Antecedentes

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) 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. Through its programmes and projects, UN Women is providing technical assistance to national partners (governmental and non-governmental) in the implementation of existing international and national commitments to women’s rights and gender equality, facilitates networking and exchange of good practices and advocates for women’s rights and gender equality in all areas of life.

Women economic empowerment is key for achieving gender equality, poverty eradication, inclusive economic growth and sustainable development. Despite some progress in increasing the presence of women in the public life, their participation in the labor market is still low and globally the gender participation gap is 31 %.[1] One of the important causes for low participation of women in the labor market is their unequal share in the unpaid care work and the failure by member states to recognize, reduce and redistribute the domestic and care work.[2] Globally, women continue to do 2.6 times the unpaid care and domestic work men do; in FYR Macedonia it is three times more. [3]

Based on the recent assessment of causes for low participation in the labor market in the country, gender-based discrimination and unpaid care work appeared as one of the main barriers to increasing women employability and empowerment. Currently, in the country the average enrolment rate in childcare (0-2 years) is 8%, while the enrolment rate in preschool education (3-6 years) is 28.7%. The gender gap in labor force participation is at 25.4 p.p. (women 43.8 percent and men 69.2 percent) and in the employment rate of 18.5 p.p. [4]

Addressing existing care deficits and inequalities is central to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. Recognizing, reducing and redistributing the drudgery of unpaid care and domestic work is central to the progress in gender equality, poverty eradication and economic growth.

Gender equality is an important priority for the Government of FYR Macedonia and so is the elimination of the barriers that hamper its achievement. Central to devising national policies that would enable women’s empowerment and their equal engagement in the national economy is the recognition, reduction and redistribution of unpaid care work. As a first step in this direction is the assessment of the costs for the institutionalization of the family care and the fiscal and employment effects on gender equality.

Based on Government demand, UN Women is engaging a team of experts, one international and one national to assess the costs of expanding early childhood education and care (ECEC) and its potential impact on employment creation and women labor participation rate. The national expert is required to support the international expert in assessing what levels of investments would be needed to expand the availability of ECEC, as well as the employment and fiscal revenue effects that these investments would produce. The team of experts will work under the supervision of UN Women office in Skopje and in close consultation with the policy advisors of the economic empowerment section in the Policy division in UN Women Headquarters.

Scope of work

The main objective of the assignment is to support the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy in devising policies that will redress gender inequalities by providing data and evidence on the costs and benefits in the institutionalization of the care in the country. In order to do so, UN Women – through the work of the team of experts – will support the collection of data for cost estimation of childcare services and the simulations of their impact on the employment and fiscal revenue effects. 

For this purpose, the national expert will be responsible for providing support to the international expert in designing the methodology for the assessment of costs, in collecting the relevant national data (such as for example time use data, input/output tables etc.) in conducting the meetings with the national stakeholders and in the finalization of the Assessment report.

[1] Turning promises into actions, Gender Equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2018/sdg-report-gender-equality-in-the-2030-agenda-for-sustainable-development-2018-en.pdf?la=en&vs=5653.

[2] Ibidem

[3] Republic of Macedonia, State Statistical Office, “Time Use in the Republic of Macedonia, 2014/15” (Skopje: FYR Macedonia State Statistical Office, 2015).

[4] SSO, Labor Force Survey, 2013 (http://www.stat.gov.mk/Publikacii/2.4.14.04.pdf).

Deberes y responsabilidades

Working in close coordination with the international expert and with the UN Women project team and under direct supervision of the UN Women Head of Office, the national expert will have the following tasks and responsibilities:

1. Assist in the development of the methodological proposal to guide the country level work. The methodology will allow for calculating the total cost of providing childcare, based on different proposed parameters and scenarios of coverage and quality; it has to contain all the specific items for analysis, the data needs for the calculations of costs and the simulations of employment and fiscal effects;
2. Coordinate with the international expert and organize several technical level meetings with national stakeholders; Based on the guidance from the International expert and with support from UN Women, the national expert, will hold - jointly with the International expert - several meetings with key stakeholders to obtain the necessary information and data and define the parameters and scenarios.
3. Assist the international expert in performing the country-level calculations. The national expert should assist the international expert in collecting the data and performing the national calculations as necessary, based on the data collected;
4. Support the international expert in drafting the Assessment report of the findings and validate it with national stakeholders. A report should be drafted that will elaborate on the methodology used, the consultations carried out, the estimates for the country as well as some reflections on the methodological and data challenges of arriving at such estimates. The national expert should develop a brief summary of the findings and/or PPT presentation of the main findings in Macedonian language, based on the Assessment report written in English.
5. Support the international expert in finalizing the assessment report, based on the feedback received from UN Women and stakeholders from the validation meetings;
6. Submit joint final report to UN Women for the assignment.

Key deliverables, activities and timeframe

Reporting

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Head of Office and in close coordination with the international consultant and UN Women Project team, the national Consultant will deliver the above listed outputs in accordance with the indicative timeframe.

All deliverables of an acceptable standard and quality should be submitted to the UN Women Head of Office and in languages as specified above.

Competencias

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Shares knowledge and experience
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside UN Women
•  Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills
• Development and Operational Effectiveness
• Demonstrates excellent written and oral communication skills. Communicates sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies
• Demonstrates very good understanding of and experience in communications and outreach/advocacy
• Ability to perform a variety of standard specialized and non-specialized tasks and work processes that are fully documented, researched, recorded and reported
• Ability to review a variety of data, identify and adjust discrepancies, identify and resolve operational problems
• Uses Information Technology effectively as a tool and resource

Leadership and Self-Management

• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure
• Proven networking skills and ability to generate interest in UN Women’s mandate
• Identifies opportunities and builds strong partnerships with clients and partners

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Academic Qualifications

At least Master's degree in economics, statistics, development studies, social studies and/or gender studies . A PhD is considered as asset.

Experience

• A minimum of 5 years of demonstrated professional experience in economic research;
• Experience in conducting similar costing studies on services, preferably in the area of preschool education and/or early childhood care;
• Working knowledge with sources for data on childcare centers (input cost and current staff wages and qualifications, child/staff ratios etc.), on employment by industry and gender, on wages in the economy, the income tax and social security contributions schedules, as well as indirect taxation, and some understanding of input-output tables.
• Knowledge of the childcare system in Macedonia (why it is organized the way it is, what are the current policy debates, what is the general norm about the type of childcare parents are willing to accept, costs/funding and organizational issues, etc.)
• Experience in conducting gender analysis in different areas and preferably in the area of women economic empowerment and unpaid care work;
• Excellent technical/quantitative skills, including the use of data simulations and econometrics software;
• Experience in designing policy recommendations in the areas of public investment, employment, and fiscal policy;
• Experience in job/s requiring ability to absorb, analyze and systematize large amount of complex information within tight deadlines;
• Previous experience working with international organizations;
• Accreditation as a researcher with the State Statistical Office is considered as asset.

 Language

Fluency in Macedonian and English is required.

Evaluation of Applicants:

Technical criteria – 70% of total evaluation – max 70 points:

Criteria A – Relevant education (Max points: 15)

Criteria B – Expertise in the area of complex economic analysis with gender perspective included (Max points: 20)

Criteria C – Experience in conducting similar costing studies and assessments, with simulations on impact on fiscal and employment policies; (Max points: 25)

Criteria D – Knowledge on concepts on unpaid care work and the institutionalization of care (Max points: 15)

Only candidates who have passed over the mandatory criteria obtain at least 49% of the points under the technical evaluation will qualify to the next round of financial evaluation.

Financial Evaluation – 30% of total evaluation – max 30 points

Evaluation of submitted financial offers will be done based on the following formula: S = Fmin / F * 30

S - score received on financial evaluation;

Fmin - the lowest financial offer out of all the submitted offers qualified over the technical evaluation round;

F - financial offer under the consideration.

Duration and remuneration: 

The duration of the contract is 20 working days in the period from 1 September until 30 November 2018.  UN Women will process the payment of consultancy fee upon satisfactory completion of all tasks in the assignment, submission and approval of final report by UN Women.

Application

Interested candidates are requested to apply online through this site no later than 20 August 2018.

The application should contain:

• Short Letter of interest, including financial proposal in local currency (MKD), indicating a total lump sum for the delivery as per above description. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (consultancy fee, travel and any other possible costs).
• Completed UN Women Personal History (P11) form, that can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment
• UN Women applies fair and transparent selection process that would take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals.