Consultant – Productive Assets

Contract

This is a National Consultant contract. More about National Consultant contracts.

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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates the efforts of the United Nations system to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. UN Women provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office (SAMCO) is based in Pretoria, South Africa and serves five countries: South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Swaziland.

In partnership with the Presidency of South Africa, UN Women SAMCO has been supporting efforts to accelerate the momentum and new commitments to gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. This collaboration was established with the aim of enabling South Africa to leverage its voice and influence on the advancement of economic rights and justice of women, in the context of South Africa’s leadership role in two respects: first, its Chairship of the African Union (AU) (in the period February 2020 – February 2021) and secondly, its co-leadership of the Economic Justice and Rights (EJR) Action Coalition within the Generation Equality Forum (GEF). One of South Africa’s key advocacy positions within the GEF EJR is to achieve the increased adoption of policy reforms and practices that improve access to productive assets for African women in the informal, MSE sector (micro and small enterprises) and agri-business sectors. This advocacy position intersects with the 10 action areas President Ramaphosa identified where game changing results for women’s economic inclusion must be delivered, in Africa and globally. Achieving this outcome will require the mobilization of partners to commit to building the productive assets of women in the margins (i.e., in the informal sector, MSEs) and those in agri-business and who own medium-sized businesses. Catalysing the game-changing and structural economic reforms envisaged requires prioritizing productive assets, including financial, digital and property assets. Specifically, the critical output being advocated for within the GEF context is a reduction of the gender gap in women’s financial inclusion from 9% to 6% through increasing both formal and informal financial inclusion and increasing the number of women's economic empowerment national programs that integrate digital financial services.

It is in this context, of these priorities and the cooperation between the Presidency and UN Women SAMCO, that the services of an expert Consultant is required. The Consultant will be expected to develop and produce a holistic conceptual framework that expands the notion of productive assets for strengthening women’s economic inclusion.

Globally, there is growing evidence of the critical role access to and control of productive assets by women plays in strengthening their agency, for economic participation and well-being, i.e., in terms of areas such as food security, nutrition and education. Having productive assets assists women to not only increase income, but also enables them to cope with shocks (e.g. natural disasters or family health crises). Assets can be controlled separately by men and women or as joint assets. However, as assets and their control are unequally distributed in a household between men and woman, the bargaining power of women over resources is also unequal, leading to a varying in well-being with regards to food security, nutrition, and education (GAAP, 2013). What is central, in terms of conceptions of “productive assets,” is the overall element of context, since ecological, social, economic, and political conditions have different effects on women and men. In light of this, it is expected that the expansion of the notion of productive assets through the development of a holistic conceptual framework will build on existing frameworks and embody the following components:

• Assets: access to and control over assets are key determinants of individual agency;
• Livelihood strategies: the decisions about how to invest assets to generate returns, such as income or food, depend on contextual factors as well as assets which are available;
• Shocks: shocks such as conflicts and diseases are experienced differently by men and women, also depending on their responsibilities; assets are differently used to respond to them;
• Full income: household members differ in their contribution to household income; women often spend more of their income on food, healthcare and children’s education;
• Consumption & savings: consumption and saving can affect asset accumulation or loss; income of women, men or the joint income can be used for different types of investment, however, women are not always able to invest in the same assets as men;
• Well-being: assets can impact well-being, e.g. by increasing status and empowerment through asset ownership or by providing a buffer against shocks.

This benchmarking research project aspires to build on existing and relevant body of work, uncover gaps and inform tools and strategies that bring about change. Ultimately, the intent of this exploratory research and the developed conceptual framework is to reconceptualize and reframe “productive assets,” in order to push beyond traditional productive assets applied globally such as land/digital assets (such as digital IDs), and ultimately, generate policy recommendations that to activate African women as economic agents.

Finally, the work produced through this assignment will also contribute to a set of measures and outcomes that are key to building productive financial, digital and property assets to reduce the gender gap in financial inclusion. These include (1) the roll out of digital ID’s to facilitate participation in the mainstream economy and financial services, including ID’s and documentation for migrants; (2) increasing access to financial services and remove barriers e.g., by lowering usage costs and making finance accessible for poor women and women owned enterprises***;** *and (3) the identification and repeal of discriminatory (and other laws) that limit women’s ownership of land and other productive assets.

Objectives of the assignment :

The main objectives of this assignment are therefore two fold:

1. Develop Conceptual Framework that expands the notion of (hard and soft) productive assets;
2. Based on the Conceptual Framework, produce recommendations/ responses that can be translated into policy recommendations and practice for different levels (national; regional; continental) and different actors (government; regional bodies; private sector entities). Categories of recommendations/ responses should include (not exclusively) those that:
   • build on good global and regional practices (policy and regulatory) in building productive assets of women;
   • improve access to productive assets for African women in the informal, MSE sector (micro and small enterprises) and agri-business sectors;
   • promote and accelerates women’s ownership of productive assets across Africa, including digital assets. These should borrow from global lessons and good practices and also be adapted to regional context; and
   • lead to meaningful structural reforms in African economies, with particular emphasis on dismantling barriers, addressing critical gaps and strengthening enablers.

Scope of the work:

It is expected that the Consultant will conduct research in order to produce the holistic conceptual framework that expands the conceptualization of hard and soft productive assets. This conceptual framework is expected to establish a benchmark that is built on existing and relevant bodies of work that are informed by global and regional experiences on strategies that bring about change and positive impacts for women’s access to productive assets. Based on the developed conceptual framework, the Consultant will be expected to generate a set of recommendations that can be translated in policy reforms that amongst other contributions, have the potential to lead to meaningful structural reforms of African economies.

Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities will include:

• Establish and confirm research methodology, approach, structure of the final deliverables (i.e. conceptual framework and recommendations) and work-plan.
• Research and analysis of existing approaches, practices, and gaps in (private and public sector) interventions and mechanisms aimed at expanding access to productive assets.
• Conduct analysis of impacts of approaches across the typology of women, with emphasis on SMEs and marginalized women.
• Generate briefs and/ or updates on emerging findings, as required.
• Organize and facilitate required validation workshop/s and/ or consultations as required for the conceptual framework and policy recommendations.
• Provide curated tecToRs-Africa Financial Inclusion Assessment-Final-v1.docx. Technical inputs/expertise as requied, for the inclusion of recommendations in key processes (i.e., at national, regional and continental levels.
• Provide guidance/input on the development of strategic partnerships, resource mobilization and advocacy efforts to popularize the holistic conceptual framing (of productive assets) and the policy recommendations of the report.

Key Deliverables:

Deliverables

Deliverable timeframe

Payment amount

1. A research proposal outlining methodological approach for the project, together with a work- plan for the execution of the project

No later than 10 days after signing the contract

10% contract value

1. Produce a Conceptual Framework that expands the notion of (hard and soft) productive assets: this conceptual framework must be anchored on a rationale, which should be built on the review and analysis of existing and relevant frameworks and approaches and the identifying their gaps in providing holistic strategies to optimizing women’s access to productive assets. Therefore, the deliverable must include a literature review.

28 February 2023

40%

contract value

1. Produce policy recommendations for African Union member states that will catalyse women’s economic participation and increase ownership of productive assets according to the following categories:
   1. Legal and policy instruments: what legal and policy instruments must be in place at national level to promote access to and ownership of productive assets with view to (i) implement the AU’s commitment of 30% land ownership by women, as well as (ii) increase women’s ownership of new asset classes.
   2. Asset classes: what asset classes should be prioritised for game-changing impact in the lives of women in Africa broadly; and for specific categories including women in the informal economy, agri-business sectors, as well as micro and small enterprises.
   3. Programmes and actions: what practical steps can be taken by African member state to implement asset transfer programmes to women or improve access to productive assets? Showcase examples from African countries that have worked well across different asset classes.
   4. Monitoring impact: develop an indicator framework to measure ownership of productive assets by women. This mini instrument will be incorporated into other AU reporting instruments to support AU processes to measure results.

30 March 2023

50% contract value

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: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

• Proven experience in working with systems thinking and tools;
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, ability to foster networks and partnerships;
• Ability to complete complex assignments in a timely manner and delivery quality results;
• Excellent training and writing skills;
• Ability to work in a pressurized environment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree in social sciences, development economics/ development finance, policy or another relevant field;

Experience:

• At least 7 years experience in the application of social science research methodologies and approaches, specifically within the domain of women, gender, and the economy;
• Demonstrated capability to conduct cross country research, within the ambits of women and the economy and/ or entrepreneurship;
• Familiarity with actors (government, private sector and women’s networks) specifically within the women’s economic empowerment context;
• Familiarity with the women’s economic empowerment and productive assets landscape, in terms of conceptual frameworks, policy approaches and strategies and practices being applied (by government and the private sector);
• In-depth knowledge of gender equality, women’s economic empowerment and entrepreneurship, with emphasis on SME context.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in oral and written English is required;
• Working knowledge of another official UN language is an asset.

Note:

Please note that applications without a completed and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

UN Women Personal History form (P-11) can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, colour, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application. At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, colour, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)