GPN ExpRes Roster - Gender & Taxation Experts for UNDP Country Offices

Contract

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

Background

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a global organization with 17,000 staff working in approximately 170 offices globally towards supporting governments in developing strong policies, institutions and partnerships to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

UNDP's policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan. Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP's Strategic Plan.

In order to streamline its financial and investment engagement, UNDP launched the Finance Sector Hub, a finance and innovation platform that draws on a critical mass of UNDP expertise, initiatives, and partnerships to support the mobilization and leveraging of resources for the SDGs and lead the implementation of the new UNDP private sector strategy and other initiatives. The Hub is an integral part of both the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) and the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy (BERA), as well as part of the GPN.

Domestic Resource Mobilization (DRM) is critical to the achievement of Agenda 2030. Low domestic revenue in developing and Low-Income Countries (LIC) severely hampers the efforts of developing countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). And greater revenue generation and improved tax administration are thus key to addressing the public finance and financing for development challenges and improving the government's responsibility towards its citizens. Tax and fiscal policies play an important role not only as a source for domestic revenues but also as nuanced policy measures to foster growth and achieve social outcomes related to inequality, health, environment, gender, amongst others.

It is essential that these interventions adequately address gender equality issues in order to advance towards the SDGs. As such, UNDP is recruiting consultants with expertise in gender and tax to analyze each country’s public policy frameworks and taxation systems to understand existing inequities and identify potential opportunities for policy and system reforms that will contribute to closing gender inequity and women’s empowerment gaps in revenue collection, allocation and spending for the governments.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will be responsible for the following activities:

• Produce a report on the gendered analysis of public finance policy:
  • Undertake interviews with key stakeholders across the national, private and public institutions to understand key gender gaps and issues in policies.
  • Research and document the impact of public finance policy and legislative frameworks on women’s contribution to revenue mobilization in one UNDP country.
  • Research and document the critical enablers and drivers of gender inequality in the public finance sector, but with a specific focus on tax reforms and management.
• Produce a report on the gendered analysis of the taxation system: Within taxation systems in UNDP countries, identify, analyse and document:
  • Existing taxation systems and practices: Mapping of existing policies, systems and structures in taxation within the country. Identification of key agencies, regulations, operations to understand how the current system functions.
  • Policy and practice alignment: the alignment (or lack of alignment) of taxation systems’ design, fiscal policies and practice with policies and objectives of gender equality, redistribution and social justice. Evaluate the alignment between wider national policies and systems to identify if all policies work together to strengthen collective gender objectives and outcomes.
  • Tax administration: the gender inequity issues in tax administration (including tax collectors and systems for tax collection) and how they can be improved to reduce gender inequity, increasing women’s decision making power and opportunities, improve increased tax revenue and achieving women’s empowerment by identifying and redressing existing power imbalances and hindrance to women’s participation.
  • Point of service payments: gender inequity at point of service payments (e.g., user fees, informal taxes) and how they can be made more progressive.
  • Addressing SDGs across all policies: how public policies, including taxation policies consider the gendered impacts across each SDG and integrate a gender dimension to ensure a collective approach to achieving gender equality in all policies adopted (for example - considering taxation when developing gender responsive budgeting).
  • Primary research: undertake interviews with key beneficiaries (E.g., women in the informal sectors) to understand key barriers faced in relation to taxation.
• Produce a report on key recommendations for policy reform: Support in the development of policy briefs that outline gaps, challenges, opportunities and key recommendations for policy reform considering the gendered impacts in effective revenue mobilisation via taxation systems. Understand how the data and information about where gender inequity exists in taxation regimes and fiscal policies to inform and design effective reform of existing and new policies

Expected Deliverables and Outputs

Deliverables

Deadline to complete

1. Report outlining the gendered analysis of public finance policy for one nominated UNDP country.

8 weeks following commencement of consultancy assignment

20 days

1. Report outlining the gendered analysis of the taxation system for one nominated UNDP country.

12 weeks following commencement of consultancy assignment

20 days

1. Recommendation for policy and practice reform for one nominated UNDP countries.

12 weeks following commencement of consultancy assignment

20 days

1. On-demand support to country offices for advice on gender and taxation.

Ongoing

20 days

1. Support in proposals and documents relating to gender and taxation.

Ongoing

20 days

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modelling UN values and ethical standards;
• Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
• Display cultural, gender, nationality, religion and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrated ability to work harmoniously in a multicultural environment;
• Ability to work on own initiative as well as a member of a team and to work under pressure;
• Excellent relationship management;
• Excellent communication, facilitation, presentation and reporting skills;

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• A Master’s degree or higher in Social Science, Economics, Finance or related, PhD in related field
• A postgraduate degree in gender related fields is an asset

Work Experience

• At least 10 years of relevant professional experience as a researcher or practitioner on governance, Parliamentary oversight, PFM, debt management or related;
• Proven in-depth technical knowledge of institutional PFM oversight and/or debt management governance and accountability;
• Experience working in a developing country - we highly encourage local experienced individuals to apply.
• Previous experience drafting academic or grey literature publications in English

Language requirements

• Fluency of English language is required