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, peace, and security. UN Women has a universal mandate that encompasses a normative, an operational/programmatic as well as a coordination role, all of which are closely linked with its unique structure. At the core of its mandate, UN women plays a leading role in supporting governments in delivering on their gender equality and women empowerment (GEWE) commitments in the SDGs.

Women-owned/led businesses are a growing share of all enterprises in many African countries. Studies indicate that up to one-third (34.5%) of formal firms in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) report women ownership participation (World Bank, 2011). Public procurement represents an attractive market for women entrepreneurs since it accounts for 15 to 30 per cent of GDP globally. In addition, procurement can sometimes consume as much as 50 per cent of GNP in some countries. Public procurement, therefore, creates market opportunities that have long been recognized as an engine for growth for small and medium enterprises.

Yet women-owned small and medium enterprises (WSME) are severely underrepresented as suppliers, securing only an estimated 1 per cent of procurement contracts. In Nigeria, women remain under-represented as entrepreneurs accessing public procurement opportunities. Furthermore, most women-led businesses are in the informal sector, which excludes them from the participation threshold outlined in the Public Procurement Act. The Act requires businesses, which seek to supply public goods and services to be formally registered. Since most women-led businesses are unregistered and function within the informal economy, they are automatically excluded. Also, there are other requirements relating to tax and annual turnover which most women entrepreneurs do not meet either. The disparities between women’s economic participation and inclusive growth exist partly because most of the WSME are currently engaging at meso and micro levels within the informal economy and are not involved in macro - level activities such as procuring public goods and services.

Other common barriers encountered by women in accessing public procurement include, corruption, bribery, favoritism/nepotism in government structures, including in the form of sexual harassment and gender-based violence. Similarly, women entrepreneurs very often, encounter difficulties due to limited information around the drafting of bids and lack technical capacities to execute the contract. Women entrepreneurs also lack access to information and networks to respond to procurement calls. Long delays in payment from government procuring entities also discourages small-sized women-owned businesses to bid.

UN Women ’s Regional Office for West and Central Africa will implement the project: Women’s Economic Empowerment through Affirmative Procurement Reform in West and Central Africa between 2021-2024. The regional project seeks to support women’s economic empowerment through enhanced opportunities of women-led businesses to access public procurement and corporate supply chains in four countries of West Africa: Senegal, Nigeria, Mali, and Cote d’Ivoire. The project will also integrate affirmative procurement initiatives in the context of COVID 19 response and recovery strategies. The proposed project supports reform and institutional strengthening to improve women-led businesses access to public procurement and supports the development of gender responsive procurement initiatives as part of the COVID-19 response strategies.

Duties and Responsibilities

The purpose of this short-term consultancy is to support UN Women Nigeria Country Office to conduct a review of national laws, policies, regulations, and technical assistance to public sector institutions.

Functions

The consultant will be expected to:

1. Conduct a gender-responsive review and assessment of the 2007 Procurement Act of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and other relevant national laws, regulations, and policies related to public procurement. The exercise should include identifying gender gaps in the Act and the national procurement policies and regulations, as well as other relevant national laws having intersectionality with the Procurement Act 2007; and making recommendations for the adoption of gender responsive procurement reforms.
2. Conduct a gender-responsive assessment, review and audit of the Lagos State Public Procurement Law 2021, key public procurement policies, practices, and institutions, identifying gender gaps, and making recommendations for the adoption of gender-responsive procurement reforms in the state. The assessment will focus on identifying gaps and opportunities for mainstreaming gender-responsive procurement practices in public sector procurement practices and processes, as practiced in Lagos State.
3. Conduct a gender-responsive assessment, policy review and audit of the Kaduna State Public Procurement Law No. 12 of 2016, key public procurement policies, practices, and institutions, identifying gender gaps, and making recommendations for the adoption of gender-responsive procurement reforms in the state. The assessment will focus on identifying gaps and opportunities for mainstreaming gender-responsive procurement practices in public sector procurement practices and processes, as practiced in Kaduna State.
4. Develop a policy brief on legal and policy reforms in the Procurement landscape in Nigeria.
5. Using information and findings from the Gender assessment and Audit, develop key advocacy messages to promote the adoption of affirmative action in procurement laws, regulations, policies, practices, and environment, at the National level and for both Lagos and Kaduna states
6. Support the Governments of Lagos and Kaduna States, respectively, to develop a gender-responsive strategy and 4-year costed action plan to mainstream gender into public procurement laws, policies, and practices.

The selected Consultant will be expected to complete the following key deliverables within the indicative timeframe:

Reporting

Under the supervision of the Deputy Country Representative, and in close collaboration with the programme lead on Women Economic Empowerment, and other relevant UN Women Nigeria CO staff, the selected consultant will develop and deliver the above-listed outputs in accordance with the above-outlined timeframes and specifications.

Core Values

• Integrity: Demonstrates consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UNDP and UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
• Professionalism: Demonstrates professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.
• Respect for Diversity: Demonstrates an appreciation of the multi-cultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrates an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Competencies:

• Ethics and Values: Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.
• Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
• Development and Innovation: Take charge of self-development and take initiative.
• Teamwork: Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Communication and Information Sharing: Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.
• Self-management and Emotional Intelligence: Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others.
• Conflict Management: Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.
• Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.
• Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making

Education:

• PhD with at least 10 years in legal research, Business Administration, Social Sciences, Economics, or related field.
• A Master’s Degree in combination with 5 additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the PhD advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Strong experience in conducting research. 
• Experience in combination of gender analysis and legal frameworks/constitutions is mandatory.
• Experience in presenting research papers and facilitating working sessions.
• Experience with UN Intergovernmental processes including those related to women’s empowerment, gender mainstreaming and gender equality.
• Proven experience working on law reforms.
• Experience of working with multi-stakeholder organizations is essential: governments, CSOs, and the UN/ multilateral/bilateral institutions.
• Evidence of developing advocacy and policy briefs
• Excellent analytical and reporting skills.
• Ability to speak and write in a clear and gender-sensitive language.

Language:

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral) in English are required;
• Working knowledge of another UN language is an advantage.

Note: Applicants are required to send the following documents in one single document(Please note the system allows for only a single attachment).

1. Application letter explaining interest in the consultancy and suitability of the candidate for the consultancy position
2. Updated CV
3. A short proposal (max 1,500 A4 pages) that details a proposed methodology and conceptualization of the consultancy.
4. Personal History Form (P11). The P11 Form can be downloaded from the following website: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc

Duration of the Assignment

The assignment is expected to take 75 working days from the date of signing the contract.