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National Consultant

Addis Ababa

  • Organization: UNWOMEN - United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
  • Location: Addis Ababa
  • Grade: Consultancy - National Consultant - Locally recruited Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Women's Empowerment and Gender Mainstreaming
  • Closing Date: Closed

Background

The right of women to participate in political life is guaranteed in several conventions at the international and regional level and in national laws. However, transforming this right into practice has remained a challenge. By definition and from the roles they play in a democratic society, political parties are the key gatekeepers if not the only means to access political power and voice in government decision making. Ensuring genuine representation of views, interests and needs of all citizens, men and women, is crucial to the effective functioning of political parties and for their legitimacy and representativeness. Where parties fail to include women and their perspectives in political decision making, their legitimacy as democratically elected institution is weak, and they are at the same time depriving women their right to equally and effectively participate in the governance of their societies.

Political parties are expected to take conscious measures to involve women in their processes and tackle the marginalization of women from decision-making and leadership roles due to gender based discrimination. Political parties that recognized this need have increasingly taken measures to ensure that they have a conducive internal party environment. For instance, in Ethiopia the ruling party have set aside a voluntary quota to increase the number of its female candidates during national and local elections which would mean it must increase the participation of women with in the party itself and create a conducive environment for the same.

Evidence from various sources indicate that political parties which take their gender equality commitments seriously benefit from stronger links to their electorate and with new groups of voters and develop stronger electoral positions and public recognition over time. However, researches show that women are over represented in the grassroots level or in supporting roles and underrepresented in positions of power within political parties.

While it is agreed that political parties can shape political systems, there are factors that affect political parties and their attitude towards gender equality. These factors include the general normative context parties are functioning in, including electoral and political party laws of the country; the party context which refers to the party’s internal structure, political ideology, party institutionalization among other factors; the capacity of female party members/women structures to pressure from within and the influence of gender activists and pressure groups in the country.

As the united Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), UN Women’s vision is of a world in which women and men have equal opportunities and capacities, where women are empowered and where principles of gender equality are firmly embedded in all efforts to advance development, peace and security. Globally, UN Women works to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) a reality for women and girls and stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on five priority areas: women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems; women have income security, decent work and economic autonomy; all women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence and ensure that women and girls contribute to and have greater influence in building sustainable peace and resilience, and benefit equally from the prevention of natural disasters and conflicts and humanitarian action. In Ethiopia, UN Women is working on four priority areas: increasing women’s leadership and governance, ending violence against women and girls; enhancing women’s economic empowerment; and making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting.

UN Women Ethiopia works to implement goal one of UN Women global Strategic Plan 2018-21 ‘women lead and participate in decision-making at all levels’ believing enabling governance systems are essential for the achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment. Research shows that women’s increased political participation and leadership results from a confluence of factors, including removal of legal and logistical barriers; implementation of supportive frameworks; promotion of women’s leadership through political party reform; support of CSOs and a positive shift in societal gender norms. Accordingly, women’s full and effective leadership at all levels of decision-making requires a four-pronged strategy: (1) Support development and implementation of robust legal frameworks and administrative arrangements that facilitate women’s participation (2) Expand the pool of qualified and capable women to run for election, (3) Transform gender norms so that women are accepted as legitimate and effective leaders. (4) Support women leaders in gender-sensitive political institutions, including parliament, political parties and Electoral Management Bodies (EMB’s), to attract, promote and retain women leaders, and highlight the constructive contribution they make to decision-making. 

Aligned with this strategy, UN Women Ethiopia's women in leadership program aims to contribute to the overall goal of increasing the effective participation and representation of women in leadership in Ethiopia, particularly focusing on the legislative and executive branch of the Government. In line with this, UN Women has partnered with National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) on the project titled “Support for Inclusive and Gender Responsive Electoral Support Electoral Process”. A key component of the project is the provision of technical support to the NEBE, which is the national electoral management body, and capacity building support to political parties as main vehicle for women’s election to office with a view to enhance their capacity to promote gender balance in politics and become more gender sensitive institutions. Political parties can do this by nominating more women candidates to stand for election; adopting voluntary, gender-sensitive reforms to internal party processes and statutes; devising and implementing gender-sensitive policies and strategic plans.

In this context, UN Women is seeking to engage national consultants to conduct and publish a “gender mapping” of political parties and prepare a country case study in Ethiopia which will examine the gender-balance and gender-sensitivity within institutions in the country, and identify priority needs and areas for technical support to be provided through the Programme. The findings will be published and shared at federal and regional levels. The consultants will undertake the task with the direct supervision of UN Women Program Specialist for Women in Leadership and Governance Program and in collaboration with NEBE.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultants will be responsible for conducting a “gender mapping” of all political parties registered and operational in Ethiopia; convening debriefing meetings with UN Women, NEBE and political parties to discuss findings and recommendations; and producing a case study report of the findings incorporating feedback received from UN Women, NEBE and political parties themselves. The main study should be drafted in Amharic and an executive summary in English.

Specifically, the Consultants will be responsible for the following tasks:

Task 1: Prepare Inception Report

Complete an inception report and submit to UN Women Ethiopia with proposed methodology for the mapping (including timeframe) including the following components:

  • Desk review: the mapping should be informed by an initial desk review. The purpose would be to review (a) the general legal framework (constitution, NEBE establishment proclamation, electoral law,  political parties’ law, code of conduct  and other related laws); (b) specific information about political parties’ procedures (parties’ by laws and statutes and any other related document such as party’s platforms, strategic plans or elections programs); and (c) the political participation of women in Ethiopia to date including baseline data with specific sources on women’s representation in elected bodies at the national and local level, in government and in key institutions identified by UN Women and NEBE, and identification of missing data and information.
  • Proposed structure for case study report: Include a summary on the proposed sections and subsections of the case study report. The report should address issues surrounding internal party organization and women’s participation in the party before, during and after/between elections, although other issues may be identified by the UN Women and NEBE, and as the research progresses (see Annex 1 for examples). It should include a situational analysis based on the desk review as detailed above.
  • Qualitative interview protocol: (a) proposed questionnaire/survey tool for conducting interviews; (b) detailed list of proposed key stakeholders to be interviewed to be reviewed/agreed by the UN Women and NEBE. Interviewees may include male and female members of political parties, women candidates and aspirants, current or former staff of the Electoral Management Body (NEBE), political participation experts, representatives of national civil society organizations, gender equality advocacy groups and research organizations, and representatives of UN Women, UNDP and other international organizations.

Task 2: Conduct Political Party Gender Mapping and Draft Case Study

  • Using agreed methodology and in close collaboration with NEBE and UN Women, carry out the gender mapping of political parties represented in the parliament and all registered in Ethiopia.
  • Liaising with NEBE and the UN Women hold de-briefing sessions for political parties interviewed, sharing initial mapping findings and presenting any identified recommendations.
  • Prepare the draft case study report with findings of the mapping and draft report to NEBE and UN Women. The report should summarize interview findings and complement the baseline data of the inception report to include specific and detailed information/data on women’s representation in political parties based on parties’ organizational structure, leadership composition, women’s representation in political party General Assembly Meetings and other relevant gatherings.  
  • Submit an internal evaluation report on challenges met while conducting the mapping, including lessons learned for the relevant UN Women and NEBE team.

Applications Process:

Please submit the following to demonstrate your interest and qualifications. Qualified and interested candidates are hereby requested to apply (either as a team or individually). The application should contain the following:

Technical Proposal

Submit:- aklile.solomon@unwomen.org with a subject ' Gender Audit of Political Parties'

  • Two -page methodology (full methodology will form part of inception report if selected) Annex 1 below for guidance).

Financial Proposal

Submit: aklile.solomon@unwomen.org with a subject ' Gender Audit of Political Parties'

  • Professional fee for 40 Working days (All-inclusive consultancy fee)
  • Cost implication for Field works
  • Interested individuals are kindly requested to submit an all-inclusive consultancy fee against deliverables.

NOTE:-

Interested individuals must submit their applications online through UN Women Online Recruitment System together with thier regular CVs.

Application Evaluation Process

Individual consultant/s will be evaluated based on the Cumulative Analysis methodology [weighted scoring method], where the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant/s whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

  1. Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
  2. Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

The following criteria will be used in Technical Evaluation:

  • Relevant work experience in the field, communications, including experience in knowledge management and project management (20)
  • Expertise in gender equality and women’s empowerment (20)
  • Demonstrated leadership and personal examples of promoting knowledge management and a professional learning environment (20)
  • Educational qualification of Maters degree in relevant field and minimum of 7 years (10)
  • Financial proposal (30)

UN Women is applying fair and transparent selection process that would take into account both the technical qualification of Consultants as well as their price proposals. The contract will be awarded to the candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores.

ANNEX 1: Sample Case Study Report Structure and Interview Topics

 Section headings for the Case Study Report may include (guide only):

  1. Executive summary with main findings
  2. Introduction which outlines purpose of the mapping and gives highlights of interviews and method
  3. Situational analysis of women’s political participation (key milestones and highlights, status of women’s participation based on desk review)
  4. Summary of interview findings (this section should address the main interview topics outlined below)
  5. Summary of good practices, undesired or poor practices, and missed opportunities as identified through interviews
  6. Analysis and recommendations for gender mainstreaming and women’s empowerment in political parties
  7. Evaluation of challenges and lessons learned from the mapping process itself
  8. Annex: supporting documents should be attached when submitting draft reports, including a list of meetings held, transcripts of all official interviews and other relevant documentation provided by interviewees.

Sample interview topics:

Internal party organization:

  • extent to which the party’s legal framework and governing documents are gender-sensitive;
  • any measures taken to promote women’s participation in party’s governing boards, decision-making structures, General Assembly meetings;
  • role and strategic positioning of the party’s women’s wing/section;
  • extent to which gender equality is mainstreamed into policy development.
  • Organizational cultures – existence of unwritten rules/procedures/practices that exist within the party. 

Women’s access to opportunities:

  • extent to which women participated in opportunities to present themselves and represent their party in different platforms;
  •  number of access women have to self-development and capacity building opportunities as compared to their male counterparts
  • access to participate in meetings and/or negotiations with other stakeholders

Women’s participation in the party before elections:

  • party leadership’s position on promoting women’s electoral participation;
  • candidate nomination rules and procedures, and their levels of transparency;
  • existence of special measures, such as voluntary quotas, for women candidates and extent to which they are formalized in and enforced by party recruitment rules;
  • strategic placement of women candidates on party candidate lists;
  • existence of incentives to attract women to join the party and/or run for office;
  • extent of outreach and collaboration with civil society and women’s organizations;
  • extent of party’s provision of campaign funds and technical support to women candidates.

Women’s participation in the party during elections:

  • provision of capacity-building (e.g. workshops, training sessions) for women candidates and campaign workers;
  • level of visibility and media access facilitated by the party for women candidates and women’s campaign issues;
  • gender equality/women’s campaign issues incorporated into party manifestos;
  • extent of outreach to and mobilization of women voters;
  • active assurances for the safety of women candidates, voters, party supporters;
  • training and deployment of women polling agents;
  • integrating a gender perspective in all election monitoring.

Women’s participation in the party after/between elections:

  • existence and frequency of internal gender equality assessments and party gender action plans;
  • support and capacity-building for women legislators;
  • promotion of gender-sensitive reforms to institutions and laws;
  • encouragement of inter- and intra-party platforms such as women’s caucuses and support for their functioning;
  • expression of public support for women’s political participation, particularly from male party members;
  • general obstacles women face within their political parties and in political life broadly;
  • Violence women experience in politics generally and within the party specifically

Competencies

Core Values and Guiding Principles

  • Demonstrates integrity by modeling UN Women values and ethical standards.
  • Demonstrates a commitment to UN Women’s mission and vision.
  • Able to work effectively within a team.
  • Displays cultural and gender sensitivity and adaptability.
  • Able to multi-task and juggle competing demands.
  • Can assess and prioritize work needs quickly.
  • Able to relate to external partners, including other international organizations and agencies, NGOs, grassroots community groups, etc.

Functional Competencies

  • Sound expertise in gender equality and women’s empowerment, including on women’s political participation.
  • Communications or knowledge management experience an advantage.
  • Academic and practical research experience.
  • Fluent in Microsoft word, excel, e-mail, web-based applications and databases.
  • Demonstrated leadership and personal examples of promoting knowledge management and a professional learning environment.
  • Outstanding networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills.
  • Capacity to work with diverse partners including governments, donors and civil society.
  • Ability to work effectively and harmoniously with people from varied cultures and professional backgrounds.
  • Results based management skills.
  • Ability to produce well-written documents demonstrating excellent interpersonal communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Law, Gender Studies, Political Science, Sociology, International Relations, or relevant field and/or equivalent practical experience.

Experience:

  • A minimum of seven years of relevant work experience in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment.
  • Research experience, communications, advocacy experience are assets.
  • Substantive experience in women’s leadership and participation.
  • Experience in working in a multicultural environment.
  • Sound knowledge of international standards on human rights, women’s rights and related instruments.

Language:

  • Fluency in oral and written English and Amharic is required.
  • Working knowledge of other local languages is an asset.
UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
This vacancy is now closed.
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