International Consultant to support valuing women’s unpaid household service work in Georgia

Contract

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Background

United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (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. UN Women in Georgia supports state and non-state partners towards the achievement of substantive gender equality in Georgia. In line with national and international commitments, UN Women works on the levels of policies and legislation, institutions and grassroots, in order to achieve transformative results for increased gender equality and greater protection of the rights of women and girls.

UN Women Georgia is implementing the Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus (WEESC) Project with funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC). The overarching goal of the project is to ensure that women, particularly the poor and socially excluded, in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are economically empowered and participate in relevant decision-making. To reach this goal, WEESC applies a holistic approach, enabling linked interventions at three levels: grassroots, policies and legislation, and institutions. The chosen approach and the implementation of the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) agenda in three countries of the South Caucasus during WEESC Phase I (2018-2021) served as a catalyst for action at all levels. To achieve the project’s ambitious goal and for the sustainability of the results, in August 2021 UN Women started implementing the second main phase (2021-2024) of the WEESC project to increase economic security and improve access to livelihood and development opportunities for women, particularly the poorest and most excluded in the South Caucasus.

In July 2023 UN Women, with the generous support of the Government of Norway launched the second phase of “Good Governance for Gender Equality in Georgia” (GG4GEG II) project. The impact-level goal of the project is to ensure that women and girls in all their diversity fully and equally participate in decision-making and benefit from gender-responsive governance in Georgia. In order to contribute to the achievement of this impact-level goal, the project sets forth two interlinked outcomes, which are as follows - outcome 1: Gender-responsive legislative and policy frameworks are adopted and implemented to promote gender equality and women’s meaningful participation in decision-making and leadership at all levels; and outcome 2: Women are empowered economically and access entrepreneurial and employment opportunities through a gender-sensitive private sector and entrepreneurship ecosystem in Georgia.

Under outcome 1, the project strives to achieve availability of more and better-quality data and analysis to promote and track the progress of gender equality and women’s empowerment (output 1.3). Under this output, the project will support National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) in valuing women’s unpaid household service work in Georgia based on Georgia’s Time Use Survey (GTUS) data.

GTUS was conducted first time in Georgia in 2020-2021 by Geostat with UN Women support to respond to the data gaps to report on implementation of SDGs (SDG target 5.4. recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies, and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate) and ensure that more and better-quality data and analysis are available to promote and track the progress of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

GTUS was designed and implemented in line with internationally established standards, methodologies and best practices, including, Eurostat 2018 HETUS Guidelines, 2019 Edition[1], United Nations Guide to Producing Statistics on Time Use[2] and UNECE Guidelines for Harmonizing Time Use Surveys[3]. The questionnaires and diary are adapted to the Georgian context from the HETUS 2018 questionnaires and adult diary, while for classifying and coding activities, the 2016 International Classification of Time Use Activities (ICATUS) is used[4]. The GTUS report, including detailed methodology and instruments as well as detailed tables are available at Geostat’s website. [5]

GTUS results show that women in Georgia spend almost 5 times more time on unpaid domestic and care work than men. Furthermore, in-depth analysis of GTUS data shows that there is a strong relationship between labor force participation and amount of unpaid care work performed by women. The latter on its hand is greatly influenced by the care needs of children and makes women more time poor compared to men.[6]

Official statistics in Georgia (including national accounts and employment statistics) is designed to measure market economy and excludes unpaid domestic and care work, which greatly underestimated women’s contribution to economy, as women perform most of the housework in Georgia. To uncover this hidden aspect of economy and better assess the economic and social impact of different policy options, UN Women is supporting Geostat in estimating value of unpaid household service work.

In this regard, UN Women is seeking to contract an international consultant who will support Geostat in valuing unpaid household service work in line with UNECE guidelines and international best practices.[7] The consultant will work closely with Geostat and UN Women in order to define most suitable methodology for Georgia for valuing unpaid household service work (e.g. input versus output approach, opportunity cost approach versus replacement cost approach, etc.), based on the agreed methodology produce estimates that are consistent with national accounting concepts and comparable across countries and validate the findings with Geostat and develop recommendation on developing household satellite account.

[1] EUROSTAT 2019, Methodological guideline for “Harmonized European Time Use Surveys,” Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3859598/9710775/KS-GQ-19-003-EN-N.pdf/ee48c0bd-7287-411a-86b6-fb0f6d5068cc

[2] United Nations Statistical Division, 2016, Guide to Producing Statistics on Time Use: Measuring Paid and Unpaid Work, Available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/publication/SeriesF/SeriesF_93E.pdf

[3] UNECE 2013, Guidelines for Harmonizing Time Use Surveys. Available at: https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/publications/2013/TimeUseSurvey_Guidelines.pdf

[4] Available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/time-use/icatus-2016/

[5] Available at: https://www.geostat.ge/en/modules/categories/783/time-use-survey

[6] UN Women 2023, Unpaid Care Work and Gender Inequality in Georgia, available at: https://georgia.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2022/12/time-to-care-unpaid-work-and-gender-inequality-in-georgia

[7] UNECE 2017, Guide on Valuing Unpaid Household Service Work. Available at: https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/publications/2018/ECECESSTAT20173.pdf

Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of the international consultant are:

• To develop an inception report containing detailed work-plan of the consultancy;
• To assess the GTUS data and other official statistics available in Georgia and based on consultations with GEOSTAT and UN Women propose most suitable methodological approach for valuing unpaid household service work in Georgia aligned with international guidelines and best practices; The methodological document should contain a justification for the selected methodology.
• Based on the agreed methodology conduct data analysis and develop a report for UN Women estimating value of unpaid domestic and care work performed by women and men in Georgia and its share to Gross Domestic Product (GDP);
• Develop a detailed methodological guideline for Geostat on calculating estimates present in the report.
• To conduct a three-day workshop for Geostat with one day dedicated to theoretical aspects such as: 1. Importance of measuring household service work and developing household satellite account 2. Different valuation techniques (e.g. input versus output approach, opportunity cost approach versus replacement cost approach, etc.) 3. Detailed overview of selected valuation technique 4. Future recommendations on compiling household satellite account for Georgia and the other two days dedicated to intensive, step-by-step training / couching of relevant staff of Geostat on the applied valuation technique to build their capacity and validate findings.
• To present methodology and findings to relevant stakeholders in Tbilisi.
• To finalize both reports in line with the feedback received throughout the workshop and presentation and submit to UN Women.

Deliverables:

1. Inception Report containing detailed work-plan of the consultancy specifying activities and timelines submitted to UN Women by December 15, 2023 (2 working days);
2. Existing data sources assessed, and suitable methodology proposed by February 12, 2024 (10 working days)
3. Data analysis conducted and a draft analytical report on findings (estimates of value of unpaid domestic and care work performed by women and men in Georgia and its share to Gross Domestic Product (GDP)) delivered by April 1, 2024 (10 working days)
4. A step by step methodological guideline for valuing unpaid household service work in Georgia- including justification for the selected methodology submitted to UN Women by May 1, 2024 (10 working days);
5. A three-day workshop with Geostat and other stakeholders conducted on theoretical and practical aspect of valuing unpaid work by July 1, 2024 (5 working days);
6. Presentation of findings wit key stakeholders delivered by July 1, 2024 (1 working day);
7. Final methodological guideline and analytical report submitted to UN Women by July 25, 2024 (2 working days);

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent writing, presentation/public speaking skills
• Familiar with human rights terminology
• IT literacy
• Flexibility

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

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• University degree (at least Masters) in human rights, economics, demography, sociology, social sciences, or other relevant area.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of work experience on time use and gender statistics with a special focus on unpaid care work;
• At least 3 years of experience of preparing academic papers, situation analysis, methodological guidelines, assessments and research reports on valuing unpaid household service work (please include relevant publications in the application);
• At least 2 years of experience of working with National Statistics Offices or international statistical organization on valuing unpaid work and compiling household satellite account;
• Familiarity with international standards and guidelines on valuing unpaid household service work;

Language:

• Excellent command of written and spoken English

Evaluation Procedure:

The candidates will be evaluated in three stages: according to minimum qualification criteria; technical and financial evaluation.

The candidates must possess following minimum qualification criteria to be eligible for further technical evaluation:

• University degree (at least Masters) in human rights, economics, demography, sociology, social sciences, or other relevant area;
• At least 5 years of work experience on time use and gender statistics with a special focus on unpaid care work;
• Excellent command of written and spoken English.

The candidates will be evaluated in three stages: according to minimum qualification criteria followed by technical and financial evaluation.

Technical evaluation criteria (including minimum qualifications):

• University degree (at least Masters) in human rights, economics, demography, sociology, social sciences, or other relevant area (max 50 points)
• At least 5 years of work experience on time use and gender statistics with a special focus on unpaid care work (max 80 points);
• At least 3 years of experience of preparing academic papers, situation analysis, methodological guidelines, assessments and research reports on valuing unpaid household service work (max 80 points);
• At least 2 years of experience of working with National Statistics Offices or international statistical organization on valuing unpaid work and compiling household satellite account (max 60 points);

• Familiarity with international standards and guidelines on valuing unpaid household service work (max 50 points);

• Excellent command of written and spoken English (max 30 points)

Maximum total technical score amounts to 350 points. Only candidates who have passed over the minimum qualification criteria and have accumulated at least 245 points out of maximum 350 under technical evaluation will qualify for the next stage i.e. evaluation of their financial proposals.

Evaluation of submitted financial offers will be done based on the following formula: S = Fmin / F * 150

S – score received on financial evaluation;

Fmin – the lowest financial offer out of all the submitted offers qualified over the technical evaluation round;

F – financial offer under consideration.

The winning candidate will be the candidate, who has accumulated the highest aggregated score (technical scoring + financial scoring).

Management arrangements:

The selected candidate will report to and work under direct supervision of the Governance & Participation in Public Life programme analyst and UN Women Gender Data Specialist.

Financial arrangements:

Payment will be disbursed upon submission and approval of deliverables and certification by UN Women National Programme Officer that the services have been satisfactorily performed as specified below:

• Deliverable 1,2,3 (22 days) - 55 %
• Deliverable 4,5,6,7 (18 days) - 45 %

Application submission package:

• CV;
• Duly filled Personal History Form PHF11 that can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process
• Samples of academic papers, situation analysis, assessments and research reports on GEWE issues;
• Financial Proposal - lump sum proposal/offer* in USD

*The applicants are required to submit an aggregated financial offer: “aggregated financial offer” is the total sum of all financial claims of the candidate, including travel costs (ticket, DSA etc.) for accomplishment of all tasks spelled out in this ToR

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

How to Submit the Application:

• Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11)- https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process
• Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), CV, samples of previous work and the Financial Proposal into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded.
• Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement).
• Click 'Apply Now' button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click 'Submit Application;'
• Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above).
• You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

Notes:

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, color, 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.

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.)