National Consultant to Monitor the UN Women Project: Pathways to Peace NAP WPS: Realising the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security in Sri Lanka (Local post for nationals of Sri Lanka)

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

 

UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325), unanimously adopted in October 2000, stressed the importance of the equal participation and full involvement of women in all efforts to maintain and promote peace and security. In the years since, seven additional resolutions on WPS have been adopted. That created a robust framework for implementing the WPS agenda and reinforced global commitments, treaties and conventions on women’s rights, including the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. To deliver these commitments at the national level, the United Nations has encouraged Member States to adopt policies to implement the resolutions and monitor the progress of the WPS agenda, including National Action Plans on WPS (NAPs-WPS). 

 

In Sri Lanka, the Government adopted country’s first-ever National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security in February 2023. The development of this National Action Plan was led by the Ministry of Women, Child Affairs, and Social Empowerment, with technical support from UN Women in partnership with the Government of Japan, in consultation with Sri Lankan women across all 25 districts of the country. Following the adoption of the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, UN Women is committed to support the implementation of the Women Peace and Security agenda through the increased engagement of national and local level government authorities, civil society organizations, women leaders and the development community. The project “Pathways to Peace: Realising the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security in Sri Lanka” specifically focus on this objective with project related interventions in the districts of Anuradhapura, Batticaloa, Mannar and Mullaitivu.

Against this background, UN Women seeks to hire a national consultant to develop a comprehensive monitoring  system for the project and to monitor the progress of the implementation of the project.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision and guidance of the UN Women Head of Office of Sri Lanka, the consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks. The consultant will remain accountable for the timely submission of the deliverables as per the timeline given below.

 

No.	Duties and Responsibilities
1.	Develop a comprehensive monitoring and reporting plan for the project In consultation with the UN Women Project Team, the monitoring and reporting plan should be developed in line with the Performance Monitoring Framework of the project. The monitoring and reporting plan should consist of coherent monitoring and reporting tools, including but not limited to monitoring indicators, monitoring calendars, field visit monitoring plan, management of end-project reviews and assessment and quality assurance processes related to monitoring, reporting and evaluations.
2.	Provide technical support to project partners in developing work plans, performance, monitoring frameworks, including baseline surveys in line with the project. Visit project partners, along with the project team, to support monitoring of results and planning processes, as required.
3.	Coordinate with the UN Women Project Team, Project Partners and Consultants and gather the progress update against the indicators set in the monitoring and reporting plan developed for the project. The consultant is expected to coordinate with all project stakeholders, including the project team, project partners and consultant to gather the progress update against the activities and indicators of the monitoring and reporting plan. Based on the update received, the consultant is expected to update the Monitoring and Reporting Plan and share the progress update with UN Women Project Team as per the schedule below;   Monitoring and reporting plan with the progress update until July 2024   By 30 August 2024        2. Monitoring and reporting plan with the progress update until September 2024   By 15 October 2024        3. Monitoring and reporting plan with the progress update until December 2024   By 15 January 2025        4. Monitoring and reporting plan with the progress update until March 2025   By 15 April 2025
4.	Draft and finalise donor reports required for the project As part of the project, following donor reports are to be finalized. A six-months interim narrative progress report with the progress update from 31 March 2024 to 30 September 2024. In consultation of the UN Women Project Team, the consultant is expected to draft the report. Furthermore, the consultant is expected to incorporate the comments received from the UN Women Project Team in Sri Lanka and the UN Women Monitoring Team in the UN Women Regional Office for the Asia and the Pacific and finalise the report.   The final narrative progress report with the progress update from 31 March 2024 to 30 March 2025. In consultation of the UN Women Project Team, the consultant is expected to draft the report. Furthermore, the consultant is expected to incorporate the comments received from the UN Women Project Team in Sri Lanka and the UN Women Monitoring Team in the UN Women Regional Office for the Asia and the Pacific and finalise the report.
5.	Oversee the project review that will be undertaken after the completion of the project. UN Women will commission an independent review at the completion of the project on 31 March 2025. A supplier will be contracted by UN Women to conduct the review. The consultant to expected to coordinate with the UN Women supplier and oversee the review process. The consultant is expected to provide the necessary technical guidance to finalise 1. Methodology for the review 2. Draft review report 3. Finalized draft report

 

 

Deliverables

 

No.	Deliverables	Expected completion time                     (due day)
1.1	Draft monitoring and reporting plan	15 August 2024
1.2	Finalised monitoring and reporting plan Note: Deliverable should be finalized in line with the feedback given by UN Women	20 August 2024
2.	A brief report indicating the technical support provided to project partners to finalise the work plans, performance and monitoring frameworks. The report should attach the finalized plans and frameworks of the project partners.	30 August 2024
3.1	Monitoring and reporting Plan with the progress update until July 2024	30 August 2024
3.2	Monitoring and reporting Plan with the progress update until September 2024	15 October 2024
3.3	Monitoring and reporting Plan with the progress update until December 2024	15 January 2025
3.4	Monitoring and reporting Plan with the progress update until March 2025	15 April 2025
4.1	Draft six-months progress update report	10 October 2024
4.2	Finalised six-months progress update report	20 October 2024
4.3	Draft final narrative progress update report	15 June 2025
4.4	Finalised final narrative progress update report	30 June 2025
5.	Detailed report indicating the tasks undertaken in relation to the review of the project. Methodology for the review Draft review report Finalized draft report	30 June 2025

 

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

The consultancy is expected to be started on 12 August 2024 and continue until 15 July 2025. The Consultant is expected to visit the project locations , if travel is not restricted by national health authorities or UN Women due to the COVID 19 health emergency. For all travel, the cost of most economic and direct travel on mission must be pre-approved by the Head of Office of UN Women Sri Lanka and will be reimbursed following UN Women travel guidelines. Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) and travel costs in compliance with UN Women Travel Guidline will be reimbursed to the consultant at actual amount upon submission of receipts and travel stubs.

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

Functional Competencies:

• Good knowledge of programme formulation, implementation, and Results Based Management
• Good knowledge of monitoring and evaluation, evaluation design, data collection and analysis, and reporting
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports
• Analytical and report writing skills

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:  

 

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Conflict and Peace Studies, Gender and Development, International Relations, Public Administration, Statistics, Law, Human Rights or a related field is required.
• 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 2 years of progressively responsible experience at the national and/or international level in monitoring and evaluation of development projects/ programmes.
• Experience in the United Nations System is an asset.
• Field experience is an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Sinhala or Tamil is required.

 

How to Apply

Interest candidates are encouraged to submit electronic application to with cc to    no later than 7 August 2024.

Submission package includes:

• Personal CV and P11 (P11 can be downloaded from: )
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)
• Two Sample evaluation/assessment report developed for similar assignments will be requested from shortlisted candidates

 

Payments

Payments for this consultancy will be based on the achievement of each deliverable and certification that each has been satisfactorily completed. Payments will be based on the number of days worked in correlation to the completion of each stated deliverable within the indicated timeframes. Payments will be made upon submission of deliverables with an approval of the Head of Office of UN Women Sri Lanka.

 

Diversity and Inclusion Statement

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 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.)