National Consultant for Stakeholder Engagement

Background

Background/Context

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 center of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action globally. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

The Republic of Serbia is a signatory to several important international treaties guaranteeing gender equality and prohibiting gender-based discrimination, including CEDAW and the Istanbul Convention. National commitments on gender equality are in place, such as the National Strategy and Action Plan for Gender Equality and the Gender Equality Law. Despite the existing legal and policy framework, gender inequalities persist in Serbia across all spheres of life.

As part of this broader initiative, UN Women is collaborating with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) on a project titled “Gender Responsive Investments” in Serbia.

The overall objective of the Gender Responsive Investments project is to contribute to the mainstreaming of gender equality across policy reforms and major investment programs conducted in the Western Balkans, in connection with the EU integration process, focusing on Serbia as a pilot country. The specific objective is to provide cross-cutting support to the AFD Regional Office for the Western Balkans and its relevant partners/beneficiaries to strengthen the integration of gender aspects in the investment projects and support to reforms programs funded by AFD in the region.

As part of Output 1.1 of the project, which aims to integrate a gender-sensitive approach into AFD’s appraisal process and implementation for selection of priority projects, UN Women seeks to organize 6 stakeholder meetings to support gender mainstreaming of AFD supported project activities, targeted outcomes and result indicators, in dialogue with project stakeholders and beneficiaries.

Duties and Responsibilities

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Working under the overall supervision of UN Women Programme Management Specialist, the consultant will be responsible for the following:

• Identify areas of engagement in line with AFD credit portfolio and propose 6 thematic meetings at the local or national level to uncover the gender perspective in investments and infrastructure;
• Support the identification of gender-based needs and concerns that could be addressed by AFD operations;
• Identify, map, and engage key stakeholders to be invited to the meetings, including gender machinery at all levels of government, municipalities, women’s groups, and relevant ministries;
• Prepare detailed agendas for thematic meetings and identify key experts in the areas to act as facilitators and resource persons at the meetings;
• Engage key speakers at the six thematic meetings;
• Support preparation of presentations, and materials for each meeting;
• Prepare and logistically organize the 6 stakeholder meetings;
• Document key outcomes, recommendations, and action points from each meeting;
• Prepare summary reports after each meeting and a final consolidated report;
• Provide recommendations for ongoing stakeholder engagement and gender mainstreaming in AFD supported projects.
• Support preparation of capacity building workshops for relevant stakeholders and jointly with the National Consultant for Gender Smart Investments organize two capacity building workshops for representatives of government bodies;
• Support preparation of the Gender Info Hub launch Conference.

Deliverables

Deliverable	Expected completion time (due day)	Approximate number of working days
Detailed plan for organizing 6 stakeholder meetings in local municipalities corresponding to previous and current AFD operations in Serbia	15 August 2024	6
Agendas, presentations, and materials for 6 stakeholder meetings Preparation and logistical organization of 6 stakeholder meetings	31 October 2024	12
Final consolidated report with key outcomes, recommendations, and action plan for gender mainstreaming in AFD projects, including 2 summary reports for each meeting	30 November 2024	11
Input in the organization of two targeted Trainings and Support to the organization of Gender Info Hub launch Conference	30 November 2024	7
		36

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy with travel within Serbia as required for the stakeholder meetings. All travel expenses will be covered by UN Women.

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/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Good knowledge of human rights and gender equality and international and national commitments to human rights and gender equality;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Strong writing skills;
• Good communication, presentation, networking, and advocacy skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Bachelor’s degree in gender studies, social sciences, public policy, international relations, or a field relevant to the TOR. Master’s degree in a relevant field is considered an asset.

Experience:

• At least 4 years of experience in the field of gender equality and promotion of human rights;
• At least 4 years of experience in working with local self-governments, civil society, or national institutions in the area of gender equality, human and minority rights;
• Demonstrated knowledge of gender mainstreaming in local governments functions;
• Demonstrated experience in organizing high-level multi-stakeholder meetings.

Languages:

• Fluency in written and oral Serbian is required.
• Fluency in written English is required.

Selection matrix

The qualification of the individual is evaluated based on the following qualification evaluation criteria:

	Selection matrix	Max points
Language Requirements	Fluency in written and oral Serbian is required. Fluency in written English is required.	REQUIRED
Education	Bachelor’s degree in gender studies, social sciences, public policy, international relations, or a field relevant to the TOR. Master’s degree in a relevant field is considered an asset.	10
Professional Experience	At least 4 years of experience in the field of gender equality and promotion of human rights.	30
	At least 4 years of experience in working with local self-governments, civil society, or national institutions in the area of gender equality, human and minority rights.	30
	Demonstrated knowledge of gender mainstreaming in investments and infrastructure.	15
	Demonstrated experience in organizing high-level multi-stakeholder meetings.	15
Total		100

How to Apply

• Personal CV or P11 (P11 can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc )
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)

How to Submit the Application: To submit your application online, please follow the steps below:

• Download and complete the https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc
• Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11) and Cover Letter 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.

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 has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the Unit-ed 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.)