UN WOMEN Jobs - 74598- National Consultant: Synthesising key findings of

National Consultant: Synthesising key findings of four studies on Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) jointly conducted by UNDP and UN Women in Bangladesh

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Dhaka, BANGLADESH

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

08-Oct-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

20 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

Women contribute as active partners with men in Bangladesh’s economy through the formal and informal sector. Empowering women economically is a critical component in the overall process of realizing gender equality. As well as being a matter of human rights and equity, women’s economic empowerment is fundamental to the sustainable socio-economic development of local communities and entire countries. For the purpose of this exercise, women’s economic empowerment can be considered as the process which increases women’s real power over economic decisions that influence their lives and priorities in society. Considered as “smart economics”, women’s economic empowerment is critical to economic growth and prosperity – for individual women, their families, their communities and their countries. In the 21st century, gender equality remains the greatest human rights challenge. In the 7th Five Year Plan, and 2011 National Women’s Policy, the Government of Bangladesh has given commitment to the international legal instruments and special emphasis on the programs to promote women’s developmen.The Seventh Five Year Plan (2016-2020) of the Government of Bangladesh emphasizes on pursuing strategies and actions to establish women’s advancement as self-reliant human beings and reduce discriminatory barriers by taking both developmental and institutional measures. In recent years, a shift in the contents of the policies and strategies is evident that they recognize the importance of responding to the needs of women and girls or attempt to be inclusive addressing the needs of the vulnerable groups, including women. The weak enforcement of these policies hinders achieving the desired results. Still there are some areas where policy support is missing or the policies are gender blind.

National Women Development Policy 2011 is formulated to empower women, to establish their equal right and to integrate them into the mainstream national development. The main goals of the policy are to ensure equality of man and woman in all aspect of state affairs and public life, participation of women in economic, political, social, administrative, judiciary and in all other areas and establish human rights for women. Under UN Programme, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bangladesh and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) undertook four studies to develop an evidence-base for women’s economic empowerment for the Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiation Plan - Progoti. In order to develop a relevant, catalytic, and transformative programme, the programme’s design and development will be based on evidence and analysis. The studies are:

1. Macroeconomic Analysis: gender-based macroeconomic analysis and summarize at a high level the demographic characteristics of women in Bangladesh;

2. Social institutions Analysis: analysis of the influence of social institutions on women’s economic opportunities and constraints;

3. Opportunities Analysis (A) – Market: Deep dive on unmet labour supply in the economy with high-potential opportunities for women; and

4. Opportunities Analysis (B) – Policy: Deep dive on current space for policy action, identifying opportunities to promote policy to positively influence women’s economic empowerment.

This Terms of Reference (TOR) is developed for production of a synthesis report informed by the above-mentioned four studies. The key objectives of this assignment are as follows:

Identification and prioritisation of key policy calls through establishing linkages and analysis of key findings & recommendations of four studies;
Based on a political-economy analysis, recommend entry points and strategies for UN agencies in redressing women’s economic.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of the work and main responsibilities:

Develop a detailed work plan on analysis of four Progoti research studies;
Conduct a review and analysis, including a political-economy analysis of recommendations, of four Progoti research studies on Women’s Economic Empowerment;
Meet relevant stakeholders in relation to political economy analysis for in-depth understanding of women’s economic development related policies and recent changes;
Draft a synthesis report maximum 20 page.

Prepare a presentation of the synthesis report to be used at the national dissemination event now planned under Inclusive and Equitable Local Economic Development Programme (IELD).

Key expected Deliverables:

1. Work plan, and propose methodology and an outline for the final report by By 2nd week of October;

2.Submission of draft report by Last week of October;

3.Final synthesis report with analysis of four studies, findings, recommendation and presentation by 1st week of November.

Competencies

Corporate:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN System’s values and ethical standards (human rights, peace, understanding between peoples and nations, tolerance, integrity, respect, results orientation impartiality (UNDP core ethics);
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the UN system; and
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional:

Development and gender equality knowledge;
Knowledge of national level planning frameworks;
Proven research capacities;
Knowledge of Bangladeshi policies, and the social, political, and economic context for women and girls;
Proven ability to write very high quality reports (in the English language);
Excellent communication skills (written and oral);
Focuses on impact and results for the client and responds positively to critical feedback.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in Economics, Gender Studies, International Development, Demographics or relevant Social Sciences. A PhD in Economics is an asset.

Experiences:

Minimum 5 years of experience working issues of economic analysis, public policy, gender equality, and women’s rights;
Professional experience in developing/emerging economy contexts, knowledge of macroeconomic and policy analysis in South Asia context is a must, experience in Bangladesh is desired;
Demonstrated experience in writing high level research papers.

Language:

Excellent analytical and writing skills in English.

Application Process:

Proposals can be submitted by the following:

Narrative consisting of
- Experience and Approach to this assessment (max 2 pages)
- CV , completed P11 form, and cover letter
A financial proposal (Please propose your offer per day rate for 20 working days )

All applicants must include (as an attachment) the CV, P11 and financial proposals. Applications without financial proposal will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment. “Personal History Form - P 11” which can be downloaded from

http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment