UNDP Jobs - 87011- Policy Expert on Care Economy

Policy Expert on Care Economy

Location :

Home based with one up to 7-day mission to Georgia, GEORGIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

06-Sep-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

up to 20 working days, October-December 2019

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

With the support of the Swedish Government, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) works as part of the UN Joint Programme for Gender Equality on enhancing political and economic empowerment of women through: (1) Policy advice, (2) Strengthening national systems, and (3) Strengthening public advocacy. As part of the work on women’s economic empowerment (WEE), UNDP is developing analytical and advocacy work in the field of care economy in order to redress inequalities in unpaid domestic care work, develop a modern care sector, and improve women’s opportunities to access the labour market. I.e., to recognize, reduce, and redistribute unpaid care work in the country.

Identifying the care economy as an interconnected sector recognizes its economic and social functions and uncovers the systemic imbalances within this sector, be it in terms of participation in the labour market or (non-)remuneration. These are governed by the legislative framework, state- or private- service provision, as well as social customs and household-level inequalities. Addressing the appropriate policies can unleash a huge economic development potential, as those currently tied up in unpaid domestic care work can realize their economic and civic potential through employment, entrepreneurship etc. What is more, developing the care sector itself provides employment and can be a source of valuable employment opportunities in otherwise underprivileged communities.

This ambitious goal will be achieved by the realization of the following outcomes:

Analysis of current legislative and analytical framework governing and indirectly influencing the distribution of care work;
Proposing and advocating for regulatory, legislative and investment initiatives to help redress the imbalance in unpaid domestic care work;
Piloting innovative approaches to community-based care service provision.

The Joint Programme will address those issues in a coherent and comprehensive manner, covering a wide range of issues, such as economic and labour policy, social protection, education, as well as the ongoing decentralization agenda.

This initiative is implemented within the framework of the Czech-UNDP Partnership for Sustainable Development Goals (CUP) through which the Czech Republic provides financial assistance for transferring transformation experience to third countries. The project will leverage the positive experience of the transformation of the Czech social care sector which is well known for innovative initiatives and a vibrant NGO activity in the area of care service provision. The outcomes of this initiative will support Priorities I. and III. of Czech Bilateral Programme in Georgia.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant will work under the direct supervision of the UNJP Project Manager, and with the support of a Local Consultant on Care Economy. The main objective of the assignment is to produce high-quality analytical output on the current state of the legal and regulatory environment with regards to care economy, in order to produce specific and realistic policy recommendations for possible legislative or regulatory changes with links to public spending. This analytical output will serve as base research for further analysis which will include macroeconomic simulations of possible policy interventions and their outcome on unpaid care work and female labour market participation. The Consultant will work alongside an International Specialist on Care Provision Models and will mutually inform each other on the intermediary findings and recommendations of their work.

Specifically, the expert will be expected to conduct:

I. Preparatory work and desk research

Review of existing research and data related to the care economy in Georgia
- Produce a review of the existing analytical research and policy analysis in the field of care economy in Georgia, and identify gaps of policy analysis;
- Collect existing quantitative and qualitative data and identify data gap.
Review of international policy recommendations
- Produce a literature review of the most relevant and applicable policy recommendations in the field of care economy stemming out of international experience;
- Prepare examples of good practice from international experience which could be tested or adapted to the Georgian context.
Review of the governance structure of the Georgian care sector
- In consultation with UN Joint Programme staff, identify main actors and potential partners in advocating and implementing policy recommendations;
- Produce a field mission plan identifying (i) sources to consult for further information and data gathering; (ii) advocacy plan for consulting, and (iii) reviewing possible policy recommendations.

At the end of the desk research phase, the expert will deliver a high-quality assessment of existing policy and data research of care economy in Georgia [approximately 12 pages], including a number of policy recommendations from international practice and experience [min. 4 recommendations], and a detailed field mission plan identifying contacts for further information gathering and policy-makers for advocacy work.

II. Field research and advocacy

During the first part of the planned mission, the expert will undertake further information gathering to compliment the desk research. This will entail interviews with key players in the field of legislature, policy making and research. The second phase will focus on delivering and advocating for policy recommendations to key policy-makers so as to gauge their applicability.

In-situ information gathering and consultation with partners
- Consultation of policy recommendations with key local partners such as academia, the development community and civil service;
- Contribution to UN WOMEN’s assessment (Regulatory Impact Analysis - RIA) of the draft Labour Code in view of recommendations regarding the care economy;
- Provide non-RIA related recommendations (if any) regarding the proposed legislative amendments to the Labour Code of Georgia;
- Prior to conducting the field mission, the expert should liaise with the Czech Embassy in Tbilisi and conduct at least one official visit at the Embassy as part of the mission. The expert should also be ready to share any additional information with the Embassy and managers of the Czech-UNDP Partnership for SDGs regarding the mission and activities conducted.
Advocacy with key policymakers
- Advocacy for care economy principles and consultation of policy recommendations with stakeholders from the Parliamentary Gender Equality Council; the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development; the Ministry of Finance; the Ministry of IDPs, Labour, Health, and Social Affairs; the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure, and other relevant policy-makers.

Concluding the field mission, the expert will deliver a field mission debriefing [approximately 3 pages] outlining the activities undertaken in research and advocacy work, stating the broad observations and conclusions from the work.

III. Final report

Following the field mission, the expert will update the original policy recommendations with detailed observations, and give evidence-based recommendation. The report will be delivered via a conference call with the UN Joint Programme colleagues.

At the end of the assignment, the expert will deliver an updated high-quality assessment of care economy, including of 3-4 most realistic, achievable and impactful policy and/or investment measures informed by the activities conducted during the mission [min. 3 pages per recommendation]. The report will also include recommendations for further advocacy work and identify the most crucial data gaps to be filled.

Deliverables and payment modality:

The Expert is expected to provide the deliverables outline below. The payments will be made upon the satisfactory completion/submission and approval of the deliverables by the supervisor.

Results of the desk research, field mission workplan: end of October 2019; 30% of consultancy fee
Formal mission completion, written mission debriefing: end of November 2019; 30% of consultancy fee
Final report (English version) adjusted upon the comments from the UNDP that includes: Final policy recommendations, future research and advocacy plan: by 20 December 2019; 40% of consultancy fee

The timely and high-quality submission of the deliverables is a pre-condition of the payments. The official language of communication for the present contract is English.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly.

Functional Competencies:

Ability to work independently with minimal supervision;
Effective in quality assurance, working with teams, and time management;
Ability to think strategically while focusing on details and delivery process;
Ability to deal with pressure and overcome obstacles in start-up like environment.
Builds strong relationships with stakeholders, focuses on impact and result and responds positively to feedback;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Ability to lead effectively, mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
Demonstrates strong written communication skills;
Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills;
Exceptional communication skills, in order to explain technical concepts and the implications clearly to a wide and non-technical audience and to translate policy objectives into actionable analyses;
Self-motivation and resourcefulness.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Minimum Master’s Degree in Development Economics, Statistics, Public Policy, or other relevant filed (minimum requirement: Master's degree - 8 points, PhD - additional 4 points).

Experience:

At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience of working on analyses of social and economic policy with an international perspective (minimum requirement: 5 years - 8 points, more than 5 years - additional 4 points);
At least 3 years of experience in two or more areas of: (1) Labour market economics; (2) Research design; (3) Public social policy; (4) International comparative economics; (5) Local approaches to social service provision; (6) Practical research in public and international policy analysis; (7) High-level advocacy work (minimum requirement: 3 years - 6 points, more than 3 years - additional 2 points);
Direct experience from the Czech Republic in Public Economics or Social Policy is a requirement (minimum requirement: 6 points);
Experience of working in the ECA region would be an asset (2 points);
Understanding of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, as well as UNDP gender equality, diversity and inclusion, and women’s empowerment priorities;
Prior experience of working with legislators;
Experience in drafting legislation on care provision would be a strong asset;
Outstanding communications skills, for a range of different audiences.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English and Czech (both written and oral);
Knowledge of other languages of the ECA region would be an asset.

Evaluation:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis: Individual consultants will be evaluated against combination of technical and financial criteria. Technical evaluation stage encompasses desk review and interview of applications. Experts not meeting any of minimum technical qualification requirements will be automatically excluded from the list of candidates for further technical evaluation. Maximum obtainable score is 100, out of which the total score for technical criteria equals to 70 points (70%) and for financial criteria 30 (30%). Offerors who pass 70% of maximum obtainable scores of the desk review (i.e. 40 x 70% = 28 points as a result of a desk review of applications will be invited for the interview. Those offerors who pass 70% of maximum obtainable scores as a result of the interview (i.e. 30 x 70% = 21 points) will be considered as short-listed offerors and requested to provide financial proposals.

Financial Proposal:

The financial proposal will specify the daily fee, travel expenses and per diems quoted in separate line items, and payments are made to the Individual Consultant based on the number of days worked. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources. In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.