National Consultant to conduct Participatory gender assessment and undertake a ToT training on the subject with a national institution

Background

Since 2015, UN Women has been implementing the regional programme “Men and Women for Gender Equality” (MWGE) to enhance gender equality in the Arab Region, by understanding the root causes of gender inequality, and addressing them through innovative approaches that involve both men and women. The second phase of the MWGE programme (MWGE Phase II) is currently operating in six countries: Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, and Tunisia. The programme, unique to the region and funded by Sweden, is focused on engaging men and boys to achieve gender equality in partnership with women and girls, while also promoting the rights of women by providing gender equitable interpretations of religious texts.
https://arabstates.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/men-and-women-for-gender-equality
The MWGE Phase II builds on the solid foundation, results, and lessons learned established during phase I to accelerate transformative change with respect to gender equality and women’s rights through broader community outreach, and institutional and legal change. Furthermore, a regional campaign entitled “Because I am a man“is being implemented to raise awareness of the critical roles of fathers in childcare, violence prevention, and gender equality issues.
https://arabstates.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/because-i-am-a-man-campaign
The MWGE Phase II contributes to:

Outcome 1: Communities have more gender-equitable behaviors.
Outcome 2: Key institutions (academia, faith-based institutions, media, governments) and networks integrate/promote gender-responsive practices.
Outcome 3: Laws, policies, and strategies promoting gender equality are drafted, revised, and/or approved.

As part of the above Outcome 2 of the MWGE Phase II programme, UN Women is working with key institutions (governments, academia, and media) so that they commit to gender-responsive practices as a result of UN Women’s regional and national efforts to promote gender equality and male engagement.
To achieve this, UN Women is supporting the undertaking of a participatory gender assessment for selected institutions from the six countries of MWGE Phase II implementation.
A participatory gender assessment is an internationally recognized tool to assess the institutionalization of gender equality in organizations, including in their policies, programmes, projects, and provision of services, structures, processes, and budgets. As a method for gender mainstreaming, gender assessments help organizations to identify and understand gender patterns within their composition, structures, processes, organizational culture, and management of human resources, and in the design and delivery of policies and services. They also help assess the impact of organizational performance and its management on gender equality within the organization. Gender assessments establish a baseline against which progress can be measured over time, identifying critical gender gaps and challenges, and making recommendations of how they can be addressed through improvements and innovations.
The model for this gender assessment in Tunisia will be based on a Participatory Gender Assessment tool, including some additional elements and adaptations responding to the identified priorities by the national institution and UN Women.
Objectives of the Assignment:
Under the framework of the MWGE Phase II programme, UN Women Tunisia is seeking to recruit an experienced consultant in the field of gender and development to support the development of participatory gender assessment for a national institution in Tunisia and to conduct a Training of Trainers (ToT) on the subject.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will work under the overall guidance of the UN Women head of programmes, the direct supervision of the Men and Women for Gender Equality Coordinator in Tunisia, and in very close collaboration with the selected national institution.
For the sake of consistency and methodological alignment within the MWGE regional programme, the consultant may also be required to participate in meetings with other UN Women members from the Regional Office for the Arab States and from the other five UN Women’s country offices who are conducting gender assessments in their respective countries, as well as with the consultants recruited by UN Women to conduct such gender assessments.
The selected consultant will undertake the following tasks, duties, and responsibilities:
Conduct a Training of Trainers (ToT) in the selected national institution on the PGA (Participatory Gender Assessment) tool with the main objective of strengthening and expanding the capacity to conduct gender mainstreaming activities, which involves:

Selecting the assessment team (belonging to the selected national institution) that will work with the consultant in consultation with UN Women;
Developing and finalizing the training programme in full coordination with UN Women;
Delivering a five-day training workshop for selected staff of the national institution. Selection of participants to the ToTs will be led by the institution in consultation with UN Women and the consultant;
Developing and submitting a Workshop Report in English covering: the training content and topics covered, general observations, main findings, and recommendations.

Conduct a Gender assessment of the selected national institution with the main objective of providing key recommendations for gender-sensitive and responsive policies, tools, programmes/projects, services, and practices including community mobilization and reach, which involves:

Holding one or more meetings with the selected national institution to introduce the assessment methodology, objectives, and process to obtain their consent while ensuring the highest level of commitment towards achieving gender equality in their institution;
Reviewing the following documents: internal policies and regulations, strategic plans, HR policies and regulations, administrative and financial rules and regulations, and all related literature and documentation including the relevant organizations’ strategies, research papers, assessments, programmes, services, etc.;
Conducting interviews, focus group discussions, and workshops with the concerned institution’s executives and staff.
Undertake interviews with key selected partners/stakeholders of the selected institution, and potentially also some focus group discussions and/or questionnaires with a selected pool of beneficiaries (demand side) of the institution.
Develop numerical baselines of the institution assessed that determine the degree of gender-responsiveness of the institution across different areas (i.e. policies, programmes, organizational structure, etc.) that can be used to measure progress over time.
Conducting an online anonymous survey with staff members of the institutions assessed that helps to identify gaps in staff members’ gender knowledge, capacities, attitudes, and behaviors on gender norms and masculinities, degree of application of existing gender policies and instruments, etc.
Contribute to alignment and consistency of the methodologies utilized by the gender assessments conducted by the MWGE programme in the six target countries.
Identifying gender gaps in specific areas of the institution (internally and externally) such as policies, practices, tools, projects, services, etc., proposing recommendations for amendments.
• Based on the findings of the gender assessment, develop in close cooperation with the selected institution a detailed action plan to inform their strategy of implementing the recommendations. The action plan should contain: (i) specific follow-up activities, (ii) indicators to monitor outcomes, (iii) a designation of who is responsible for implementation, (iv) estimated costs and sources of funds, and (v) timeframe.
• Presenting the results of the review, main recommendations/proposed amendments, and action plan to the national institution, for discussion, review, and approval.
• Preparing and presenting a final report in Arabic (or French) and English for the national institution, approved by UN Women.
• Prepare for and facilitate a launching event, as needed, for the results of the gender assessment and recommendations, upon the approval of the national institution in close coordination with UN Women.

Consultants are expected to be equipped with all materials and equipment needed to perform their tasks for example laptops, software etc.
Deliverables Timelines
Deliverable 1 :
Inception report of the assignment that includes the desk review, detailed methodology with data collection methods and list of people to be targeted, outline of PGA reports, the detailed timeframe of assignment, etc. 17 October (estimated n° of working days = 10 days)
Deliverable 2:
Training materials, a training programme for a ToT on the PGA tool, and two training workshops on the PGA tool. A final Workshop Report (approved by UN Women), including all annexes such as training materials, minutes of meetings, and pre and post-assessments, interviews, focus groups, attendance sheets, photos, copies of certifications, etc. 04 November 2022 (estimated n° of working days = 15 days)
Deliverable 3:
PGA (Participatory Gender Assessment) action plan is based on the PGA recommendations for the national institution. The action plan should contain: (i) specific follow-up activities, (ii) indicators to monitor outcomes, (iii) a designation of who is responsible for implementation, and (iv) timeframe. 02 December 2022 (estimated n° of working days = 20 days)
Deliverable 4:
A final Report in English on the Gender Assessment (approved by UN Women, including annexes such as assessment tools, etc. and presentation of outputs, proposed amendments, recommendations, and the action plan of the revisions. 23 December 2022 (estimated n° of working days = 15 days)
Deliverable 5:
The consultant will be responsible for the preparation of the minutes of the meetings with the national institution and the preparation of power point presentations for the meetings including a final presentation of the results. 07 January 2023 (estimated n° of working days = 10 days)

Timeframe
The timeframe of the assignment is four months: the assignment is expected to start in September 2022 and be finalized by November 2022.
Language
All deliverables must be submitted in two languages: English and French or Arabic depending on the choice of the national institution.
All deliverables need to be validated by UN Women and the national institution.

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: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

Sound knowledge of gender-related issues and women's rights, including international human rights conventions, gender equality, gender analysis, gender mainstreaming techniques and tools, as well as masculinities;
Sound knowledge of organizational strategic plans, internal regulations and policies, financial rules and regulations and HR manual;
Previous experience in conducting desk reviews, focus groups and interviews;
Previous experience in designing and conducting TOTs and gender assessments;
Strong dialogue and communication skills;
Previous experience in working with Organizations, especially media institutions and ministries.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A Master’s degree in socio-economic studies, gender studies, or any related development fields;
A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

At least 5 years of significant experience in conducting gender assessments;
More than 6 years of experience in working in the domain of women’s development and gender issues;
Familiarity and previous work with national institutions and UN organizations is an asset.

Language Requirements:

Professional knowledge of English, and fluency in Arabic and French.

Evaluation Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology: Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation.

Criteria Weight Technical: 70% (70 points)
Criteria 1: Education
Educational university background (max. 5 points)
Criteria 2: Experience
The Consultant should have the following qualifications:

Experience in conducting gender assessments; (max 30 points)
Experience in working in the domain of women’s development and gender issues; (max 20 points)
Familiarity and previous work with Tunisian governmental and UN organizations; (max 5 points)

Criteria 3: Provide two samples of work. (max 10 points)

Financial: Lowest Financial Proposal: 30% (30 points)

The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula:

Contract will be awarded to the technically qualified consultant who obtains the highest combined score (financial and technical);
The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula: (Lowest Bid Offered*)/ (Bid of the Consultant) x 30;
'Lowest Bid Offered' refers to the lowest price offered by Offerors scoring at least 49 points in the technical evaluation.