Antecedentes

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.

To ensure enhanced coordination and a comprehensive level of support to the countries of the Eastern Caribbean, the UN Women Multi-Country Office for the Caribbean and the UNICEF Office for the Eastern Caribbean Area, and other UN agencies have come together under a Joint Programme (2013-2016) which seeks to enhance equity, income equality and reduce poverty by rolling out social protection floor initiative and child and gender responsive social protection reform in Barbados and the OECS. The specific objectives of the programme are:

• Support national governments in establishing and implementing social protection floors for preventing and alleviating poverty, vulnerability and social exclusion in Barbados and the OECS;
• Improve national social protection legal and policy framework for Barbados and the OECS;
• Strengthen national capacities in (a) child and gender responsive social protection, (b) monitoring and evaluation systems for social protection and (c) active labour market programmes in Barbados and the OECS.

A striking feature of the social assistance landscape is the number and variety of programs involved in the provision of social assistance in each country reviewed. These include cash transfers, near-cash programs (e.g. food stamps and voucher), in-kind transfers and services, active labour market programs, community-based programs, social care services and targeted housing programs.  All these social assistance programs that serve, or could serve a risk management function; however, while there is considerable scope for the strengthening of social safety nets, at the same time, there are significant challenges to providing an effective social safety net.

In 2009 – 2010, UNICEF and UN Women in partnership with the World Bank supported the governments of six countries in the OECS sub-region to conduct national social safety net assessments. These assessments have triggered social protection reform in the sub-region.  The main recommendations from the assessment were oriented at transforming social safety nets into an efficient and effective Social Protection System that rationalizes the use of resources and clearly defines the interrelations between every intervention.

According to the Social Safety Net Assessment, a large share of the target group for Public Assistance remains uncovered, with less than 2% of the poor in receipt of Public Assistance. At the same time, there appears to be considerable leakage to the non-poor, with an estimated 45% of Public Assistance beneficiaries classified as non-poor. The Assessment made some recommendations that, if implemented, would result in improved targeting of the programmes to increase the “pro-poor focus” so that the programmes benefit those who need them the most, including women-headed households.

Data on current beneficiaries of public assistance, disaggregated by sex, age and locale is a major challenge, due to capacity and other constraints. Nevertheless, collating such data is necessary for the development of an accurate profile of current recipients of support and to inform policy decisions on social protection reform.

As part of its technical support to Antigua & Barbuda under the UN joint Programme on Social Protection, UN Women will be supporting the Department of Social Policy, Research and Planning in the Ministry of Social Transformation and Human Resource Development, with the development of a Costing and Budgeting Framework (CBF) for Gender Equality Priorities for the support it provides through the Board of Guardians. The Ministry, through the Board of Guardians, provides a Poverty Alleviation Grant, a Home Improvement Grant and a Funeral Grant. The CBF will be aligned to national planning and budgeting timelines and procedures and to the social protection policy reform and legislative review process that is ongoing. The CBF is intended to provide a guiding framework for the resource requirements needed to finance the actions to promote gender equality in the programmes/grants provided by the Ministry of Social Transformation and Human Resource Development, through the Board of Guardians.

The CBF will include the following:

• Fiscal space and financing scenarios for actions required to promote gender equality in the programmes/grants provided. The fiscal space will not be limited to the available budget, but based on financing scenarios of resources required to meet the needs of a critical mass of beneficiaries, including future beneficiaries who qualify to receive support;
• Based on the above, estimates of costed actions required to promote gender equality in the programmes/grants.

The CBF will be aligned to the national planning and budgeting processes currently in place in Antigua & Barbuda. The development of the CBF will include the following components:

• Development of a database of current beneficiaries of the programmes/grants provided by the Ministry of Social Transformation and Human Resource Development, through the Board of Guardians;
• Conduct of a Gender Aware Beneficiary Analysis (GABA) of programmes/grants supported by the Board of Guardians. The GABA will be informed by the data provided from the abovementioned database and other sources. The GABA is intended to provide robust information on the procedural and operational limitations that male and female beneficiaries differentially experience in accessing the grants provided by the Ministry of Social Transformation and Human Resource Development, through the Board of Guardians;
• Development of a Strategic Plan and Results Framework for the Ministry’s support to beneficiaries provided through the Board of Guardians. The indicators and measures of progress in the plan will be informed by recommendations from the GABA;
• Building on and informed by the above, development of a Costing and Budgeting Framework (CBF) for Gender Equality Priorities.

This consultancy focuses on the first component, i.e. the development of the database of current beneficiaries of the programmes/grants provided by the Board of Guardians.

Objectives of the Assignment

The development of a database of current beneficiaries of the Board of Guardians will provide reliable data, disaggregated by sex, age, locale and disability. The database will provide necessary data needed to provide an accurate profile of the men, women and children currently receiving support from the Board of Guardians.

There are approximately 507 people currently receiving assistance from the Ministry of Social Transformation and Human Resource Development provided through the Board of Guardians. The technical support provided through this consultancy will build on existing databases and data collection systems and complement current efforts to institute a monitoring system. The database will provide a central data repository for the programmes/grants provided, with specific priorities on the following:

• Sex disaggregated data: Globally, evidence and research have confirmed that there are strong gender-related patterns in household distribution and use of resources. For example, due to gender socialisation and resultant norms, women tend to prioritise expenditure on children and family care. It is therefore critical to systematically collect sex disaggregated data in order to inform further analysis of how men and women utilise the resources provided, the results of which should inform policy and programme development;
• Age disaggregated data: Poverty analyses in the Eastern Caribbean confirm that poverty is concentrated in households with children, headed by women. In order to develop appropriate indicators to assess the impact of the Ministry’s support provided through the Board of Guardians on reducing child poverty it will be critical to collect data on child beneficiaries. Similarly, the elderly have specific needs that would differ from those of other age groups. Data specific to this population would be critical to collect and analyse;
• Identification of the programmes and type of social protection each recipient has been allocated;
• House hold size, location, and socio-economic situation (i.e. number of persons working; in school; over and under working age; disabilities and chronic illnesses; home and asset ownership;

Deberes y responsabilidades

The Consultant’s duties will include but will not necessarily be limited to the following:

• Consulting with the Government and other key stakeholders to be identified, to decide on the specific requirements for gathering and entering the data.

Pre-data collection activities: 

• Document the types of data to be collected, the location and the data source;
• Prepare a schedule for data collection and entry;
• Contact and liaise with key personnel or their assigned representatives for the data collection;
• Develop and confirm schedules and time for site visits;
• Based on the above, prepare pre-data collection plan for gathering and inputting data.
• Interview key stakeholders to confirm accuracy and completeness of data collected;
• Crosscheck information collected with information on beneficiaries of other social assistance schemes to reduce duplication and/or possible misuse;
• Conduct visits to ministries, agencies and other stakeholders to be identified;
• Enter data in Microsoft Excel format;
• Complete the database;
• Draft a Step by Step Guide for Social Protection Officers on data entry and management of the database.

Competencias

Core Values / Guiding Principles:

Integrity and Fairness:

• Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Professionalism:

• Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work. Conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results.

Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity:

• Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff;
• Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:

• Post-graduate degree, at least a Master’s degree, in areas such as Economics; Social Policy; Public Administration; Social Research; Social Statistics; Gender Studies, Development Studies, or a related field of study.  (10 points)

Experience:

• A minimum of six to ten years of progressively responsible and relevant experience in socioeconomic research at national, regional or international levels (10 points);
• Proven experience in directly undertaking quantitative data analysis (15 points);
• Proven experience in developing beneficiary registries/databases/information systems in the social protection sector (15 points);
• Proven capacity to work with a broad range of partners, including statistical experts, government bodies, non-government organisations and academia in the Caribbean (5 points);
• Ability to work independently and as part of a small team, manage competing priorities and perform well under pressure (5 points);
• Excellent command of written and spoken English including the ability to convey complex concepts and recommendations, in a clear and persuasive style tailored to match different audiences (10 points).

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.

Bids will be assessed by awarding a total of 100 points as follows:

• Technical qualifications and experience: 70 points;
• Financial Proposal : 30 points.

Assessment of Technical Expertise will involve an interview with the applicant.

References:

• Minimum of three client references that include the name of the contact person, title and contact information.

The consultant contracted will be required to sign a statement of confidentiality and freedom from any conflict of interest with potential future contractors with respect to the TORs and work that they will be delivering.

Deliverables and Specific Activities:

Completed pre-data collection plan for gathering and inputting data (15 days):

• Consulting with the Government and other key stakeholders to be identified, to decide on the specific requirements for gathering and entering the data.

Pre-data collection activities: 

• Document the types of data to be collected, the location and the data source;
• Prepare a schedule for data collection and entry;
• Contact and liaise with key personnel or their assigned representatives for the data collection;
• Develop and confirm schedules and time for site visits;
• Based on the above, prepare pre-data collection plan for gathering and inputting data.

Completed Database of Beneficiaries (20 days):

• Interview key stakeholders to confirm accuracy and completeness of data collected;
• Crosscheck information collected with information on beneficiaries of other social assistance schemes to reduce duplication and/or possible misuse;
• Conduct visits to ministries, agencies and other stakeholders to be identified;
• Enter data in Microsoft Excel format.

Complete the database

Completed Step by Step Guide for Social Protection Officers on data entry and management of the database (15 days):

• Write a First Draft of a Step by Step Guide for Social Protection Officers on data entry and management of the database to be submitted to UN Women and the Ministry of Social Transformation and Human Resource Development for input and feedback;
• Write a Final Draft of a Step by Step Guide for Social Protection Officers on data entry and management of the database incorporating feedback received.

Reporting Requirements:

• Under the overall responsibility of the UN Women MCO Representative, day to day supervision of the Consultant will be under the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Transformation and Human Resource Development. The UN Women Programme Specialist – Economic Empowerment, will be expected to provide technical oversight and work in close collaboration with the Consultant to ensure technical robustness of the outputs of the assignment.

Remuneration:

• The consultancy fee will be negotiated before contracting. Each payment will be based on a predefined and formal agreement between UN Women and the consultant and will be disbursed based on satisfactory completion of agreed deliverables.

Hardward, Software and Communication:

• The consultant must be equipped with a portable computer (laptop). The consultant must be reasonably accessible by email and telephone (preferably mobile). The use of reliable, internet-based communication (Skype or equivalent) is required.

Location and Duration:

• The consultant will be engaged for a maximum of fifty (50) working days within the period 2 May 2016 until 30 July 2016. The consultancy will be based in the offices of the Ministry of Social Transformation and Human Resource Development in Antigua & Barbuda.