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 Albania is currently implementing its Strategic Note (SN) 2022-2026 which aims to ensure that “All Women and girls enjoy and exercise their human rights in a gender equal society and meaningfully contribute to Albania’s sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development and EU integration”. To achieve such result, UN Women will focus on three outcomes, which mirror verbatim the areas of focus of the United Nations Albania¹:

1. Increased and more equitable investment in people to remove barriers and create opportunities for those at risk of exclusion.
2. Innovative and integrated policy solutions that accelerate sustainable, productive and inclusive development.
3. Gender-responsive governance that strengthens equality and non-discrimination.

Across its interventions, UN Women Albania will address key thematic areas of focus in line with the Global Strategic Plan 2022-2025:² ending violence against women; women’s economic empowerment; gender-responsive budgeting; gender responsive governance; as well as promoting cross-cutting principles including the principle of Leaving No One Behind, and engagement of new and emerging partners such as the private sector to advance gender equality in the country. As part of the implementation of its Strategic Note, UN Women leverages gender data and statistics to advance evidence-based policymaking and advocacy across its thematic areas, with support of three dedicated interventions:

• The project “EU for Gender Equality – Gender Equality Facility in Albania”, funded by the EU and implemented by UN Women Albania.
• The project “Implementation of the UN Women Strategic Note 2022-2026″ supported by Sida
• The regional project “Women Count”, supported by Sida through the UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia.

As part of these efforts, UN Women supports the Government of Albania to implement its commitments on human rights and gender equality, in line with its National Strategy on gender Equality (NSGE) 2021-2030, and the EU Acquis Communautaire. All interventions undertaken by the Country Office aim to address structural causes of gender inequality, addressing discriminatory practices and reach women and girls who are at greatest risk of being left behind.  Albania has entered a fast-track process in the EU integration pathway, which results in accelerated reforms across policy sectors to align all frameworks with EU standards. A specific Growth plan has been developed by the Government which aims to deepen and accelerate EU related reforms and economic integration, in line with the EU policy framework. Cornerstones of such frameworks are the principles of rule of law, anti-corruption, fight against organized crimes, and fundamental rights. The plan should contribute towards Albania meeting the accession criteria, as it will increase the stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, and take on the obligations of membership, and increase its capacity to effectively implement the rules, standards and policies of the EU acquis.

UN Women is implementing the programme “EU4Gender Equality II- Gender Equality Facility in Albania”, supported by the European Union. The programme builds on the results and lessons learned from the UN Joint Programme EU for Gender Equality in Albania: Implementation of the EU Gender Equality acquis” (“EU4GE”) 2021-2023 and already funded by the European Union, programmed. The intervention was developed as per the UN Women Gender Equality Facility (GEF) approach, initially designed and piloted in Albania in close cooperation with EU Delegation and Austria during 2015-2016 and then expanded to the Western Balkans countries with already past and ongoing GEF programming funded by EU and/or member states. The Gender Equality Facility is a unique initiative specifically designed by UN Women to support EU candidate and in negotiation status countries in adopting existing EU legislation and directives on GE. It was designed for replication and local customization, but requires extensive technical expertise on EU laws, rules, resolutions, declarations, regulations, directives, and treaties on one hand and on the other, in-depth knowledge on GEWE within the national context.  With the overall aim of enhancing transposition of the EU Gender Equality acquis and achieving gender equality outcomes in line with the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (particularly SDG 5), the EU4GE II – Gender Equality Facility in Albania aims to support national partners to align national policies and frameworks with international and European standards, taking into account the rapid development and progress in EU accession negotiation. A key component of this intervention pertains to promoting the collection and analysis of gender data in line with international and EUROSTAT standards and increase the capacities of national partners to collect and analyses gender statistics.

In addition, UN Women Albania is also implementing the country component of the global flagship programme “Making Every Woman and Girl Count”, which aims to support localization and monitoring of SDGs, increase quality and comparability of data, and ensure that gender statistics are accessible to governments, civil society and other stakeholders. Finally, the direct support to the implementation of the UN Women Strategic Note 2022-2026, financed by Sida, includes strong elements of gender data such as the support to the Violence Against Women national prevalence survey, and the study on the care economy in Albania.

In this context, the UN Women Country Office Albania is seeking to hire a national consultant who reports directly to the UN Women Head of Programme and EU4GE – GEF II Project Manager – Team Lead, in daily coordination with the Research and Data Analyst, as well as under the advice and guidance from the Head of Programme and the Regional Statistics Specialist.

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

• Provide support on the assessment of administrative data related to gender statistics at both national and local level, in collaboration with INSTAT and respective institutions;
• Provide support on mapping and compilation of additional indicators and new level of data disaggregation from existing social and economic surveys, in line with Eurostat, EIGE, UNSD and other requirements
• Provide support on the development of National and Local Priority Gender Equality Indicators framework for effective monitoring and reporting on progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment, in collaboration with Interinstitutional Working Group on Gender Statistics;
• Provide technical support in development of the Gender Statistics Training Curricula, drawing from the UN Women Gender Statistics training framework, while adapting it to Albania’s specific needs and context;
• Provide support on mainstreaming gender into census data analysis.
• Provide technical advice and support in strengthening capacities of central and local level data producers on administrative data systems, including delivering specific training sessions;
• Provide technical support to fill in the gender data gaps in the areas of unpaid and domestic work and violence against women;
• Provide technical support for the development of the care economy study, including data analysis, policy mapping, integration of care-related indicators into national statistical frameworks and recommendations to strengthen comprehensive and equitable care systems in line with EU Strategy for care and other relevant standards, and global frameworks on feminist economics and care work;
• Provide support to the development of knowledge products about gender equality in Albania, including validation and compilation of data and indicators;
• Support other gender data related activities in support of the office and as requested.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy, and the incumbent will be expected to liaise closely with UN Women Albania project team.

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:

• Proven research, analytical and drafting skills;
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with various public stakeholders in the data and statistics area;
• Excellent writing skills both in Albanian and in English;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Ability to organize work efficiently and deal with multiple tasks.

Education and Certification:

•  Master’s degree in either economy, statistics or related field. Strong analytical and data interpretation skills would be an asset.

Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years of experience on data and statistics, including gender equality and social statistics
• At least 5 years of professional experience in data science, gender analysis, and statistics.
• Experience in preparing training modules and delivering trainings on social issues.
• Previous experience with international organizations would be an advantage.

Languages:

• Fluency in spoken and written English and Albanian 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.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.