Job: LEAD CONSULTANT FOR A REGIONAL ROUNDTABLE MEETING ON GENDER RESPONSIVE BUDGETING

Location: Home-based with travel to Egypt, Morocco or Jordan for the meeting, EGYPT
Deadline: Tuesday, 17 September 2013 

Description

LEAD CONSULTANT FOR A REGIONAL ROUNDTABLE MEETING ON GENDER RESPONSIVE BUDGETING

Location : Home-based with travel to Egypt, Morocco or Jordan for the meeting, EGYPT

Application Deadline : 17-Sep-13

Type of Contract : Individual Contract

Post Level : International Consultant

Languages Required : Arabic English

Background

UNWomen will be conducting a roundtable meeting on Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB).The roundtable meeting is co-organized jointly by UNWomen Offices in the Arab region: Jordan, the State of Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen .This meeting will provide the participating countries with an opportunity to learn from and expand upon successful regional approaches to implementing GRB. The roundtable will also discuss budget analysis tools such as the six' tools 'developed by Diane Elson and three –way categorization by Rhonda Sharp's. Participants will collectively explore how these tools have been or can be adapted, how they have succeeded, and how they can be improved and used elsewhere. In addition, the roundtable will be a space for peer-learning and for the capacity building allowing new actors to take responsibility in implementing GRB.

Against this background, the objectives of the roundtable on GRB are:

• To create a common understanding on the concept of GRB;
• To clarify the commonalities and differences among GRB initiatives;
• To be able to identify which GRB tools can be used for specific budget analysis purposes;
• To identify different types of data needed for GRB implementation;
• To be able to engage in advocacy for GRB;
• To be informed about wide range of experiences and diverse approaches of GRB initiatives;
• To be able to articulate linkages between policy making ,programming and budgeting and the added value of gender responsive budgeting approaches to policy outcomes.

Overall goal of the Consultancy:

The consultant will be hired to support the planning, facilitation and reporting of the roundtable. The roundtable will target 50 officials from National women organizations, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of planning, General budget department and Related Ministries. The consultant will be required to input into the list of invitees, prepare background documents, and draft the overall meeting report.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the regional director and in direct coordination with the designated programme officer in UN Women, the facilitator will be responsible for supporting UNWomen as follows:

• Review in close coordination with UNWomen the work plan and the methodology and define the roles and responsibilities of the team working on the implementation of the activity;
• Prepare an agenda for the meeting, including revising and finalizing the meeting concept notes, outcomes and objectives;
• Conduct a desk review to collect and review all the related documents;
• Prepare the needed materials for the roundtable meeting;
• Conduct a pre and post assessment to assess the changes in attitudes and knowledge of the participants;
• Conduct a briefing session with UNWomen team before the roundtable meeting;
• Facilitate the 2-Day roundtable meeting;
• Finalize the workshop report and the strategic framework/results matrix based on the findings of the meeting and debriefing.

Deliverables:

• Finalised Agenda, including a revised concept note with outcomes and objectives;
• Background materials to be shared prior to the meeting;
• Input into the list of invitees;
• Completion of the meeting, including facilitation;
• Submission of the final approved report, including participant assessment.

Competencies

Core values and guiding principles:

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.

Cultural sensitivity and valuing 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:

Ethics and Values:

• Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Development and Innovation:

• Take charge of self-development and take initiative.

Work in teams:

• Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Communicating and Information Sharing:

• Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication

Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:

• Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others.

Conflict Management:

• Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.

Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

• Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

• Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Functional competencies:

• Good Team player;
• Knowledge of the recent policy and advocacy trends in gender responsive budgeting;
• Substantive knowledge of issues on gender equality and women's economic empowerment;
• Promotes knowledge management and a learning environment through leadership and personal example;
• Outstanding networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills;
• Capacity to work with diverse partners including governments, donors, UN country teams and civil society;
• Demonstrated ability to work in an independent manner; ability to organize work efficiently and deal with multiple tasks;
• Ability to make decisions, and ability to deal with politically or culturally sensitive issues. The ability to work as a member of, and lead a team. Excellent writing, analytical, research, and communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic expertise:

• Advanced degree (preferably PhD) in in economics, international development, public sector reform or a related discipline.

Work experience:

• A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience at national and international levels, dealing with gender equality, local development, public administration and social policies with specific expertise on gender responsive budgeting (GRB) and public finance;
• Proven experience in designing training activities and facilitation
• Technical expertise: In depth knowledge of government planning and budgeting, proven experience on GRB, and GRB in the Arab states region in particular.

Languages:

• Fluency in English & Arabic is required, French is an asset - the final report will be in English.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

More Info and Application