Background
The Arab region is experiencing a crucial moment in terms of efforts to make trade and regional economic integration instruments for sustainable development, through better connectivity among Arab economies and increased participation in the global economy and supply chain. Such efforts resonate well with the call of citizens—men, women, and youth—across the region for more and better economic, social, and political opportunities.
The challenges facing Arab countries lie at the crossroads of governance and development—and so do the opportunities. The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda has reaffirmed one essential entry point for economic growth and inclusion, consisting of support to demand-driven reforms of trade related policies as well as removing supply side constraints related to productive capacities, economic infrastructure and trade related adjustment to enable the creation of productive employment. Adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015 by the General Assembly of the United Nations points to the close linkage between better economic conditions and development dimensions, in which, trade has high potential of sustainable contribution.
It is widely recognized that trade in general, and international trade in particular, is a powerful tool to wealth creation and poverty reduction and, as a result, to human development and creativity. The value of world trade has more than quintupled, from $8.7 trillion in 1990, to more than $46 trillion in 2014. The relative importance of trade has also increased, from 39 percent of world GDP in 1990, to 60 percent in 2014.These figures highlight the significant potential of trade for inclusive economic growth and resilience, which could be a reality for the Arab countries in the years to come.
However, not all trade actors are in an equal position nor do they benefit of the gains, brought about by trade and trade-related activities, in this picture. Women find themselves less able to make use of the opportunities that trade brings due to inequalities in economic, political and legal rights and their access to banking and credit facilities, particularly in Arab countries. On average, three out of four women in the region are outside the labor force, and they constitute the vast majority of the inactive population. Although women’s participation in the labor force in the Arab region has increased in the past few decades, the increase has been slow. At the current rate, and given the low starting point, it would take 150 years for the countries in the region to reach the current world average for the labor force participation of women.
Gender based inequalities (especially in education, health and training) also hinder women’s capabilities to take advantage of new opportunities created by trade liberalization such as skilled employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. Furthermore, experience has shown that trade policy, and even trade agreements can have a differential impact on men and on women given their positioning in the economy. These impacts need to be better understood by trade policymakers, to unlock women’s trade potential. However, it is important to highlight that women are already actively engaged in trade in global, regional and national markets, as well as in sustaining household livelihood through their activities in cross border trade.
The “Strengthening Arab Economic Integration for Sustainable Development” project is premised upon the decisions taken by the Arab Leaders at their Socio-Economic Summit on the completion of PAFTA, leading to a new stage of deepened economic integration with the establishment of the Arab Customs Union. It aims at supporting efforts towards increasing regional economic integration, connectivity, and competitiveness, established on a rule based system around an agreed framework of accountability that is inclusive of businesses and industries. Such exchange around trade and development would substantiate strategies aimed at creating business and job opportunities, enabling the disadvantaged and poor to actively participate in a more globalized economy.
However, in order to effectively mainstream gender into trade policy—by including gender considerations in policy formulation, implementation and negotiation of trade agreements—we first need to assess the effects of trade policies on women, and identify gender-based constraints that hinder inclusive development in the Arab region. The Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) conducted extensive research in 2017 to better understand channels in which women can better interact with trade. Their major findings conclude the need for further in-depth research and data collection on the role of women in trade at a regional and global scale, as well as careful examination of the links between gender and trade at a fine level of disaggregation.
This consultancy will contribute to the achievement of Output 6 of the project, which aims to tackle key policy and legal changes to improve entry points that could enhance gender mainstreaming in trade policies. The study will be aligned with international frameworks that support women’s economic participation, such as International Labor Organization (ILO) core conventions; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women – CEDAW; the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), among others.
Objectives of Output 6: “Supporting gender responsive mechanisms to ensure systematic integration of gender sensitivities in trade policy-making and negotiations”
- Raise the number of regional policy papers geared towards gender-sensitive policies
- Increase commitment and acknowledgement from senior stakeholders in lobbying for key issues in gender and trade
- Raise the percentage of women in the Arab region aware of the positive opportunities in trade policy
Duties and Responsibilities
The objective of this consultancy is to collect and analyze sex-disaggregated data on the links between gender and trade in the Arab region, including informal trade, and to formulate policy-oriented recommendations resulting from evidence-based analysis towards more sustainability and inclusiveness of women in economic activities. Moreover, it is also intended to look into the participation of women to local livelihood, specifically in areas next to national borders, including informal trade.
The data analysis will lead to the preparation of a report on the state of women in trade in the Arab States, focusing on participation trends in terms of value and volumes, and exploring the gender impacts of economic reforms, trade facilitation, and trade policy. It should also focus on improvement of understanding of challenges in securing equal access by women to production factors such as credit, financial resources and business opportunities.
The report will include country case studies on the impacts of trade liberalization and facilitation on gender equality and women’s well-being in the Arab region. The studies will describe the gender-differentiated outcomes of trade policy and draw lessons on policymaking. Using a variety of qualitative and quantitative methodologies and a range of multi-sectoral and sectoral approaches, the report will contribute to the limited existing literature on the impact of trade policy on gender outcomes, in the region, such as employment, income, empowerment and intra-household relations. The consultant is expected to analyze intersecting patterns of disparity relating to gender, income, and spatial location and to integrate social and cultural factors into the analysis of contribution by women to sustainable growth in Arab economies and income generation.
The consultant will also develop an advocacy strategy, including a mapping stakeholders, targets and possible activities to be carried out within the Arab region, intended to promote policy dialogue to facilitate a better understanding of the links between trade and gender. Activities outlined in the advocacy strategy will include expert meetings, round tables and workshops, to bring together national and international stakeholders, including policymakers and representatives from intergovernmental organizations, civil society and academia.
Deliverables and results:
- Research and report writing
- Desk review on systematic Sustainable Impact Assessment (SIAs) and Gender Trade Impact Assessment (GTIAs) to evaluate the effects of trade agreements and policies on women.
- Study of access by women, particular young women to credits, business and employment opportunities.
- Review of participation by women in border areas, to economic activities for livelihood, including informal trade.
- Produce a preliminary critical analysis, after collecting and analyzing sex- disaggregated data on wages and employment, with special attention to the effects on the informal sector and on young women.
- Analyze a gender-oriented value chain (particularly as they originate from local communities), and provide recommendations for gender sensitive policies on wages and employment, especially for the informal sector, as part of the report.
- Advocacy strategy
- Develop an advocacy strategy including a mapping of stakeholders, targets and activities to undertake within the Arab region, to promote policy dialogue in order to facilitate a better understanding of the links between trade and gender in the Arab region
The consultant commits to:
- Incorporate feedback to produce final draft of research report
- Provide periodical progress reports to the Gender (Mosharaka) team
- Perform any other requested tasks as may be required by the Gender (Mosharaka) Regional Project CTA.
Competencies
Corporate competencies
- Demonstrates integrity and fairness, by modeling the UN/UNDP’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.
Functional Competencies
- Background knowledge about the SDGs, United Nations and UNDP;
- Proven experience in the Arab region and proven familiarity with the gender-trade participation nexus in the Arab region
- Proven intellectual and practical capacity to understand and interpret regional, national and local development issues;
- Good teamwork and interpersonal skills;
- Flexibility and ability to handle multiple tasks and work under pressure;
- Excellent drafting and formulation skills;
- Excellent computer skills especially Word, Excel and PowerPoint;
Knowledge Management and Learning
- Ability to strongly promote and build knowledge products;
- Seeks and applies knowledge, information and best practices from within and outside of UNDP;
- Demonstrates a strong capacity for innovation and creativity in providing strategic policy advice and direction
Judgment/Decision-Making
- Mature judgment and initiative;
- Proven ability to provide strategic direction to the project implementation process;
- Independent judgment and discretion in advising on handling major policy issues and challenges, uses diplomacy and tact to achieve result.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Bachelor’s degree in International Development, Economics, Development Studies, or other relevant fields.
Professional Experience:
- Minimum 7 years of experience in economic, international development, and/or gender research or other relevant work experience
- Previous experience working for the UN is a plus
Language Skills:
- Language proficiency in both written and oral English and Arabic is required. Knowledge of French is an asset.
INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT
- The individual is required to exhibit his or her full-time commitment with UNDP-AEISD;
- S/He shall perform tasks under the general guidance of the Chief Technical Advisor of AEISD, and the direct supervision of the CTA of Gender (Mosharaka) regional project. The supervision of the Gender (Mosharaka) regional project CTA will include approvals/acceptance of the outputs as identified in the previous section;
- The expert is required to collaborate with experts of the AEISD under the general guidance of the Chief Technical Advisor of AEISD;
- The individual is expected to liaise and collaborate in the course of performing the work with other consultants, suppliers and UN colleagues as required;
- The individual is required to maintain close communication with the UNDP-AEISD on regular and needed basis at any period throughout the assignment in order to monitor progress. In the event of any delay, S/he will inform UNDP promptly so that decisions and remedial action may be taken accordingly;
- Should UNDP deem it necessary, it reserves the right to commission additional inputs, reviews or revisions, as needed to ensure the quality and relevance of the work.
DURATION OF WORK
The duration of the work is expected to be 70 working days from contract signature date, over a period of four months.
DUTY STATION
- This is a home-based assignment.
- Part of this assignment may require the individual to travel to different Arab and non-Arab Countries. In such cases, for unforeseen travel, and after seeking relevant approvals, all related travel and accommodation expenses will be arranged and covered by UNDP in line with applicable rules and regulations.
SCOPE OF PRICE PROPOSAL AND SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS
All proposals must be expressed in a lump sum amount. This amount must be “all-inclusive”. Please note that the terms “all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, travel costs, living allowances, communications, consumables, etc.) that could possibly be incurred are already factored into the final amounts submitted in the proposal. Also, please note that the contract price will be Deliverables/Outputs based - not fixed - subject to change in the cost components.
The contractor will be paid an all-inclusive Deliverables/Outputs based lump sum amounts over the assignment period, subject to the submission of Certification of Payment (CoP) duly certified and confirmation of satisfactory performance of achieved work (deliverables/outputs).
DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS.
Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Candidates that fail to submit the required information will not be considered.
- Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
- Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
- Technical Proposal (A half page technical proposal detailing how they will approach the assignment, prioritizing activities to meet the deliverables as set above in the most efficient and effective manner);
- Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive Deliverables/Outputs based total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided. The terms “all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, travel costs, living allowances, communications, consumables, etc.) that could possibly be incurred are already factored into the final amounts submitted in the proposal. If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.
All necessary information including: Complete Procurement Notice, The Selection Criteria, and Annexes are found on the following link under Procurement http://procurement-notices.undp.org/
Interested candidate shall apply the CV/P11 to Job advertisement website, hence consultant should submit to email: Proc.contract.rscjo@undp.org : not later than Monday April 30th 2018 at 11:00 AM (Amman Time +3GMT) the following documents:
- CV/P11
- Confirm availability and financial proposal
- Technical Proposal
- Brief description of why you consider yourself as the most suitable for the assignment
EVALUATION
Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodologies:
Step I: Screening and desk review:
Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology.
Applications will be first screened and only candidates meeting the following minimum criteria will progress to the pool for shortlisting:
- Bachelor’s degree in International Development, Economics, Development Studies, or other relevant fields.
- At least 7 years of experience in economic, international development, and/or gender
- Language proficiency in both written and oral English and Arabic
Shortlisted Candidates will be then assessed and scored against the following evaluation criteria.
Evaluation of Candidates (max 100 points):
- Bachelor’s degree in International Development, Economics, or Middle Eastern Studies; 30%
- Minimum 7 years of experience in economic, international development, and/or gender research or other relevant work experience 25%
- Proven relevant experience in researching economic and trade issues 25%
- Language proficiency in both written and oral English and Arabic 15%
- Previous work experience in the Arab Region 5%
Step II: Final evaluation
The final evaluation will combine the scores of the desk review and the financial proposal with the following weights assigned to each:
Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis methodology (weighted scoring method), where the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
- Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
- Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.
Technical Criteria weight: [70%]
Financial Criteria weight: [30%]
Only Individual Consultants obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70%) on the Technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.