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.

Women in West and Central Africa represent the most deprived group of the population in spite of their paramount social and economic role. They have limited access to, and control over critical resources, as a result of social, cultural, and economic norms. UN Women works with government partners and regional and national stakeholders to improve women’s economic participation with a focus on (i) women’s access to the green economy; (ii) Promoting and strengthening women’s entrepreneurship; and (ii) Enhancing women’s income security and social protection. UN Women advises governments and regional institutions to develop gender-responsive economic policies and supports the capacity building of multiple actors to advocate for, formulate, and implement gender-responsive economic policies.

UN Women’s work on Gender-Responsive Budgeting in West and Central Africa.

Gender-responsive Budgeting (GRB) is a strategic policy approach to strengthen planning and budgeting for the implementation of gender-related legislative and policy commitments. It seeks to incorporate a gender equality perspective into the budgetary process to ensure an efficient allocation of resources based on identified needs and to restructure revenues and expenditures to strengthen gender equality and empowerment of women (GEWE).  Global evidence shows that the use of GRB strengthens linkages between economic and social policy outcomes, enables tracking of public expenditure on GEWE, enhances participation and opportunities for civil society in economic policymaking, and contributes to effective and transparent planning and budgeting for enhancing government accountability.

The idea of GRB developed out of a growing recognition that government budgets that command substantial resources are not gender neutral. Given the socially constructed roles ascribed to them, women and men occupy different social and economic positions within the household, workforce, and community. Women enter the public sphere while shouldering most of the unpaid care and domestic work which constrains their equal access to education, the economy, and the overall human development process. Proper gender-responsive planning and budgeting can bring positive impacts on the lives of men and women.

UN Women’s work on GRB involves ensuring that national planning, budgeting, monitoring, and evaluation processes incorporate a gender perspective. UN Women’s GRB programmes at the global, regional, and country levels have made significant contributions towards this by strengthening political support, developing technical resources and capacities, generating good practices for improving women’s access to services, and increasing accountability for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE).

UN Women West and Central Africa Office is establishing a regional roster of experts in Gender-Responsive Budgeting to support country offices. This roster will facilitate the recruitment, hiring, and evaluation of consultants from the thematic area.

Description of Responsibilities/Scope of Work:

Missions 

Consultants will provide a range of advisory services to clients (UN Women WCARO, Country Offices, project teams, and partners as needed). Specific reporting and working relationships will be specified at the time of contracting for a specific assignment.

Successful candidates will be included in the UN Women WCA GRB Roster. Entry into the roster system does not necessarily mean a guaranteed contract with UN Women. This will depend on forthcoming needs. When demand arises in a particular thematic area, pre-selected consultants will be called upon to provide demand-driven services. A specific Terms of Reference outlining the outputs for each assignment will be provided, detailing the timeframe and deadlines for the position.

The consultants shall deliver a number of services from the list below.

Scope of the tasks

Activity 1: Analysis of the progress, achievements, and gaps in the GRB approach used in the target country(ies): 

• Analyze the current macroeconomic situation associated with Public Financial Management Reform (PFM Reform) and performance-based budgeting.
• Analyze how GRB can be positioned to support adequate financing for gender equality in the current geopolitical situation and context of the targeted countries (LDC or MIC).
•  Analyze the inclusion of GRB in the budget cycle process, how has GRB mainstreamed across sectoral ministries, and highlight key achievements, challenges, and opportunities of GRB intervention in the past years.

Activity 2: Mapping of the emerging context for gender-responsive planning and budgeting

• Draw analysis from Development Finance Assessment (DFA); Integrated National Financing Framework (INFFs) and Financing Strategy (FS) for SDGs, highlighting and recommending new and existing forms of financing mechanisms to ensure continued financing for gender-related priorities.
• Map and review national and local policies and guidelines for planning and budgeting and assess its implications for integrating gender into plans and budgets.
• Explore opportunities for Green Budgeting (Green Budgeting is the integration of a climate-friendly perspective into PFM practices, systems, and frameworks.) and for integrating a gender and green perspective into their national budget processes.
• Articulate relevance of unpaid care work to budgets and opportunities for leverage GRB for Transformative care-led strategies and greater investments in social services.

Activity 3: Technical assistance to governments 

• Support the Ministry of Finance/ Economy/ Budget (MoF/MoE/MOB) to mainstream gender in budgetary processes and to integrate gender considerations into the core of the work.
•  Provide technical assistance and advice on the overall implementation of gender equality commitments in the public expenditures by line ministries.
• Provide technical inputs and on-demand reports on specific initiatives related to the above-mentioned tasks, when requested.

Activity 4: Development of GRB Strategy for the local government institutions (to support decentralization and localization of the SDGs)

• Review laws and policies of local government and assess the perception of different stakeholders, including elected representatives, government officials, functionaries, and individual experts (CSOs, researchers, women’s organizations) to apply GRB at the local level.
• Identify entry points for GRB in local government institutions and highlight opportunities and challenges to use GRB to advance gender equality at the local level.

Activity 5: Capacity Development of various stakeholders on GRB

• Developing training tools, manuals, and other materials on GRB, as required.
• Lead capacity-building sessions for UN Women partners and relevant stakeholders (MOF/MOE/MOB; members of parliaments; others) on gender-responsive planning and inclusive budgeting in public investment, budget planning, and decision-making processes.

Activity 6: Conduct gender analysis of the budget/public expenditures/taxes.

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:

• Leadership in area of expertise in the region
• Proven experience in conducting research, high-quality policy analysis, and advice to the government in the field of macroeconomics and gender
• Experience working with different stakeholder groups in a multicultural environment
• Effective writing skills, particularly communicating technical information in a way that is understood by multiple audiences
• Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality reports in English and/or French
• Excellent knowledge of women´s economic empowerment
• Excellent analytical skills
• Ability to perform qualitative and quantitative policy research
• Timely and quality technical advice and support.

Required Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree in economics, Gender, and Development Studies, Political Science, Economics, Social Science, or any other related field of study.
• PhD in similar fields is an asset

Experience:

• At least 10 years of relevant experience in macroeconomics and gender
• Minimum 07 years of proven experience in producing high-quality GRB analysis, providing policy advice, technical assistance, and capacity building conducting studies research, assessment, and developing tools and instruments on GRB
• Experience conducting similar assignments in West and Central Africa

Languages:

• Fluency (oral and written) in English is required to support anglophone country offices
• Fluency (oral and written) in French is required to support francophone country offices

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 (maximum length: 1 page)
• Previous reports, presentations, publications, guidance notes, and/or policy briefs that the consultant has produced on the topic of the care economy, social protection, or women’s economic empowerment.

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.