International Consultant on Piloting of protocol and mechanisms for ending Sexual Harassment

Background

The European Union (EU) and the United Nations have launched the Spotlight Initiative (SI), a multi-year programme aimed at addressing all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG), and harmful practices (HP). The SI aims to support transformative change on the ground to end VAWG, in numerous countries globally, including the Kyrgyz Republic. The initiative comes with the highest level of commitment globally and will be governed by the UN Deputy Secretary General and the Vice President of the EU Commission.

The SI in the Kyrgyz Republic will apply a comprehensive set of approaches based on social innovation, Human Rights based approach (HRBA), multi-sectoral inclusive response and survivor-centered principles to the planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring of interventions across the SI’s six Outcome Areas:

1. Laws and policies
2. Institutions
3. Prevention
4. Services
5. Data
6. Women’s Movements

Particular emphasis will be placed on integrating the voices and experiences and solutions of women and girls who face multiple forms of discrimination, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) principle of ‘Leave No One Behind’ (LNOB). The SI in the Kyrgyz Republic has sought to reflect on current or common place models of ‘conducting business’ in order to propose innovative alternatives aligned with commitments to gender transformative and community-led approaches guided by adaptive leadership and a joint-One UN systems management approach.

Under the Pillar 2, the SI Programme aims to shift institutional practices and social norms to be more gender-equitable in order to support greater implementation of existing legislation responding to and preventing VAWG. The objective is to support the national and sub-national government institutions and systems to better plan, fund and delivery multi-sectorial programmes that prevent and respond to VAWG and HPs especially for those groups of women who face intersecting and multiple forms of violence and discrimination.

Sexual harassment and gender biases within institutions are globally known barriers for institutions to successfully prevent and respond to GSBV and VAWG. Without shifting the harmful norms, behaviors and attitudes within the institutions set to implement EVAWG and safeguard women’s right, the national legislation does not suffice to prevent and protect women and girls from violence. SI aims to address these by, inter alia, supporting institutions to develop policies and mechanisms to address sexual harassment as aligned with international best practices.

In its commitments under the SI pillar 2, UN Women plans to support the development and testing of a protocol and mechanisms of dealing with sexual harassment in selected central and local level institutions through co-creation process with service providers. It aims at providing effective mechanisms on how to prevent and to protect against sexual harassment in all spheres of society but particularly at public institutions.

Objective

UN Women plans to support the national efforts to end sexual harassment through piloting of a protocol and mechanisms of dealing with sexual harassment in selected central and local level institutions. Through co-creation process with government stakeholders and service providers, UN Women aims to test and identify effective protocol and mechanism that sets transformative approach to ending harassment and provides a practical framework to respond to situations of harassment in public institutions.

The objective of this assignment is to contract an international consultant to co-create protocol and elaborate mechanisms of dealing with sexual harassment in selected central level institutions in close collaboration. The consultant will be co-designing and facilitating the development of the pilot protocol and mechanisms of dealing with sexual harassment in joint process with the government stakeholders and civil society.

The assignment will particularly focus on dealing with and ending of sexual harassment in targeted public institutions while ensuring a whole society approach, that the protocol is adaptable both at national and sub-national level. It is to be ensured that the assignment is aligned with the existing national legislation and relevant protocols and mechanisms, particularly, to the process of introducing a law on sexual harassment that is currently under parliament review.

This assignment will be undertaken under the Pillar 2 of the SI programme, contributing to the fulfillment of the following SI results:

Outcome 2: National and sub-national system and institutions enabled to plan, fund and deliver multi-sectoral programmes that prevent and respond to VAWG and harmful practice, including through the implementation of the SDGs. 

Output 2.1 Key officials at national and/or sub-national levels in all relevant institutions are better able to develop and deliver evidence-based programmes that prevent and respond to VAWG, including DV/IPV, especially for those groups of women and girls facing intersecting and multiple forms of discrimination, including in other sectors.

Indicator 2.1.1. Number of institutions that develop strategies, plans and/or programmes to prevent and respond to VAWG, including DP/IVP including women and girls intersecting and multiple forms of discrimination.

Duties and Responsibilities

The international consultant is expected to undertake the following activities:

Preparatory phase (5 days)

• Develop and submit an implementation work plan, outlining key milestones, timeframe for the development of pilot protocol and mechanism including co-creation workshops, development process, and follow-up actions.
• Familiarize with and prepare an overview of the current national legislation, protocols and mechanisms on sexual harassment and international code of conduct and best practices with identified gaps and challenges.
• Conduct series of working meetings with the stakeholders in order to endorse the process design and establish working group with the targeted government stakeholders.

Implementation phase (10 Days)

• Develop a draft protocol and prevention mechanisms on sexual harassment through series of co-creation workshops with the government working group including counseling with other relevant stakeholders such as lawyers; civil society and women’s movement.
• Organize series of co-creation workshops with different stakeholders using Design Thinking Approach or similar to test the protocol and mechanisms of dealing with sexual harassment.
• Carry out post-workshop assessment with the participants to assess the protocol and collect feedback.
• Finalize and write up the protocol based on the testing and aligning it with the national legislation and regulations and international best practices.
• Organize a validation session with all relevant stakeholders to present the protocol and the report with particular focus on ensuring buy-in for the recommended next steps in order to ensure the implementation and sustainability of the protocol / mechanisms.

Review phase (5 days)

• Prepare final report including lessons learned from the testing and recommendations for the scaling up / implementation of the protocol for adoption in other government organizations and public institutions.

Duration of the assignment

Timeframe – starting from May 2021 to July 2021. All the deliverables have to be reviewed and approved by the UN Women Spotlight Initiative Programme Coordinator.

Duty station

The implementation phase of the assignment will be in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (subject to COVID-19 imposed restrictions), with possible trips to the regions of the country, and preparatory and review phase is home-based.

Key Deliverables

The assignment deliverables shall be:

Deliverables	Days	Target Date	Payment Amount
Work plan including process design and timeframe Desk research report of the current legislation Working meetings agendas, LoPs and meeting notes	5	30 May 2021	35%
A draft protocol / mechanisms Co-creation workshops Agendas, LoPs and meeting notes A assessment report capturing the feedback and recommendations gathered during the piloting Final protocol / mechanisms Validation workshop Agenda; LoP; and summary notes	15	30 June 2021	35%
Final process report including recommendations for implementation of the protocol;	5	15 July 2021	30%
TOTAL

All the documents, including drafts, consultation materials, presentations and reports should be submitted in English language.

The payments will be made in USD in three instalments per reported number of fee days based on submitted and approved timesheet, and after all the deliverables are submitted, accepted and approved.

Inputs

UN Women Country Office in Kyrgyzstan will provide the contractor with a computer, transportation in UN vehicles or hired vehicles during missions, and necessary information and materials for the fulfilment of tasks, and provide office space in UN Women’s office, as required.

Performance evaluation

Contractor’s performance will be evaluated based on: ability to take up this assignment within the timelines mentioned above, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.

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/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

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;- Experience in report writing

Required Skills and Experience

Education:	At least a Master’s degree in social sciences.
Experience and knowledge:	At least 5 years of experience policy engagement with both public and private sector Strong Experience on gender equality and women empowerment and Sexual and Gender Based Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Proven experience on conducting participatory and co-creation capacity-building initiatives Working experience with United Nations is highly desired
Language and other skills:	Fluency in Russian is required Fluency in English is a strong asset Knowledge and skills of relevant computer applications of MS Office applications (Word, Excel, Power Point). Knowledge of Internet communications (Zoom, Skype, email) and command is required

Application and Selection Process

Application procedure

Applications should include the following documentation package:

• Financial proposal, indicating a total lump sum to include all costs relating to the delivery of activities as per above description.
• P-11 form including experience in similar assignments. This form can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment.

Financial proposal format:

Deliverables	Unit	Unit value in USD	Number of units	Total cost in USD
Daily fee
(other expenses)
TOTAL

Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant during the contract period. The financial proposal should be provided in USD. If the proposal is provided in any other currency, it would be converted as per UN exchange rate on the date of post closure.

Evaluation of applicants

The evaluation starts with shortlisting of potential candidates and received applications against the mandatory requirements. Only full applications will be considered. Shortlisted candidates will be then evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants' technical qualifications and experience, and financial proposal. The contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Technically responsive/compliant/acceptable to the requirements of the ToR; and
• Having received the highest cumulative (technical & financial) score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

The selection of candidates will be done in 3 stages:

1st stage: Prior to detailed evaluation, all applications will be thoroughly screened against eligibility criteria (minimum qualification requirements) as set in the present ToR in order to determine whether they are compliant/ non-compliant.

Eligibility Criteria
1	At least a Master’s degree in social sciences
2	At least 5 years of experience policy engagement with both public and private sector
3	Certification on gender equality and women’s empowerment issues is an asset
4	Competent in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.)

2nd stage: Technical Evaluation/ Desk review.

Short-listed candidates will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Criteria	Weight	Max. Point
Technical	70%	70
Experience, including:	35%	Max. 35 points, including:
At least 5 years of experience policy engagement with both public and private sector	20%	Up to 20 points
Strong Experience on gender equality and women empowerment and Sexual and Gender Based Discrimination and Sexual Harassment	5%	Up to 5 points
Proven experience on conducting participatory and co-creation capacity-building initiatives	5%	Up to 5 points
Working experience with United Nations is highly desired	5%	Up to 5 points
Knowledge, skills and competencies, including:	35%	Max. 35 points, including:
At least a Master’s degree in social sciences	25%	Up to 25 points
Fluency in Russian/English	10%	Up to 10 points

3rd stage: Financial evaluation will be conducted according to the method described below:

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)

Where:

p - points for the financial proposal being evaluated;

µ - price of the lowest priced proposal;

z - price of the proposal being evaluated

The candidate achieving the highest cumulative score for both Technical and Financial evaluations will be recommended by the Evaluation Committee for contracting.