Location :
Kampala, UGANDA
Application Deadline :
12-Nov-13
Additional Category
Women's Empowerment
Type of Contract :
Individual Contract
Post Level :
National Consultant
Languages Required :
English
Starting Date : (date when the selected candidate is expected to start)
20-Nov-2013
Duration of Initial Contract :
60 workig days
Background
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. In pursuit of women's equality, UN Women in Uganda supports women's leadership and participation in decisions making at all levels that affect their lives. UN Women intervention will focus on defining and implementing a strategy to increase the representation and influence of women in political leadership at national and sub-national level, in preparation for the forth-coming (2016) elections. UN Women's contribution will aim at influencing political parties and institutional structures in charge of elections to create an enabling environment for women's political participation. Through partnership development with women's organisations, UN Women will support a non-partisan political dialogue to create a common agenda by identifying women's key priorities that will serve as a platform to commit political parties to propose specific actions to promote women's rights in the targeted areas. UN Women will also build capacities of women leaders and candidates and available technical support for their effective participation in different processes. The Government of the Republic of Uganda has ratified most of the international and regional instruments aimed at promoting gender equality and women's rights, but most of its commitments are yet to be implemented. Uganda is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and its Optional Protocol, and at a regional level, Uganda has signed the Abuja Declaration, the Additional Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. The Constitution of Uganda of 1995 provides for a system of affirmative action, and in the 9th Parliament (2011-2016), the percentage of women now stands around 35%, a rise of 5% from the outgoing Parliament. But this success has been undermined by the fact that compared to the 8th legislature more women have been elected on the affirmative quota than through the constituency. This poses the critical question of women competitiveness to cover the gap leading to effective parity representation of women and men. Progress has also been made at lower levels of government where there is a one third women's quota set by the Local Government Act. The percentage of women district councillors has risen to 46.8% compared to men at 53.2%. The 2016 Parliamentarian election offers a unique opportunity for women to strengthen their gains and seek representation beyond affirmative action quota, and clearly define a common agenda on which various stakeholders will be held accountable. To ensure women's effective participation to the up-coming parliamentarian election UN WOMEN seeks to document the experience of women's political leadership by conducting an extensive research on their participation in the Parliament of Uganda, including the lessons learned from the 2011 campaigns and electoral processes, the role played by political parties and CSO in this domain and implications for the way forward. UN Women will also produce two (2) knowledge products. Purpose:The purpose is to produce a high-quality, publishable research study on women's political participation including the role and influence of state institutions, political parties and civil society organisations in transforming their experiences. Two knowledge products will also be published, an 'Election Journey' including detailed information on the legal and institutional framework of the election process, how to access information, how to become candidate, how to run an election campaign and the voting day and (2) a Factsheet giving a snapshot of the status of Women in Political leadership in Uganda at national and local levels.The objective of the Research Assistant work is as follows:
- Under the supervision of the Senior Consultant, support data collection to document women's experience in political participation with a specific focus in their involvement in parliamentarian elections;
- Under the supervision of the senior consultant, contribute to draft a report that documents women's experiences as successful and unsuccessful candidates to parliamentarian elections from affirmative action/constituency list/; the challenges they have faced; the coping strategies they have put in place, the role played by political parties and civil society organisation and its impact on their experiences;
- In collaboration with the Senior Consultant propose recommendations on how to support women's needs as candidates;
- Under the supervision of the Senior Consultant support data collection and development of the ‘Election Journey';
- Under the supervision of the Senior Consultant support data collection and production of the Fact sheet on women's political participation.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall guidance of the Senior Consultant the Research Assistant will be responsible for the following key functions:
- Support the development of a Concept Note on the Proposed Study;
- Participate to the development of a detailed Research Plan for the gathering of quantitative and qualitative data and information which will inform the study's content and analysis. This research plan should include the following components;
- Aim of the study;
- Theoretical Framework;
- Rationale for the Study;
- Research design and methodology;
- Guiding research questions;
- Data collection methods, including list of potential interviewees;
- Data analysis;
- Time-frame and work plan;
- Support organisation of a meeting to share the Research Plan and Research Instruments;
- Contribute to the development of a detailed bibliography and list of documents for the literature and document review;
- Participate to the literature and document reviews, field research and interviews as per the research design and methodology;
- Contribute to the production of the first draft report of the study;
- Support finalisation of the report based on comments and inputs;
- Participate to the production of the 2 knowledge products.
Competencies
Core values / Guiding Principles:
- Integrity: Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct;
- Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity: Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.
- Ethics and Values: Demonstrating / Safeguarding Ethics and Integrity;
- Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
- Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring: Initiative-taking; coaching and mentoring ability;
- Working in Teams: Acting as a team player and facilitating team work;
- Communicating Information and Ideas: Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively;
- Self-management and Emotional intelligence: Creating synergies through self-control;
- Conflict Management / Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements: Managing conflict;
- Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning: Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of other;
- Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Informed and transparent decision making.
Functional competencies:
- Good analytical and reporting skills;
- Strong communication skills both written and verbal.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- MA in social studies or a field related to political governance or equivalent (Gender and Women Studies an added advantage)
- Minimum 5 years of experience in research and analytical work in the field of women's participation in political governance and electoral processes;
- Knowledge of Ugandan political systems and election mechanisms;
- Tracked ability to analyze and synthesize vast amount of information.
- Fluency (both oral and written) 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.
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