Background

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.

Under the overall guidance and direction of the UN Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) Programme Officer, the “Business Case Writer” contributes to the effective documentation and coordination of UN Women project in agri-business sector by providing substantive inputs to future programme design, and implementation and reach-out to private agribusiness sector in Upper Egypt.  S/he facilitates the delivery of UN Women project activities by contributing to achieving the results outlined in the project’s document.  She/he works in close collaboration with the project team and the agribusiness sector to ensure successful achievement of UN Women project’s objectives.

In September 2015, UN Women signed an agreement with USAID to provide a mechanism to advance safe, secure, and women-friendly workplaces within the agribusiness sector in Egypt. The “Women’s Employment Promotion” project provided ten agribusiness firms and their related value-chains with the support to reposition themselves as models in gender-balanced workplace policies, attitudes, and inclusive work environments that promote equal job opportunities, equal wage for work of equal value, provides incentives for employees’ retention, and low rate of absenteeism particularly for women. The project worked at multiple levels to respond to the specific needs at the targeted agribusiness firms dealing with management, staff, related value chains, women farmers/ workers at processors and factories, and community based organizations (CBOs), so that they have greater influence in reshaping their internal employment policies.

The overall objective of the project is to achieve more gender-inclusive environment along the agricultural value chains through improved working conditions for female employees in the agribusiness firms receiving United States Government (USG) assistance. More specifically, the project assisted ten agribusiness firms (exceeding the original target firms by additional four firms) in Upper Egypt in repositioning themselves as models in gender-balanced workplace policies, attitudes, and inclusive work environments that address sexual harassment, promote equal job opportunities and equal wage for work of equal value, provide incentives for employees’ retention, and for a low rate of absenteeism, particularly for women.

The expected outcomes of the project are: (1) improved gender equity and safety at work policies adopted by agribusiness firms (Policy Adoption), (2) increased awareness about gender equality in agribusiness firms receiving USG assistance (Behavior Change), and (3) improved productivity of agribusiness firms adopting women-friendly policies (Business Case). The process of promoting women’s participation in economic life involves the interconnected strategies of: capacity development; knowledge building, advocacy, and partnership building, coordination and engaging with multiple stakeholders which are achieved through different approaches and community based activities.

Under the Policy Adoption Outcome, the project worked with the target firms providing them with gender sensitization workshops, organized exchange visit with signatories of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), and developed concrete work-plans based on gender-sensitive assessments. The project also forged open communication channels for female employees to voice their needs freely with the firms’ management through the formation of nine labor committees, the enhancement of soft and problem-solving skills through relevant training, as well as the formation and capacity development of three village savings and loans associations (VSLA) of women workers, which – in addition to a solidarity group for financial inclusion - act as a communication platform with the firm.

In coordination with the National Council for Women (NCW), the project also supported the issuance of 114 National Identity Cards (IDs) for women workers (current and potential labor force), enabling  them to have sound job contracts that ensure they enjoy their rights without abuse. The project also developed anti-harassment policies and a gender-sensitive human resource manual, and provided a variety of training sessions. All these processes included women workers, male supervisors, and – where relevant - communities, which ensured full buy-in and adoption. The project also helped establish a database of 200 trained women workers out of which 80 women have found employment with the target firms. Moreover, in recognition of the labor committees’ efforts, the project conducted a one-day event on  International Women’s Day, where labor committees were able to get together and present their achievements, issues, and means of communication used with the management to address their concerns.

Under the Behavior Change Outcome, with the aim to promote safe working environments and mobility for women, the project addressed social and cultural barriers related to sexual harassment, gender-based violence at large, and informed about means to report incidents of harassment for women workers and community members. Tools and approaches used include targeted training session, as well as innovative awareness raising tools such as interactive theatre performances, and sports days for change. Within the National Council for Women’s (NCW) nationwide “Ta’aa Marbouta” campaign, the project also produced a booklet series and social media clips with the slogan “Your Future is Your Sole Decision” that address the topics of harassment, hygiene, career advancement of women, and value of work. Combined with activities for the commemoration of the 16-days of activism to eliminate violence against women, and an on-ground knocking-door campaign in support of the cause.  The matter that was reflected in a behavioral change of both women’s and men’s attitudes towards violence and harassment as has been reported in several success stories. In general, women were enabled to voice their needs and address impeding gender norms and roles within their communities.

With a view to guarantee sustainability of results beyond the project timeline, all interventions ensured the participation and engagement of several community-based organizations. The project also facilitated their direct communication with the agribusiness firms, which resulted in the exclusion of the labor contractors from the areas where the project operates.

All the aforementioned interventions aim at achieving and exemplifying the Business Case of women’s employment, i.e. increased productivity and profit through enhanced retention and decreased absenteeism through women-friendly policies at the workplace, and hence improved individual productivity and increased levels of satisfaction amongst women workers.  Throughout implementation, the project built on the on-ground activities and worked on improving the working conditions within the participating firms to meet the needs of a gender-sensitive environment. This is exemplified in the provision of various supplies that include mobile lavatories, uniform, shading tents, safety shoes, gloves, lockers, first aid supplies, as well as supplies for child-care facilities and facilitating the access to safe transportation. These interventions served a total number of 900 women at the participating firms and resulted in a higher rate of satisfaction and retention of the pool of trained women. The firms’ commitment to the objective of the project is exemplified in their adoption for the Women’s Empowerment Principles, and them availing 103 fixed-term contracts for women employees, as well as inter-firm collaboration and planning – exemplified in the ‘rotational labor approach’ introduced amongst five firms in Minya, which guarantees continuous availability of the pool of trained women workers, while ensuring a stable income for women workers during the firms’ off-season. This is coupled with a set of trainings that equipped women with the required skills for the agriculture sector, with an opportunity to advance to a supervisory position within the respective firms.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of UN Women’s project team for “Women’ Employment Promotion Programme”, the “Business Case Writer” will ensure through the “business case tool” to report on the economic case of improving the working conditions for women in the agribusiness sector. The report should also include an analysis to the project’s context, risks, constraints, issues, and achievements with the aim to quantify the results through the interventions implemented with the target ten agribusiness firms in terms of their level of success with respect to productivity increase and retention of their employees; particularly women. This business case should serve as an example for a nationwide adoption for similar strategies.  

Summary of key functions:

• Develop a comprehensive business case for the project

Develop a comprehensive business case for the project ensuring the following:

• Review projects' documents and understand the project’s design and contextual framework;
• Decipher a general business problem to which the project addresses;
• Develop the necessary questionnaires and tools for the business cases;
• Refer to bench mark/ progress indictors used for the project 
• Explain the strategy to which the business cases will be addressed and assessed; usage of questionnaires, surveys etc.
• Provide a description of the solution if any problems are distinguished; list any financial costs and non-financial costs associated with such
• Calculate financial benefits and none financial benefits associated with the solution
• Highlight the impact of the implemented activities in the beneficiaries’ lives, economically  as well as return on investment
• Analyse and synthesize data
• Collect and present background information for the targeted 10 agribusiness firms involved in the project to document their cases as part of the full picture of the project’s business case
• Produce a report on the end-line business cases of the firms
• Support synthesis of lessons learnt and best practices related to the business case
• Sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice.
• Submit hard and electronic copies of well bound final report in English 

Competencies

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:

• Excellent communication skills;
• Communicates sensitively, effectively and creatively across different consistencies;
• Demonstrate very good understanding and experience in developing business case for a project and writing reports;
• Proven skills in reviewing projects' documents, developing questionnaires, caluculating financial and non financial benefits associated with a strategy addressing the business case, and analysis of various data;
• Strong initiative-taker;
• Very effective at multi–tasking;
• Strong  analytical, interpersonal, and language skills;
• Ability to handle a large volume of work under time constraints.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Masters degree in Social Sciences, Political Science (Economics Section), Business or Public Administration, development studies or other relevant specializations. Additional certification in business evaluation is an asset. 

Experience:

-    Minimum 5 years of professional experience in business case conduction and relevant work.

-    Experience in the management of gender equality and women’s empowerment programmes and/or analytic work in gender and development, gender analysis and/or human rights;

-    Demonstrated track record in report writing, documentation and publication.

-    Use of graphs and other illustrations along the narrative report for visual attraction on achievements

-    Previous experience in conducting similar assignments with UN agencies would be an asset.

-   Strong writing skills in English. 

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in Arabic and English, excellent in both spoken and written skills.

Evaluation Criteria

UN Women applies a fair and transparent selection process that takes into account both the technical qualification of potential consultants as well as the financial proposals submitted in support of consultant applications.

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the candidate whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and

Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical criteria

Technical Criteria weight: 70%

Financial Criteria Weight: 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation. 

Criteria Weight Technical: 70%

• Masters degree in a relevant field such as: social sciences, political science, economics, business, public administeration, or development studies with additional certification in business evaluation, as an asset (20%)
• 5 years of relevant work experience at business case conduction (20%),
• Experience in the management of gender equality and women’s empowerment programmes and/or analytic work in gender and development, gender analysis and/or human rights (10%)
• Demonstrated track record in report writing, documentation and publication (10%),
• Use of graphs and other illustrations along the narrative report for visual attraction on achievements (5%)
• Strong writing skills in English (5%)

Financial: Lowest financial proposal (30%)

The Financial officer must be a Lumpsum all-inclusive; (trainer fees, transportation, accommodation,...etc.).

Contract will be awarded to the technically qualified consultant who obtains the highest combined score (financial and technical). The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula:

 (Lowest Bid Offered*)/ (Bid of the Consultant) x 30

*"Lowest Bid Offered" refers to the lowest price offered by Offer or scoring at least 49 points in technical evaluation.

Applications:

 Candidates must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• Personal CV;
• UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment;
• Education certificate.
• Health certificate valid for consultants whose assignment is longer than 3 months.
• Submission of documents on previous “business cases” developed by the candidate.

Please note: All documents have to be uploaded in 1 single files