Gender Consultant to Provide Technical Support to the House AD HOC Committee on the Review Process of the 1999 and its Team of Experts at UNDP

Democratic governance is a concept that requires the establishment of democratic institutions and procedures of democracy which, among other things, brings about respect to the principles of the separation of powers and independence of the branches of government; the exercise of power in accordance with the rule of law; respect of human rights, effective people’s participation, as well as transparent and accountable processes and institutions.

The culture of democratic governance also promotes a wide scope of political participation embracing a pluralistic system of political parties, a free fair and credible electoral process, a vibrant civil society and media; and a space for equal participation of both women and men at all levels. The Democratic Governance for Development Project in Nigeria is aimed at strengthening the democratic character of Nigerian political processes and outcomes through consolidating and advancing democratic governance and accountability, to achieve the country’s stated development priorities and goals. In order to achieve this aim the project has identified four components: Promoting Credible, Transparent and Sustainable Electoral Processes; Improving the Democratic Quality of Political Engagement; Enhancing Participation by Women, Youth and other Marginalized groups; and   Strengthening Channels of Civic Engagement. The Democratic Governance for Development (DGD) project is funded with contributions from the European Union, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), UNDP, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and is managed by UNDP. The project duration is 2010-2015.

Gender issues are technical and require a professional handling especially when it relates to constitutionalism. The assignment given to the House Committee on the Review of the 1999 constitution is so massive and tasking that, leaving gender issues to be handled by the committee is to say the least, daunting. Since gender issues are cross cutting issues that permeates the entire framework of the review process, there is the need to have an expert in the field who will serve as the bridge between the committee and various gender advocates that presented memoranda and are still pushing for far reaching reforms and pronouncements on gender issues. The Consultant, who should be a gender specialist with a history of legislative relations will serve as a liaison between the committee and the Gender Advocacy team whose main duty is to simplify and amplify the committee’s work as it relates to gender issues.
 
During the review process, the plethora of issues advocated, promoted and sponsored by various gender CSO’s aimed at giving  the emerging constitution a gender base and compliant will be classified, organized and structured in such a way that it will be inputted into the constitution through the amendment bills. As a specialist, the consultant should be able to organize interactive sessions between the committee and the Gender Advocacy Team based on the issues addressed by the memoranda submitted by gender CSO’s. Both the committee as well as the Advocacy Teamwould benefit from the consultant’s guidance, assistance and advice.

UNDP is recruiting to fill the below position:

Job Title: Gender Consultant to Provide Technical Support to the House AD HOC Committee on the Review Process of the 1999 and its Team of Experts

Location : Abuja, NIGERIA

Duties and Responsibilities
The objectives of the consultancy include:

• Improve the inclusiveness and participation of all stakeholders in the review process;
• Increase the capacity of the committee as well as the Advocacy Team to access relevant documents and technical expertise in terms of gender mainstreaming and balancing in the constitution.
• Create an operational synergy between the secretariat of the committee and the Advocacy Team.
• Increase the capacity of the House of Representatives to receive inputs and suggestions on constitution amendment from individuals and groups, as well as provide a platform for the House to respond to the concerns of the citizens on the constitution amendment process.

Key functions
Summary of key functions to be performed by the consultant :

• Facilitate  technical meetings between the committee members and the Advocacy Team Develop a working schedule for the Advocacy Team   and basis of engagement with the Committee – Develop a detailed work plan of the assignment with time lines, indicators and outputs, to be prepared at the commencement of the consultancy, and agreed upon by DGD
• To Facilitate the process in the way planned, the honorable members as well as the Advocacy Team will need technical support to be provided by the Consultant such as facilitating technical meetings between the committee members and the Advocacy Team, avail both the committee and team necessary and relevant documents, ideas, technical advice that are imperative in the success of the review process, to organize advocacy visits to relevant institutions and bodies concerning gender issues.
• Presenting and advocating the five points’ irreducible minimums on gender issues from the gender CSOs and relevant stakeholders.  The five points include a) 35% affirmative action, b) use of gender responsive language in the constitution, c) the questions around citizenship, indigineship and residency, d) Socio economic empowerment and justice   for Nigerian women and e) non discrimination
• Facilitate at least 5 meetings between the Advocacy Team and the Committee and ensure that the committee identifies with the issues raised in all gender memoranda
• Plan and organize Advocacy visits across the Nation to State houses of Assembly and other relevant government institutions.
• For an all-inclusive and balanced constitution to be achieved, the committee as well as the Advocacy Team will embark on Advocacy visits to various state Houses of Assembly not only to sensitize the members, but also to mobilize them towards this noble goal. As such the consultant is to plan and organize such visits across the nation. These visits are a follow up to the people’s public sessions which the House committee embarked upon during the nationwide public hearing sessions. During these visits, advocated issues, opinions, positions and sentiments of Gender CSO’s as submitted will be re-packaged and presented to the state Assemblies and relevant bodies with the sole aim of influencing their decisions in favor of a gender responsive constitution.
•  Provide technical support on Gender issues/matters to the Advocacy Team and House committee on the review of the constitution after the Peoples’ public sessions.

Deliverables / Outputs:
The Consultant is expected to provide the following specific tangible deliverables:

• An inception report and checklists for the progress of engagement with time lines and milestones; the report should include detailed work plan of the assignment with timeframes, indicators and outputs at the commencement of the assignment and agreed upon by DGD
• An interim report of activities implemented according to approved work plan;
• A final report incorporating the feedback from DGD and the Advocacy Team with recommendations on way forward.
• Expected Outcomes
• Gender issues/matters are enhanced in the amended constitution
• The amended or revised constitution is Gender compliant both in Language and content

1.) Supervision

• The Project Director of DGD will provide strategic guidance to the consultant in the discharge of the assignment while monitoring and supervision will be carried out by the Democratic Governance Gender Experts.

2.) Payment Modality

• The total fee will be paid in three installments as follows:
•  30% upon submission of a detailed work plan of the assignment with timeframes, indicators and outputs at the commencement of the assignment and agreed upon by DGD;
• 30% upon submission and clearance of progress report of activities implemented according to approved workplan;
• 40% upon submission and clearance of a final report detailing technical support provided to the House Ad Hoc Committee on the Review Process of the 1999 and its Team of Experts and recommendations on way forward.
• For all approved travel outside Abuja, transportation and accommodation costs will be covered in addition to the consultancy fee.

Competencies
Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism

Required Skills and Experience

• Advanced degree in Law, Political Science, Gender and Development studies or any social science related field
• At least 10years relevant experience working on gender and constitution related issues;
• Knowledge and understanding of the national assembly bureaucracy and its operations;  underpinning issues for constitutional review such as political inclusiveness, Gender balancing is an added advantage;
• Excellent facilitation and planning skills are required,
• Experience working on previous constitutional amendment processes in Nigeria;
• Knowledgeable and versatile in Research and comparative analysis
• Good interpersonal skills
• Strong skills in written communications in English; Excellent spoken English is also required.

Application Closing Date
13th January, 2013

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note:
Document to be included when submitting the proposals:
Interested individual contractors must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications alongside their proposal:
 
1.) Proposal:

• Explaining why you are the most suitable for the work
• Provide a detailed methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work
• Implementation Plan and Timelines
• Past experience in carrying out similar assignment with verifiable evidence i.e. reference with detail contacts
• All proposals must be submitted alongside signed cover letter.

Personal CV including past experience in similar projects with detailed contacts relating to the project and at least 3 references

2.) Financial proposal

• Lump sum contracts
• The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. Your financial proposal shall include a breakdown of the lump sum

 All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. All travels shall be refunded by UNDP at economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she shall do so using their own resources. In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets (economy class), lodging and terminal expenses shall be paid at UNDP rate.
Individual Contractors responding to this request for Individual Contractors should use the Price Schedule in Annex 1 below in their submission:
 
3.) Selection Criteria

•  Cumulative analysis
• The evaluation Criteria as shown in the table below shall be used to evaluate all the proposals received. The award of the Individual Contractors Contract shall be made to the individual contractors whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
• Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.
• Technical Criteria weight; [70]
• Financial Criteria weight; [30]
• Only candidates that obtain a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation. The maximum 30 points all be allotted to the lowest bid, all other bids shall receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest fee e.g. [30 Points] x [Naira lowest] / [Naira other] = points for other proposer’s fees

4.) Selection Criteria:

• Education10points 
• At least 10years relevant experience working on gender and constitution related issues30points 
• Knowledge and understanding of the national assembly bureaucracy and its operations; underpinning issues for constitutional review such as political inclusiveness, Gender balancing is an added advantage 30points 
• Financial proposal30points
• TOTAL   100points