UN WOMEN Jobs - 79979- National Consultant- Costing of the gender gap in

National Consultant- Costing of the gender gap in agricultural productivity and analysis of the factors driving the gender gap in Kenya

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Nairobi, KENYA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Aug-2018

Application Deadline :

20-Jul-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

40 Days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Two Months

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 Economic Empowerment is one of the key result areas under the UN Women Kenya Strategic Plan with a focus on Access to Government Procurement Opportunities, Agriculture and Extractive Industries value chains. Kenya's vision to become a middle-income country with a sustained annual economic growth rate of at least 10 percent by 2030 is highly dependent on the transformation of its agricultural systems to make them more productive, resilient, and competitive in generating incomes under a changing climate. Yet, the agricultural systems are highly vulnerable to extreme weather events and climate variability which have led to a decline in crop and livestock production, loss of livelihoods, and as well the degradation of natural resources. Particularly, the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) are the most affected by the impacts of climate change accelerating the already existing vulnerabilities and poverty levels.

In agricultural systems, gender issues remain an unresolved challenge but also an untapped potential for ensuring gender-transformative development processes that target women and other marginalized members of the community. In line with its mandate to support member states, UN Women in Kenya is supporting the implementation of the “Big Four Agenda”, which includes Food and Nutrition Security, Manufacturing, Universal Health Coverage and Affordable Housing within the framework of United Nations Development Assistance Framework and Kenya Vision 2030. UN Women proposes to promote an approach to agricultural transformation in a changing climate in the Kenya that ensures engendered responses to climate change and to resilience building.

Specifically, UN Women seeks to enhance the gender-sensitive adaptive capacity of women to climate change and strengthen their capacity to meaningfully engage in climate-smart agriculture. This is an approach that sustainably increases productivity, enhances resilience, reduces/removes greenhouse gas emissions, and enhances the achievement of national food security and development goals.

There is evidence that efforts to address the gender gap in agriculture in the context of a changing climate would result in tremendous multiple gains. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that if women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20–30 percent; raise the total agricultural output by 2.5–4 percent and reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12–17 percent. Further, closing the gender gap in climate-resilient agriculture could generate significant gains for the agriculture sector and society at large. Thus, increasing investments in women’s capacities to ensure more equitable access to assets and productive resources would strengthen women’s rights and coping potential with increased climate variability.

UN Women in Kenya flagship initiative on Climate Smart Agriculture is premised on the following theory of change that: if (1) climate smart agriculture and climate adaption are gendered responsive; if (2) women have access to climate-resilient livelihoods, productive assets, technologies, and skills, and this is supported by enabling social norms and practices; then; then (3) women and girls affected by climate change will play a leadership role and benefit from CSA and climate change adaptation (CCA) efforts; because (4) adaptive capacity to climate change will be enhanced and women's rights and needs will be at the center of climate-smart agriculture and climate adaption strategies and priorities.

In the efforts to strengthen ongoing work UN Women in Kenya will undertake a study on the cost of gender gap in agricultural productivity to provide specific evidence that reducing the gender gap plays a significant role in poverty reduction and improved nutritional outcomes.

Similar studies have been undertaken in Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia through a collaboration of UN Women, the joint United Nations Development Programme–United Nations Environment Programme Poverty-Environment Initiative (UNE/PEI ) and the World Bank. The report provides a unique quantification of the costs in terms of lost growth opportunities and an estimate of what societies, economies, and communities would gain if the gender gap in agriculture is addressed. The findings of this report are striking and send a strong signal to policy makers in Africa as well as development partners that closing the gender gap is smart economics. Consider this: closing the gender gap in agricultural productivity could potentially lift as many as 238,000 people out of poverty in Malawi, 80,000 people in Tanzania, and 119,000 people in Uganda.

Duties and Responsibilities

The objective of this consultancy is to: carry out qualitative study by assessing the available data and analysing the factors driving gender gap in Kenya. The consultant will be expected to support the international consultant who will serve as overall team leader and will be responsible for meeting milestones and deadlines on time and for the quality of reports submitted and tools developed. The national consultant, with guidance from the International Consultant, is expected to:

Collect secondary data and primary data through stakeholder consultations and interviews at the community and household level to get a better understanding of factors driving the gender gap in agricultural productivity;
Organize a validation workshop for country specific factors identified as driving the gender gap in agricultural productivity and gain a better understanding of how they could be addressed in the country context. To achieve this, carry out a quantitative analysis of the determinants of access to factors of production by gender and how simulated policy instruments and options could affect these factors and help in closing the gender gap in agricultural productivity;
Building on the field work and existing research develop a more accurate understanding of women’s and men’s vulnerability to climatic variations and environmental degradation and how this links to gender gaps in the agriculture sector;
Explore impacts of gender gaps in agriculture and how these might influence unsustainable agriculture, environmental degradation and poverty;
Identify in clear terms the links between usage of factors of production (land, fertilizer, seeds and labor) and gender gap productivity on one hand and between the adoption of CSA and gender gap on the other hand and how the combined effects of access to factors of production and adoption of CSA both affect the gender gap in productivity and environmental sustainability;
Determine how men’s and women’s constraints may differ in relation to climate-smart inputs and options;
From (d) and (e) infer whether the same factors that explain the gender productivity gap explains gender gaps in access to and adoption of CSA as indicated by studies. This step is likely to require econometric modelling;
Contextualize and amend the policy solutions highlighted in the 2015 Cost of the Gender Gap report and identify additional policy, programme and budgetary solutions to close the gender productivity and CSA gaps if relevant;
Cost the solutions proposed to address (a) to (g) and provide recommendations on the most cost effective and impactful solutions relevant for the country context as well as a broader approach to CSA at the sub-regional and regional level.

Key Deliverables:

The consultant will substantiate the cost of the gender gap analysis with in-country field work and expand the analysis to include a focus on climate smart agriculture and aspects of environmental sustainability. The consultant will submit:

An inception report outlining proposed modifications, adjustments or complementary research designs and analytical tools to help in quantifying and obtaining estimates for the gender gap in agricultural productivity in countries were existing data differs from the type of data used in the 2015 analysis;
Compilation of the data sets to be used for the cost of the gender gap in agricultural productivity analysis;
Undertake more targeted country field level analysis of the factors driving the gender gap in agricultural productivity and the adoption of climate smart agriculture and based on the country analysis provide specific policy and programmatic recommendations (including the costing of the solutions) on how to narrow and ultimately close gender gaps in the agriculture sector, enhance climate resilience and ensure environmental sustainability;
Draft study report covering point A-K outlined in the methodology section of these TOR to be submitted 21 working days after the conclusion of field missions in Kenya;
Revised draft reports incorporating comments and feedback from UN Women;
Final reports incorporating comments and feedback from the national workshops, UN Women etc.

The consultant will undertake the assignment in close coordination with the UN Women Kenya Regional and Country Office. In case of country missions, the UN Women Kenya Country Office will jointly facilitate the organization of meetings with relevant stakeholders and assist with access to country level data and reports and other logistical arrangements as required.

The outputs from this assignment will be owned by UN Women.

Competencies

Core Values/Guiding Principles:

Integrity: Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct;
Professionalism: Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work;
Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity: Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff; demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core 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;
Work in teams: Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds;
Communicating 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.

Functional Competencies:

Strong understanding of climate smart and environmentally sustainable agriculture and how it links to gender equality and women’s empowerment;
A demonstrated ability (through previous similar assignments) to analyze, compile and synthesize information in coherent and succinct formats;
Strong understanding of gender and demonstrated experience in applying gender tools and conceptual frameworks;
Demonstrated skills in statistical research and policy analysis and detailed knowledge of econometric and statistical tools applied in the context of agriculture, gender and climate analysis.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Experience

Minimum a Master degree in a relevant social sciences field such as agricultural economics, sociology, gender studies, economics or other related field;
Minimum 7 years of professional experience in conducting socio-economic analysis in the area of gender and climate smart and environmentally sustainable agriculture in Tanzania;
Demonstrated strong understanding of climate smart and environmentally sustainable agriculture and how it links to gender equality and women’s empowerment;
Demonstrated skills in conducting focus groups and interviews at the community and household levels;
Strong understanding of gender and demonstrated experience in applying gender tools and conceptual frameworks;
A demonstrated ability (through previous similar assignments) to analyse, compile and synthesize information in coherent and succinct formats;
Previous experience in writing comprehensive reports aimed at an audience that included policy-makers;

Language Requirements

Proficiency in written and spoken English and Swahili.