International Consultant – Assessment of the impact of the Bangkok General Guidance on Judging with a Gender Perspective on Judiciaries in Focus Countries and the Region

Background

Duration of assignment: 30 November 2023 – 20 February 2024 (3 months)

The Project “Enhancing Access to Justice for Women in Asia and the Pacific: Bridging the gap between formal and community-based systems through women’s empowerment and reduction of gender biases” is a five-year programme that began in May 2018, with financial support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). 

The project aims to strengthen gender-responsive people-centred justice and eliminate gender discriminatory laws and practices to improve women’s use, access to and participation in justice systems. This is aligned with the gender justice concept, which considers women in legislative frameworks, but also promotes women as active citizens, with the right to live a life free from violence, fully participate in decision making, enjoy their rights, and have responsive avenues for redress if their rights are violated.

In realizing the goal, the project partners - UN Women, ICJ, and OHCHR, both the regional offices of Southeast Asia and the Pacific (OHCHR) - focus on achieving three outputs: 
(1) Domestic laws adopted and court decisions are consistent with international human rights law and standards, including CEDAW. 

(2) Gender discriminatory attitudes and stereotyped behaviours towards women by formal and community justice providers are addressed. 

(3) Grassroots women’s organizations and community-based women’s organizations are empowered and well-positioned to document, monitor, liaise and facilitate interactions with justice providers.

The project results are based on the theory of change that if: (i) A legal enabling environment for women to access gender-responsive justice is created by advocating for laws and court decisions that are consistent with international human rights law and standards, including the CEDAW; and, (ii) Community-based justice systems are gender-responsive and have an increased understanding and awareness of women’s rights; and, (iii) Grassroots women’s organizations, community-based women’s organizations, and communities are empowered and well positioned to document, monitor, liaise and facilitate interactions with justice providers; then, women’s access to justice will be enhanced in the Asia Pacific region.

The project is implemented at the sub-regional level: Southeast Asia (SEA), South Asia (SA) and the Pacific Islands, with a specific focus on Indonesia, the Philippines, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste and Solomon Islands. The project is designed to work towards that all women will be beneficiaries, without leaving anyone behind, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

A Mid-Term Review of the programme was undertaken in June 2022. The project will end in February 2024 and a final evaluation of the entire project is underway.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Access to Justice Project Specialist of UN Women ROAP, and in close collaboration and consultation with the ICJ the Consultant will be responsible for the following:

1. Perform desk review of the project’s key documents including Program Document, Annual Work Plans and Budget, all progress reports, outcome documents from all conferences and workshops that have been conducted within the framework of the project and relate to the work with the judiciary.
2. Prepare a brief Inception Report detailing the evaluation team’s understanding and develop an interview plan based on the report and the key questions as listed above.
3. Collect data and information through individual interviews and FGDs with ICJ staff, members of the judiciary and representatives of judicial training institutes.
4. Present the preliminary findings to UN Women and the ICJ to validate and integrate feedback in the draft report.
5. Prepare a draft evaluation report and integrate feedback received UN Women and the ICJ into the final evaluation report not exceeding 15 pages (in word format and in line with UN Women standards.
6. Prepare a presentation of the final evaluation conclusions and recommendations.

Expected Deliverables

Competencies

Core Values:

• 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 expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.
• Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity: Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

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 :

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the United Nations' values and ethical standards.
• Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of the UN and UN Women.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
• Ability and willingness to work as part of a team to meet tight deadlines and produce high quality work.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in a relevant discipline or bachelor’s degree with 2 additional years of relevant work experience (e.g., law, international development, gender studies, etc.)

Essential Knowledge and Experience:

• A minimum of 5 years of experience leading evaluations in a Team Leader position, including evaluations of multi-stakeholder projects for multilateral organizations is required;
• Extensive knowledge of qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods is required;
• Extensive experience in gender justice, gender equality and human rights work within development cooperation preferred;
• Knowledge in results-based programming in support of gender justice and human rights is highly desirable;
• Proven experience in drafting and writing to produce and present concise and analytical reports;
• Working experience in the Asia and the Pacific is preferred;
• Knowledge of gender and justice in project pilot countries is an asset;
• Experience working with the UN system is a strong asset.

Language:

• Proficiency in English is required.

Evaluation

Applications will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis.

• Technical Qualification (100 points) weight; [70%]
• Financial Proposal (100 points) weight; [30%]

A two-stage procedure is utilised in evaluating the applications, with evaluation of the technical application being completed prior to any price proposal being compared. Only the price proposal of the candidates who passed the minimum technical score of 70% of the obtainable score of 100 points in the technical qualification evaluation will be evaluated.

Technical Qualification Evaluation Criteria:
The total number of points allocated for the technical qualification component is 100. The technical qualification of the individual is evaluated based on the following technical qualification evaluation criteria:

Financial/Price Proposal Evaluation:

• Only the financial proposal of candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% score in the technical evaluation will be considered and evaluated.
• The total number of points allocated for the price component is 100.
• The maximum number of points will be allotted to the lowest price proposal that is opened/ evaluated and compared among those technically qualified candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% score in the technical evaluation. All other price proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.

Submission of Application
Interested candidates are encouraged to submit an electronic application to with CC to no later than 17 November 2023, midnight New York time.

The submission package includes:

• Personal History Form, using .
• Cover letter.
• Sample of at least two evaluation reports, preferably in the areas of gender and justice, or human rights where the applicant was the team leader.
• Financial proposal shall specify a lump sum amount breaking down the professional fee for each deliverable in USD.

Diversity and Inclusion

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, colour, 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.)