Programme Development Consultant

Subject:Development of UN Women Programme Proposal in the Gaza Strip (2012-2014)
Position title:Programme Development Consultant -occupied Palestinian Territory
Type of contract:SSA contract
Location:The Gaza Strip-Jerusalem (oPt)
Expected starting date:1 October 2011
Duration:2 months (part-time)
Deadline for application:22 September 2011
 

Instructions: CV and letter of interest has to be addressed to Alia El-Yassir, UN Women   and sent to e-mail: [email protected] with the subject line: Programme Development Consultant. While all applications are appreciated, only short-listed applicants will be contacted.

I-BACKGROUND

UN Women in the oPt started its programme in the Gaza Strip in late 2005. Its various interventions focused on three thematic areas including; enhancingwomen’s economic security and rights; ending violence against women; and advancing gender justice in democratic governance in stable and fragile states; aiming at promoting gender equality and advancing Gazan women's social, economic and political empowerment.Through its various projects and initiatives, UN Women touched the lives of thousands of Palestinian women and men in the Gaza Strip, following a bottom-up approach of community based women’s empowerment using “the Sabaya model” and forming strategic partnership with various civil society actors and service providers.

Following the approval of UN Women’s first Strategic Plan (2011-2013) in June 2011, the UN Women office in the oPt is at the last stage of the process of aligning its strategic document for the period 2011-2013 to the new strategic framework. In that regard, UN Women in the Gaza Strip has a tremendous opportunity to develop a robust and solid programme to contribute to the fulfillment of national priorities on gender equality in accordance to the new development and management results and as part of the overall programme of UN Women in the oPt.

The programme development has to be built on previous experience of UN Women in Gaza and has to be driven by national priorities, contributing to the fulfillment of existing national gender equality priorities takinginto consideration opportunities and challenges.

In light of the above, UN Women intends to develop a programme proposal for the consolidation and expansion of its existing programme in the Gaza Strip.

The following broad guiding principles will be taken into consideration while developing the UN Women Gaza Programme proposal:

-The UN Women  programme for the  Gaza Strip should clearly contribute to achieving national gender equality priorities and opportunities;
-The UN Women programme for the Gaza Strip has to be fullydeveloped in alignment with the UN Women office in the oPt Country Strategy for the period (2011-2013). It  should clarify how it links with the approved country strategy,  including how it contributes to achieving the outcomes and outputs stated in the strategy, as well as associated work plans;
-The UN Women programme for the Gaza Strip has to clearly state how it will contribute to the key outcome areas of the new development and management results framework and should be results oriented;
-The programme should be developed in close consultation and cooperation with UN Women  team in the oPt;
-The programme should be developed through a participatory process engaging civil society partners, gender advocates, UN agencies, governmental organizations; and other relevant stakeholders;
-The programme should identify and flag key partnerships that UN Women  in Gaza should strengthen and/or forge at the national level;
-The programme should encompass all of the distinct on going initiatives that UN Women in Gaza is supporting, highlighting lessons learned and evaluations results as well as those that it hopes to launch over the duration of the programme.

II-SCOPE OF WORK

To ensure that a 2012-2013 UN Women Gaza Programme proposal is developed and drafted through a participatory process, based on the guidelines develop by UN Women oPt, according to the timeline set by the consultant, the Consultant will work in close collaboration with the UN Women Programme Analyst in Gaza, and under the guidance and overall supervision of the UN Women oPt Head of Office.

The consultant will be expected to fulfill the following objectives:

Objective 1:Overall programme review with practical and substantial recommendations for improved cohesion and coherence of programme components vs. oPt country strategy goals, outcomes, and outputs.

More specifically, the following need to be undertaken under this objective:
-Critically review UN Women current programme in Gaza;
-Review all relevant documents i.e. SRS strategic outcomes, programme documents, evaluation reports; published researches, the UN Women oPt country strategy etc.

Objective 2: Develop the progamme proposal for the period 2012-2013 through a participatory approach, fully in line with the outcomes and broad areas of action of UN Women oPt country strategy, and build upon past achievements and recommendations drawn from the review of the programme progress.

More specifically, the following need to be undertaken under this objective:
-Consult with a wide range of partners among key stakeholders and UN Women oPt programme staff, on key priorities and capacities;
-Incorporate pertinent preliminary recommendations from the UN Women oPt audit exercise;
-Provide a new programme design taking into considerations new areas of focus in light of UN Women mandate and the oPt country strategy;
-Draft the programme proposal in consultation with key UN Women oPt staff members.
-The progamme shall encompass the following:
-Situation analysis
-The main components of UN Women’s current work in the Gaza Strip including both UN coordination responsibilities and direct programme and technical support efforts,
-Highlight lessons learned and evaluation results if any.
-In relation to UN coordination, provide an overview of the work of other UN agencies and international partners in the area of gender equality and women’s empowerment and key opportunities and gaps that could be addressed through strengthened coordination.
-Expected results and how they contribute to the implementation/ relate to the priorities of the UN Women Strategic Plan
-Potential risks and challenges
-Distinctive role of UN Women, vis-à-vis other partners in addressing the identified challenges 
-Full development of three projects for each outcome key area including estimated budget 
-a monitoring framework  with clear indicators targets and baselinesto measure progress
-Annexes (including summaries of partner Consultations)

The consultancy has been scoped for 20 working days over the period between 1 October 2011 and 1 December   2011 (15 working days of work performed in-office and 5 working days  performed out of office).


Methodology and schedule will be finalized with the consultant.

III-EXPECTED RESULTS

The Programme Consultant is expected to deliver the following results: 

-UN Women Gaza programme proposal is drafted within the duration of 2 months (20 working days) and finalized through consultations with UN Women oPt staff members.
-UN Women response strategy main areas of past work.
-Brief description of the programme,

IV. PARTNERSHIPS
-Partnership strategy to be employed.
-UN Women’s main partners for programme efforts and the roles they play, these include Government ministries, UN agencies, donors and civil society
-Monitoring tools, including baseline benchmarks and indicators are developed as a means to measure progress towards the country strategy plan 2011-2013.


V-PLANNING 

Detailed plan of TOR fulfillment will need to be undertaken at the beginning of the assignment.


VI-REPORTING

The final programme proposal will need to be provided to UN Women oPt office upon completion of services. Upon certification of successful obtainment of results a certificate of fulfillment will be signed by UN Women oPt office staff member as a prerequisite for payment under the agreement


VII-REQUIREMENTS 

-Master’s degree in Economics, Social/Political Science, and/or Development 
-Minimum of 5 years of extensive experience of work in fundraising and strategic planning
-Advanced knowledge and skills on gender analysis and gender mainstreaming
-Capacity to analyze needs and formulate recommendations on appropriate responses, including the organization of recommendations into a coherent programme of activities
-Familiarization with CEDAW, BPA, MDGs
-Knowledge about planning development process
-Experiences of undertaking this work in other countries will be an asset
-Familiarity with the Human Rights concept and approaches
-Experience in developing strategy documents in economic and social fields
-Strong analytical and presentation skills
-Sympathy with UN/ UN Women organizational values
-Ability to move / travel between West Bank & Gaza strip
-Knowledge of English and Arabic is a must.