International consultant to support the development of UN Joint programme on tackling sexual violence and harassment in BiH

Background

BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, UN Women, is the global champion for gender equality, working to develop and uphold standards and create an environment in which every woman and girl can exercise her human rights and live up to her full potential. We are trusted partners for advocates and decision-makers from all walks of life, and a leader in the effort to achieve gender equality.

UN Women has an extensive programme portfolio to tackle violence against women in all its forms. Violence against women and girls and domestic violence are widespread social problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), constituting serious violations of fundamental human rights. Too often this violence is seen and tolerated as “socially acceptable behavior” and is justified as prevailing social practice and behaviour, as accepted norms in the role and status of women in the family and society. The latest OSCE led survey Well-being and Safety of Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2019) indicated that nearly half of women older than fifteen (48%) have experienced some form of abuse including intimate partner violence, non-partner violence, stalking and sexual harassment, this is not acceptable.

In Mid-January 2021, the testimony of a Serbian actress on her experience of sexual abuse by her teacher, a screenwriter and director in Serbia, initiated an avalanche of outrage and testimonies of women and girls from across the Western Balkans on sexual harassment and sexual violence experiences. The Facebook platform “Nisam trazila” (“I did not ask for it”) was quickly established as an informal initiative, started by three women in BiH. To support the movement, the hashtag #nisisama is used in public space/social network space. The movement “Nisam tražila” symbolizes the courage of women and girls who shared their experiences and the need to address the issue of sexual harassment and violence seriously in the region. Today over 3,000 testimonials have been published and over 30,000 women, men, girls, and boys have supported the movement and its objectives.

As a way to respond to the public demand for justice for survivors of sexual violence, throughout the course of 2021 UN Women has facilitated a dialogue with other UN agencies and stakeholders active in combating violence against women in BiH. The outcome of this dialogue and consultation sessions is a comprehensive UN Women mapping document attempting to capture all ongoing UN and other international and local actors’ interventions towards improving legislation, protection, prevention and prosecution of sexual violence in the country, regardless of target group and scope. The mapping exercise has been an important first step in grasping the magnitude of gaps and priorities in addressing this issue.

The UN Women Country Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina is seeking to recruit an International Consultant to provide expertise to ongoing consultations and validation processes with partners in support to the development of UN joint programming on tackling sexual violence and sexual harassment in BiH.
The work of the International Consultant will be supported by a National Consultant, and they will work under the overall supervision of the UN Women Representative and the direct supervision of the EVAW Programme Coordinator.

DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE

The overall development objective is to provide expert support to UN BiH efforts in addressing sexual violence and sexual harassment of women in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as part of a response to the large scale regional public movement to seek justice for survivors. Through this consultancy, UN Women aims to support the UN Agencies committed to develop and implement interventions in legislation, prevention, protection and prosecution of sexual violence and harassment. The results from this process will contribute to UN Women’s goal to end violence against women and girls.

IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE

To provide expert support to the UN efforts to develop a Concept Note with a results framework for a joint programme on combating sexual violence and sexual harassment in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The international consultant will lead the process of consultations and development of the Concept Note with which will outline the theory of change, objectives, strategies and risks for UN in BiH in addressing these issues, responding effectively to the public movement and aiming to close the gaps in the response to cases of sexual violence.

Duties and Responsibilities

The International Consultant will, in cooperation with the National Consultant, support the work of UN Women CO BiH in coordinating the development of the UN Joint Programme to tackle the issue of sexual violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina. To support this process the International Consultant is expected to deliver the following results and tasks:

1. Relevant UN agencies and other stakeholders have the same understanding of issues, gaps and priorities in addressing sexual violence in BiH

In consultation with UN Women, develop a detailed and comprehensive workplan for the development of the UN Joint Programme Concept Note and Results Framework on addressing sexual violence and harassment in BiH
Conduct a series of initial consultations with UN Women CO BiH and other UN agencies to ensure that the ongoing actions, gaps and priorities reflected in the existing UN Women mapping document are adequately identified and that the actors involved share a common understanding of the current state of play
Conduct consultations with external (non-UN) local and international stakeholders in this field to ensure the ongoing actions, gaps and priorities are adequately reflected in the existing mapping document
Update the mapping document with any additional inputs received and use it as a basis for the development of the UN Joint Programme Concept Note and the Results Framework

2. A comprehensive UN joint Programme Concept Note with a Results Framework for combating sexual violence in BiH is in place

Based on the consultations with UN Women, other UN agencies and external stakeholders, taking into consideration the mapping document, draft a UN Joint Programme Concept Note with a Results Framework outlining possible further interventions by relevant UN Agencies in legislation, prevention, protection and prosecution of sexual violence and harassment in BiH
Support UN Women in facilitating coordination meetings with other UN agencies and relevant stakeholders to present and collect inputs to the UN Joint Programme Concept Note and Results Framework
Consolidate inputs to the UN Joint Programme Concept Note and Results Framework and finalize the document
Together with UN Women present the final version of the Concept Note to UN agencies and other stakeholders

To facilitate delivery of the above outputs, UN Women will provide consultant with available resources including UN Women’s Orientation Brief, Legislative Overview, Mapping actions of key stakeholders and, other relevant resources on these issues.

DELIVERABLES AND TIMEFRAME

Under direct supervision of the EVAW Programme Coordinator, the International consultant will be expected to submit the following deliverables within the indicative timeframe:

Deliverable

Days

Delivery date by (indicative)

Written conclusions from the initial meeting with UN Women to discuss the background of the process and next steps to be used for development of the comprehensive work plan

1

15 January 2021

Comprehensive workplan for the development of the UN Joint Programme Concept Note and Results Framework approved by UN Women

3

31 January 2021

Written conclusions from consultation meetings with UN agencies and non-UN relevant stakeholders, with possibly of one in-country mission in Sarajevo, submitted to and finalized with UN Women to be used in the joint programme’s process

7

20 February 2022

Updated existing UN Women mapping document with additional inputs received through consultation meetings approved by UN Women

3

28 February 2022

Draft Concept Note with results framework on addressing sexual violence and harassment in BiH (maximum 30 pages in English) approved by UN Women

10

15 March 2022

Coordination meetings with UN agencies, with possibly of one in-country mission in Sarajevo, and consolidation of inputs to the UN Joint Programme Concept Note and Results Framework (with up to 7 Agencies)

7

31 March 2022

UN Joint Programme final Concept Note and Results Framework approved by UN Women

3

10 April 2022

Presentation of the Concept Note with all relevant stakeholders

1

15 April 2022

Total

35

Reporting

Under the direct supervision of the EVAW Programme Coordinator and the overall supervision of Representative, the International Consultant will work closely with the UN Women BiH EVAW team. All deliverables should be submitted to the UN Women EVAW Programme Coordinator in English.

Competencies

CORE VALUES:

Respect for Diversity
Integrity
Professionalism

CORE COMPETENCIES:

Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
Accountability
Creative Problem Solving
Effective Communication
Inclusive Collaboration
Stakeholder Engagement
Leading by Example

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 law, social studies, development studies, or a relevant related field. Bachelor’s degree in an of these fields with additional 5 years of experience will be accepted in lieu of a master’s degree.

Skills and Experience:

At least 7 years of experience in working in areas related to gender equality, development or human rights. Specific experience in working on topics related to EVAW (legislation, policy work, protection, prosecution) will be considered an asset
Demonstrated 5 years of experience in program design (development of concept notes, theory of change, log frames, project proposals, etc.)
Demonstrated at least years of 3 experience in managing and coordinating assignments with diverse groups of partners
Knowledge of policy analysis and, coordination related to human rights, gender equality or social inclusion
Previous work with UN and/or other international organizations will be considered an asset
Fluency in English, excellent spoken and written skills
Fluency in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (B/C/S) will be considered as asset.