National Consultant to develop a Program Proposal on Women’s Political Participation and Leadership - Home Based in Indonesia

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.

Women’s Political Participation and Leadership is one of the focus areas under the Governance, Peace and Resilience portfolio in UN Women Indonesia Country Office. In line with efforts to achieve a global agreement for gender equality in SDGs indicators 5 that is targeted in 2030, and to achieve the global commitment in Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICPPR), International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural rights (ICESCR), the Indonesian government has set a long-term and medium-term development direction to address the challenges in realizing gender equality, empower women and provide protection for women from all forms of violence. While Indonesia has ratified and is party to those international and regional instruments on women’s rights, critical challenges remain in the application and domestication of these frameworks. Currently, Indonesia ranks 5 out of 10 in ASEAN for women’s representation in parliament.

To further strengthen these efforts, UN Women plans to promote women’s political participation and leadership in the parliament, which plays a crucial role in legislation, budgeting and oversight. In Indonesia politics, women face many social, cultural, and electoral barriers, resulting in low political representation. In 2019, the Gender Inequality Index (GII) ranked Indonesia 121 out of 162 countries. Compared to the 2014 Election, the achievement of women political participation in the 2019 Election has increased from 17.32% to 20.52% of parliamentary seats. 

For women to be able to lead and participate fully, there is an urgent need to strengthen women’s political leadership by recognizing and removing barriers to their effective participation. Women and young women’s leadership has played a significant role in recent calls for governance reforms in Indonesia as well as the COVID-19 response despite substantial exclusion of women from mainstream national COVID-19 recovery mechanisms. To strengthen the capacity of a diverse and intergenerational cadre of women leaders, key investments are needed in the areas of political party processes and policies to enable the active participation of women in political processes.

Indonesia is a deeply patriarchal society, where cultural and attitudinal barriers are among the main constraints to women’s voice and political agency, while placing women at a socio-economic disadvantage to men. Patriarchal norms perpetuate the notion that women have no place in public life. Such views are amplified by the media’s negative portrayal of women candidates. Moreover, in addition to experiencing the usual levels of political violence that takes place between contesting individuals and parties, women candidates face additional forms of gender-based violence, which is cited as a major deterrent to women candidates entering politics. Within this area, there is scope to leverage on the capacities of existing mechanism to support structures such as the National Commission on Violence Against Women to address violence against women in politics (VAWP).

Within this context, UN Women seeks to recruit a consultant to develop a full-fledged proposal document for a four-year (2026–2029) program on women’s political participation and leadership. The proposal will build on previous interventions and emerging opportunities to strengthen women’s political leadership in Indonesia across the following areas: strengthening of legislative frameworks and institutional arrangements; nurturing of diverse and capable women political leaders; engagement with key stakeholder groups including male allies and media as well as increased collaboration across identified networks to address VAWP.

Scope of Work and Specific Tasks

The activities of this consultancy will be undertaken under the overall strategic guidance and direction of Governance, Peace and Resilience Programme Manager, and with day-to-day reporting to the Programme Analyst for Governance and Women, Peace and Security. The consultant will also work with government representatives, the parliament, civil society, and other relevant stakeholders. The consultant will undertake the following tasks:

Task 1: Conduct a desk review and submit an inception report including methodology, tools and work plan

• Undertake a desk review and mapping of critical issues and key ongoing initiatives to support women’s political participation and leadership in Indonesia.
• Review lessons learned from UN Women’s or other UN agencies’ program interventions to support women’s political participation in recent years.
• Conduct stakeholder mapping and analysis at the national level and selected subnational regions.
• Analyze gaps and opportunities for building synergies with ongoing program initiatives.
• Develop and submit a consultancy inception report and should include a consultancy workplan.

Task 2. Undertake consultations, analysis and develop a programme proposal document on the promotion of Women’s Political Participation and Leadership. 

• Draft TORs, letters/invitations, and facilitate consultations with relevant stakeholders (Parliament, Government, CSOs, and other relevant stakeholders) through interviews, FGDs/Meetings, and analyze data collected. 
• Incorporate inputs and key recommendations from the Parliament, Government, CSOs, and other relevant stakeholders. 
• Consult UN Women thematic teams to identify areas for synergy.
• Engage UN Women functional teams including communications, monitoring and evaluation, and operation to support full integration in the proposal.
• Draft a programme proposal document on the promotion of Women’s Political Participation and Leadership, with the following key components: 
  • Background/Situational Analysis and Program rationale; 
  • The proposed programme logic interventions (Theory of Change, expected results);
  • Programme Description;
  • Stakeholders Analysis;
  • Result monitoring framework; 
  • Project Management & Implementation Strategy:
    • Partnership and stakeholder engagement strategy;
    • Governance and management arrangement;
    • Monitoring and evaluation framework and knowledge management; 
    • Communication and advocacy strategy;
  • Risk and mitigation strategies;
  • Sustainability plan;
  • Indicative work  plan for four years (2026-2029).
• Coordinate the process of validation, revision, and finalization of the draft proposal.

Task 3. Facilitate a debrief session to UN Women

• Prepare and submit a final report of the consultancy activities that were rolled out and technical support provided, with the Annexes such as attendance lists, minutes of meetings, and survey/questionnaire forms (if any), etc.
• Identify opportunities and avenues for resource mobilizations.
• Prepare and/or deliver presentations on the summary document outlining key aspects of the program proposal document and the resource mobilization plan.

Expected Deliverables 

The Consultant will produce the following deliverables: 

Upon receipt of the deliverables and prior to the payment of the first instalment, the deliverables and related reports and documents will be reviewed and approved by UN Women. The period of review is one week after receipt. 

Inputs 

• UN Women will provide the Consultant with a list of contacts of stakeholders relevant for the assignment.
• UN Women will provide the Consultant with background materials relevant to the assignment and strategic direction, particularly in terms of engagement with key stakeholders to be consulted.
• The Consultant is expected to work using his/her laptop. 
• UN Women will directly cover travel costs as per UN Women’s rules and regulations, for any necessary travels.

Performance evaluation

Consultant’s performance will be evaluated based on timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.

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:

• Technical credibility in program development
• Technical credibility in political and or social research
• Strong stakeholder management
• Good oral and written communication skills.
• Commitment to positive and constructive attitude.

Required Qualifications

Education

• Holds bachelor’s degree / master’s degree in political science, International Relations, Gender, Applied Anthropology, or in other related Social Sciences.

Experience

• Minimum 2 years (with master’s degree) and 3 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience in leading the development of proposals for UN Agencies / donor institutions.
• Minimum 3 years of relevant experience in managing development projects and programs. 
• Minimum 3 years of relevant experience in conducting research within social and/or political contexts, preferably related to gender studies and/or Indonesian politics
• Experience working in the field of women’s political participation and leadership in decision-making will be an asset.
• Prior experience involved in program proposals with the UN System and in Indonesia will be an asset. 

Language requirements

Fluency in English and Bahasa Indonesia is required  

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.)