I. Organizational context
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), based on the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works to eliminate discrimination against women and girls; for the empowerment of women, and to achieve equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, for human rights, in humanitarian actions, and in peace and security. By placing women’s rights at the heart of its work, UN Women leads and coordinates the efforts of the United Nations System to ensure that commitments to gender equality and mainstreaming are translated into action worldwide. At the same time, it exercises substantive and coherent leadership to support the priorities and efforts of Member States, building an effective partnership with government, civil society, as well as other relevant actors.
UN Women comprehensively addresses the root causes of inequality from a perspective of transforming the systems that reproduce gender inequalities and discrimination and with a focus on peacebuilding around:
The Strategic Note 2023 – 2027 of the Country Office seeks to contribute to the empowerment, the full exercise of women’s rights and the reduction of gender gaps, with emphasis on those who experience greater inequality in Bolivia, in line with the “Living Well” and Depatriarchalization agendas. This document prioritizes three strategic areas: Governance and Political Participation; Economic Empowerment and Eradication of Violence, which are aligned with the priorities of the Plurinational State and its priorities in relation to gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Likewise, UN Women Bolivia supports the Bolivian State in its efforts to fulfill the commitments assumed under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action; Resolution No. 1325 of the United Nations Security Council on women, peace and security and subsequent derivative resolutions; the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development; and other relevant intergovernmental processes, such as General Assembly resolutions and agreed conclusions of the Commission on the Status of Women.
In this way, UN Women, through the implementation of its Strategic Note 2023-2027, contributes to the advancement of the United Nations Complementarity Framework for Living Well in Bolivia 2023-2027, prioritizing the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on gender equality and working for its integration with the Sustainable Development Agenda in its entirety.
II. Antecedents
UN Women works around the world to promote women’s participation and influence decision-making processes to prevent and resolve conflicts. To this end, it provides technical and legal assistance to public and social institutions that require it, in order to eliminate the gaps and obstacles that women face in their economic and political participation.
UN Women’s women, peace and security programming is guided by a number of international commitments relating to women’s rights. These include resolution 1325 and nine other supporting Security Council resolutions (specifically resolutions 1820 , 1888 , 1889 , 1960 , 2106 , 2122 , 2242 , 2467 and 2493 ). Other key points of reference include the Beijing Platform for Action and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), specifically General Recommendation No. 30 on women in conflict prevention and in conflict and post-conflict situations.
Within this framework, UN Women supports women’s engagement in all aspects of peacebuilding in order to build more inclusive and equal societies, capable of ending gender discrimination and resolving conflicts without resorting to violence.
In 2020, the United Nations System in Bolivia implemented the project Supporting dialogue and human rights for peacebuilding in Bolivia , contributing to the holding of democratic and peaceful elections, and strengthening national efforts to strengthen the political and institutional stability of Bolivia in the face of risks of renewed conflicts, increased violence and sensitive issues of racism and discrimination.
Faced with this scenario, in June 2024 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed the United Nations Initiative for the consolidation of the culture of peace in Bolivia, of which UN Women is a part. The initiative focuses on “ contributing to national efforts to prevent the resurgence of escalations of violence linked to electoral processes, taking into account the concentrated electoral calendar that will begin in 2024. This will be done through strategies that provide positive and constructive responses to the existing social fragmentation and political polarization, favoring the exercise of human rights, the recognition of plurality and the acceptance of differences. All of this will contribute to sustaining peace in the medium term.”
Considering the mandate, expertise and experience of UN Women in action for the application of the international legal framework to achieve gender equality and the implementation of Women, Peace and Security agendas, the need is identified for the support of a professional who contributes to the implementation of UN Women’s actions within the framework of the United Nations Initiative for the consolidation of the culture of peace in Bolivia from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
III. Objective
Provide technical assistance and contribute to the implementation of the United Nations Initiative for the consolidation of a culture of peace in Bolivia, coordinated by UN Women, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
IV. Scope of responsibilities
In accordance with the guidelines of the United Nations Initiative for the consolidation of the culture of peace in Bolivia, the consultant will have the following functions, without being limited depending on the dynamics of the project:
1. Support in the implementation of the project:
2. Prepare reports on the execution and progress of activities:
3. Strengthen capacities and develop alliances with key State institutions:
4. Contribute to the creation of knowledge, learning and communication:
V. Payment method
Payment for services will be made on a monthly basis and for a period of 334 days. The duration of the contract will depend on the assessment and evaluation by UN Women after three months. Once the contractual period has ended, UN Women is not committed to a contract renewal. When processing the last payment, the consultant’s performance evaluation must be accompanied by the certificate of payment (COP) in order to process the final payment.
The consulting contract determines the inclusion of all costs (all inclusive: invoice, health insurance, social contribution and/or others); the Organization will not assume any additional costs or benefits to the fees for services. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the consultant to have medical insurance for the period of the contract and it is recommended that it includes medical coverage for illnesses related to COVID-19. Medical coverage must be international in cases where the contract requires international missions or assignments.
If selected for this vacancy, proof of medical coverage will be required within the first two months of the contract.
The consultant must issue an invoice in the name of UN Women for each payment made.
VI. Supervision and performance evaluation
The consultancy will be managed by UN Women Bolivia. The supervision of this consultancy will be carried out by the Coordinator of the Area of Participation of Women in Public and Political Life of UN Women Bolivia and the institutional focal point established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Consultant is not a United Nations official and will carry out the activities related to his/her consultancy in person from the facilities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If necessary, trips will be made with prior authorization and coverage by UN Women, depending on the availability of funds.
The consultant will work under the supervision of the Coordinator of the Area of Women’s Participation in Public and Political Life, and will have the support of the Area’s Administrative Assistant, who will be the point of contact for issues related to the contract and payments.
For the proper development of the consultancy, the supervisor will provide the selected person with existing documents and information available to UN Women related to the consultancy topics. It is the consultant’s responsibility to obtain primary and secondary information from other sources, if necessary.
VII. Performance indicators
VIII. Intellectual Rights, Patents and Other Property Rights
Title to any equipment and supplies that may be provided by UN Women to the Consultant for the performance of any obligation under this Contract shall remain with UN Women and such equipment shall be returned to UN Women upon termination of this Contract or when no longer required by the Consultant. Such equipment, upon return to UN Women, shall be in the same condition as when delivered to the Consultant, subject to normal wear and tear. The Consultant shall be responsible for compensating UN Women for damaged or defaced equipment regardless of normal wear and tear.
UN Women shall be entitled to all intellectual property and other proprietary rights including but not limited to patents, copyrights and trademarks, in relation to products, processes, inventions, ideas, know-how, documents and other materials prepared or collected by the consultant as a result of or in the course of performing this consultancy, and the consultant acknowledges and agrees that such products, documents and other materials constitute works made for hire for UN Women. However, in the event that such intellectual property or other proprietary rights consist of any intellectual property or other proprietary right of the Consultant: (i) that existed prior to the Consultant’s performance of its obligations under this Agreement, or (ii) that the Consultant may develop or acquire, or may have developed or acquired, independently of the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, UN Women shall not and shall not claim any ownership interest therein, and the Consultant shall grant to UN Women a perpetual license to use such intellectual property or other proprietary right solely for the purpose and requirements of this Agreement.
IX. Competencies
Core values:
Core competencies:
Functional competencies:
X. Selection procedure and requirements for application:
The selection process will be carried out through a desk review , in which a formal verification is first carried out to ensure that the applications comply with the documentary evidence to be examined and the minimum requirements established for the consultancy. Then, the technical evaluation of the applications received is carried out, which will be qualified based on the technical requirements established in the following qualification table:
Evaluation criteria | Score |
1. Professional studies in Social and/or Political and/or Legal Sciences and related fields.
Academic training will be supported by a professional certificate and/or professional degree. |
5 |
2. Postgraduate studies and/or specialization in International Relations and/or International Politics and/or International Law and/or Human Rights.
(Postgraduate studies will have a different score depending on the type of certification). |
10 |
3. At least eight years of general work experience. | 10 |
4. Three experiences providing technical assistance for conflict resolution and/or building peace and security agendas and/or related to the development of policies for the exercise of human rights in the Bolivian context.
(8 points for work experience; 2 additional points if the experience includes a gender perspective). The total will add up to 30 points. |
30 |
5. Three experiences in the organization of consultation meetings and/or dialogues with public and/or private actors in the Bolivian context.
(13 points for work experience; 2 additional points if the experience includes a gender perspective). The total will add up to 45 points. |
45 |
Total | 100 |
Shortlisted candidates may be invited to a competency-based interview based on their level of knowledge of the subject area and on the specific topic of this consultancy. The relative weight of the interview, if it is decided to be carried out after the desk review, will be 50% of the total score (i.e. 50% for the table of compliance with the requirements and 50% for the interview).
XI. Documents to be submitted for application
IMPORTANT NOTES.
Diversity and inclusion
At UN Women we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women
hires, employs, trains, compensates and promotes without discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin or any other status covered by law. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and the needs of the organization.
If you require any reasonable accommodation to participate in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.
UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy towards conduct that is inconsistent with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. Successful candidates will be required to adhere to UN Women policies and procedures and the standards of conduct required of UN Women personnel and will undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include verification of academic credentials and employment history. Successful candidates may be required to provide additional information in order to complete a background check.)
People from minority groups, indigenous groups and people with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply.
All requests will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.