Consultant – Research Officer – Intergovernmental Processes – Ministry of Women and Child Development (Local Post for Indian Nationals and Applicants with a Valid Work Permit)

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.

UN Women’s India Country Office works towards promoting women’s leadership in governance and participation in intergovernmental processes, UN interagency coordination, women’s economic empowerment and ending violence against women and girls.

Under its comprehensive and unique mandate of normative support and coordination, UN Women is expected to provide strong and coherent leadership in support of countries’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society, the nodal government agency, private sector and other relevant actors.

The Intergovernmental Processes & Inter-Agency Coordination division in UN WOMEN India Country Office (ICO) plays a central role to deliver on UN Women’s normative support functions and strengthens linkages between normative work and operational activities. It contributes to the Entity’s support for the development and strengthening of a comprehensive set of global norms, policies and standards on gender equality and women’s empowerment that is dynamic, responds to new and emerging issues, challenges and opportunities and is applied through action by Governments and other stakeholders at all levels. The Unit also has special responsibility for the coordination of substantive servicing of intergovernmental and expert bodies as mandated in relevant legislative documents.

The Intergovernmental Processes and Coordination Division is UN Women’s interface with intergovernmental bodies, including the Commission on the Status of Women, the Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly, the G20, as well as with other intergovernmental processes and events.

The Technical Consultants role would contribute effectively to assist the Ministry of Women & Child Development (MWCD) on behalf of UN Women in handover preparation for G20 related activities pertaining to the Ministry by providing substantive inputs and support for intergovernmental dialogues. The consultants will specifically support developing documentation, action planning that emerged from India’s G20 presidency. They will engage across the UN to maximise support for the Government India’s engagement on the gender aspects in various intergovernmental processes. 

UN Women will be placing a Consultant – Research Officer at the MWCD to support the Ministry with a focus on intergovernmental processes, Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2030. The Technical Consultants will be placed in MWCD and will report to the relevant Joint Secretary in MWCD as may be assigned by the MWCD under the overall supervision of the Country Programme Manager, Intergovernmental Programme, UN WOMEN ICO. The Technical Consultants will also meet with UN Women once a fortnight or when required to discuss work undertaken.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions :

• Coordinate the work of Research assistant(s) placed with MWCD and support attention to gender perspectives in intergovernmental work, including through gathering information, identifying challenges and creating opportunities for MWCD and UN Women to help advance the global normative framework for gender equality;
• Facilitate reporting and monitoring  intergovernmental processes, knowledge sharing with Member States on intergovernmental procedures and working methods;
• Ideate on events and assist in organisation of dialogues and consultations related to MWCD and UN Women’s work;
• Supports & conducts research and analysis as required.

Supporting handover and follow up related to India’s G20 Presidency, World Economic Forum, Committee on Status of Women and other intergovernmental platforms to Align with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, focusing on Goal 5:

• Provide high-quality policy support on all sustainable development related issues with a focus on international cooperation from gender perspective.
• Develop high level analysis, papers, issue notes, briefs, speeches, talking points of any intergovernmental process.
• Engage in policy recommendations and support preparation for handover and follow up of G20 pertaining to MWCD.
• Provide inputs to the Ministry’s participation and response to international cooperation platforms focused on gender equality and social inclusion.
• Support the Ministry’s engagement and follow up in bilateral and multilateral forums.
• Coordinate monthly meetings with MWCD and UN Women. Ensure regular communications between MWCD and UN Women.
• Provide assistance and technical support to any other tasks assigned by MWCD and UN Women.     

Management:

• Coordinating team contributions and support corporate knowledge management activities to help influence / advance policy dialogues in the thematic(s) area, in collaboration with MWCD and UN Women.
• Developing and reviewing knowledge products in close coordination with MWCD by analysing and sharing lessons learnt.

Research and Analysis:

• Analysis of documents/references from different departments from a gender perspective.
• Analysis and research of information, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation & identification of new opportunities.
• Prepare briefing notes and updates on gender issues
• Prepare periodic progress reports of the work undertaken by the Ministry.   

Any other duties assigned by the Direct Supervisor in MWCD & the Deputy Representative in UN Women.

Expected Deliverables:

• Substantive positioning of the MWCD within intergovernmental processes, working/ engagement  groups and outcomes.
• Background papers, speeches and fact sheets as required.
• Monthly detailed and comprehensive narrative report of all activities undertaken (as part of the report  include templates &  plans developed, anecdotes that capture the process, partnerships, best practices and lessons learnt, photographs, press coverage, questionnaires, human interest stories, lists of participants, key strategies and recommendations) in soft copy will be submitted to UN Women with an acknowledgement of UN Women’s support to MWCD.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity;
• Demonstrating sound judgment;
• Self-development, initiative-taking
• Acting as a team player and facilitating teamwork;
• Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively
• Managing conflict;
• Learning and sharing knowledge and encouraging the learning of others. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member;
• Informed and transparent decision making.

Functional Competencies:              

• Demonstrates commitment to mission, vision and values of MWCD and UN Women;
• Strong knowledge, and experience of working on intergovernmental and normative processes; especially globally, and nationally;
• Demonstrated ability to analyse policy and strategies from a gender perspective;
• Produces qualitative, accurate outputs with considerable attention to detail, in a timely manner;
• Manages complexities, shifting priorities, and is able to work effectively without constant supervision;
• Maintains constructive, effective business relationships with clients and partners;
• Adheres to deadlines and follows up on time-bound issues;
• Maintains diplomacy, tact and strict confidentiality with internal and external partners and clients;
• Strong interpersonal and communication (verbal, listening, writing) skills;
• Organization skills (time management, efficient administration, multi-tasking and fast-paced);
• Ability to work under pressure within strict deadlines;
• Ability to adapt quickly to work demands, and changing deadlines;
• Willingness to “inter-change” work functions with other staff within the Unit, when required.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s Degree or equivalent in economics, political or social sciences or related field.

Experience:

• 4 years of relevant experience at the national or international level in providing management advisory services and hands-on experience, preferably with the Government, in design, monitoring and evaluation of development projects.
• Experience of working on G20 engagement groups or tracks is an advantage.
• Some experience working for the United Nations in support of normative intergovernmental processes is an advantage.
• Experience in the use of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and in handling web-based management systems.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Hindi.

Application:

Interested applicants should apply to this announcement through UNDP jobs site: jobs.undp.org

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/about-us/jobs
• Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment;
• Applications received after the close date will not be accepted;
• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Evaluation and Selection Criteria

Criteria for shortlisting of CVs will be based on the following assessment:

• Required Degree and Qualification;
• Expertise and Experience relevant to the assignment;
• Demonstrable experience on policy advocacy with the government and other stakeholders.

The evaluation process for selection of the candidate will be based on the following assessment:

• Writing Samples Assessment (20 points)
• Interview (80 points)

Please Note:

• For an assignment requiring travel, consultants of 65 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work to engage in the consultancy.
• Due to large number of potential applicants, only competitively selected candidates will be contacted for remaining steps of the service procurement process.
• The consultant is expected to use their own computer equipment. The office will not provide any computer equipment for this assignment.
• This is a full-time assignment. The consultant is expected to disclose any outside activity and shall not be permitted to take up any outside work during this assignment.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.