Background

UN Women was established by GA resolution 64/289 of 2 July 2010 on system-wide coherence, with a mandate to assist Member States and the UN system to progress more effectively and efficiently towards the goal of achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women. Since 2001 UN Women (previously as UNIFEM) in Kyrgyzstan has implemented catalytic initiatives on promoting women’s economic, political and social rights. In 2012, a full UN Women Country Office (CO) was established. UN Women Kyrgyzstan Country Office is implementing the second year of the Strategic Note 2023-2028 in the areas of promoting women’s leadership in governance, peace and security, advancing women’s political and economic rights, and preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls.

Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) is not only a fundamental human rights principle but also a catalyst for inclusive governance and sustainable development. It is recognized that achieving GEWE is essential in all sectors of society, such as good governance, peacebuilding, women’s political and economic empowerment, and financing for gender equality.

UN Women in Kyrgyzstan is working with a range of stakeholders to advance the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda by developing strategic partnerships at central and local levels and introducing innovations to improve the effectiveness of the central and local governance system with gender-responsive planning and budgeting tools at its core.

Recognizing this critical link between gender equality, peacebuilding and gender-responsive planning and budgeting, UN Women is seeking a national consultant to lead the process of conceptualizing and developing recommendations for institutionalizing a gender-responsive budgeting approach in local and central planning.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of work 

Under the overall guidance of the Head of UN Women Programmes in Kyrgyzstan and technical supervision of the Head of the UN Women Suboffice in the Southern provinces , the National Consultant will provide comprehensive support to UN Women team for fulfilling the following set of interrelated tasks:

Activities

• Conduct an analysis of existing practices and policy measures to apply a comprehensive gender responsive approach in the development of local development plans (LDPs) and local budgets (its  revenues and expenditures) in collaboration with representatives of territorial state bodies, the Ministry of Finance and its territorial financial bodies in 9 target Local Self-Governance (LSGs) of Batken province (including 2-days workshop in Batken province).
• Conduct review and assessment of normative legal acts on planning and budgeting from a gender perspective (Budget Code, Budget Classification, laws, resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers, NAPs, programs, instructions, orders, etc.).
• Conduct a workshop aimed at testing a set of recommendations on the application of integrated gender approaches in the development of local development plans and budgets with the participation of representatives of 9 target LSGs, territorial financial bodies, and relevant departments of the Ministry of Finance.
• Develop instructions on the mandatory application of gender responsive approaches in the development of Local Development Plans and budgets (revenues and expenditures) in its compliance with the norms of budget law, principles of inter-budgetary relations.

Deliverables

• Analysis of existing practices and policy measures to apply a comprehensive gender responsive approach in the development of local development plans (LDPs) and local budgets in 9 target LSGs, draft recommendations developed and discussed with relevant local and centra; government agencies;
• Set of recommendations on improvement of normative legal acts on gender responsive planning, budgeting and inter-budget relations;

• Representatives of 9 target LSGs, territorial financial bodies, and relevant departments of the Ministry of Finance enhanced their knowledge on how to apply normative legal acts (Budget Code, laws, NAPs, national/sectoral strategies/programs, resolutions, instructions) into LDPs and local budgets for 2024 and planned period 2025-2026.
• The instructions application of gender responsive approaches in the development of Local Development Plans and budgets (revenues and expenditures) in its compliance with the norms of budget law, principles of inter-budgetary relations.

Competencies

Core Values / Guiding Principles:

• Integrity: Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
• Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity: Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff.  Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Knowledge of governance system
• Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision from the spectrum of gender responsive governance, planning and budgeting
• Proven experience in strategic analysis
• Excellent inter-personal communication and team-working skills
• Effective planning and time-management skills
• Good analytical and writing skills
• Commitment to quality and timely results

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Required Skills and Experience

The payments will be made in KGS at the UN Operational Rate for Exchange (UNORE) effective at the month of payment and in 2 instalments per reported deliverables based on submitted and approved deliverables, as follows:

Reporting requirements:

The National Consultant is expected to work remotely using her/his own computer but may access the UN Women office to print relevant documents or whenever required to work on-site at any point during the assignment.

Consultancy report should be provided in both in printed and electronic versions in Russian with detailed description of the fulfilled tasks, according to the present Term of Reference, and the contribution of the expert. Analytical documents, reports and other materials developed by expert should be attached to the report as annexes, which will serve as a justification for payment.

Required Experience

Education:

• Master’s Degree in public administration, economy and finance, or any other degree relevant to the requirements of the TOR.
• A first-level university degree in combination with five additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• A minimum of 5 years of demonstrated professional experience in the area of governance and public finance, experience on gender responsive planning and budgeting.
• Experience and knowledge on central level strategic planning, policy making and budgetary processes in Kyrgyzstan.
• Familiarity with country context on gender equality is considered an asset.
• Previous experience working with international organizations is considered an asset.

Language:

• Fluency in Russian and Kyrgyz.

Other Skills

• Knowledge and skills of relevant computer applications of MS Office applications (Word, Excel, Power Point), knowledge of Internet communications and command is required.

Application procedure:

Applications should include:

1. Offeror’s letter to UN Women confirming interest and availability for the assignment.
2. Financial proposal, indicating a total lump sum to include all costs relating to the delivery of activities as per above description.
3. P-11 form including experience in similar assignments. This form can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment.

Financial proposal format:

Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant during the contract period. The financial proposal should be provided in KGS. If the proposal is provided in any other currency, it would be converted as per UN exchange rate on the date of post closure.

Evaluation of applicants

The evaluation starts with shortlisting of potential candidates and received applications against the mandatory requirements. Only full applications will be considered. Shortlisted candidates will be then evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ technical qualifications and experience, and financial proposal. The contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

1. Technically responsive/compliant/acceptable to the requirements of the ToR; and
2. Having received the highest cumulative (technical & financial) score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

The selection of candidates will be done in 3 stages:

1st stage: Prior to detailed evaluation, all applications will be thoroughly screened against eligibility criteria (minimum qualification requirements) as set in the present ToR in order to determine whether they are compliant/ non-compliant.

Education:

• Master’s Degree in public administration, economy and finance, or any other degree relevant to the requirements of the TOR.
• A first-level university degree in combination with five additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• A minimum of 5 years of demonstrated professional experience in the area of governance and public finance, experience on gender responsive planning and budgeting.
• Experience and knowledge on central level strategic planning, policy making and budgetary processes in Kyrgyzstan.
• Familiarity with country context on gender equality is considered an asset.
• Previous experience working with international organizations is considered an asset.

Language:

• Fluency in Russian and Kyrgyz.

Other Skills

• Knowledge and skills of relevant computer applications of MS Office applications (Word, Excel, Power Point), knowledge of Internet communications and command is required.

2nd stage: Technical Evaluation/ Desk review.

Short-listed candidates will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

3rd stage: Financial evaluation will be conducted according to the method described below:

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion.

A suggested formula is as follows: p=30 (µ/z)

Where:

p – points for the financial proposal being evaluated;

µ – price of the lowest priced proposal;

z – price of the proposal being evaluated

The candidate achieving the highest cumulative score for both Technical and Financial evaluations will be recommended by the Evaluation Committee for contracting.

The Consultant shall promote a client-oriented approach consistent with UN Women rules and regulations and commits to high standards of quality, productivity and timeliness in the delivery of tasks. The Consultant will meet and apply the highest standards of integrity and impartiality.

The Consultant must be fully dedicated to the mandate and the values of UN Women, particularly to promoting Gender Equality as a strategy to reduce conflict, improve livelihoods and ensure fairness and justice; to Women Empowerment underpinning Gender Equality promotion efforts; to inter-ethnic tolerance and concord; and to respect for diversity.

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from
https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc  Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment.
Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment. Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.
UN Women is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Applications without the completed P-11 form are incomplete and will NOT be considered for further assessment!