Regional Gender Equality Profile Consultant

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.

Placing women's rights at the center of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides a strong and coherent leadership in supporting Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women covers 22 countries in East and Southern Africa Region (ESAR). UN Women has country offices in only 12 countries namely: Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa (Multi Country Office), South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The Multi Country Office covers Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) countries namely: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland. The Office in Ethiopia is both a Country Office for Ethiopia and a Liaison Office to African Union and Economic Commission for Africa. The region has a Country Programme in Somalia. The East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) in Nairobi provides oversight to all the ESAR countries.

The Country Offices have programmatic responsibilities in their respective countries. The Country Offices develop Strategic Notes (similar to country programmes for other agencies) which articulate UN Women’s programmatic and management results to support national priorities on gender. The Strategic Notes are aligned with UN Sustainable Development Corporation Framework both in terms of results and periodicity. The UN Women Country Offices are also responsible for partnership with a wide range of partners including various Government ministries and departments, Non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, donors, development partners, academia, and others.

In the last four years, countries have developed country specific gender equality profiles which reflect the gender situation in their countries. The UN Women supported Country Gender Equality Profiles (CGEPs) are in-depth, national-level analyses of the status of women and men based on both statistical and qualitative data. The purpose of the CGEPs is to strengthen national understanding and data on the advancement of international, regional and national commitments towards GEWE. They are also a primary source for evidence-driven advocacy and programming for national stakeholders, international development partners and the UN System to advance the gains and overcome bottlenecks at the national, regional and global level. The CGEP goes beyond only a quantitative analysis and to include qualitative analysis framed around root causes and international norms and standards. The focus and nature of the qualitative analysis is to be driven by national needs and contexts.

UN Women East and Southern Africa regional office therefore seeks a consultant to develop a regional gender profile (quantitative and quantitative analysis) based on country profiles. The purpose of the regional profile is to create synergies on the different country profiles with regards the gender situation and highlight lessons learned from the different countries projecting the regional gender situation from the various perspectives. The regional gender profile will also be an opportunity to elicit key gender issues prominent in the country gender profiles and provide key regional recommendations. This includes linking the different aspects of country gender profiles that have been developed. The regional profile shall employ the use of innovative presentation formats including infographics and multimedia communications hence the need for inclusion of key facts and figures from the review.

The regional gender profile will have two key sections. The first section will be an in-depth gender analysis of the economic, legal, political, and social situation and challenges in East and Southern Africa. The second will focus on in-depth sectoral gender analysis. The regional gender profile shall focus on;

• An in-depth analysis of the economic, legal, political and social situation and challenges in the region, which provide the context in which to analyse gender equality issues, framed against international norms and standards and the national/international commitments made.
• Prevailing policies at both the macro and sectoral level that impact on GEWE—for example, on labour markets and job creation, social protection and services, rural development and infrastructure, electoral systems or reform, ending violence in the home and public spheres.
• Specific analysis of laws and policies aimed at addressing different aspects of gender inequality, how they are being implemented, any blockages or bottlenecks encountered and how these realities may differ for those groups most at risk to being left behind, exploring differences in how women and men in all their diversity can enjoy and exercise their human rights and can seek redress if these rights are denied or abused.
• Political analysis of government and other key stakeholders on gender equality in the region and how they are involved in shaping policies, including the gender machinery, relevant sectoral ministries and key actors in civil society, including women’s movements and organizations working in diverse sectors but also trades unions, academics, the private sector and others.
• Identify and document key gender discrepancies, barriers and challenges that need to be addressed, especially in the context of the SDGs, including a comparative analysis of the current situation of women and men, in all their diversity, looking at macro level (regional, macro-policies, laws, social norms and practices), meso level (institutional, sectoral), and micro (community, family), paying particular attention to different backgrounds, gender and other diversity factors, such as age, ethnicity, beliefs, sexual orientation, income level, disability status, geographical location and race.
• Identify good and promising practices, key entry points and opportunities for future gender programming at regional, but also country levels, and how UN Women and others can best support the regional gender equality policies and programmes and their implementation and monitoring through programming and normative mandates.

Duties and Responsibilities

UN Women seeks to hire a consultant to conduct an analysis of all the country gender equality profiles from countries in East and Southern Africa and to provide trends, lessons learned including on gender situations which will form key recommendations for Regional Platforms. The consultant will in particular:

i. Review profiles from Burundi, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Eswatini, Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho, Rwanda, Uganda, Somalia, Seychelles, Comoros and Botswana and provide an analysis of key trends, differences and lessons learned.

ii. Carry out an in-depth regional gender analysis of the economic, legal, political, and social situation and challenges in East and Southern Africa, paying particular attention to the situation of women and men, girls and boys from different backgrounds, gender and other diversity factors, such as age, ethnicity, beliefs, sexual orientation, income level, disability status, geographical location and race.

iii. Use where needed other secondary data sources to fill gaps where not all reports covered the same topics.

iv. Identify gaps that should be addressed in future CGEP. The recommendations emanating from this should inform the content and quality of future profiles.

v. Based on the analysis, develop a regional gender profile highlighting key challenges that cause the gender gap in East and Southern Africa and highlight key findings, policy and investment options and recommendations.

vi. Identify opportunities and propose actions for UN Women on how to move forward in implementing some of the recommendations of the profile focusing on actions required at the regional level.

vii. Distill similarities and differences between key indicators of the ESA countries and associate it with possible causes and attributions.

viii. Where necessary, attend and contribute to the roundtable discussion on the regional profile disseminating the findings and recommendations therein.

Methodology

The main approach that will be used will be desktop analysis using existing country gender equality profiles from Burundi, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Eswatini, Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho, Rwanda, Uganda, Somalia, Seychelles, Comoros and Botswana. Additional secondary data sources may be used to complement the analysis especially on the regional report based on any gaps identified from country profiles-if any.

Key Performance Indicator

• Regional analytical report on the economic, legal, political, and social situation and challenges in East and Southern Africa.

Deliverables

• Inception report - The desk phase should include a thorough analysis of all existing documents available. The resulting report will set out the precise methodology and plan for the regional analysis.
• Draft regional gender profile to be developed within 20 days of signing contract.
• Revised report to be developed for 5 days after receiving comments from UN Women, together with a PPT presentation of the report.
• Availability to proofread the report after editing and design to ensure accuracy in the editing and design process (One day spread into 3 days with 2.6 hours each day).
• Further clarification and clearing of the report will be needed during editing and design and after the dissemination workshop

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/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

• Ability to establish, build and sustain effective relationships with clients.
• Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats, using appropriate IT functionality.
• Excellent event planning skills.
• Knowledge of gender equality and women’s empowerment in East and Southern Africa.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• Minimum a post graduate degree (master's degree; PhD will be an asset) in a relevant social sciences field such as research methodology, economics, statistics, gender or another related field.

Experience

The consultant should possess the following minimum requirements:

• Minimum of 10 years of demonstrated extensive experience that combines research and programs in gender and international development at the national and international level is required.
• Specific expertise in one or more of the sector focus areas outlined in the terms of reference.
• Knowledge of socio-cultural, economic, and geopolitical contexts of East and Southern Africa is an advantage.
• Strong knowledge of gender in the context of the assignment is required.
• Previous experience in writing comprehensive country gender equality profiles an asset.
• A demonstrated ability (through previous similar assignments) to analyze, compile and synthesize information in coherent and succinct formats.
• Demonstrated skills in statistical research and policy analysis and detailed knowledge of econometric and statistical tools applied in the context of gender analysis required.
• Previous experience with gender disaggregated data and decomposition analysis preferred, bonus for analyses of the gender sector.
• Strong understanding of gender and demonstrated experience in applying gender tools and conceptual frameworks.
• Previous experience in East and Southern Africa required preferred

Language requirement

• Proficiency in written and spoken English is required.
• Working knowledge of another official UN language is an asset.

Note:

Please note that applications without a completed and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

UN Women Personal History form (P-11) can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment

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