Gender assessment in sustainable production and management in pilot rural regions - 1 post is for Federation of BiH and 1 post for Republika Srpska (Please specify region/entity for which you are applying)

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination and violence 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. UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programs and services needed to implement these standards. UN Women's mandate (GA resolution 64/289) is to lead, coordinate and promote accountability of the UN system to deliver on gender equality and the empowerment of women with the primary objective of enhancing country-level coherence, ensuring coordinated interventions and securing positive impacts on the lives of women and girls, including those living in rural areas.

 

For decades, the international conventions have acknowledged the critical contribution of women in agriculture and rural development. Reports on the role of women in Rural areas converge on the fact that rural women are key agents for achieving the economic, social, and environmental changes required in the developing world. However, rural women's rights and priorities remain insufficiently addressed in legal frameworks, national and local development policies, rural programmes, and investment strategies at all levels worldwide.

 

In BiH, rural women make up 28,6% of total population and 49.8% of the total rural population are women. About 20.5% of the female workforce in BiH is engaged in the agriculture sector and in 2016 around 18% of family farms were registered as being female headed, although this number has been gradually increasing (for instance in the Republika Srpska in 2017 this percentage was 22.7%). However, according to 2018 research published by the Sarajevo Economic Institute there is a deeply gendered division of labour with women being less engaged in processes that are higher along the value chains, such as dealing with marketing and are concentrated at levels that involve less decision-making about and control over income earned from agriculture. There is also a significant gap in land and property ownership in favour of men (for instance, in 2019 38.3% of land registry records indicated women as owners or co-owners. Additionally, women's business ventures located in rural areas are less diverse and even smaller in Size. The constraints that entrepreneurs face in doing business in BiH impact women to a greater degree due to underlying gender inequalities related to limited networking opportunities, gender roles, stereotypes, and discrimination in society at large.

To support women's economic empowerment, rural women, agriculture, rural development, and agri-entrepreneurship, UN Women in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), initiated the project "Women Driving Resilience in Agriculture and Rural Areas", supported by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). This Project aims at removing structural barriers, by introducing time and labour-saving technologies, innovative sources of financing, enabling women to be better prepared to cope with the challenges, improving their livelihoods and socio-economic position and the lives of their families in the rural areas. Addressing the structural barriers faced by women in agriculture and rural areas will require sustained engagement of all relevant stakeholders in BiH.

 

Taking into consideration overall situation for rural women in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is a risk that they will be left behind in adaptation to dynamic changes in the environment in which they live, produce and create new value. These changes relate to the use of digital and precision technologies in agriculture, adaptation to the impact of climate change, adaptation of marketing methods to the needs of modern consumers, and the possibility of income diversification through agritourism and other activities.

For the purpose of supporting the "Women Driving Resilience in Agriculture and in Rural Areas" in addressing the dynamic changes to the needs of modern consumers for women in agriculture, UN Women is seeking to engage two consultants, one for each Entity, to support the adaption of methods and development of knowledge products in the area of empowering women in rural areas. The selected pilot areas for the project development are:

• The pilot area in Republika Srpska includes rural areas of following municipalities:

• Sarajevo Romanija region: Istocni Stari Grad, Pale, Istocna Ilidža, Sokolac, Istocno Novo Sarajevo, Han Pijesak, Vlasenica, Šekovici, Trnovo.
• Hercegovina region: Kalinovik, Berkovici, Ljubinje, Nevesinje, Gacko, Foca, Trebinje, Novo Goražde, Istocni Mostar
• Krajina region: Mrkonjic Grad, Šipovo, Srpski Kupres, Istocni Drvar, Drinic – Petrovac, Jezero, Oštra Luka i Kneževo

• The pilot area in the Federation of BiH includes municipalities of the following cantons: Canton 10 (K10), Una-Sana Canton (USK) and Zenica-Doboj Canton (ZDK).

 

Applicants should emphasize in their application for which position and Entity pilot areas he/she is applying, i.e. Entity Federation of BiH or Republika Srpska pilot areas for research and knowledge development. It is also expected for the consultants to cooperate during the implementation and organize bi-weekly meetings with the supervision of the Women's Economic Empowerment Programme Coordinator and/or team members of the portfolio.

Duties and Responsibilities

The overall objective of this consultancy is to promote and contribute to women's economic empowerment, trough strengthening rural women capacity in adapting to technological, market and climate changes.

IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE

The immediate objective is to assess rural women needs, skills and assets and training needs assessment in the selected project areas and identify the stakeholders' knowledge and gaps in using the digital technologies on farm management, sustainable production and agricultural product marketing or Agritourism.

SCOPE OF WORK AND SPECIFIC TASKS

Under the supervision of the WEE Programme Coordinator, and the overall supervision of UN Women Programme Specialist, the consultant is expected to deliver the following results:

• Develop a methodology for assessing farmers' needs, skills and assets, as well as training needs in selected project areas;
• identify the knowledge and shortcomings of stakeholders in the project area in the use of digital technologies in farm management, sustainable production and marketing of agricultural products or agritourism;
• present the analysis of the assessment results and perform the validation of the results in cooperation with the representatives of the project beneficiaries;
• conduct the validation workshops on research results with representatives from project municipalities and representatives of Technical Working Group to be prepared and delivered by the consultants in each Entity;
• Develop recommendations for improving the knowledge and skills of beneficiaries in the project area related to the use of digital technologies in farm management, sustainable production and marketing of agricultural products or agrotourism;
• harmonize research methodology and main recommendations with project activity related to gender-sensitive assessment of rural areas/communities with regard to priority value chains with the greatest potential for modernization, digitization, integration of sustainable/climate-smart agricultural practices.

DELIVERABLES AND TIMEFRAME

The local consultant will be expected to complete the below tasks within the indicative timeframe:

No.	Deliverables	Indicative number of consulting days (per position/entity)	Two dates
	Initial proposed research methodology in the given project areas submitted and approved by UN Women.	1	15 December 2023
2	A proposal of a questionnaire that will be used to analyse the capacity of beneficiaries in the project area submitted and approved by UN Women.	1,5	22 December 2023
3	Report on conducted research on a selected sample of beneficiaries and beneficiary organizations in the project area submitted and approved by UN Women.	15	26 January 2024
4	Draft document of the main results on conducted analysis on data processing submitted and approved by UN Women.	4,5	9 February 2024
5	Validation workshops (one in each entity) on research results with representatives from project municipalities and members of the Technical Working Group organized and delivered.	1	15 February 2024
6	The document reflecting the main recommendations of the capacity of beneficiaries in the project area submitted and approved by UN Women.	1	23 February 2024
7	Final report including findings and recommendations submitted and approved by UN Women.	1	29 February 2024
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The consultancy will last 25 days per each consultant, in the period from 10 December 2023 until 29 February 2024. The consultants should in the development of the deliverables allow time for deliverables to be reviewed and commented by UN Women before their finalisation. Any envisaged travel and accommodation costs should be covered by the consultant and included in the financial offer. 

REPORTING

Under the overall supervision of the WEE Programme Coordinator, the local expert will develop and deliver the above listed deliverables in accordance with the indicative timeframe. Payments will be processed based on approved deliverables and the schedule of payments outlined in the contract.

All deliverables of an acceptable standard and quality should be submitted to the UN Women in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian and English.

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:

 

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

Academic Qualifications:

• Master's degree in agriculture, economic studies, or any other area relevant to the requirements of the TOR. A PhD will be considered as an asset.

Skills and Experience:

• At least 5 years of recognized experience in agriculture and rural policy development, agriculture and rural situation analysis;
• Minimum 3 years of experience in the field of socio-economic research methods including surveying, data processing and data presentation (supported by at least 2 development studies);
• Demonstrated ability to engage in rural, agriculture or gender assessment – providing examples in developing expert analysis of rural, agriculture or gender assessment;
• Preferred professional experience in working with diverse public and private actors on legislative or socio/economic cooperation, preferably in the area of gender, socio-economic empowerment and response will be considered as an asset (supported with contribution to at least 2 project developments);
• Previous experience in working with UN agencies will be considered an advantage. 

Language requirements:

• Fluence in written and spoken English and BCS is required. Candidates to provide certificate of English knowledge or sample of a part of study conducted in English (one to two pages maximum)

EVALUATION OF APPLICANTS

A Women applies a fair and transparent selection process that takes into account both the technical qualification of potential consultants as well as the financial proposals submitted in support of consultant applications. Candidates applications will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of applicant experience, qualifications and a financial proposal. The contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• responsive/compliant/acceptable,
• and having received the highest score out of technical and financial criteria defined below.

Based on a desk technical evaluation, only candidates receiving a minimum of 50 points in the technical evaluation will be considered for financial evaluation.  

Criteria: 

Technical Evaluation (70%) – 70 points

• A PhD will be considered as an asset. (5 points)
• At least 5 years of recognized experience in agriculture and rural policy development, agriculture and rural situation analysis. (20 points)

• Minimum 3 years of experience in the field of socio-economic research methods including surveying, data processing and data Presentation (supported by at least 2 development studies); (20 points)

• Demonstrated ability to engage in rural, agriculture or gender assessment – providing examples in developing expert analysis of rural, agriculture or gender assessment (15 points)

• Preferred professional experience in working with diverse public and private actors on legislative or socio/economic cooperation, preferably in the area of gender, socio-economic empowerment and response will be considered as an asset (supported with contribution to at least 2 project developments).; (5 points)
• Previous experience in working with UN agencies will be considered an advantagetag. (5 points)
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian is required. Candidates to provide certificate of English knowledge or sample of a part of study conducted in English (one to two pages maximum) REQUIRED

 

Financial Evaluation (30%) – 30 points 

 

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. 

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS 

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents: 

1. Expression of interest and confirmation of immediate availability (cover letter)
2. Detailed financial proposal in BAM inclusive of all costs (which includes consultancy fees, travel expenses, accommodation etc.)  
3. Completed UN Women Personal History (P11) form, that can be downloaded from  

Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered (all documents indicated above need to be uploaded).

Please note that any envisaged travel and accommodation costs should be covered by the consultant.  

For any additional information, please contact unwomen.bih@unwomen.org 

How to Submit the Application: To submit your application online, please follow the steps below:

• Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11)-  
• Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), the Financial Proposal, and Expression of Interest into a single file; The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded
• Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement)
• Click 'Apply Now' button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click 'Submit Application' 
• Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above)
• You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system

Qualified women and men and members of minorities are encouraged to apply. 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.  

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.)

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.