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. The UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECARO) was established in Istanbul, Turkiye in early 2014. It provides support and oversight to country offices in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and Ukraine. In addition, the Regional Office directly supports programme and project presence in Kosovo (under UN Security Council Resolution 1244), the Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia, Tajikistan, and Turkiye.

Since 2018, UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) is implementing a regional component of the Flagship Programme Initiative Making Every Woman and Girl Count: Supporting the monitoring and implementation of the SDGs through better production and use of gender statistics (Women Count), developed by UN Women Headquarters (HQ). The Women Count programme aims to affect a radical shift in the production, availability, accessibility and use of quality data and statistics on key aspects of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

One of the key priorities of the Women Count programme is the use of alternative data-collection methods to address data gaps and promote more comprehensive gender data and evidence. Recognizing the limitations of traditional data-collection methods, which often fail to capture the experiences and perspectives of marginalized and underrepresented groups, the programme actively integrates non-conventional approaches. Methods such as participatory research, big data, social media analytics, and qualitative data collection are promoted to gather information from a more diverse and representative range of voices. This inclusive approach allows policymakers, researchers, and advocates to gain a deeper understanding of the nuances surrounding gender-related issues across various domains, such as education, violence against women and girls, social norms, political representation etc. Armed with this comprehensive knowledge, they can design more targeted and effective interventions, ultimately striving to address gender inequalities and foster sustainable gender equality.

Moreover, the programme goes beyond data collection alone. It actively seeks new and engaging ways to involve data users in the process of utilizing gender data. This approach acknowledges that data holds little value unless it is effectively analyzed, interpreted, and incorporated into decision-making processes. To achieve this, the programme employs various strategies, such as organizing collaborative platforms where stakeholders from different sectors can come together and explore the insights derived from the data, strengthening capacity building of users to transform data into actionable interventions.

By integrating both these aspects into its framework, UN Women aims to foster a culture of data-driven decision-making that empowers policymakers and advocates to design more targeted and impactful interventions, ultimately contributing to the advancement of gender equality and women’s empowerment at country and regional levels.

Under the direct supervision of the Regional Gender Data Specialist based at UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO), and in coordination with the Knowledge Management and Programme Consultant, the International Consultant on Gender Data and Research will support strengthening capacities of UN Women civil society partners through provision of guidance and technical expertise during the design and implementation of gender data initiatives in the ECA region to ultimately achieve the following objectives:

1. Test and document the use of alternative data collection methods to address specific gender data gaps on measuring femicides in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan).
2. Test and document the use of social media to generate new evidence and data on victim blaming attitudes and behaviors in Kyrgyzstan.

Advance new ways of engaging data users from Central Asia and North Macedonia, including media, think tanks, youth and gender advocates, to effectively analyze and compellingly communicate gender data through human stories, visualization, and data art.

Duties and Responsibilities

Within the assignment, the International Consultant will be responsible for the implementation of the following tasks:

Task 1. Mentorship and peer review of gender data products developed by the Gender Data Bootcamp teams from North Macedonia.

• Provide written feedback to enhance and finalize 4 gender data products created by the bootcamp teams. The feedback should concentrate on making the messages more compelling, ensuring consistency, eliminating biases and gender stereotypes.

Task 2. Data collection and analysis for measuring femicides in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan).

• Provide written feedback to enhance and finalize the methodology for measuring femicides to be implemented by teams of CSO mentees from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
• Technical guidance and inputs to design a 4-day workshop on gender data analysis and research for the selected 15 mentees. The workshop shall include co-creation sessions, allowing participants to share their feedback and inputs on how the research methodology for measuring femicides, earlier tested in Kyrgyzstan, could be replicated in their national contexts.
• Design and hold a 1.5-hour session on gender data analysis and research in the format of interactive workshop during a 4-day workshop for CSO mentees.
• Guide and provide written feedback to three brief country case studies outlining key findings and recommendations of femicide research, in close collaboration with UN Women ECA RO.

Task 3. Use of social media analytics to generate new evidence on victim blaming attitudes and behaviors in Kyrgyzstan.

• Provide guidance on enhancing and finalizing the methodology for victim-blaming research.
• Provide written feedback to enhance and finalize the comprehensive research report outlining the research methodology, data collection and analysis methods, key findings and recommendations.
• Provide written feedback to enhance and finalize at least 10 communication products to promote research findings, including social media cards, video, and multimedia explainer.

Timeframe, payments and deliverables

It is anticipated that the assignment will take up to 30 working days over a period of 10 months:

Payment for this consultancy will be based on the achievement of each deliverable and certification that each has been satisfactorily completed. Payment will be based on the submission of the SSA report along with the timesheet and relevant annexes as supporting documents for the achievement of deliverables:

Input from UN Women:

Throughout the assignment, UN Women will provide:

• Background and resource materials beyond those available online or otherwise published that the Consultant will need to obtain directly.
• Technical inputs when reviewing key conceptual documents and knowledge products, including methodologies, desk review analysis, agenda, research reports and training materials.
• Support to coordinate activities with key stakeholders, when and if required.
• Travel costs for field missions to the destinations in Central Asia (as needed).
• Full logistical and communications support to strengthen visibility of bootcamps, trainings, and any other related events.

Reporting requirements:

The International Consultant on Gender Data and Research is expected to work remotely using her/his own computer. Consultancy report should be provided in electronic version in English with detailed description of the fulfilled tasks, according to the present Terms of Reference. Analytical documents, reports and other materials developed by expert should be attached to the report as annexes, which will serve as a justification for payment.

Competencies

Core Values:

Integrity:

• Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
• Professionalism:
• Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Respect for Diversity:

• Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff.
• Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrate and integrity and fairness by modeling UN values and ethical standards.
• Strong knowledge of international standards and recommendations on VAW data collection and analysis.
• Strong written/oral communication and training skills
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Competencies in coordination, planning and teamwork.
• A commitment to quality product and deadlines

Required Skills and Experience

Application procedure:

Applications should include:

• Offeror’s letter to UN Women confirming interest and availability for the assignment.
• Financial proposal, indicating a total lump sum to include all costs relating to the delivery of activities as per above description.
• P-11 form including experience in similar assignments. This form can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment.

Financial proposal format:

Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant during the contract period.

Evaluation of applicants

The evaluation starts with shortlisting of potential candidates and received applications against the mandatory requirements. Only full applications will be considered. Shortlisted candidates will be then evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ technical qualifications and experience, and financial proposal. The contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Technically responsive/compliant/acceptable to the requirements of the ToR; and
• Having received the highest cumulative (technical & financial) score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

The selection of candidates will be done in 3 stages:

1st stage: Prior to detailed evaluation, all applications will be thoroughly screened against eligibility criteria (minimum qualification requirements) as set in the present ToR in order to determine whether they are compliant/ non-compliant.

2nd stage: Technical Evaluation/ Desk review.

Short-listed candidates will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

3rd stage: Financial evaluation will be conducted according to the method described below:

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion.

A suggested formula is as follows: p=30 (µ/z)

Where:

p – points for the financial proposal being evaluated;

µ – price of the lowest priced proposal;

z – price of the proposal being evaluated

The candidate achieving the highest cumulative score for both Technical and Financial evaluations will be recommended by the Evaluation Committee for contracting.

The Consultant shall promote a client-oriented approach consistent with UN Women rules and regulations and commits to high standards of quality, productivity and timeliness in the delivery of tasks. The Consultant will meet and apply the highest standards of integrity and impartiality.

The Consultant must be fully dedicated to the mandate and the values of UN Women, particularly to promoting Gender Equality as a strategy to reduce conflict, improve livelihoods and ensure fairness and justice; to Women Empowerment underpinning Gender Equality promotion efforts; to inter-ethnic tolerance and concord; and to respect for diversity.