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.

UN Women Georgia Country Office (CO) provides technical support to state and non-state partners in the achievement of substantive gender equality in Georgia. In line with national and international commitments, UN Women works on policies, legislation, institutions, and grassroots levels in order to achieve transformative results for increased gender equality and greater protection of the rights of women and girls. UN Women puts special emphasis on the work towards gender mainstreaming in good governance reforms and enhancing women’s political participation, ending violence against women, promoting and supporting women’s economic empowerment, and Women, Peace and Security agenda. Along with these key priority areas that constitute UN Women’s mandate, UN Women interventions in Georgia are anchored in the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for the years 2021-2025 with the government of Georgia.

Within the framework of its Governance & Participation in Public Life (G&PPL) portfolio, the UN Women Georgia CO, with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), is implementing a four-year project – “Increased Leadership for Democracy in Georgia” (WILD). The project was launched in April 2023 with the overarching goal of promoting gender equality in Georgia by enhancing women’s political empowerment, fostering good governance, and facilitating inclusive development. The impact-level goal of the project is to ensure that women and girls, in all their diversity, fully and equally participate in decision-making and benefit from gender-responsive governance in Georgia.

Despite Georgia’s national legislation that guarantees women’s equal political participation rights, as well as the country’s international commitments that reinforce this objective, the substantial challenge of enhancing women’s engagement in the political sphere persists, impeding progress toward gender equality and the overarching sustainable development agenda. Georgia is ranked 55th out of 146 countries in the 2022 Global Gender Gap Index, indicating a decline from its 2021 ranking. As of 2022, parliamentary representation for women stands at a mere 19%, while local self-governance bodies (Sakrebulos or municipal councils) represent women at 24%. The mandatory gender quotas were abolished by the Parliament of Georgia in April 2023. As a result, political parties are no longer required to compile their election candidates’ lists in a gender-balanced manner (previously, the Election Code required every 4th candidate on the parliamentary party list and every 3rd candidate on the municipal party list to be of different sex).

To promote gender equality and women’s leadership with political parties, UN Women Georgia plans to engage the services of a national consultant. More specifically, the objectives of the consultancy are as follows:

1. To support UN Women Country Office in Georgia in formulating and implementing a strategy to promote a shift in the political parties’ culture around gender equality. This shift involves modifying political parties’ internal regulations, manifestos, policies, and processes to ensure greater gender equality and women’s leadership within political parties in Georgia.
2. To support UN Women Country Office in Georgia engage with different stakeholder and strategize around different apt mechanisms (including mandatory gender quotas) to advance women’s political participation in Georgia.
3. To support UN Women Country Office in Georgia in designing instruments and mechanisms on violence against women in politics (VAWP) aligned with the results of consultations with key national stakeholders, including relevant state agencies and political parties.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will be reporting to G&PPL Progamme Specialist and G&PPL Project Analyst and will be supported by G&PPL Project Assistant, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

Description of Responsibilities/Scope of Work

The duties and responsibilities of the National Consultant are:

• To organize and facilitate individual consultation meetings with at least five (5) political parties enrolled in the 2024 parliamentary elections. This entails creating a comprehensive workplan and strategy for the consultations, which should include a detailed description of the consultations’ concept and facilitation.
• Based on individual consultations, develop a set of strategic recommendations for each of the five parties on promoting gender equality and women’s leadership within their party structures.
• To prepare and facilitate a two-day in-person workshop with the selected political parties to discuss the strategic recommendations and outline priorities.
• Support political parties in developing internal action plans on promoting gender equality and women’s leadership within their party structures.
• Organize and facilitate consultations with national stakeholders on mechanisms promoting women’s political participation (including but not limited to mandatory political gender quota mechanism) to support women’s political participation in Georgia and develop a set of recommendations for the UN Women Georgia team.
• Assist the UN Women in designing instruments and mechanisms on violence against women in politics (VAWP) aligned with the results of consultations with key national stakeholders, including relevant state agencies and political parties.

Deliverables

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy.

As part of this assignment, no travel will be necessary.

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:

https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Technical credibility in policy research
• Technical credibility in legislative analysis
• Business acumen
• Negotiation
• Partnerships building

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Public Policy, or related field is required.
• A first-level university degree, in combination with nine additional years of qualifying experience, may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least seven years of demonstrated work experience in political advising, gender mainstreaming, human rights advocacy, or other relevant areas.
• At least seven years of demonstrated work experience in organizing and facilitating inclusive consultations with political subjects in Georgia.
• At least seven years of demonstrated work experience in drafting gender-sensitive policies and recommendations.

Languages:

• Fluency in Georgian and English is required.

How to Apply:

• Personal CV and P11 (P11 can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc )
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)

How to Submit the Application:

• Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11) – https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process
• Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), CV and Motivation Letter into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded;
• Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement);
• Click ‘Apply Now’ button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click ‘Submit Application’;
• Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above);
• You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

Notes:

• UN Women retains the right to contact references directly. Due to the large numbers of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

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.).