National Consultant-Beijing+30 Review Report

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 the 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.   

In 2025, the global community will mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), and 10 years of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals.

Leading up to the anniversary, comprehensive national-level reviews, led by the government with involvement from a range of stakeholders, are undertaken to assess the progress made in implementation and identify challenges encountered. These reviews should take stock of achievements, identify gaps and setbacks, and outline strategies for addressing those gaps and challenges. They should result in renewed commitments and clear sets of priority actions, as well as help mobilize the necessary means of implementation and partnerships, support the identification of solutions and best practices and promote the coordination and effectiveness of national, regional and international actions. Additionally, the reviews are expected to align with and build synergies with work on the 2030 Agenda and galvanize its gender-responsive implementation. UN Women and the regional commissions have developed a common “Guidance note for comprehensive national-level reviews” to assist in and facilitate the conduct of comprehensive national-level reviews. Governments are invited to complete the online survey and upload their national report by 1 June 2024.

As in previous years, national reports will feed into the respective regional synthesis reports that Regional Commissions will prepare for their respective regional intergovernmental reviews. The national and regional reports will inform a global synthesis report, prepared by UN Women, to guide the sixty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women to be held in March 2025 which focuses on the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly.

UN Women is seeking a National Consultant to support the development of the Beijing+30 Review report, working in close partnership with the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and UN Women. 

Objective:

The objective of this assignment is to support the development the Bejiing+30 Review report (including the national review survey) in line with the “”, in a participatory manner, building on existing resources.  

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of UN Women’s Country Representative and Deputy Representative and the direct supervision of the Programme Analyst (Gender-Responsive Governance), and working in close collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, the consultant will be responsible for:

• To familiarise oneself with the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, relevant ECOSOC documents, outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly and “Guidance note for comprehensive national-level reviews” for Beijing +30;
• To carry out a desk review of documents relevant to the Beijing Platform for Action framework and for the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly, including but not limited to the national and civil society reports, analysis, charters, and policy papers;
• To support the collection of required information from the relevant counter parts  including drafting letters as needed;
• To support the preparation of the draft Beijing+30 Review report (including the national review survey) working closely with the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs UN Women

Duration of the assignment:

The assignment will commence on 11 April 2024 and be completed by 30 Jun 2024. The total duration of the work would be 20 days.

Deliverables:

Supervision & Performance evaluation:

The consultant’s performance will be evaluated based on timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the services delivered. The contract performance shall be evaluated and monitored by the Programme Analyst (Gender-Responsive Governance).

Duty Station(s): Dhaka

Travel and DSA: No DSA will be paid at the duty station(s) – For this consultancy, the duty station is considered Dhaka. If unforeseen travel outside the duty station not required by the Terms of Reference is requested by UN Women, and upon prior agreement/approval, such travel shall be UN Women’s expenses and the individual contractor shall receive a per-diem not to exceed United Nations daily subsistence allowance rate in such other location(s) – for this consultancy, the travel to Cox’s Bazar shall be UN Women’s expense.

Competencies

Core Values

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Communication – Facilitates and encourages open and effective communication.
• Inclusive Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement – Demonstrates ability to collaborate and work effectively with stakeholders of different backgrounds.
• Accountability – Takes ownership of all responsibilities and delivers outputs in accordance with agreed time, costs, and quality standards.
• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues – Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

• Technical credibility in policy research;
• Technical credibility in gender analysis;
• Partnerships building;
• Strong skills and experience in communicating and presenting complex ideas;
• Consistent approach to work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates openness to ideas and ability to manage complexities of the situations.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in gender studies, development studies, law, international relations, human rights, public policy, sociology, anthropology or similar fields; alternatively, a first-level degree (bachelor’s) in combination with 4 years of working experience will be accepted.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of programmatic and/or analytical work experience in the field of human rights and gender equality;
• At least 5 years of demonstrated knowledge in the field of gender equality policy and legal framework;
• At least 5 years of demonstrated knowledge of Bangladesh’s international commitments in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE);
• At least 5 years of demonstrated ability to plan, collect and analyse data;
• Experience in writing analytical reports; 
• Experience in writing reports to the UN treaty bodies, special procedures or similar reviews will be an asset;
• Previous experience working with government stakeholders, will be an asset
• Excellent English communication and writing skills (Samples of previous work is required as part of the application).

Language:

Fluency in English and Bangla.

Evaluation criteria:

The total number of points allocated for the technical qualification component is 100. The technical qualification of the individual is evaluated based on the following technical qualification evaluation criteria:

Criteria-01; Educations Qualification  – Max Point 10

Criteria-02; Number of years of programmatic and/or analytical work experience in the field of human rights and gender equality; demonstrated knowledge in the field of gender equality policy and legal framework; demonstrated knowledge of Bangladesh’s international commitments in the field of GEWE; and demonstrated ability to plan, collect and analyse data.  Max Point 40

Criteria-03; Experience in writing analytical reports. Max Point 15

Criteria-04; Experience in writing reports to the UN treaty bodies, special procedures or similar reviews will be an asset. Max Point 10

Criteria-05; Experience working with government stakeholders. Max Point 10

Criteria-06; Written samples submitted and demonstrating strong writing skills in English.   Max Point 15

Application Procedure:

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application:

• Cover letter (one to two pages max which should include 1) a brief overview of your previous experiences that make you the most suitable candidate, 2) a paragraph on what you understand by unequal power dynamics, and 3) a paragraph/outline of how you would carry out the assignment).
• Samples (minimum 2) of previous written work (report, policy analysis, brief, or other).
• Financial Proposal. The financial proposal shall specify a daily rate and total fees for 20 days Professional fees, inclusive of any nominal logistics costs, taxes, etc.
• Personal History Form (P11). The P11 Form can be downloaded from the following website: