discrimination in alignment with the international commitments of Tajikistan

Additionally, following the LNOB and GEEW commitments, the UNCT conducted the Comprehensive UNCT-SWAP Gender Scorecard and developed the Gender SWAP Action Plan in 2021. The UNCT-Tajikistan SWAP Gender Equality Comprehensive assessment 2021 provided a comprehensive assessment of how GEEW mainstreamed by UNCT in joint processes, practices, policies, and programmes, and what the UN system as a whole is contributing to GEEW in the country. It included the evaluation and scoring against 15 indicators across 7-dimension areas, as follows: 

1. Planning; 

2. Programming and monitoring and evaluation; 

3. Partnerships; 

4. Leadership and organizational culture; 

5. Gender architecture and capacities; 

6. Resources; 

7. Results. 

The further implementation of the ambitious GEEW agenda by UNCT in the frame of the new UNSDCF requires a thorough new inter-agency capacity needs assessment and development of the Action Plan to address UNCT capacity gaps at all levels.

With this purpose, UN?T, through UN Resident Coordinator Office (RCO) and Gender Theme Group (GTG), seeks to hire an international consultant with extensive experience in conducting inter-agency capacity needs assessment and development of the Action Plan in line

with the existing guidelines https://trainingcentre.unwomen.org/RESOURCES_LIBRARY/Resources_Centre/2_Manual_Gender_Equality_Capacity_EN.pdf   

The main objective of this consultancy is to assist the UNCT Tajikistan through inter-agency capacity needs assessment and development of the Action Plan to address capacity gaps at all levels and to ensure the effectiveness of the UN Country Team in Tajikistan in gender mainstreaming, promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the upcoming UNSDCF cycle (2023-2026).

The UN RCO and the UN Women/GTG will lead this process.

Goal and objectives of the consultancy:

The primary objectives of the review are to assess current UNCT capacities on GEEW, achievements in mainstreaming GEEW in the work of UNCT and individual agencies in areas covering advocacy, programming and operations, and to what extent gender is mainstreamed in UNCT joint working, reflected in UNSDCF Outcomes and Results Framework and Theme groups (UN Communication Group (UNCG), PMT, UNDAF Coordination and M&E group, GTG, Operations Management Team (OMT), PSEA, HIV, Youth, etc.).

In addition, it is expected that the UNCT-Tajikistan Gender Capacity Needs Assessment will identify gaps and challengesfor improvement and examples of good practice as well as highlight clear recommendations for addressing gaps and suggestions for new and more effective approaches to strengthen GEEW for organizational and programming effectiveness in the upcoming UNSDCF cycle and provide actionable, evidence based recommendations and lessons learned to inform and produce the UNCT Gender Capacity Development Plan.

Duties and Responsibilities

The UNCT-Tajikistan Gender Capacity Needs Assessment and UNCT Gender Capacity Development Plan shall analyze and highlight how programmatic and institutional results are delivered against the stated GEEW intent, outcomes and results of the UNCT.

Under the overall guidance of the UN Resident Coordinator and direct supervision and technical leadership of the UN Women Country Manager in Tajikistan, in collaboration with the UN GTG, the consultant will conduct the following activities within the stipulated timeframe:

1. Background document review: the degree of substantive mainstreaming of gender cross-cutting issues in UNCT performance (home-based, 2 working days):

• UNCT UN-SWAP Scorecard Report and Action Plan 2021
• Joint Work Plans for the previous UNDAF cycle
• UNDAF/UN Annual Result Reports
• Country Programme Documents and other strategic multi-year papers by agencies
• UNSDCF 2023-2026 approved document
• Terms of Reference and Annual Work Plans: UNCT Joint Groups
• UNCT planning, budgets and programming documents

2. UNCT-Tajikistan Gender Capacity Needs Assessment: (home-based, 10 working days)

• Through on-line surveys, interviews, meetings, collect from key stakeholders any complementary data and evidence on gender issues and dimensions in UNCT. For the purpose of the assessment at least one person per area of performance should be interviewed and a survey for a group conducted to discuss and assess capacities, performance, and needed actions.

Key stakeholders include, but not limited to: the Resident Coordinator; Heads of Agencies; RCO staff; chairs and co-chairs of the UNDAF Results Group and UNCT Working Groups, members of the UN Theme Groups. The Consultant may conduct more than one interview per area of performance, if deem necessary.

	Area of Performance	Key informant (s)
	Communications and Advocacy	Chair of the UNCT Communication Group, agency communication focal points
	Coordination	Chair and members of the UNDAF Result Groups and UNCT Working Groups
	Finance & Budget	Chair and members of the PMT, Result Groups, including UNDAF Coordination and M&E group
	Procurement & Operations, including human resources/staff and non-staff recruitment	Chair and members of the OMT
	Programme management & Implementation	PMT, RCO, UNDAF Coordination and M&E group, Disability Inclusion Focal points on GEEW and human rights
	Monitoring & Evaluation and Reporting	Chair and members of the Result Groups, Chair of UNDAF Coordination and M&E group
	Partnerships & Resource Mobilization	RCO, PMT, HoAs
	Representation & Management	RC, UNCT,

• Finalizing the UNCT-Tajikistan Gender Capacity Needs Assessment and developing the UNCT Gender Capacity Development Plan (3 working days): facilitate a debrief with the RCO, GTG, and UNCT to discuss findings, outcomes, observations, conclusions and recommendations of the assessment and develop the UNCT Gender Capacity Development Plan accordingly. Make a final presentation to the UNCT.

Expected deliverables

The consultant will work under the overall guidance of the UN Resident Coordinator and direct supervision and technical leadership of the UN Women Country Manager in Tajikistan

Tasks	Deliverables	Proposed delivery by date	# of w/days
Review background documents and adapt existing assessment methodology	Submit the methodology report	Period of implementation and due date to be adjusted due to delay with recruitment… 12 – 14 Sep 2022	2
Conduct the UNCT-Tajikistan Gender Capacity Needs Assessment, interviews and produce a draft report	Submit the draft report for the review of the RCO and UN GTG	15 September – 26 September 2022	10
Based on the provided feedback, finalize the UNCT-Tajikistan Gender Capacity Needs Assessment and produce the UNCT Gender Capacity Development Plan reviewed and approved by UNCT	Final action plan and presentation to UNCT	29 September – 10 October 2022	3
Total working days	Maximum 15 working days

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:  https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

• Possesses the ability to work independently, under pressure and meet deadlines;
• Good knowledge of technical area;
• Good organizational skills and ability to pay close attention to detail;
• Analytical and research skills
• Experience in report writing.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced (Masters) degree in social and political sciences, human rights, gender equality etc. PhD degree is an asset.

Working Experience:

• At least 10 years of practical experience of work on gender mainstreaming in development programmes/projects at national and international levels.
• At least 3 years’ experience of work on results-based management, review and/or evaluation.

• Experience in gender data collection and analysis, including interviews, survey and focus groups, including in conducting gender scorecard.
• Experience on conducting gender trainings for staff of development agencies.
• Previous experience with the Gender Equality Scorecard, narrative report, and follow-up matrix (desirable)

Language:

• Proficient in written and oral English, working level of Russian is an asset.

ICT requirements:

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

Application Process 

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• Brief explanation/cover letter (300 words) why the consultant is the most suitable for the job, including reference to previous experience in gender mainstreaming work (including carrying out gender needs assessment, evaluation, capacity assessment) and in results based management;
• Proposed timing and confirmation of availability to conduct the assessment (included in cover letter);
• Personal History Form (P-11 form) - including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment  a signed [scanned] copy should be submitted;
• Financial Proposal:  The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). The Financial proposal must indicate the Professional fee only, which is required for execution of tasks.

Payment Schedule

Payment for the services provided will be made as a lump sum upon achievement of expected results and approval of the deliverable and acceptance of services by the UN Women (PERF) that the services have been satisfactorily performed.