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 centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. UN Women provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women in Bangladesh supports the government to implement commitments to international normative standards on gender equality and women’s human rights. The UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2022-2026, launched in 2021, and the corresponding UN Women Bangladesh Strategic Note (2022-2026), defines UN Women’s strategic engagement in Bangladesh. The country strategy focuses on strengthening the national structures and mechanisms for gender mainstreaming in policies, plans, and budgets; supporting efforts to prevent and eliminate violence against women; promoting women’s access to decent and safe work; promoting policies and government investment in women’s empowerment and resilience building in the context of climate change, humanitarian crisis as well as other threats to peace and security. UN Women works with a range of stakeholders in Bangladesh, including the government, civil society, women’s organisations, youth, UN agencies, and donors, to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Despite impressive economic growth and progress in poverty reduction, Bangladesh continues to grapple with significant challenges, such as governance deficit, high inflation, youth unemployment, and the aftermath of natural disasters, which have exacerbated public dissatisfaction. In July and August 2024, Bangladesh saw youth-led protests that quickly escalated into widespread unrest. Initially sparked by reinstating a controversial quota system, the protests grew into a broader movement fuelled by frustration with autocratic governance, economic instability, and corruption. The civil unrest brought longstanding issues into focus, including weak rule of law, widespread corruption, and systemic human rights abuses.
After former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation, an Interim Government was formed under Professor Muhammad Yunus. Since assuming power, the Interim Government has established eleven commissions, covering areas such as elections, constitution, anti-corruption, police, judiciary, public administration, health, media, workers’ rights, and women’s affairs, to develop reform recommendations. However, the underrepresentation of women is also mirrored in the interim government, where only 4 out of 22 advisors are women, and out of 11 reform commissions announced by October 2024, only 1 is led by a woman.

The ongoing socio-political challenges in Bangladesh have disproportionate and differentiated impacts on women and various groups, including youth and other socially excluded groups, often exacerbating pre-existing inequalities. Women from socially excluded groups face even greater obstacles due to intersecting biases. The challenges are compounded by institutional barriers and a lack of political will to ensure meaningful inclusion, preserving a status quo that excludes women, youth, and socially excluded communities from the political process.

Against this context, UN Women and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Women, will be implementing a two-year project titled “Democratic Reforms through Inclusive Participation in Bangladesh (DRIP)”, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh. The project aims to foster a more inclusive and participatory democracy in Bangladesh by ensuring that the voices of women, youth, and socially excluded groups are represented in political and governance processes.

To this end, UN Women is seeking the services of a highly qualified National Consultant to support the project team in achieving the specific gender equality objectives of UNDP/UN Women’s electoral assistance to Bangladesh.

II. Objective: 

The overall objective of the consultancy is to deliver gender equality-specific activities that are to be directly implemented by UN Women, as per the agreed project document and work plan.

III. Scope of Work/Duties and Responsibilities: 

Under the overall guidance of UN Women’s Deputy Representative and the direct supervision of the Programme Analyst, Gender-Responsive Governance (GRG), and working in close collaboration with UNDP, the consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

1. Technical Assistance

• Support the development of a gender equality policy/strategy and action plan for BEC for gender-responsive management of the upcoming election based on the above gender assessment in a consultative and participatory manner.
• Assist BEC in developing a Code of Conduct from an intersectional lens for political parties on zero tolerance to violence against women in politics/elections in line with global standards and best practices.
• Document best practices on gender-responsive electoral support
• Adapt and update a gender monitoring checklist

1. Capacity Development 

• Lead capacity-building initiatives, informed by the gender monitoring checklist on gender-sensitive electoral management as well as gender sensitization of BEC staff at the central and local levels (district officers), including relevant stakeholders involved in the electoral cycle. For this, the consultant will be responsible for the needs assessment, design of the curriculum, facilitation of the trainings and monitoring the change in capacity (through a baseline and end-line assessment)

1. Advocacy and coordination

• Coordinate with relevant stakeholders (civil society organizations, development partners, political parties, police and law enforcement agencies, local government officials and so on) to convene dialogues on socially inclusive policies in governance and political processes
• Prepare advocacy messages on gender-responsive electoral processes, including election does and don’ts
• Update UN Women’s advocacy brief on women’s effective participation and decision-making in public life

1. Tool development

• In consultation with BEC, design a gender audit tool for BEC to review its operational effectiveness in organizing and administering a gender-inclusive electoral process and provide technical support to conduct the analysis as required.
• In consultation with BEC, design/strengthen gender-disaggregated data collection and monitoring – this may include voter data by candidate, voter turnout or staffing levels.

1. Other tasks

• Prepare briefing materials (as required) on gender-responsive electoral support
• Provide technical inputs from a gender equality lens into other aspects of election-related activities
• Provide inputs to UN Women’s quarterly, and bi-annual reports, including donor reports

Example resources: Inclusive Electoral Processes: a guide for electoral management bodies on promoting gender equality and women’s participation; Guidebook on Preventing Violence Against Women in Elections

IV. Duration of the assignment: 

The assignment will commence in March 2025 and be completed by April 2026. The total duration of the work would be 12 months/240 days. UN Women does not warrant that a maximum of 20 days will be purchased during the term of the Agreement. The consultant will be engaged under a retainer contract, which facilitates direct engagement of the consultant depending on need and availability within the contract period for a pre-agreed fee.

V. Deliverables:

VI. Supervision & Performance evaluation:

The consultant’s performance will be evaluated based on timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the services delivered. The contract performance shall be evaluated and monitored by the Programme Analyst, GRG.

VII.  Duty Station(s): Dhaka

Travel and DSA: No DSA will be paid at the duty station(s). For this consultancy, the duty station is considered Dhaka, and possibly at the Bangladesh Election Commission. If unforeseen travel outside the duty station not required by the Terms of Reference is requested by UN Women, and upon prior agreement/approval, such travel shall be UN Women’s expenses, and the individual contractor shall receive a per-diem not to exceed United Nations daily subsistence allowance rate in such other location(s).

VIII. Core Values

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

IX. Core Competencies:

• Communication – Facilitates and encourages open and effective communication.
• Inclusive Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement – Demonstrates ability to collaborate and work effectively with stakeholders of different backgrounds.
• Accountability – Takes ownership of all responsibilities and delivers outputs in accordance with agreed time, costs, and quality standards.
• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues – Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age sensitivity and adaptability.

X. Functional Competencies:

• Strong knowledge and understanding of politics and electoral processes in Bangladesh.
• Strong political research and analytical skills using a gender lens.
• Good knowledge and understanding of women’s political participation, representation and leadership.
• Ability to communicate effectively both in written and oral.

XI. Eligibility Criteria or Required Experience and Qualification:

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in political science, public policy, law, international affairs/development gender studies, democratic governance and related fields;

Experience:

• At least 10 years of demonstrated technical knowledge in the field of gender equality;
• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in political analysis, democratic governance and political advising;
• Proven experience in working with electoral bodies/institutions/processes, organizing and facilitating inclusive consultations with diverse stakeholders;
• At least 5 years of experience in conducting studies and gender assessments, writing reports, and other publications on issues related to women’s political participation, representation and leadership;
• Previous experience working with the United Nations will be an asset.

Language: 

Fluency in English and Bangla.

Evaluation criteria:

The total number of points allocated for the technical qualification component is 100. The technical qualification of the individual is evaluated based on the following technical qualification evaluation criteria:

The applicant will be evaluated based on technical capacities, including interview.

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