Technical Expert – Development of a Technical Paper Assessing Women with Disabilities’ Access to Essential Services (Local Consultancy for Nationals of Egypt)

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. In line with UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2023-2027, the UN Women Egypt office is contributing to three interdependent and interconnected outcomes:

• Women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems.
• Women have income security, decent work and economic autonomy.
• All women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence.

With heavy focus on reaching women at greatest risk of being left behind – rural women, women at risk of poverty, women living with disabilities, and young women from these groups. UN Women Egypt Country Office (ECO) uses the following key strategies: fostering nationally owned, positive social norms including through the active and continuous engagement of men and boys; supporting all women’s equitable access to services, goods and resources, including women at risk of being left behind; advocating for women’s leadership and voice; supporting the production, analysis and use of nationally owned gender statistics, sex-disaggregated data, and knowledge.

Under the principle of “leaving no one behind”, including women with disabilities, UN Women partnered with the Egyptian National Council for Women, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, UNDP and UNFPA, to develop Egypt’s first national study on Violence Against Women with Disability launched in 2022. The national study generated a series of recommendations to enhance institutional support to women and girls living with disabilities who experience violence or harmful practices; as well as to create an overall enabling environment to empower women overall.

This gendered and intersectional experience of disability is underexamined globally and interventions on the rights of persons with disabilities have historically neglected aspects of gender equality. Similarly, interventions and policies addressing gender equality may not address the specific needs of women and girls with disabilities. The lack of user input propagates systems and spaces that are not accessible or relevant. People with disabilities and reduced mobility are often not involved in the design, planning, and implementation process of infrastructure projects.

In order to create safe, accessible and effective public spaces and services, there is a vital need for all stakeholders to understand the nature and the prevalence of this phenomenon and the needs of users. This is particularly true in the provision of essential services responding to gender-based violence against women and girls.

Building on the findings the national study on women living with disabilities who experienced violence, and specifically on the recommendations related to access to essential services in this regards, working with the National Council for Women UN Women is recruiting a Technical Expert, supported by a lead researcher, to develop a technical paper on actionable interventions to address the different kinds of barriers and discrimination that women and girls with disability face in accessing the essential services which respond to gender-based violence against women and girls. The purpose of the technical paper is to inform future programming and policy design.

Objective of the Assignment:

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Ending Violence Against Women Specialist and working closely with the Council for Women, UN Women seeks to contract Technical Expert to lead the drafting of a technical paper on the accessibility of essential services to women with disabilities, present challenges and rights-based solutions for access to essential services. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy.  

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: 

Functional Competencies

• Knowledge and expertise in gender and policy analysis. 
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills. 
• Excellent mixed-methods research skills. 
• Ability to draft and communicate high quality clear and concise outputs. 
• Familiarity with statistical analysis and indicators, especially gender-related statistics, and indicators. 
• Capacity to set priorities, self-organize research work and to plan, prioritize and deliver tasks on time. 
• Capacity to engage and communicate with governmental entities. 
• Knowledge and use of computer office tools (word, database, spreadsheets, etc.).  

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification

• Master’s degree in social science or equivalent, required.  
• Or 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

• 10 years of working experience in research related to development, human rights and gender is essential. 
• Experience in working with governmental and international entities, is required. 
• Excellent mixed-methods research skills are essential. 
• Work experience and knowledge on women’s studies, human rights, disability law and health are an asset.
• Familiarity with statistical analysis and indicators, especially gender-related statistics, and indicators is an asset.
• Excellent research and analytical skills, both oral and written is essential

Language Requirements

• Fluency in written and spoken Arabic is required.
• Fluency in written and spoken English is required. 

Evaluation Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology: Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation.

Criteria Weight Technical: 100% (100 points)

• Criteria 1: Master’s degree in social science or equivalent (15 Points) 
• Criteria 2: 10 years of working experience in research related to development, human rights and gender (15 Points) 
• Criteria 3: Experience in working with governmental entities (15 Points) 
• Criteria 4: Excellent mixed-methods research skills required (20 Points) 
• Criteria 5: Work experience and knowledge on women’s studies, human rights, disability law and health (10 Points) 
• Criteria 6: Excellent research and analytical skills, both oral and written. (15 Points) 
• Criteria 7: Familiarity with statistical analysis and indicators, especially gender-related statistics, and indicators (5 Points) 
• Criteria 8: Fluency in written and spoken Arabic and English is required (5 Points)  

Application:

Interested Individual Candidate must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11). UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from  make sure that you sign the form, and
• 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, and
• A cover letter (no more than 400 words) explaining your suitability for the assigned task in Arabic or English.

The above-mentioned documents MUST BE merged in a standalone file including all them, since the online application submission does only permit to uploading one file per application.

You can merge your documents by using Online resources. 

Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification. Make sure that you provide a valid email address for future communications.

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.)