INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANCY – REGIONAL EVALUATION CONSULTANT- HOME BASED- RETAINER

Background

I. Organizational context 

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

UN-Women focuses on integrated approaches to address the root causes of inequality from a perspective of the transformation of the systems that perpetuate gender inequalities and discrimination and with a peacebuilding approach: 

• women’s voice, leadership, and female autonomy
• strengthening of global normative frameworks, and gender-responsive laws, policies, and institutions that promote gender equality at the national and subnational levels
• Effective participation and protection of women in all areas of peacebuilding, security, and humanitarian action
• women’s equitable access to services, goods, and resources
• financing for gender equality and economic empowerment
• positive social norms, including through engaging men and boys
• production, analysis, and use of gender statistics, sex-disaggregated data, and knowledge; and
• UN system coordination for gender equality and women’s empowerment

The Strategic Plan 2022-2025 aims to achieve gender equality, the empowerment of all women and girls, and the full enjoyment of their human rights. The Strategic Plan is anchored in the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, UN Security Council resolutions on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS), the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, and other relevant intergovernmental outcomes, such as resolutions of the General Assembly and agreed conclusions of the Commission of the Status of Women. UN Women contributes to the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, SDG 5 on gender equality at the center of the SDGs and in coordination with all the other Goals to ensure comprehensive progress. 

II. Background 

The UN Women Independent Evaluation Service (IES) of the Independent Evaluation and Audit Service (IEAS) evaluates the work of UN women to enhance organizational accountability, provide evidence-based information for decision-making and to contribute to learning on gender equality and the empowerment of women. IES posts Regional Evaluation Specialists in the Regional Offices of UN Women with a key task to lead independent country portfolio evaluations and regional evaluations and to support country office personnel with the management of decentralized evaluations. During the regional Strategic Note cycle of 2022-2025, the RES is leading several Country Portfolio Evaluations and regional evaluations, as well as supporting quality assurance of other decentralized evaluations. In this context, UN Women is seeking to hire a consultant to support the Regional Evaluation Specialist in analyzing data and evaluations generated in the framework of programs and country portfolios in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

The consultant’s will have independence and autonomy in carrying out their duties, they will have authority to request information, make data collection, draft ToRs, Inception and Evaluation Reports, as well as make decisions and act within the scope of their assignment, while supporting the management of evaluations. 

III. Consultancy objective 

This consultancy’s main objective is to support the management of evaluations. The Evaluation Consultant is an integral member of the team and is expected to support the evaluation management, conduct and will need to connect with the team during Latin America and Caribbean working hours via online platforms. Under the overall oversight of the Regional Evaluation Specialist, the consultant will contribute to the following: 

• Overall evaluation task management ensuring deadlines are adhered to
• Planning stage:
• Collecting, organizing and reviewing all relevant documents (i.e. Strategic notes, project documents, donor and/or other monitoring reports, evaluation and audit reports, etc.).
• The portfolio analysis aims to provide an overview of the different efforts under the CO/RO area by systematically organizing and analysing the type of initiatives / projects, budgets, and stakeholders involved.
• Lead any necessary scoping interview guide and staff survey design and support interviews and consultations by taking detailed notes.
• Support drafting Terms of Reference for evaluations including for the Evaluation Management and Reference Groups.
• Inception phase:
• Evaluability assessment
• Human rights-based stakeholder analysis and visualization
• Reconstruction of theory of change and visualization
• Development of evaluation matrix
• Evaluation data collection tool design (interview and focus group guides, etc.)
• Drafting and presentation of inception report PowerPoint presentation.
• Drafting inception report, including creating data visualizations, tables and graphs and annexes.
• Editing of final inception report including annexes, ensuring all feedback from the ERG and peer reviewers has been integrated and tracked for transparency.
• Data collection:
• Support interviews and consultations by taking detailed notes.
• Lead analyses and support others (in-depth analysis of project or sub-theme selected during inception phase), including systematic document review and triangulation and potentially drafting 2–3-page case study report.
• Conduct results mapping and analyses according to Gender@work framework (systematize information reported on results; excel format and visualization)
• Undertake qualitative (using software such as NVivo) and quantitative data analysis (including survey analysis) and produce summary reports.
• Create data visualizations, tables, and graphs as necessary.
• Reporting phase:
• Support drafting and presentation of the Preliminary Findings PowerPoint
• Support the drafting of the synthesis evaluation report (provide substantive input to findings, conclusions, and recommendations) and annexes.
• Support editing of final report including preparing annexes, ensuring all feedback from the ERG and peer reviewers has been integrated and tracked for transparency.
• Other tasks as assigned by the supervisor.

Duties and Responsibilities

IV. Scope 

The successful performance of the incumbent will effectively contribute to the development of Terms of Reference, inception report, presentations and final synthesis reports and annexes for evaluations that reflect high quality in line with the GERAAS criteria established by UN Women. 

In particular, the evaluation consultant is expected to carry out the following activities: 

• Support the overall conduct of regional evaluations, for example in 2024 the regional Impact Assessment and the Regional Strategy Note Evaluation: Contributions to the Terms of Reference, inception report, data collection, presentations and final synthesis reports and annexes
• Support the overall conduct of the Country Portfolio Evaluations (CPEs), for example Mexico and Argentina CPEs in 2024-2025: Contributions to the Terms of Reference, inception report, data collection, presentations and final synthesis reports and annexes.
• Support co-managing regional project evaluations as relevant, for example: contributions to the Terms of Reference, reviewing quality of inception, draft reports, and preparing presentations and final synthesis reports and annexes.
• Support the quality assurance and management of decentralized evaluations, taking role as part of evaluation teams, and/or support quality assurance of Terms of Reference, reviewing quality of inception, draft reports, and preparing presentations and final synthesis reports and annexes.

Consultants with Data Science background, are also expected to carry out the following activities: 

• Support Data and Statistical analysis, conducting descriptive and inferential statistical analyses to derive insights from data. Utilizing various statistical methods, including regression analysis, hypothesis testing, and multivariate analysis, to answer specific evaluation questions.
• Support data visualization, create clear and informative visualizations to effectively communicate findings to both technical and non-technical audiences. Utilize tools such as Tableau, Power BI, or programming languages like Python and R to develop dashboards and reports.

V. Contract execution arrangements 

The “Retainer” hiring modality implies that the consultant will be hired for a daily fee. A maximum cumulative value will be established, which will be maintained as the upper limit and should not be interpreted or understood as a financial commitment or guarantee of business volume on UN Women. It is not exclusive, which means that the parties are open to entering another contract/s with another person or entity. 

The specifications for each product requested, the number of working days and deadlines will be negotiated and agreed upon with UN Women and the consultant on a case-by-case basis. Before starting any work, the consultant should confirm his/her availability in writing to carry out the tasks assigned by each request and/or order. 

The consultant will be responsible for all supplies required to carry out the work, such as equipment, assistant fees, food, and local transportation. 

Financial commitments will be established each time services are requested under the framework contract, through the management of a purchase order agreed between the parties specifying the scope, products, and expected results and approved purchase order, as an indication of the start of the provision of services. 

Payment will be disbursed upon satisfactory delivery of the products, previously approved by UN Women, and against delivery of a signed Certificate of Payment (COP). 

The Consultant contract includes all costs (all-inclusive); the Organization will not assume any costs or benefits in addition to the fee for services. Therefore, it is the consultant’s responsibility to have health insurance for the period of the contract. It is recommended that they include 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 position, proof of medical coverage will be required within the first two months of the contract. 

VI. Performance monitoring and evaluation 

The consultant will be managed by the Regional Evaluation Specialist for the Americas and Caribbean based with the Regional Office for the Americas and Caribbean, Panama that will carry out the supervision of this consultancy. The Regional Evaluation Specialist reports to the Chief of Independent Evaluation Service at UN Women headquarters. The consultant is not a United Nations staff member and will carry out the activities related to his/her consultancy in a virtual way, from his/her workspace under the established work plan. 

The consultant will be reporting to Regional Evaluation Specialist for the Americas and Caribbean based with the Regional Office for the Americas and Caribbean, Panama, and will be supported by a Regional Evaluation Consultant, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues. 

Three months after the beginning of the consultancy, an evaluation of the selected person’s performance and the products produced will be carried out. In case of not being favorable, the contract will be terminated by mutual agreement within 30 days. 

For the consultancy’s good development, the supervisor will provide the consultant with the existing documents and information that UN Women has related to the consultancy’s topics. It is the consultant’s responsibility to obtain primary and secondary data from other sources, if necessary. 

The consultant will maintain permanent coordination with her/his supervisor to execute and develop the products requested by this consultancy effectively. He/she will also provide information as requested within the framework of the terms of reference. 

As part of this assignment, there is some expected travel that the consultancy assignment will require. This will take place when the consultant is conducting in person data collection, interviews, or presentation of results. There will be a maximum of two trips per evaluation, however in some cases all process will be done remotely. 

VII. Performance indicators 

• Timely presentation of products / deliverables according to the TORs
• Documents and content produced in English and/or Spanish, French and Portuguese are useful for presentation to external and internal evaluation stakeholders, including senior decision-makers
• Work quality
• Compliance with expected results
• Compliance with the competencies as mentioned above (Ref. Profile of the consultant)

Competencies

VIII. Intellectual rights, patents, and other property rights 

The right to equipment and supplies provided by UN Women to the consultant for the performance of any obligation under this contract shall remain with UN Women. Such equipment shall be returned to UN Women at the end of this contract or when the consultant no longer needs it. When returned to UN Women, such equipment shall be in the same condition as when it was given to the consultant, subject to normal wear and tear. The consultant shall be responsible for compensating UN Women for damaged or broken equipment regardless of normal wear and tear. 

UN Women is entitled to all intellectual property and other proprietary rights, including but not limited to: patents, copyrights, and trademarks, concerning products, processes, inventions, ideas, know-how, documents, and other materials that the consultant has prepared or collected in consequence of or during the execution of this consultancy, and the consultant acknowledges and agrees that such products, documents, and other materials constitute work carried out under the engagement of UN Women. However, if such intellectual property or other property rights consist of any intellectual property or property rights of the consultant (i) that existed before the consultant’s performance of his or her obligations under this contract, or (ii) that the consultant may develop or acquire, or may have developed or acquired, independently of the performance of his or her obligations under this contract, UN Women will not and shall not claim any ownership interest therein, and the consultant shall grant UN Women a perpetual license to use such intellectual property or other property rights solely for the purpose and the requirements of this contract. 

Required Skills and Experience

IX Requirements 

Core values: 

• Professionalism
• Cultural sensitivity and diversity of values
• Respect for diversity

Core competencies: 

• Awareness and sensitivity regarding gender issues.
• Creative problem solving
• Effective and inclusive communication
• Inclusive collaboration

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: 

• Experience or knowledge in incorporating the gender and intersectionality perspective
• Excellent communication and/or writing skills
• Correct elaboration of knowledge products
• Proven ability to work as part of a team
• Capacity for innovative thinking

X. Selection procedure and application requirements: 

The selection process will be carried out through a desk review, which consists of a formal verification to verify that the applications comply with the documentary evidence to be examined and the minimum requirements established for the consultancy, followed by the technical evaluation of the received applications, which will be qualified based on the technical requirements established in the following qualification table: 

Evaluation criteria 

Points 

1. Bachelor’s degree in a field of relevance for the evaluation (i.e. Social Sciences, Gender Equality, Evaluation, international affairs). 

5 

2. Master’s degree in a field of relevance for the evaluation (i.e. Social Sciences, Gender Equality, Evaluation, international affairs), OR two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree 

15 

3. At least 5 years of work experience in monitoring, evaluation, or applied research, preferably specific to the conduction of evaluations for UN Agencies. 

40 

4. Experience using qualitative data analysis tools, developing infographics, graphs and figures for useful and impactful products such as evaluation reports 

20 

5. Experience conducting UN evaluations in the Latin America and Caribbean region 

20 

TOTAL 

100 

Short-listed candidates may be called for a competency-based interview on the level of knowledge of the subject area and on the specific topic of this consultancy. The relative value of the interview (if it is determined necessary after the desk review) will be 50% of the total score (i.e., 50% for the requirements compliance table and 50% for the interview). 

XI. Documents to be submitted for the application 

• Cover letter outlining relevant work experience
• UN Women Personal History Form (P11), which can be found in https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc
• Personal identification (ID card, passport).
• Two evaluation writing samples in English (must be a sample where the applicant was directly responsible for writing and demonstrating required evaluation skills)

IMPORTANT NOTES 

• Submitting the application: only one (1) file must be uploaded in PDF format. A guide is attached for you to perform this step. https://www.wikihow.com/Merge-PDF-Files.
• UN Women assumes no responsibility and only describes one of the many ways to compress documents related to the application. You may use whichever one you deem appropriate.
• Incomplete applications or those received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those applications appropriate for the shortlist will be contacted for an interview (if applicable).
• Consultants who have an employment relationship with public institutions can only be hired if they present proof of a work permit (license) without expiration and a letter of no objection to the consultancy’s performance, issued by the employing institution. If the candidates are linked to a research institution, academic center, or university, presenting a letter of no objection issued by the employing institution is sufficient.
• The selected consultants must have medical coverage and present proof of their coverage within two months of signing their contract.
• If the consultant needs to travel, medical coverage, required vaccines according to the destination, and travel insurance must be confirmed.
• If the consultancy is international, the currency will be US dollars or the local currency.

UN Women is committed to achieving workplace diversity in gender, nationality, and culture. 

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.) 

People from minority groups, indigenous groups, and people with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. 

All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence. 

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