Individual Consultancy: Consultancy to assess gender responsiveness of the Basic Social Subsidy Programme (PSSB) in Mozambique

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1. Purpose and Objective:

Over the past decade, the social protection system in Mozambique has been consolidated with the establishment of a legal and regulatory framework for basic social protection and the elaboration and enactment of a National Strategy for Basic Social Security, now in its second incarnation for the 2016-2024 period (ENSSB II). Between 2010 and 2014 Mozambique managed to strengthen the programmes available to vulnerable groups under the social protection system including a set of existing (e.g. the Basic Social Subsidy Programme—PSSB) and new (e.g. the Productive Social Action Programme—PASP) non-contributory social protection programmes, all implemented by the National Institute for Social Action (INAS) under the policy guidance of the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Action (MGCAS). During this period the number of beneficiary households of INAS programmes increased from 254,000 to 427,000; the amount paid by PSSB increased threefold in real terms; and the PASP—a public works scheme—was introduced to cater for poor, labour-unconstrained households. All these changes implied a substantial increase in government expenditures in the area, which rose from 0.21 per cent to 0.58 of gross domestic product (GDP) between 2011 and 2015.

Despite this progress, reflection over the challenges led the Government of Mozambique to develop, with the support of the UN agencies and social protection partners, the National Basic Social Security Strategy 2016 to 2024 (ENSSB II). The ENSSB II has a longer time horizon and effectively reflects an ambitious agenda for non-contributory social protection in Mozambique to ensure “greater autonomy and resilience of the people living in situations of poverty and vulnerability, prioritizing respect for their social rights”. During 2020 MGCAS will be carrying out the mid-term review of ENSSB II, meant as stocktaking of progress made so far as well as revision opportunity to assure the achievement of sector goals. New operational manual and guidelines for PSSB are currently under development and are expected to be rolled out also during 2020.

The PSSB is the largest basic social protection programme, financed almost entirely by the Government of Mozambique, reaching 429,585 households of which 65.5% are headed by women (INAS, December 2019). The original programme prioritized three groups among poor and vulnerable households nationwide, namely: people over 60 years-old, people with disabilities and people with chronic diseases. One of the main areas of improvement of the ENSSB II was the inclusion of child-sensitive components within PSSB, prioritizing early childhood (0 to 2 years old), orphan children living in poor households and child-headed households among poor and vulnerable population as target groups. In this context, a new component of PSSB, the Child Grant 0-2 (‘Subsídio para a Crianca 0 a 2 anos’), is currently being rolled out in four districts with technical and financial support from UNICEF through the UNJP on Social Protection (supported the Embassy of Sweden, DFID and the Embassy of the Netherlands).

Gender responsiveness is central to a rights-based approach to social protection given than girls, boys, women and men experience risks, vulnerabilities and opportunities differently due to underlying inequalities. Still today girls and women represent most of the insecure and informal workforce, carry disproportionately the responsibility of unpaid care work and are more likely than boys and men to live in poor and vulnerable households. While social protection programmes have the potential to be transformative of gender and power relations, they can only achieve this if they address gender inequalities and their underlying factors, mitigate any risks and seize the opportunities to contribute to gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment.

Conducting a comprehensive gender analysis of the largest cash transfer programme in Mozambique will allow the Government and social protection partners to understand the different needs women, girls, men and boys have for social protection and the extent to which the PSSB is currently addressing them. This information can also help ensure any changes in PSSB design are sensitive to these different needs and priorities as well as better satisfy both the practical needs of women and men (e.g. access to food, housing, livelihoods) and their strategic interests (e.g. education and training, decision-making power, etc.).

The purpose of this consultancy is to assess gender-responsiveness[1] of the Basic Social Subsidy Programme (PSSB). Specifically, the analysis will contribute to understand how current PSSB design, coverage, access and delivery mechanisms foster or hinder empowerment in relation to:

• Intrahousehold dynamics of resource allocation and decision-making processes, identifying specific risks and vulnerabilities that adolescents’ girls, women, boys and men face, and the role played by existing gender norms and inequalities.
• Normative roles/status of men and women in the communities.
• Intersecting vulnerabilities, such as disability, HIV-AIDS status and other factors for exclusion.
• Intra-partner and/or gender-based violence and sexual abuse and exploitation.
• Contributions of cash transfers towards increased decision-making power and access to services among girls, women, boys and men.

The analysis is also expected to identify:

• Potential challenges and opportunities for the PSSB programme to promote gender equality and economic empowerment of women.
• Potential gender-related factors (e.g. the sociocultural, economic, financial, political and legal obstacles) that limit the participation of rural women and men in the programme and hinder their access to and control over benefits.
• Ways by which the PSSB addresses (or not) the intersecting and compounding vulnerabilities of women and girls and entry points for strengthening the potential of PSSB to address gender related vulnerabilities and promote gender equality.

Finally, the consultancy is expected to provide recommendations to ensure that gender is consistently integrated into social protection programming and to recommend key messages that promote gender equality in social protection.

2. Methodology and Technical Approach:

The consultant is expected to carry out a mix-methods desk-review of:

1. Mozambican social protection and gender legal frameworks and policies.
2. Gender and social protection academic and grey literature, with an emphasis on Sub-Saharan African and Mozambican experiences.
3. PSSB (and other social protection) available primary and secondary data produced by Government, UN, World Bank and CSOs, including (but not limited to) monitoring reports, presentations, briefs, evaluations and the Child Grant 0-2 impact evaluation baseline.
4. Gender related primary and secondary data produced by Government, UN, World Bank and CSOs, including (but not limited to) monitoring reports, presentations, briefs, evaluations and the Child Grant 0-2 impact evaluation baseline.

The consultant is also expected to conduct key informant interviews (or similar qualitative data collection and analysis) with selected key staff and partners in MGCAS, INAS, UN (UNICEF, ILO, WFP) and key development partners (World Bank, Embassy of Sweden, DFID, Embassy of the Netherlands) as well as to other social protection related organizations and agencies in Mozambique. Likewise, the consultant should also conduct qualitative fieldwork (e.g. focus group discussions, in-depth interviews) to complement the documental analysis and policy maker level interviews, ensuring the collection of data that captures perceptions of beneficiaries and communities[2].

The consultant is also expected to produce evidence-based recommendations regarding the legal framework, design, current delivery mechanisms and communication aspects of the PSSB.

3. Activities and Tasks:

• Produce a literature review and systematic analysis of the social protection legal framework in Mozambique, PSSB operational manual, assessment studies and policy documents. The focus of the review and the analysis will be on gender-related aspects and sex-disaggregated data.
• To assess to what extent the PSSB has made progress in promoting gender equality, with attention to other intersecting vulnerabilities such as disability, in the design and implementation of its programmes. Some of the questions to be answered by the analysis are: To what extent has the PSSB addressed the needs and constraints of women and girls in the target areas? To what extent has the PSSB ensured equal and fair participation and representation and distribution of resources between women and men?
• To conduct key informants’ interviews (or similar qualitative data collection) with key Government, UN staff, partners and other relevant stakeholder’s for gathering in-depth qualitative information that will complement the desk-review and analysis of secondary data as well as facilitate the production of policy recommendations.
• To conduct a field work to collect data regarding perceptions of beneficiaries and local communities as possible under COVID-19 limitations to travel, movement and gatherings.
• To provide recommendations based on the results of the analysis and advise on how gender can consistently be integrated into social protection programmes, including developing guidelines for improving gender-responsiveness of the PSSB.
• Suggest key messages based on the results of the analysis that promote gender equality in social protection for advocacy and awareness-raising.
• To prepare a final report consolidating the analysis, as well as a policy brief and PowerPoint Presentation version of it. The report should include a dissemination plan for the results and relevant annexes.

4. Deliverables and Payments: Payments will be processed upon acceptance of the corresponding deliverable and against an invoice that will refer to the contract and deliverable number. Payments will be approved by the respective section chief. All final deliverables should be presented in English and Portuguese.

Deliverable 1: Literature review and systematic gender analysis of existing literature and secondary data of social protection in Mozambique

• Delivery timeframe (specify weeks, months or working days): 2 months after contract signature.
• Deliverable/product(s): One (1) report containing literature review of available social protection programmes documentation, studies, administrative data and demographic information.
• Payment (indicate amount or %): 40%.

Deliverable 2: Final Report on PSSB Gender-Responsiveness Analysis and Recommendations

• Delivery timeframe (specify weeks, months or working days): 4 months after contract signature.
• Deliverable/product(s): a) One (1) final report between 20-30 pages (without annexes) in English; b) a policy brief and PowerPoint Presentation version of the report, including main findings of the analysis and policy recommendations for improving gender-responsiveness of the Mozambican social protection programmes. c) The report should include a dissemination plan for the results and relevant annexes.
• Payment (indicate amount or %): 60%.

5. Duration of the Assignment:

This study is expected to be completed within 5 months.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• • Language skills: Fluency in English and Portuguese is required Academic qualifications:

  At least a Masters’[1] degree in Social Sciences, Gender Studies, Social Policy, Anthropology or similar relevant disciplines. A doctoral (PhD) degree and demonstrated relevant research in social protection and gender-related policy analysis are considered assets.

  Work experience:

  • At least 8 years of experience in gender mainstreaming, analysing and/or gender-responsive programming with proven experience in social protection sector.
  • Experience in conducting gender analysis and capacity assessments related to social protection/social policy in developing countries, particularly in Southern Africa, is considered an asset.
  • Experience in developing gender equality strategies and gender mainstreaming and training tools.
  • Knowledge of and experience in social science research methods, including the production of systematic analysis and literature reviews and mix-methods data collection and analysis.
  • Specific knowledge, competencies, and skills required:
  • Language skills: Fluency in Portuguese is required

  Annex 3 TORs _PSSB Gender Analysis_vJuly2020.docx

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles 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.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.