Local Expert on Gender-Responsive Governance, Planning, and Budgeting (4 LGUs), National Consultancy, Sarajevo, BiH

Background:

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.

The required services are sought through a Joint Programme Gender Equality Accelerator (JP GEA), implemented by United Nations agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina - UN Women, UNDP, UNFPA and UNICEF - with financial support from the European Union and the Governments of Denmark and Sweden, in cooperation with the Agency for Gender Equality of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Center for Equity and Equality between Women and Men of Republika Srpska and the Gender Center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

JP GEA represents a significant shift in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in BiH. It moves away from fragmented, short-term interventions towards a comprehensive, systems-level model designed to address structural barriers and achieve transformative change together with key governmental and non-governmental partners. Designed in consultation with governmental, civil society and international partners and stakeholders and leveraging the collective mandates, expertise, and comparative advantages of four United Nations agencies—UN Women, UNICEF, UNDP, and UNFPA—the JP targets three critical areas:

1.           Eliminating Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG)

2.           Empowering Women Economically (EWE)

3.           Elevating Women in Governance and Leadership (EWG&L)

Under the EWG&L pillar, the JP interventions aim to strengthen the enabling environment for women and girls to cultivate leadership skills, engage equally in decision-making, and take the lead in driving gender-transformative development, as well as to ensure that gender-responsive planning, policymaking and budgeting for sustainable development are implemented across all sectors and levels of government.

The JP GEA places significant emphasis on strengthening gender-responsive governance and budgeting capacities at the local level through a bottom-up approach. Building on existing experiences and lessons learned, UN Women will provide targeted capacity development and mentoring support to LGU officials and relevant stakeholders from partner LGUs to further integrate gender equality considerations into local planning, programmes, and budgeting processes. Through technical guidance, training, and advisory support, the programme aims to strengthen institutional capacities of LGUs to apply gender analysis, introduce gender-responsive objectives and measures, and monitor progress and results, contributing to more inclusive, accountable, and gender-responsive local governance in line with SDG 5 and SDG 11.

In this context, UN Women is contracting a local consultant to support UN Women in strengthening gender-responsive governance, planning and budgeting capacities by performing the following tasks:

• Develop a detailed workplan with timeline, outline and methodology to conduct the tasks outlined in this TOR;
• Design, prepare, and deliver one training on the gender equality/mainstreaming, gender responsive budgeting, planning and governance to the public officials from targeted departments of the four partner LGUs. The four LGUs will be selected from the following partner municipalities and cities: City of Lukavac, City of Mostar, City of Sarajevo, City of Trebinje, Municipality of Center Sarajevo, Municipality of Modriča, Municipality of Srbac, Municipality of Tešanj and Municipality of Velika Kladuša;
• Provide tailored capacity-building training and mentoring support to four partner LGUs taking into account their existing capacities and levels of experience in gender-responsive budgeting. Support LGUs that have previously implemented GRB initiatives and undertaken measures to engender their local budget circulars, programmes and budgets, while providing tailored introductory support to newly engaged LGUs based on their specific needs and capacities;
• Prepare a final narrative report summarizing activities, results, challenges, and recommendations and contribute to documenting good practices and lessons learned to support knowledge sharing and visibility.

The consultant will be reporting to Governance and Leadership Programme Coordination Specialist, under the overall supervision of the Programme Management Specialist, and will be supported by Programme Associate, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Deliverables

The Consultant will be responsible for the following deliverables:

Deliverable 1: Design a consultancy workplan, methodology and coordination framework;

• Develop a detailed consultancy workplan with a timeline (Gantt chart), outlining key activities and overall methodology for the implementation of tasks under this TOR.
• Conduct consultations with UN Women and relevant partners to ensure alignment with programme priorities and expectations.

Deliverable 2: Design, prepare, and deliver one training on gender equality/mainstreaming, gender responsive budgeting, planning and governance to the public officials from targeted departments of the four selected LGUs; 

• Design and deliver targeted training for LGU representatives from four partner LGUs on gender equality/mainstreaming, gender responsive budgeting/planning/governance.
• Prepare the training agenda, concept notes, presentations, and practical exercises.
• Prepare a short report summarizing the support provided, common challenges identified and recommendations.

Deliverable 3: Provide ongoing technical and advisory support to four selected LGUs

• Provide structured technical advisory and mentoring support to four selected LGUs.
• Support LGU teams in applying gender analysis, GRG and GRB principles, and monitoring approaches during implementation.
• Develop tailored training programmes and materials and deliver in-house capacity-building sessions on gender mainstreaming and gender-responsive budgeting for relevant local government officials and councilors in each selected LGU.
• Participate in regular coordination meetings with cities/municipalities and UN Women to review progress, identify challenges and agree on corrective measures, as needed.

Deliverable 4: Reporting, knowledge products and final report;

• Contribute to the documentation of good practices and lessons learned to support knowledge sharing and visibility.
• Prepare and submit a final narrative report summarizing achievements against the TOR objectives, deliverables, and indicators.

To facilitate delivery of the above outputs, UN Women will provide the consultant the following: 

• Background materials on the JP GEA; 
• Relevant background materials on UN Women’s work with LGUs in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• Other documents and contacts as necessary.

TOTAL # of days: 27

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy. As part of this assignment, the selected consultant is expected to travel to four selected municipalities and cities to facilitate consultations with local administrations and other relevant stakeholders. In addition, the consultant is expected to travel to the location of one training on gender equality/mainstreaming, gender responsive budgeting, planning and governance for local government officials. All travel costs will be processed and covered separately by UN Women.

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

•    Sound expertise in gender equality, GRG, and local governance with a strong understanding of policy development and institutional strengthening at the local level.
•    Strong skills in training techniques, curriculum development, and delivering effective capacity-building sessions at the local level.
•    Demonstrated ability to provide technical advisory, mentoring, and support to local authorities.
•    Excellent networking, stakeholder engagement, and coordination skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with UN agencies, city/municipal teams, and other partners.
•    Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, able to produce high-quality reports, presentations, and other documentation.
•    Fluent in Microsoft Word, Excel, e-mail, web-based applications, and databases
•    Highly adaptable and able to work harmoniously with individuals from diverse cultural and professional backgrounds.
 

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• A master’s degree or equivalent in economics, financial management, public administration, governance, development studies, or another relevant field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. – pass/fail

Experience:

• A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible professional experience in gender equality, public finance management, or related fields.– 30 points
• Demonstrated technical expertise in government public finance systems and budgetary processes, including budget planning, budget preparation (e.g. budget circulars/instructions), gender-responsive budgeting methodologies and approaches, programme-based budgeting, budget legislation, and related public finance reforms, demonstrated through the successful implementation of at least three (3) relevant assignments. - 40 points
• Demonstrated experience in designing and delivering capacity-building activities for public servants and/or elected representatives, demonstrated through at least two (2) relevant assignments. – 20 points
• Previous experience in providing technical assistance to local government units in the application of gender-responsive budgeting or related public finance reforms, demonstrated through at least two (2) relevant assignments, will be considered an asset - 5 points
• Previous working or consulting experience with government institutions and/or international organizations/projects, demonstrated through at least two (2) relevant assignments, will be considered an asset – 5 points

Languages:

Fluency in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian is required. – pass/fail

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

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.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.