LOCATION :

Home Based, Bosnia and Herzegovina, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

TYPE OF CONTRACT :

Individual Contract

STARTING DATE :

APPLICATION DEADLINE :

29-Mar-24 (Midnight New York, USA)

POST LEVEL :

National Consultant

DURATION OF INITIAL CONTRACT :

TIME LEFT :

9d 2h 46m

LANGUAGES REQUIRED :

English  

EXPECTED DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT :

1 year

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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

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.

Through its programmes and projects, UN Women is providing technical assistance to national partners (governmental and non-governmental) in the implementation of existing international and national commitments to women’s rights and gender equality. It facilitates networking and exchange of good practices and advocates for women’s rights and gender equality in all areas of life. According to its mandate, UN Women works in five thematic areas, such as leadership and participation, women’s economic empowerment, ending violence against women, women peace and security and governance and national planning fully reflect accountability for gender equality commitments.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina UN Women works in three key strategic areas – Women’s Economic Empowerment, Ending Violence against Women and Gender Responsive Governance. In Women’s Economic Empowerment UN Women utilizes a two-pronged approach of influencing the major players and implementing targeted interventions aimed at influencing policies, programmes and funds relevant for women’s economic empowerment. As all fields in which UN Women is engaged with relevant institutions, segment of women’s economic empowerment requires a high level of coordination with all levels of government, across the country. UN Women’s key comparative advantage in this area of work is in the production of knowledge, programming and policy recommendations on key areas of women’s economic empowerment as well as piloting targeted support to policy makers, businesses, and key categories of women that need economic activation.

Over the current strategic period 2021 – 2025, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), UN Women will work to improve policy framework for job creation, including perspectives of care economy and entrepreneurship, and the implementation of existing policies through policy coherence between programmes for gender equality and promotion of women’s access to decent work. At the institutional level, UN Women aims to achieve effective targeting and inclusion of women (especially those most marginalized) in existing labor market measures and programmes based on the action-oriented research of the existing measures and piloting of the new targeted approaches to women’s economic empowerment. Building on previous investments in support of gender responsive policies and budgets, UN Women will support the development and resilience of women owned business and women entrepreneurs and improve the socio-economic position of rural women and their cooperatives, as well as work towards decreasing the burden of unpaid care work on women.

Women’s and girls’ disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care work is a key driver of gender inequality in both the labour market, the household and wider society. Research funded by UN Women “Baseline Study on Care Economy in BiH”[1] has found that women in BiH reported spending on average of 1.85 times more time on care activities compared to men. Employed women spend about 5.33 hours, more than twice as much time on care work than employed men. And women in rural areas spend slightly more of their time on unpaid care activities than those in urban areas (6.5 hours per day compared to 6.2 hours). Women report that care work and responsibilities are one of the main reasons they do not seek jobs and are also factors that impede job progression and further income generation. BiH has one of the highest portions of inactive women on the labour market in Europe, with the employment rate for women in BiH estimated at around 37%, compared to 53% for men.

The Baseline Study on Care Economy in BiH focused on 4 key aspects of care: housework, childcare, care for the elderly and care for people with disabilities (PwD). It is focused on the policies that will directly influence women and their care activities in these four main segments and proposed a set of policy recommendations, advocacy measures and care models that could be piloted on the local level.

Reflective of the above, UN Women is now seeking to recruit a national consultant in care economy and policy to assist the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy of the FBiH in integrating the recommendations identified in the Baseline Study on Care Economy, by providing technical and legislative advice and piloting and implementing identified policy and programming measures as agreed with the Ministry and UN Women BiH CO.

The consultant will be reporting to the WEE Programme Coordinator and will be supported by the WEE Project Coordinator, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

[1] Baseline Study on Care Economy – Overview of Key Denominators, Policy and Programming Options | Publications | UN Women – Europe and Central Asia

Duties and Responsibilities

The overall objective of this consultancy is to support the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy in FBiH in further strengthening the policy and programming initiatives, to align them with UN Women’s Baseline Study on Care Economy and other relevant documents produced to support the socio-economic and legal framework development, based on the Ministry’s mandate.

The immediate objective of this consultancy is to support the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy in FBiH in the implementation of policy and programming recommendations related to childcare, care for Persons with Disabilities (PwD), care for the elderly and general housework, within the project “Translating the SDG Framework in Bosnia and Herzegovina into sustainable and inclusive growth”.

Based on the above-described objectives of the assignment, under the direct supervision of UN Women’s WEE Project Coordinator and overall supervision of UN Women’s WEE Programme Coordinator, the local consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks and responsibilities: 

• Based on UN Women’s Baseline Study on Care Economy and other relevant technical documents that will be provided by UN Women and the Ministry based on their mandate, develop the annual work plan with the identified policy and programming options that will be implemented in 2024/2025.
• Provide technical and advisory support to the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy in FBiH on updating plans, actions, budget allocations, and other relevant items related to strengthening care economy policies, programmes and services. In this context, organize at least 5 monthly meetings at the premises of the Ministry with relevant partners.
• Provide support in the implementation of relevant care economy models and programmes designed to address the disproportionate and unpaid aspect of care work, work-life balance, social services and other rights from the social protection system. In this context, organize at least 3 monthly meetings with relevant Ministry sectors and other key stakeholders, identified jointly with UN Women.
• Provide technical assistance in further developing legislative actions with the relevant departments of the Ministry, including by identifying relevant legal criteria and necessary legal and/or sub-legal acts to be adopted or amended for the implementation of the recommendations. In this context, organize at least 5 meetings to support the Ministry in bringing forward relevant legal changes.
• Throughout the consultancy, coordinate and liaise with UN Women, UN Women’s external experts and the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy in FBiH on the implementation of relevant actions.

Deliverables

All deliverables should be provided to the UN Women WEE Programme Coordinator and WEE Programme team in Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian. The final deliverable should be provided to UN Women in English and Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy. However, the consultant is expected to work at least 5 times a month from the Ministry’s premises in Sarajevo. If travel is required, the costs will be covered by UN Women.

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/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES: 

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Shares knowledge and experience
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside UN Women
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills
• Development and Operational Effectiveness
• Demonstrates excellent written and oral communication skills. Communicates sensitively, effectively, and creatively across different constituencies
• Demonstrates very good understanding of and experience in communications and outreach/advocacy
• Ability to perform a variety of standard specialized and non-specialized tasks and work processes that are fully documented, researched, recorded and reported
• Ability to review a variety of data, identify and adjust discrepancies, identify and resolve operational problems
• Uses Information Technology effectively as a tool and resource

Leadership and Self-Management

• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure
• Proven networking skills and ability to generate interest in UN Women’s mandate
• Identifies opportunities and builds strong partnerships with clients and partners

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• A first-level university degree in legal studies, social policy public policy, gender studies or a related field is required. SATISFACTORY/UNSATISFACTORY

• Master’s degree or equivalent in legal studies, social policy, public policy, gender studies or a related field is an asset. (10 pts)

Experience:

• At least 2 years of progressively responsible work experience in gender, social policy, women´s rights, women´s economic empowerment, feminist economy or socio-economic response or related area of work. (40 pts)
• At least 1 year of experience working with public and governmental actors is required. (25 pts)
• At least 1 year of experience drafting legislative reports, policies, initiatives and strategic documents in the field of social policy, healthcare or a related field is required. (25 pts)
• Excellent English communication and writing skills; samples of previous work will be required. SATISFACTORY/UNSATISFACTORY

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian is required.

How to apply:

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