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.

The Republic of Serbia has officially introduced gender responsive budgeting (GRB) with the amendments to the Budget System Law in 2015, when gender equality became one of the budget objectives. In line with the Budget System Law, GRB represents incorporating the principle of gender equality into the budgetary process, which implies gender-based assessment of budgets and restructuring revenues and expenditure in order to promote gender equality.

UN Women Office in Serbia continuously supports the process of GRB implementation and institutionalization at the national and provincial level, in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, the Coordination Body for Gender Equality and the Provincial Secretariat of Finance. This resulted in the inclusion of gender perspective in 2024 Budget of 80 budget users at national and provincial level (encompassing more than 120 institutions), out of 89 in total (90%), while gender equality has been improved through financing of 117 budget programmes, 283 programme activities and projects, 507 gender responsive budget objectives and 900 indicators. However, progress towards applying GRB in the entire process of planning, budgeting and reporting needs further strengthening and more efforts need to be put towards GRB sustainability and institutionalization at all governmental levels.

In order to deepen the previously done work, launch new initiatives and ensure sustainability of the interventions on GRB, UN Women initiated a regional programme “Transformative Financing for Gender Equality towards more Transparent, Inclusive and Accountable Governance in the Western Balkans” (2020-2024), in which Serbia is also participating. The main programme approach will involve around transformative financing as an enabling factor for policy and financing actions to accelerate implementation of existing national and international commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment in the in Western Balkans. It envisages provision of tailored technical assistance and guidance, as well as building institutional capacity and knowledge.

Having in mind that a fair tax system is critical to ensuring gender equality and tackling poverty, and that the Budget System Law proscribes restructuring of revenues to promote gender equality, UN Women will initiate work on gender analysis of taxation policy and GRB training for the department responsible for fiscal system and policies in the Ministry of Finance, as a basis for further work on GRB implementation.

Therefore, the objective of the assignment is to further support and strengthen the process of GRB implementation and institutionalization by tackling the revenue side. This is to be achieved through conducting of gender analysis of a selected taxation policy and delivering a session on the importance of gender mainstreaming of taxation policies during the training organized by UN Women.

The consultant will be reporting to GRB Programme Coordinator, and will be supported by the GRB Programme Coordinator, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

Duties and Responsibilities

Working under the overall supervision of UN Women GRB Programme Coordinator, the consultant will be responsible for the following:

• Review of Taxation Policies and Legislation: conduct a review of taxation policies and key tax-related legislation in the Republic of Serbia that significantly impact citizens, emphasizing their effects on women and/or vulnerable groups.
• Proposal of Taxation Policy for Analysis: based on the initial review, propose a specific taxation policy for gender analysis. A particular taxation policy for analysis will be selected in agreement with UN Women to ensure alignment with broader gender equality objectives. If there is a new tax policy under discussion, a choice could also be to analyze the proposal (ex-ante)
• Gender Analysis of Selected Taxation Policy: perform a detailed gender analysis of the chosen taxation policy to identify who benefits from it and assess its impact on different demographic groups, mainly focusing on women and/or vulnerable groups.
• Recommendations for Policy Modification: develop recommendations for modifying the taxation policy to increase gender equality.
• Training Session on Gender-Responsive Taxation: conduct a training session on the importance of gender-responsive taxation during the UN Women-organized training on GRB and Gender Taxation in May 2024.

Deliverables

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy.

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

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:

https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Excellent knowledge of taxation policies and legislation;
• Good knowledge of gender equality and women’s rights issues;
• Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats;
• Ability to handle a large volume of work possibly under time constraints;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Strong writing skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in law, economy or a related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience in the field of public finances, and/or taxation policy.
• At least 2 years of experience in conducting research and analysis, preferable on public finances and taxation.
• Sound knowledge on gender equality and/or gender responsive budgeting.
• Previous experience of working/cooperating with UN Agencies and the Ministry of Finance will be considered an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in written and oral Serbian is required.

How to apply

• Personal CV or P11 (P11 can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc )
• A cover letter in English (maximum length: 1 page)
• Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns, or other materials.

How to Submit the Application: To submit your application online, please follow the steps below:

• Download and complete the https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc
• Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11) and Cover Letter into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded.
• Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement).
• Click ‘Apply Now’ button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click ‘Submit Application;’
• Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above).
• You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

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 Unit-ed 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.)