Terms of Reference. Consultant Development of the National Gender Strategy and Gender Review ( ) in the opt

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1 Terms of Reference Consultant Development of the National Gender Strategy and Gender Review ( ) in the opt Location : Occupied Palestinian territory (Ramallah and Jerusalem, with travel to other locations in the West Bank) Application Deadline : 30 March 2013 Additional Category Type of Contract : SSA Post Level : Consultant (National and International) Languages Required : Arabic and English Starting Date : (date when the selected candidate is 20 April 2013 expected to start) Duration of Initial Contract : 6 months Expected Duration of Assignment 6 months ( 88 working days) Background UN Women was created in 2010 within the UN system as a single UN agency that provides stronger leadership, greater accountability and more resources which enhance all aspects of gender equality and women s empowerment. As such, UN Women is the lead agency within the United Nation Country Team (UNCT) in the occupied Palestinian territory (opt) for gender equality and women s empowerment. UN Women coordinates the UN Inter-agency Gender Task Force (GTF), which has the responsibility to strengthen overall UNCT performance on gender equality by mainstreaming gender into all key policies, programmes and monitoring mechanisms. UN Women also works very closely with the Palestinian Ministry of Women's Affairs (MoWA) as the principal national mechanism for coordinating gender policy development and for monitoring and reporting. In this regard, UN Women (previously UNIFEM) has been supporting MoWA since its establishment in 2003 to fulfill its mandate in providing support to other government institutions for gender mainstreaming, including capacity building of and technical assistance to state institutions for the promotion of gender mainstreaming. This support included assistance to MoWA to develop the first-ever Cross-Sectoral National Gender Strategy (CSNGS) with the purpose of placing gender equality and women s empowerment at the core of the Palestinian National Plan of as well as the National strategy to combat VAW , endorsed by Palestinian cabinet in January 2011.

2 The Ministry of Women s Affairs took the decision to initiate the process of the development of a new national development plan for the years For the first time, the UNCT in the opt is initiating an UNDAF process to align with and respond to national Palestinian development priorities. The Ministry of Women s Affairs has been assigned by the Palestinian Cabinet and the Ministry of Planning and Administrative Development to develop the new national gender strategy and take the leading role in the participatory process of preparation. As part of their joint efforts to initiate and strengthen gender mainstreaming within national strategies, policies and processes, the Ministry of Women s Affairs and UN Women would like to bring on board a national/international expert that will, in close collaboration with national counterparts, facilitate the process for the development the new Cross-Sectoral National Gender Strategy. Duties and Responsibilities Under the overall guidance of the General Director of Policy and Planning at MoWA and the UN Women Special Representative and the direct administrative supervision of the Programme Manager, the consultant will undertake the following duties and responsibilities: 1. Desk review for the previous CSNGS (and for other strategies developed by MoWA) including the Strategy Review Report to better understand the strategy development context and recommendations. 2. Building consensus around the development process of the new CSNGS with MoWA and other relevant external partners (national, civil and international). 3. Follow up on formation of the Strategy Development Teams engaging all relevant stakeholders as directed by MoWA. 4. Coaching and informing MoWA s different relevant departments, Technical Teams & the National Committee on Strategy Development process (content, structure and architecture). 5. Ensuring that the MoWA s new CSNGS is developed through a fully participatory approach to include all main stakeholders, in consistency of MoWA s directives and in line with generic requirements, guidelines, timelines and instructions developed by the Ministry of Planning and Administrative Development (MoPAD) in articulation of the National Development Plan for and the sector strategies. 6. In the process of the development of the new strategy, development of an a) Action Plan for the strategy implementation (internal and external roles) and b) costing exercise for the strategy implementation. 7. Ensure that while Strategy Development process, informative workshops, consultation meeting and field visits are carried out with relevant parties and stakeholders (National, International and CSO). Scope of the assignment : Development of the new Cross-Sectoral National Gender Strategy and Action Plan with its costing exercise. Work directly with Ministry of Women's Affairs, throughout the whole development process of the new National Gender Strategy Provide technical support to the Ministry of Women's Affairs in leading different national sector/ministries throughput the development process.

3 Accompany the representative/s of the Ministry of Women's Affairs in regular meetings with the Ministry of Planning and Administrative Development /upon request; Fully align the process of the Strategy development with MoWA s instruction and with MoPAD general requirements in relation to guidelines, timelines, and procedures. Ensure engagement of all relevant stakeholders in the development process as instructed by MoWA; Support the Ministry of Women's Affairs in the formulation of the technical team and working groups necessary to be engaged throughout the whole development process. Building capacity of the national committee and the technical team in planning and strategy development issues. Coordinate with the Ministry of Women's Affairs and the National team regarding timing and arranging required consultation and discussion meetings; Facilitate the planning process in close coordination with Programme Specialist, including meetings of the technical team and working groups, as needed and requested; Prepare documents or any other related reports and presentations to be presented at workshops for the National Team and with other involved parties; Organize workshops with the different ministries and stakeholders on each outcome. Work closely with Birzeit University, the Ministry of Women s Affairs and UN Women staff to analyze the available information required for the fulfillment of the assignment; Draft, review and edit the planning proceedings; Facilitate as a resource person in the technical team; Draft the strategy document ( ) in Arabic to be discussed and reviewed by relevant stakeholders; Revise the strategy as required, based on inputs of relevant stakeholders and feedback; Finalize the strategy document and present it to the stakeholders. Hold regular meetings with UN Women to outline the progress of work. Develop the action plan and costing exercise for the new strategy. Key deliverables/ results: 1. Detailed methodology for the development of the new national gender strategy: (March 2013) including the development of the action plan and the costing exercise. 2. Work plan for the assignment. 3. Inception Workshop (Reports from individual consultations with main stakeholders covering West Bank and Gaza Strip). 4. Prioritization exercise/workshop with main stakeholders. 5. Final draft of the national gender Strategy , based on the PA guidelines (July 2013). (Final draft is upon official submission to MoWA and its approval). 6. Final draft of National Gender Strategy based on the PA guidelines 2013). 7. Final action plan with its costing exercise (July 2013). 8. National Gender Strategy validation and dissemination Workshop (July 2013)

4 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: Ethics and Values: Demonstrating / Safeguarding Ethics and Integrity; Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment; Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring: Initiative-taking; coaching and mentoring ability; Working in Teams: Acting as a team player and facilitating team work; Communicating Information and Ideas: Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively; Self-management and Emotional intelligence: Creating synergies through self-control. Conflict Management / Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements: Managing conflict; Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning: Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of other. FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES: Ability to lead strategic planning, change processes. Ability to lead formulation, oversight of implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects. Strong organizational skills. Ability to coordinate the work of others, work on tight deadlines and handle multiple concurrent projects/activities. Strong analytical and organizational skills and attention to detail Substantive knowledge and experience in the provision of coordinated support to advance gender equality. Ability to think conceptually, strategically and analytically. Excellent leadership, networking and interpersonal skills, including ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries. Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills. Ability to lead effectively, strong facilitation skills as well as conflict resolution skills. Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.

5 Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude. Ability to make decisions under pressure and to deal with matters that are politically and cultural sensitive. Sound understanding of issues related to development in crisis and post-crisis situations; Results oriented, flexible and problem solving skills. Good interpersonal and diplomacy skills. Required Skills and Experience Education: Minimum bachelor degree in social sciences and/or development studies, or equivalent of 7 years of experience in relevant field of work. Experience: A minimum of 5 years of working experience in the field of Gender Equality and Women Empowerment. A minimum of 5 years of working experience working in coordination (preferable with government officials and/or donors). Working experience and knowledge of the UN planning processes and instruments an asset Extensive experience in Strategy formulation Knowledge of SWOT analysis or any related analytical framework; Experience in Result Based Management and Human Rights Based Approach Experience working the opt is an asset, Preferably knowledge of the current political and legislative governmental framework Proven advocacy, analytical and writing skills. Experience in training (on the job coaching) and ability to organize and implement training sessions is an asset Language Requirements: Fluency (both oral and written) in Arabic and English. Submission of application: Interested candidates must apply on-line (jobs.undp.ps) This SSA modality is governed by UN WOMEN General Terms and Conditions. UN Women will only be able to respond to those applications who will meet minimum requirements.