Developing Standard Operating Procedures For The Helpline At The Supreme Judge Department

Developing Standard Operating Procedures for the Helpline at the Supreme Judge Department

Background

UN Women (UNW), 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, the 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. It 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’s triple mandate, along with its global network and deep policy and programming expertise, continues to endow the Entity with a unique capacity to: (i) support Member States to strengthen global norms and standards for gender equality and women’s empowerment, and mainstream gender perspectives in other thematic areas; (ii) promote coordination and coherence across the UN system to enhance accountability and results for gender equality and women’s empowerment; and (iii) undertake operational activities to support Member States, upon their request, in translating global norms and standards into legislation, policies and strategies at country level.

UN Women plays an innovative and catalytic role in the State of Palestine since its inception in 1997 (as UNIFEM). In line with the national priorities, the work of UN Women for the period 2023-2025 is aligned with three of the Palestine United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework’s (UNSDCF) outcomes:

• Palestinians have greater access to economic opportunities that are inclusive, resilient, and sustainable, including decent employment and livelihoods opportunities in an empowered private sector.
• Palestinian governance institutions, processes, and mechanisms at all levels are more democratic, rights-based, inclusive, and accountable.
• Palestinians, including the most vulnerable, have equal access to sustainable, inclusive, gender responsive and quality social services, social protection, and affordable utilities.

Its three-year Strategic Note supports the efforts to achieve measurable results in country in terms of four UN Women global Strategic Plan impacts (2022-2025): (SP Impact 1). Governance and participation in public life; (SP Impact 2). Women’s Economic Empowerment; (SP Impact 3). Ending Violence Against Women and Girls and; SP Impact 4. Women peace and security, Humanitarian & Disaster Risk Reduction.

In line with the Palestinian Government’s commitment to achieve gender equality and to fight Violence Against Women (VAW), and in full partnership with the Justice, Security and Social Sectors, including the Public Prosecution (PP), the Palestinian Civil Police (PCP), the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD), the High Judicial Council (HJC) and the Supreme Judge Department (SJD), UN Women, within its joint programme with UNDP and UNICEF- “Promoting the Rule of Law in Palestine- SAWASYA II” is supporting the Justice, Social and Security institutions to mainstream gender into their procedures and policies, and develop and provide gender responsive services to women victims and survivors of violence, through providing institutional capacity building and policy level interventions amongst others.

UN Women within Sawasya II programme and through collaboration with UNICEF and partnership and cooperation with the Supreme Judge Department has developed a working plan for the establishment of a helpline at the Supreme Judge Department, to facilitate people’s access to information and justice services, notably women, children, people with disabilities and elderly people. One key element in the plan is related to developing SoPs for the management of cases through the helpline, to enable the SJD to provide services in a consistent, gender responsive and child friendly manner.

Against this background, UN Women within Sawasya II programme aims to contract an experienced consultant to develop SoPs for the helpline at the Supreme Judge Department.

The main objective of the assignment:

The main objective of the assignment is to develop SoPs for the helpline services at the SJD, to support the SJD to effectively and responsively manage the helpline in line with best practices and international human rights norms and standards, taking into consideration the rights of women, children, people with disabilities and elderly people.

More specifically, the assignment aims to:

1. Develop an introductory section that includes the scope and types of services that will be provided through the helpline; the service providers who will be involved in the provision of services, the roles and responsibilities; the ethics and standards that are to be adhered to; and any other aspect depending on discussion with and approval of UN Women, UNICEF and the SJD.

2. Develop the SoPs starting from receiving the call; providing advice; referring and following up on the case.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Special Representative in the State of Palestine, the direct supervision of UN Women Sawasya II Programme Specialist, and working in close cooperation and coordination with UN Women Sawasya II technical team, UNICEF and the SJD focal points, the selected consultant will undertake the following tasks, duties, and responsibilities:

Develop an inception report that includes a detailed description of the work plan, the methodological framework, and the outline of the SoPs to be approved by UN Women.

• Meet with UN Women’s and UNICEF’s technical team and the Supreme Judge Department focal points, to discuss the assignment’s objectives, methods and tools that will be used, and the main deliverables.
• Develop a methodology, a detailed work plan and the SoPs outline, and share with UN Women for feedback.

Development of the helpline’s SoPs:

• Facilitate validations sessions amongst the SJD and other actors on the SoPs , and amend them as needed and requested by partners, UN Women and UNICEF.
• Submit the amended SoPs in line with the provided comments to UN Women for review and approval.
• Organize meetings and consultations with UN Women, UNICEF, the SJD and other actors within the justice and security sectors on the procedures that should be developed, and others related issues .
• Develop the draft SoPs and share them with UN Women for review and comments.

Reporting on the whole assignment:

The selected consultant will be requested to submit a final report that includes a description of the assignment’s objectives, the methodology that was used, main achievements, main challenges, lessons learned and recommendations. The final report should include all annexes relevant to the assignment including lists of persons interviewed, minutes of workshops, and meetings conducted, materials consulted, raw material, tools, minutes of meetings, developed and filled questionnaires, among others, as relevant and required.

Deliverables:

• Deliverable 2: An approved draft SoPs in Arabic. (3 months and after the signing of the contract)
• Deliverable 1: An approved inception report in English. (2 weeks after the signing of the contract)
• Deliverable 3: A final approved SoPs and an approved final narrative report on the assignment in English. (4 months after the signing of the contract)

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity;
• Professionalism.
• Integrity;

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Effective Communication;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Leading by Example.
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Accountability;

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
• Proven networking, organizational and communication skills.
• Ability to lead Policy review process through consultation with stakeholders;
• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Ability to manage time and meet tight deadlines;
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
• Very strong background on gender;
• Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;

Required Skills and Experience

Evaluation Criteria:

This SSA modality is governed by UN Women General Terms and Conditions. UN Women will only be able to respond to applicants who meet the minimum requirements.

Candidates should clearly indicate how they meet the above-mentioned criteria in their applications.

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials:

• UN Women P11 including experience in similar assignments; the P11 form can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted.
• A sample of developed SoPs related to services provided to women survivors of violence and / or children.

Note: Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Please upload as one attachment of the documents as mentioned above online through this website.

Candidates should have the ability to quickly submit degree certificates, medical certification (of good health) expression of Interest (EoI).

Evaluation of applicants

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications mentioned above, and financial proposal. A contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer receives the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 50 points in the technical evaluation will be considered for financial evaluation.

Technical Evaluation (70%) – max. 70 points:

• Minimum 3 previous experiences in developing procedures and policy tools related to women’s and children’s access to justice. (max. 15 points)
• Experience with the UN system or/and International Organizations is an asset. (max. 5 points)
• Minimum three to five years’ experience in the field of women and children rights. (max.10 points)
• A sample of developed SoPs related to services provided to women survivors of violence and /or children . (max. 15 points)
• Previous experience with the justice, security and social sectors is an asset . (max. 5 points)
• Previous experience supporting the establishment of a helpline or the development of SoPs is an asset. (max. 10 points)
• A Master’s degree in social science, Gender Studies, Human rights, or any other related field. A PhD degree is an asset. (max. 10 points)

Financial Evaluation (30%) – max. 30 points.

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion. A suggested formula is as follows:

p = 30 (µ/z)

Using the following values:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Only long-listed candidates will be contacted.

Financial proposal. Shortlisted candidate will be requested to submit a financial proposal. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount breaking down a daily professional fee, proposed number of working days and any related expenses, i.e. travel and communications expenses.