National Consultant – Research Coordinator (Local post for nationals of Sri Lanka)

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. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system’s 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 towards building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.  As part of UN Women’s coordination mandate on gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE), UN Women has embarked on the development of knowledge products that can be used and shared among partners working to advance GEWE in Sri Lanka.

 

Sri Lanka has embarked on a journey towards economic recovery and reform in the aftermath of grave economic crisis, grapples with the legacies of multiple and prolonged armed conflict, and prepares to ensure the systematic monitoring of and reporting on Sri Lanka’s commitments towards the achievement of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is in this context, that UN Women undertakes the development of a Country Gender Equality Profile (CGEP), along with other research initiatives in line with UN Women’s Strategic Plan. In particular, the CGEP will act as a tool to provide a timely and effective understanding of the current operating context in relation to gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) to national and international partners.

 

By providing an in-depth analysis, the CGEP will enhance the understanding of differences in the conditions, needs, participation rates, access to resources and development, control of assets, decision-making powers, etc. between girls/women, boys/men and gender and sexual minorities in their assigned gender roles. It is important to understand these differences in each country to ensure that actions funded by development partners tackle gender inequalities and discrimination where needed and benefit equally girls, women, boys, men and gender and sexual minorities.

 

Gender should not be a barrier to benefitting from development actions. The CGEP exercise is thus aimed at informing policy and programme development in line with the Government of Sri Lanka’s priorities on GEWE, as most recently stated in the National Policy on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (2023 – 2033), and supported by the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security (2023 – 2027).

 

Framed under the international, regional and national commitments to GEWE, Sri Lanka’s CGEP is to be an in-depth, national and sub-national level analysis of the status of women, men and gender and sexual minorities, based on both statistical and qualitative data and information. The UN Women Sri Lanka office will consult with the relevant Government institutions and line Ministries, international development partners and civil society to strengthen national understanding and data analysis and management on the advancement of international, regional, national and sub-national commitments towards GEWE through the development of a CGEP and thereby contribute to monitoring progress towards achieving gender-related SDG indicators.

 

Against this background, UN Women seeks to hire a National Consultant – Research Coordinator to guide, monitor, and oversee the various research initiatives of the office, including the CGEP, and ensure that the final knowledge products are of high-quality, in collaboration with the Sri Lanka office.

 

Duties and Responsibilities

 

Under the supervision and guidance of the UN Women Head of Office of Sri Lanka, the consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks. The consultant will remain accountable for the timely submission of the deliverables as per the timeline given below.

 

No.	Duties and Responsibilities
1.	Develop and finalise TORs for the CGEP and other research initiatives, such as on women’s political participation and representation (WPP), as required. In consultation with UN Women Sri Lanka and ROAP, the consultant will develop these TORs based on available guidance and research that has already been conducted to ensure there is no duplication. Where required, the consultant may have to consult with other stakeholders to ensure that the TORs are robustly designed. The TORs may be designed as Requests for Proposals (RFPs) from research institutions or to recruit consultants, as decided with UN Women.
2.	Following a UN Women competitive process to hire a research institution or consultants, conduct a detailed analysis of the proposals received to better inform/advise the UN Women technical evaluation committee. The evaluation would have to be conducted in line with evaluation criteria set out in the TORs.
3.	Provide guidance to the selected Research Institution/Consultants and ensure smooth coordination with relevant stakeholders including Government and non-Government institutions or experts. Specific tasks include:   Conduct introductory and planning meetings with the selected institutions/consultants to discuss and refine methodology and a realistic workplan for completion of this work. Provide guidance to the research institution/consultants – particularly on CGEP. Review and provide feedback on quality control measures developed by the research institution/consultants. Together with the research institution/consultants, develop the necessary partnerships with government and non-government entities to facilitate access to information and data. Conduct regular meetings with the selected institutions/consultants to monitor progress against the workplan and ensure quality and timeliness of the research. Identifying and managing potential risks or challenges. Liaise with and provide regular updates to UN Women Sri Lanka and ROAP.
4.	Review and provide technical inputs to all deliverables submitted by the research institutions/consultants. This includes inception reports (inclusive of methodology), literature reviews, draft reports, final reports, policy briefs, outreach/dissemination materials based on the final reports.   Please note that draft reports will be reviewed for a minimum of 3 rounds prior to finalisation.
5.	Support with the validation and finalisation of the research studies   The consultant will support the research institution/consultants in organising validation workshops with relevant Government and non-Government stakeholders.   The consultant is meant to oversee and ensure the incorporation of all comments from UN Women before recommending that the research reports are to a satisfactory technical standard. Where required, the consultant would support the research institution/consultants in revising the draft reports.   The consultant will conduct a final copyedit and proofread of the research report.
6.	Support dissemination of the research studies Develop a dissemination and outreach plan in consultation with the Research Institution/Consultants and UN Women, based on available budget. This may include a launch event, social media campaign, targeting mainstream media etc. Support UN Women with procurement/logistical processes related to the implementation of the dissemination plan. Ensure the dissemination activities are successfully implemented.

 

Deliverables

 

No.	Deliverables All deliverables should be finalized in line with the feedback given by UN Women	Expected completion time                             (due day)
1.	Finalised TORs: CGEP WPP	16 September 2024
2.	Technical evaluation of proposals/applications received	07 October 2024
3.1	A brief monthly progress report indicating the coordination and quality assurance work completed, once the Research Institution/Consultants are on board.   The report should attach the supporting documents (updates against workplan, meeting minutes etc).	30 November 2024
3.2	A brief monthly progress report indicating the coordination and quality assurance work completed, once the Research Institution/Consultants are on board. The report should attach the supporting documents (updates against workplan, meeting minutes etc).	31 December 2024
3.3	A brief monthly progress report indicating the coordination and quality assurance work completed, once the Research Institution/Consultants are on board. The report should attach the supporting documents (updates against workplan, meeting minutes etc).	31 January 2025
3.4	Monitoring and reporting Plan with the progress update until December 2024 A brief monthly progress report indicating the coordination and quality assurance work completed, once the Research Institution/Consultants are on board. The report should attach the supporting documents (updates against workplan, meeting minutes etc).	28 February 2025
3.5	A brief monthly progress report indicating the coordination and quality assurance work completed, once the Research Institution/Consultants are on board.   The report should attach the supporting documents (updates against workplan, meeting minutes etc).	25 March 2025
4.	Technical inputs to draft reports submitted by the research institution/consultants	10 January 2025
5(a)	Technical inputs to the revised reports submitted by research institution/consultants, following the validations	10 February 2025
5(b)	Final proofread, copyedited research reports – with final technical clearance	01 March 2025
6.	Brief report on the implementation of the dissemination plan, including report on the launch event(s)	25 March 2025

 

 

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

 

The consultancy is expected to be started on 1 September 2024 and continue until 31 March 2025. This is a home-based assignment. Where necessary, the Consultant will have to participate in in-person meetings within Colombo. It is estimated that the required time commitment would be 10 days a month.

 

Competencies

 

Core Values: 

• Respect for Diversity 
• Integrity 
• Professionalism 

 

Core Competencies: 

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

 

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to identify issues, analyze and participate in the resolution of issues;
• Ability to engage others for data collection;
• Ability to apply sound judgment in the context of assignments given, and work under pressure;
• Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of the subject matter;
• Responds positively to feedback and different points of view;
• Conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results.
• Strong analytical and report writing skills.

 

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

 

 

Required Skills and Experience

 

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Gender Studies, Women’s Studies, Development Studies, Sociology, Human Rights, Statistics, Data Analytics, or a related 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.

 

Experience:

• At least 2 years of progressively responsible experience at the national and/or international level in conducting and coordinating research on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Previous experience in coordinating with multiple stakeholders, including UN agencies, government entities, and civil society, is required.
• Proven experience in research, data collection, and analysis is required.
• Sound knowledge and previous experience related to gender equality and women’s empowerment are required.
• Experience in drafting/authoring research reports on gender equality and women’s empowerment in Sri Lanka is required.
• Experience conducting similar research assignments is an asset.
• Experience in the United Nations System is an asset.
• Field experience is an asset.

 

Languages:

• Fluency in English
• Fluency in Sinhala or Tamil

 

How to Apply

 

Interest candidates are encouraged to submit electronic application to with cc to  no later than 21 August 2024.

 

Submission package includes:

• CV and P11
  P11 can be downloaded from:
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) – within the cover letter, please provide weblinks to publicly available research reports that the candidate would like to share to indicate prior research experience.
• Two sample reports developed for similar assignments will be requested from shortlisted candidates.

 

Please note that incomplete submissions will not be considered.

 

Payments 

Payments for this consultancy will be based on the achievement of each deliverable and certification that each has been satisfactorily completed. Payments will be based on the number of days worked in correlation to the completion of each stated deliverable within the indicated timeframes. Payments will be made upon submission of deliverables with an approval of the Head of Office of UN Women Sri Lanka.

 

 

Diversity and Inclusion Statement

 

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.)