Consultant – Empowering Women in STEM (Open to Indian Nationals Only)
Location : Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (Homebased), INDIA
Application Deadline : 15-Sep-23 (Midnight New York, USA)
Additional Category : Gender Equality
Type of Contract : Individual Contract
Post Level : National Consultant
Languages Required : English
Starting Date : (date when the selected candidate is expected to start)
03-Oct-2023
Duration of Initial Contract : One Year (20 Working Days Per Month)
Expected Duration of Assignment : One Year (20 Working Days Per Month)
UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.
UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
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.
UN Women’s Country Office, based in New Delhi, India, works to accelerate the advancement of gender equality and the empowerment of women through the strengthening of strategic partnerships, technical and policy advisory services and advocacy with governmental, inter-governmental and civil society partners. In addition, UN Women CO is charged with leading and coordinating the UN system’s work on gender equality, including through ensuring accountability for results.
Aligned with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UN Women is currently implementing a programme called Empowering Women in STEM to motivate and support young women to pursue education and careers in STEM. The programme is aimed at empowerment of the most marginalized women and girls from the tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh, already enrolled in STEM courses in higher/technical/vocational education.
The programme is being implemented with Higher Education Institutes (HEI), Vocational Education Institutes and Technical Education Institutes in three districts of Madhya Pradesh to upskill young women and enable them to participate in the economy gainfully, or make informed choices to take up higher education in STEM.
The programme undertakes a holistic approach to empowerment offering pathways and support to access higher education, internships, apprenticeships, and employment opportunities for women. The programme offers a comprehensive solution by adopting a holistic approach, leveraging partnerships at all levels, using innovative pedagogies and finance to achieve its objective.
In this context, the Consultant – Empowering Women in STEM will work under the guidance and direct supervision of the Programme Analyst and overall supervision of Country Programme Manager (WEE), to support in the management of programme activities and coordinate with relevant team members, including the operations team, implementing partner organisations and government officials, to ensure successful implementation of Programmes
Duties and Responsibilities
- Identify job opportunities for women passing out of ITIs and Polytechnics from the program districts.
- Mobilize companies and connects for placement of women graduating in the STEM field.
- Organize job fairs for the final year students graduating from the technical colleges.
- Support in the convergence of the program with other relevant departments/schemes/ programmes.
- Provide technical support for the implementation of the Empowerment of Women in STEM program in Madhya Pradesh.
- Assist the state Department of Technical Education, Skill Development and Employment (DTESDE), Government of Madhya Pradesh in undertaking actions and initiatives on issues related to skilling and employment and/or as per the mandate and priorities of the Department.
- Coordinate and work with ITIs and Polytechnics in the program districts and other nodal departments towards successful implementation of the program
- Coordiante on the programmatic implementation with the Implementing partner, relevant stakeholders, partner orgnaisations and agencies in the state.
- Cooridnate for activities on women’s education, skilling and employment with relevant team members within the Department and UN Women, and work with them in close collaboration to ensure successful implementation of the programmes. This will also include facilitating systematic coordination between UN Women and the Department of Technical Education, Skill Development and Employment, Government of Madhya PradeshPrepare briefing notes and updates on the status of women in Madhya Pradesh, particularly on issues of skilling and employment in the area of STEM in Madhya Pradesh.
- Conduct assessment and monitoring of the skilling and STEM programmes in Madhya Pradesh
- Support districts, where required, to prepare gender-responsive skill development plans and programs with a focus on STEM.
- Preparation of monthly performance reports.
- Any other duties assigned by Supervisors from time to time.
Deliverables:
- Monthly progress report with details of participation in trainings, events, meetings organized by implementing partner
- Workplan document with DTESDE developed and implemented
- Companies/ Industry connects established for placement of girls/women under the programme
- New financial/non financial partnerships established for the programme through convergence with other departments/schemes/programmes
- Technical inputs provided to the department on gender mainstreaming in STEM education, skilling and employment in the state.
- Review technical and financial reports by the partner and provide technical support
- Any other business.
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
- Good programme management, monitoring and evaluation skills;
- Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats;
- Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow;
- Good knowledge of technical area;
- Ability to identify and analyze trends and opportunities.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Minimum masters degree in Science/Social Sciences/Development Studies with atleast 3 years of progressive exprience in the area of STEM and/or working with government agencies; 5 years of exprience would be considered in lieu of Master’s degree.
- Degree in management related field will be an asset.
Experience:
- At least 3 years of experience in programme management, coordination and capacity building
- Experience of working in the UN System is an asset
- Experience in the thematic area of women’s economic empowerment will be an advantage
Language Requirements:
- Fluency in English and working knowledge of Hindi is required.
- Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset.
Interested applicants should apply to this announcement through UNDP jobs site: jobs.undp.org.
Application: Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:
- All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/about-us/jobs.
- Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
- Applications received after the close date will not be accepted.
- Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
Evaluation and Selection Criteria: Criteria for shortlisting of CVs will be based on the following assessment:
- Required Degree and Qualification (5 points).
- Minimum Experience relevant to the assignment (10 points).
- Working knowledge and experience of working with National/State Government (5 points).
The evaluation process for selection of the candidate will be based on the following assessment:
- Interview (80%)
- Writing Samples (20%)
Please Note:
- For an assignment requiring travel, consultants of 65 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work to engage in the consultancy.
- Due to large number of potential applicants, only competitively selected candidates will be contacted for remaining steps of the service procurement process.
- The consultant is expected to use their own computer equipment. The office will not provide any computer equipment for this assignment.
- This is a full-time assignment. The consultant is expected to disclose any outside activity and shall not be permitted to take up any outside work during the course of this assignment.