UN Women - National consultants to extend expert, training and mentoring services on gender responsive budgeting (GRB)

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, the country Strategic Note (2019-2021) and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, 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. Through its ongoing project “Promoting Gender Responsive Policies and Budgets: Towards Transparent, Inclusive and Accountable Governance in the Republic of North Macedonia” (2018-2022), UN Women is extending technical support to Government stakeholders at central and local level on gender responsive budgeting, and to civil society organizations and oversight bodies on strengthening the accountability towards gender equality commitments. The programme provides a consolidated framework that enables systematic and sustained implementation of gender responsive budgeting and optimal impact of gender budgeting initiatives on lives of women and men in the country.

The project includes a set of interventions focused on gender mainstreaming in local planning and budgeting processes, which aims at extending technical and expert support to local self-government units (LSGUs) to advance the application of gender responsive budgeting. The project supports total of twenty-one (21) local self-government units in the country, that have piloted and implemented GRB initiatives. The cooperation with those LSGUs is continuing, focused on upscaling the proven approaches in mainstreaming gender in sectoral programmes through gender analysis, introduction of gender specific objectives and measures and monitoring progress and impact on lives of women and men.  In addition, ten (10) new LSGUs will be selected to pilot GRB in programme planning and budgeting processes through comprehensive training and mentoring programme.

To support these 10 LSGUs to mainstream gender in sectoral programmes and to introduce gender specific objectives and measures that help the monitoring process and impact at local level, UN Women is seeking to recruit two local experts that will provide capacity development and mentoring support on GRB.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of work

The objective of the assignment is to provide expert, training and mentoring support on gender responsive programme planning and budgeting to 10 LSGUs. More specifically, the aim is to build basic capacities and skills of the local administration and councillors to mainstream gender in policies and programmes. The support will be provided through assisting the local administration to analyse specific local programmes and budgets and develop gender specific measures and indicators, as well as by mentoring the local councillors to review local policies from a gender perspective.

With this ToR, UN Women is seeking to hire two (2) Local Consultants to provide expert, training and mentoring services on gender responsive budgeting to 10 municipalities. Each expert will cover total of 5 LSGUs.

The team of experts will work under guidance of a lead expert that coordinates the overall training and mentoring process in the municipalities and ensure the work between the experts is synchronized and well-coordinated.

Tasks and Responsibilities

Based on the above-described objectives of the assignment, under the supervision of the GRB programme team, the local consultants are expected to undertake the following tasks and responsibilities:

• Desk-review of findings of relevant programme analyses conducted in the framework of the project, training evaluations and other materials on gender mainstreaming and gender responsive budgeting to inform their work on the assignment;
• Develop detailed training and mentoring plan tailored to the needs of 5 LSGUs, under guidance of the lead expert and based on the recommendations for capacity development training module on gender mainstreaming and GRB;
• Deliver standard orientation programme to local administration and members of municipal councils and commission for equal opportunities from the 5 LSGUs to introduce the objectives of the local level training and mentoring on GRB;
• Extend mentoring support to 5 new LSGUs, through tailored interventions based on the needs and capacities of each municipalities, develop local action plans and/or strategies on gender equality;
• Deliver basic capacity building support to public officials from targeted departments of the 10 LSGUs, local Commissions for equal opportunities between women and men and Commissions for budget and finance on gender mainstreaming and gender responsive budgeting;
• Facilitating exchange of good practices and lessons learned among local level policy and budget makers by participating and facilitating thematic roundtables and thematic events on GRB;
• Monitor and track progress in engendering local level programs and/or development of new action plans/local strategies;
• Participate in introductory session and regular preparatory and coordination meetings with UN Women, the team leader and other consultants throughout the assignment;
• Provide the team leader with regular updates on the progress with implementation of the assignment; 
• Submit monthly time sheets for recording the time spent on each activity;
• Prepare quarterly progress reports summarizing results (changes in capacities, engendered local progammes and budgets, lessons learned, recommendations and pictures from the activities);
• Provide inputs to tracking matrix for engendered sectoral program on semi-annual basis;
• Prepare individual reports on the assignment.

Key deliverables, activities and timeframe

The Local consultants will be expected to complete the below tasks within the indicative timeframe:

Tasks	Deliverables	Working days
Prepare a detailed plan for the assignment	Work plan for the assignment	1 day (by 20 March 2021)
Develop detailed training and mentoring plan tailored to the needs of 5 LSGUs, under guidance of the lead expert and based on the recommendations for capacity development training module on gender mainstreaming and GRB;	Training and mentoring plan for 5 LSGUs with specified activity timetable and expected results	5 days (by 20 April 2021)
Deliver standard orientation programme to local administration and members of municipal councils and commission for equal opportunities from the 5 LSGUs to introduce the objectives of the local level training and mentoring on GRB;	Workshop reports including agenda and list of participants	4 days (by 30 July 2021)
Deliver mentoring support to 5 new LSGUs through tailored interventions based on the needs and capacities of each municipalities, develop local action plans and/or strategies on gender equality;	Quarterly progress updates on the mentoring work and results	45 days (by 25 August 2022)
Extend training support to public officials from targeted departments of the 10 LSGUs, local Commissions for equal opportunities between women and men, local Intersectoral working groups for gender equality and Commissions for budget and finance on gender mainstreaming, gender responsive budgeting and results-based management;	Training reports Training Agenda, detailed training and mentoring programme with exercises and handouts Pre/post training evaluation questionnaires, final analysis of the evaluations	10 days (by 15 July 2022)
Monitor and track progress in engendering local level programs and/or development of new action plans/local strategies	Consolidated inputs to team leader on the results of the mentoring work Inputs to tracking matrix on local engendered programmes	10 days (by 25 August 2022)
Facilitating exchange of good practices and lessons learned among local level policy and budget makers by participating and facilitating thematic roundtables and thematic events on GRB;	Workshop agenda and materials Workshop reports	10 days (by 25 August 2022)
Reporting	Quarterly individual progress reports Consolidated inputs to the progress reports and the final joint report of the team of experts (In English)  (to be compiled by the team leader) Final individual report with specific information on the results achieved, challenges and opportunities in English (max. 3 pages)	15 days (by 25 August 2022)
Total		100 working days

Reporting

Under the overall supervision of the Programme Analyst and GRB programme team at UN Women Skopje Office, the Local consultants will develop and deliver the above listed deliverables in accordance with the indicative timeframe, along with a timesheet.

All deliverables of an acceptable standard and quality should be submitted to the UN Women and in languages as specified above.

Competencies

Core Values/guiding principles:

• 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 Consultant 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.

Core Competencies:

• Planning & Organizing – Develops clear goals in line with agreed strategies, identifies priorities, foresees risks and makes allowances accordingly.
• Organizational Awareness - Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
• Teamwork - Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Accountability – Takes ownership of all responsibilities and delivers outputs in accordance with agreed time, cost and quality standards.

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

Educaion:

• A university degree in public administration, social studies, development studies, gender studies, international relations, or any other degree relevant to the requirements of the ToR. A Master’s degree is considered an asset.

Experience:

• A minimum of 3 years of demonstrated professional experience in the area of gender equality with focus on gender responsive budgeting and/or public policy and budget monitoring;
• Previous experience in designing and delivering training and/or mentoring programmes on gender equality and gender mainstreaming in policy making and budgeting;
• Experience and knowledge on decentralization, local policy and budget development process in the Republic of North Macedonia;
• Previous work experience in working as part of or managing large team would be considered as an asset
• Knowledge on results-based management and strategic planning is a strong asset;
• Previous experience working with international organizations would be considered as an asset;

Language

• Fluency in Macedonian and English is required.

Evaluation of applicants:

UN Women applies a fair and transparent selection process. Applicants will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications/skills and their financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultants whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive to and compliant with the ToR; and
• Having received the highest score out of below combined technical and financial criteria.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Criteria	Total points	Max. Points
Technical Evaluation (70%)	70
Relevant education	10	10 0: without relevant university degree 7: A first-level university degree 10: master degree
A minimum of 3 years of demonstrated professional experience in the area of gender equality with focus on gender responsive budgeting and/or public policy and budget monitoring	15	15 0: without relevant expertise and experience 0-5: 1 year of experience 5-10: 3 years of experience 15: more than 3 years of experience
Previous experience in designing and delivering training and/or mentoring programmes on gender equality and gender mainstreaming in policy making and budgeting	15	15 0: without relevant expertise and experience 0-5: 1 year of experience 5-10: 3 years of experience 15: more than 5 years of experience
Experience and knowledge on decentralization, local policy and budget development processes in the Republic of North Macedonia	15	15 0: without relevant expertise and experience 0-5: 2 years of experience 5-10: 5 years of experience 15: more than 5 years of experience
Previous work experience in working as part of or managing large team would be considered as an asset	5	5 0: without experience 5:Demonstrated experience
Knowledge on results-based management and strategic planning is a strong asset	5	5 0: without experience 5:Demonstrated experience
Previous experience working with international organizations would be considered as an asset	5	5 0: without experience 5:Demonstrated experience
Language requirements Fluency in Macedonian and English is required.	REQUIRED
Financial Evaluation (30%)	30
TOTAL	100

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.

1.Duration and remuneration:

The national consultants will be engaged for a total of 100 working days, with estimated 35 days of field missions to municipalities, during the period of 15 March 2021 until 25 August 2022. Deliverables from the consultants will be reviewed and approved by UN Women before they are considered final.

UN Women will divide the payment of consultancy fee into the following instalments:

I instalment - 25% upon submission and approval of deliverables submission of quarterly progress reports 1-3 ( 31 July 2021)

II instalment - 25% upon submission and approval of deliverables 4-14  (30 November 2021)

III instalment - 25% upon submission and approval of deliverables 4-14 (30 April 2022)

IV instalment - 25% upon satisfactory completion of all tasks in the assignment, submission and approval of final report by UN Women (25 August 2022)

Application:

Interested individual consultants are requested to apply electronically through the following link: http://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_jobs.cfm  no later than 1 March 2021 and to submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• Short Letter of interest, including financial proposal in local currency (MKD), indicating a total lump sum for the delivery as per above description. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (daily consultancy fee, travel and any other possible costs).
• Completed UN Women Personal History (P11) form, that can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment
• 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.