National Consultant for communication and advocacy actions for women’s rights

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.  Placing women's rights at the center of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action globally. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

The Republic of Serbia is a signatory to a number of important international treaties, which guarantee the equality of men and women and prohibit gender-based discrimination, most notably the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Istanbul Convention. National commitments on gender equality are in place, and despite the existing legal and policy framework, gender inequalities are prominent in Serbia and present in all spheres of life, in access to resources, in participation to decision-making processes and in interpersonal relations.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia established a Coordination Body for Gender Equality in 2014 through a Government Decision with a mandate to coordinate Government actions in the area of gender equality. The Coordination Body for Gender Equality considers all issues and coordinates and monitors the work of authorities related to gender equality, and submits its proposals, opinions and expert explanations to the Government. The Coordination Body for Gender Equality leads and monitors the implementation of the national policy on gender equality. The establishment of the national gender equality mechanism is important for the European integration process and key to accessing EU gender equality principles and grounding them into their public policy. The Coordination Body for Gender Equality, a national gender equality mechanism, is the key partner of UN Women in Serbia, under the signed Memorandum of Understanding, signed in February 2015.

UN Women Programme Office in Serbia is implementing a three-year Project “Support to Priority Actions for Gender Equality in Serbia”, funded by the European Commission within the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) II. The Project supports the Government of the Republic of Serbia in effective implementation of the EU Gender Equality Acquis and international and national obligations, and through support to women CSOs. UN Women Serbia will implement the Project, in close cooperation with the Coordination Body for Gender Equality, the Ministry of European Integration, the EU Delegation in Serbia and other partner institutions and women's organizations’. Furthermore, the project will advance the position of women and will support local communities in fulfilling their commitments on gender equality.

Objective

The objective of this assignment is to support the Coordination Body for Gender Equality report on the achievements, challenges, and gaps in the implementation of the gender equality in Serbia, and to support effective communication and advocacy actions for women’s rights. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities

Working under the overall supervision of the UN Women Programme Management Specialist/Head of Office, the consultant will be responsible for the following:

• To organize on-line and on-site consultations with national and local gender equality mechanisms and stakeholders in preparation of their inputs for the report on the implementation of the activities by the CBGE for 2022.
• To prepare the Report/Overviews on the implementation of activities by the Coordination Body for Gender Equality for 2022.
• To update database of Gender Focal point contacts from government institutions and Gender Equality Mechanisms from Local Level.
• Communicate with relevant government institutions (ministries, republic secretariats, etc.) in order to identify and collect information and develop up to date database of gender focal points based on the Gender Equality Law.
• Communicate with all local self-governments in Serbia in order to identify and collect information and develop up to date database of local gender equality mechanisms, based on the Gender Equality Law.
• Support development of the communication products on women's rights and gender equality, with the special focus on Law on Gender Equality, (such as briefs, statements, press releases, social media posts, etc.) on selected topics in the field of women's rights and gender equality to be shared with line ministries, other public institutions and with public.
• Coordinate relationships with the media in the country, respond to media inquiries and information requests; prepare related correspondence, in promotion of newly adopted Law on Gender Equality.
• Organize roundtable discussions, press conferences, and briefing sessions for the media, as required.

 

Deliverables and Timeline:

 

Deliverables	Timeframe
Report of the Coordination Body for Gender Equality for year 2022 on Serbian Language and summary on English Language.	31 March 2023
Develop database of Gender Focal Points from government institutions and Gender Equality Mechanisms at the local level.	15 April 2023
Report on the communication and visibility of the Coordination Body for Gender Equality, including:   - communication with media and other stakeholders, - prepared communication products, - organized and implemented relevant advocacy activities, including media statements and social media.	31 May 2023

 

Competencies

Competences and Qualifications:

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• 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: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

 

• Good knowledge of gender equality and women's rights issues;
• Demonstrates excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Strong analytical skills;
• Strong report writing skills; 

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

• University degree in the area of communications, public relations, journalism, gender studies, management, political sciences, social sciences, or other related area;
• Master’s degree will be taken as an advantage;

Experience:

• At least 3 years of the professional experience in the government institution or non-governmental organisation or international organisation;
• At least 2 years of experience in implementing the advocacy activities and campaigns in the area of gender equality and human rights;
• At least 2 years of experience in the field of gender equality and gender mainstreaming;
• At least 1 year of experience in collecting and systematizing complex data and in identification of sources of information related to policy-driven issues.

Language:

Fluency in English and Serbian (written and oral).

Application procedure:

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

• P11 with past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc, a signed copy should be submitted.
• Financial Proposal Specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference. Can be downloaded from the following link: https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2022-07/confirmation.docx . The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (daily rate and number of anticipated working days and any other possible costs).

 

In order to apply please merge your P11 and the financial proposal into a single PDF file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded.

Any request for clarification must be sent by standard electronic communication to the e-mail info.serbia@unwomen.org

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.

 

	Evaluation Criteria	Max points
TECHNICAL EVALUATION (70%)
Language Requirements	Fluency in written and spoken English and Serbian	REQUIRED
Education	University degree in the area of communications, public relations, journalism, gender studies, management, political sciences, social sciences, or other related area; Master’s degree will be taken as advantage	20 0: without relevant university degree 20: faculty degree
Professional experience	Professional experience in the government institution or non-governmental organisation or international organisation	20 0: without 3 years of experience 15: 3 years of experience 20: more than 3 years of experience
	Experience in implementing the advocacy activities and campaigns in the area of gender equality and human rights	10 0: without 2 years of experience 5: 2 years of experience 10: more than 2 years of experience
	Experience in the field of gender equality and gender mainstreaming	10 0: without 2 years of experience 5: 2 years of experience 10: more than 2 years of experience
	Experience in collecting and systematizing complex data	10 0: without 1 year of experience 5: 1 years of experience 10: more than 1 year of experience
		70
Total technical

 

 

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

 

 

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.)