Senior International Consultant – Programme Reporting

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; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women’s rights at the centre 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. UN Women 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 in Bangladesh supports the government to implement commitments to international normative standards on gender equality and women’s human rights. The new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2022-2026 was launched in 2021 and the corresponding UN Women Bangladesh Strategic Note (2022-2026), defining UN Women’s strategic engagement in Bangladesh, has also been finalized. The country strategy focuses on strengthening the national structures and mechanisms for gender mainstreaming in policies, plans and budgets; supporting efforts to prevent and eliminate violence against women; promoting women’s access to decent and safe work; promoting policies and government investment in women’s empowerment and resilience building in the context of climate change, humanitarian crisis as well as other threats to peace and security. UN Women works with a range of stakeholders in Bangladesh including the government, civil society and women’s organisations, youth, UN agencies and donors, to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Against this backdrop, UN Women Bangladesh Country Office (BCO) seeks to engage an International Programme Reporting Consultant. Under the direct supervision of the Deputy Country Representative, the consultant will support Bangladesh Country Office (BCO) to formulate high quality programme and donor reports that will enhance its internal and external reporting and stakeholder engagement capacities. The scope of work requires substantive experience and in-depth understanding of results-based management (RBM) principles for efficiency and effectiveness in planning, monitoring and reporting of programme results. The consultant should also have experience in capacity development and training on RBM and report writing.

Objectives:

To strengthen BCO’s capacity to produce high quality reports for internal and external communication, applying RBM principles in line with UN Women reporting rules and procedures.

Duties and Responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities:

The consultant will:

1) In close consultation with the Deputy Representative, support capacity development of BCO staff on programme monitoring and reporting using the human rights-based approach (HRBA) lens in results-based management (RBM)

2) In close consultation with Programme Units and Planning, Monitoring and Reporting Analyst, support the preparation and editing of quarterly, annual and donor reports to ensure:

a. Results based reporting - Reporting must include progress on outcomes, outputs and indicators; where activities are reported, they are accompanied by strong result statements

b. Strengthen analysis in reporting where required in consultation with relevant programme colleagues

c. Appropriate use of language

d. Completeness of documents and annexes

e. Consistency with previous reports submitted

f. Address Regional Office/headquarter and partner feedback as required

3) Provide technical support to the monitoring and reporting of BCO to strengthen capacities on results-based management and reporting through one-on-one sessions with relevant colleagues

Deliverables:

• Edited quarterly, annual and donor reports including note summarizing changes and dedicated sessions with relevant teams to strengthen future reporting Training package on results-based reporting (presentations and relevant resource materials)

• Pre and post capacity assessment reports of learning sessions for BCO personnel

• Comprehensive concept notes

Supervision and Performance Evaluation:

The consultant will undertake the tasks under the direct supervision and guidance of the Deputy Country Representative.

Duration and Work Location:

The consultant will be home-based with a possibility of travel to Dhaka, Bangladesh if required, for a period of one year on a retainer basis (with a possibility of extension).

Travel and DSA:

If unforeseen travel to Dhaka or elsewhere is required for this assignment, upon prior agreement/approval from UN Women such travel expenses shall be borne by UN Women and the individual contractor/SSA shall receive a per-diem not to exceed United Nations daily subsistence allowance rate in such other location(s) and actual travel cost.

Payment Schedule:

Payment will be on actual need basis or number of days involvement, after submission of deliverables and acceptance by the contract supervisor.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Core Values and 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 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.

Functional Competencies

Ethics and Values: Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.
Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
Development and Innovation: Take charge of self-development and take initiative.
Work in teams: Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
Communicating and Information Sharing: Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.
Self-management and Emotional Intelligence: Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others.
Conflict Management: Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.
Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.
Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

Master’s degree in international development, gender/women’s studies, economics, political science or other social sciences with a focus on gender and women’s rights.

Experience and skills

Minimum 7 years of relevant work experience on issues related to project design, monitoring and reporting using results-based management.
Proven expertise in the area of gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Previous experience with UN Women preferred; experience in working with government, donors and other UN agencies is an asset.
Proven track record in policy analysis, development work, monitoring and reporting using results-based management in the area of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Language

Excellent command of written and spoken English required.