Facilitator for the Open Day/High Level Dialogue on Women, Peace and Security At UN Women

UN Women (UNW), 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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women plays an innovative and catalytic role in the State of Palestine since its inception in 1997. UN Women Palestine Office focuses its activities on one overarching goal, namely, to support the implementation at the national level of existing international commitments to advance gender equality in line with the national priorities. In support of this goal, and thoroughly taking into consideration the specificities of the Palestinian context, UN Women concentrates its efforts and interventions toward the realisation of following strategic goals: Mainstreaming gender in governance, peace and security; Supporting women’s economic security and rights; and Promoting women’s rights and protection against violence.

In March 2021, the State of Palestine adopted its second National Action Plan (PALNAP) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). The PALNAP, which was developed by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in cooperation with UN Women and with generous funding from the government of Norway, is based on four pillars: (i) prevention/protection, (ii) accountability, (iii) participation, (iv) relief and recovery and which constitutes the main national accountability framework on the WPS agenda in Palestine, was endorsed by the State of Palestine in March 2021. To bolster its implementation and monitoring, a PALNAP costing exercise was concluded and the development of the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning System for the NAP is underway. The adoption of the PALNAP was recognized as a landmark achievement by the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Office during its April 2021 briefing to the Security Council.

In October 2021, UN Women organized the Open Day/High Level Dialogue on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in partnership with the General Union of Palestinian Women. The event, held in Gaza City on the 21st anniversary of UNSCR 1325, served as an important space for Palestinian women, gender equality advocates and the international community to reflect on the implementation of UN Security Resolution 1325 in Palestine. The participants reflected on the important role Palestinian women can play for national reconciliation, took stock of the challenges to effectively implement the WPS agenda in Palestine, and recommended to strengthen women’s role in reconciliation and peacebuilding efforts.

In October 2022 (tbc), UN Women plans to organize an Open Day/High Level Dialogue on WPS to mark the 22nd anniversary of UNSCR 1325, taking stock of the lessons learned and progress achieved after the Open Day in 2021 and agree on key WPS priorities and commitments in light of latest contextual developments.

Under the overall guidance of UN Women Special Representative and direct supervision of the UN Women Programme Management Specialist, the consultant is expected to deliver the following:

• Review the 2021 Open Day report and other relevant material on WPS in Palestine.
• Carry out consultations with UN Women team, international actors and national actors including members of the National Civil Society Coalition on UNSCR 1325 on the Open Day agenda, format/structure and methodology, as well as the intended goal of the event.
• In cooperation with the UN Women team, develop the Open Day agenda and methodology ensuring thematic focus, suitability to the audience and use of appropriate facilitation tools (group work, guiding questions, presentations) etc.
• Facilitate the Open Day in line with the developed agenda and methodology.
• In cooperation with UN Women team, ensure proper logistical and technological setup of the event.
• Develop a comprehensive report (at least 10 pages) in English of the key discussion points, takeaways and recommendations.
• Other tasks that may be required for the Open Day, as requested

Deliverables*

1- Inception report – 3 days

2- Ahead of the Open Day, work with the UN Women team to develop the agenda, structure, methodology, intended goals, and advice on the appropriate logistical and technological set-up of the event – 8 days

3 – Facilitate the Open Day on WPS (travel to Palestine during the event is required) – 2 days

4 – Submit a final comprehensive report (at least 10 pages) in English of the key discussion points, takeaways, and recommendations, which also addresses UN Women’s feedback and is cleared by task manager. – 7 days

*All deliverables have to be cleared by task manager.

Qualifications

Education

Master’s degree in international relations, gender studies or other relevant fields.

Experience

• At least 3 years of experience in mediation, moderation and as a facilitator in high-level and multi-stakeholder events, dialogues, and/or seminars and conferences.
• At least 3 years of experience at national or international level in Women, Peace and Security.
• Familiarity with the Palestinian context on Women, Peace and Security is an asset.

Language Requirements

• Fluency in English and Arabic is required

Evaluation Criteria:

This SSA modality is governed by UN Women General Terms and Conditions. UN Women will only be able to respond to the shortlisted candidates, who will be invited for an interview.

Candidates should clearly indicate how they meet the above-mentioned criteria in their applications.

Candidates should have the ability to quickly submit degree certificates and medical certification (of good health).

Evaluation of applicants:

Candidates will be evaluated based on the applicants’ qualifications mentioned above and the cumulative results of the technical evaluation, interview, and financial offer. A contract will be awarded to the individual consultant who scores the highest score out of 100. Only shortlisted candidate will be invited for an interview. Below the scores for evaluation:

Technical evaluation: 70/100

• Master’s degree in international relations, economics, law, gender studies or other relevant fields (10 points).
• At least 3 years of experience in mediation, moderation and as a facilitator in high-level and multi-stakeholder events, dialogues, and/or seminars and conferences (20 points).
• At least 3 years of experience at national or international level in gender equality and WPS (15 points).
• Familiarity with the Palestinian context on Women, Peace and Security is an asset (5 points).
• Sample of previous relevant work (reports, documentation on previously facilitated events, etc…) (10 points)
• Interview (10 points)

Financial Evaluation: 30/100

Criteria for financial evaluation:

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (x/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal: x = price of the lowest priced shortlisted proposal: z = price of the proposal being evaluated: