National consultant to conduct gender mainstreaming of internal documents of selected private sector companies

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.

Since 2015, UN Women, UNDP and UNICEF have been supporting IT Girls - a joint UN initiative that aims to bridge the digital gender gap and promotes equal opportunities for women and men in education and career in the information and communication technologies (ICT). Through the promotion of gender equality and equality of opportunities, adolescent girls aged 13-18 have benefited from advanced and targeted interventions aimed at acquiring digital skills and increasing their knowledge about the importance of their greater participation in the field of ICT. Young female ICT professionals have been included as role models for younger generations, and as part of ongoing awareness raising and advocacy towards increasing opportunities for girls and women in ICT. UN Women component of IT Girls work has been focused primarily on mentorship and networking, as well as piloting Women’s Empowerment Principles with private sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)

As major private sector actors in BiH, IT companies are an important driver of change with their rising share in the economies in the region, and their recruitment and human resource management policies can shape the sector’s demographic structure and dynamics and provide important example for the other sectors. IT Girls has established strategic collaboration with the association of IT companies in BiH – Bit Alliance, partnering on specific interventions such as the crowdfunding campaign (2018) and work in schools, building a network of successful women in ICT and behavioral insights research on women and girls’ education and career choices. Through the work on promoting equal opportunities in the IT sector, IT Girls aims to widen the scope of collaboration with IT companies and associations, developing this sector’s potential to model a business case for equality.

Leveraging the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), a joint initiative of UN Women and the UN Global Compact to provide a gender dimension of corporate social responsibility and business' role in sustainable development, in 2021, UN Women supported eight companies/organizations (Authority Partners, Bicom Systems, Lanaco Company, Mistral, Muehl Bauer, Ministry of Programming, Softray Solutions, The Chamber of Economy of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina) to establish three-year Action Plans to implement WEPs. The developed methodology for assessment of alignment of companies’ business with WEPs is a valuable and lasting resource, which can be utilized by new companies, and which can be applied across and outside BiH. This methodology includes the Analysis of Entry Points, WEPs Questionnaire, Methodology for the calculation of WEPs index on the WEPs scorecard, WEPs Assessment, WEPs Action Plans and Gender pay-gap calculator. According to an independent IT Girls Assessment (formative evaluation) conducted in 2021, joining and implementing WEPs means following global trends, learning about global practices, and becoming a member of a global network, which increases companies’ competitiveness and visibility. As a result of IT Girls’ efforts and established cooperation with IT sector in BiH, the five companies mentioned signed the CEO statements of support at the ceremony in August 2021.

UN Women divided the WEPs implementation into two phases, implementation phase consisting of WEPs Questionnaire, Assessment, and Action Plan development, and integration phase where UN Women provides trainings to WEPs signatories on gender equality, gender responsive practices in human resources management, marketing, health and safety, sexual harassment at work, as well as the role of private sector in preventing domestic violence and protecting victims. In 2022, UN Women plans to continue the integration phase and support companies/organizations in gender mainstreaming of internal policies and creating gender-responsive workplace standards.

In order to provide expert guidance in the process of gender mainstreaming of internal documents in the private sector companies/organizations, and for the purpose of supporting selected companies to adjust their workplace standards to better reflect global principles on equal opportunities and anti-discrimination, as well as providing support in WEPs integration, UN Women Country Office in BiH is seeking to engage a national consultant who specializes in Business policies and equal opportunities in the workplace.

DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE

The overall objective of the consultancy is to support selected private sector actors in BiH to implement and integrate Women’s Empowerment Principles (hereafter WEPs) in BIH into their corporate policies and organizational cultures, aiming to advance equal opportunities and antidiscrimination practices.

The results and lessons learnt from the initial project will further inform strategic areas of intervention for the IT Girls initiative and three supporting UN agencies (UN Women, UNDP, and UNICEF) as well as UN Women’s programming and promotion of Women’s Empowerment Principles. Besides, it will formulate unified documents on gender-responsive policies and practices, and WEPs integration for UN Women’s future use.

IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE

The immediate objective is to expand the implementation of WEPs with private sector actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina and provide support to UN Women in designing and implementing gender-responsive practices and policies. Therefore, UN Women is seeking to engage a national consultant who will lead the process of gender mainstreaming of the private sector’s internal documents, mapping gaps within the existing company policies, as well as designing gender-sensitive practices based on identified priority areas.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the IT Girls Project Associate and overall supervision of the Programme Specialist, the National Consultant will undertake the following tasks:

1.1 Provide expert guidance with WEPs signatories on gender mainstreaming of internal documents:

Organize a set of meetings (at least eight) with WEPs signatories to review the internal policies, project-related guideline documents, and companies’ WEPs Action Plans.
Provide support to the companies to conduct a rapid gender organizational assessment based on the review of the current regulations, practices, and identify the areas that require a strengthened approach in terms of gender awareness and their operational procedures and responsibilities.

1.2 Provide guidance to UN Women BiH CO and WEPs signatories on the process of integration of gender-responsive policies and practices:

Based on the previous phase consultations, WEPs action plans, and training guidelines and manuals, provide support to the companies to develop at least two policies per IT company which companies identified as priority areas.
Provide support in upscaling/extending at least two existing policies per IT company to incorporate gender sensitive practices in line with BiH Gender Action Plan and WEPs.
Support companies in integration of newly developed gender-responsive policies and practices by providing guidance and consultations where necessary.
Organize at least eight meetings to support companies in the integration of new policies and practices.
Advise UN Women BiH CO on further gaps and needs for support when it comes to successful integration of WEPs into selected companies’ organizational cultures.

1.3 Review and take stock of the process of implementation of WEPs standards by WEPs signatories:

Provide companies support and tools for them to be able to review each of the WEPs signatory companies process to take stock of the progress, compare experiences, and discuss ways forward.
Draft final report and submit to UN Women with recommendations on next steps in promoting WEPs within selected companies as well as wider private sector in BiH.

ACTIVITIES AND TIMEFRAME

The following products and deliverables are expected to be completed by the International Consultant according to an agreed schedule:

Key deliverables

Estimated days

Due dates

1.

Initial meeting with UN Women to discuss the work methodology, WEPs Action Plans, timeline, and next steps; Meeting minutes sent and approved by UN Women

1

15 August 2022

2.

Workplan for the entire consultancy developed, submitted, and approved by UN Women

2

18 August 2022

3.

Joint consultation session with UN Women and eight companies to introduce this phase of work, its purpose, and steps. Document capturing meeting’s conclusions sent and approved by UN Women

1

2 September 2022

3.

Draft report with identified gaps in companies’ policies and practices with respect to their WEPs Action Plans, as well as gender equality, equal opportunities and antidiscrimination principles, and recommendations on how to address them, sent and approved by UN Women

10

15 September 2022

4.

Round of separate meetings/workshops with companies to present the proposed recommendations and ways forward in bridging the gaps identified in their respective policies. meeting notes from at least 8 meetings conducted, submitted, and approved by UN Women

8

15 October 2022

5.

Provide support in revising and/or developing at least two policies/guidelines/protocols per company to address their priority areas/gaps and support companies to adopt the policies, the document capturing provided support on revised policies sent to and approved by UN Women

4

31 October 2022

6.

Provide support in upscaling and/or extending at least two existing policies/guidelines/protocols per company to incorporate gender sensitive practices, the document capturing provided support of the extended policies sent to and approved by UN Women

4

11 November 2022

7.

Report on the entire process with gaps identified, recommendations proposed, and actions taken by companies, with additional recommendations for UN Women on next steps and further needs for support.

5

15 December 2022

TOTAL

35

The assignment will require in-country travel to one company in Banja Luka and seven companies in Sarajevo.

REPORTING

All deliverables should be submitted to the IT Girls Project Associate and Programme Specialist. The deliverables and final report of the consultancy should be delivered by 24 October 2022 in English and should not exceed 10 pages.

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

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

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 or equivalent in Gender Studies, Law, International Relations, Political Science, Public Policy, Public Administration, Economics, or a related field in Social Sciences.
Bachelor’s Degree in a similar field in combination with additional five years of relevant work experience will be taken into consideration in lieu of the master’s degree (a total of 10 years of work experience is required if the candidate holds a Bachelor’s degree).

Skills and Experience:

At least 5 years of relevant professional experience at national or international level in the field of corporate social responsibility, human rights, or gender equality - 20 points;
At least 2 years of experience in advising businesses/private sector companies/corporations/international organization’s/NGOs on workplace standards/policies/practices and in undertaking organizational workplace standards assessment diagnosis; - 20 points;
At least 2 years of experience in authoring/writing technical documents or policies on human rights/gender equality/gender mainstreaming/women’s empowerment – 15 points;
Comprehensive knowledge of international/ regional agreements and initiatives on gender equality and equity – 15 points;

Please, clearly reflect all skills and experience requirements in the P11 form. Fluency in written and oral English and Bosnian /Croatian/Serbian are required for this assignment.

EVALUATION OF OFFERS

UN 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. Candidate applications will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of applicant qualifications and 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 below defined technical, interview and financial criteria.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 50 points in the technical evaluation will be considered for an interview. Top 3 candidates (with highest number of points in the technical evaluation) will be interviewed.

Criteria:

Technical Evaluation (70%),

Financial Evaluation (30%)

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.

Please note that travel costs should be covered by the consultant.

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.

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.

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents:

Expression of interest
Detailed financial proposal inclusive of all costs (which includes consultancy fees, travel if applicable, accommodation)
Completed UN Women Personal History (P11) form, that can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment

Applications that are not complete will not be considered.

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)- http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment
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.