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International Consultant on Time Use Statistics

Home Based - May require travel

  • Organization: UNWOMEN - United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
  • Location: Home Based - May require travel
  • Grade: Consultancy - International Consultant - Internationally recruited Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Statistics
    • Women's Empowerment and Gender Mainstreaming
  • Closing Date: Closed

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 center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality are translated into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts while building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

In September 2015 the United Nations Summit adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in New York which includes a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. The SDGs cover a very broad range of critical gender issues, including anti-discrimination, violence, unpaid care and domestic work, voice and participation, assets, income, labour, social protection etc. The agenda highlights women’s rights and gender equality significantly by including the stand alone fifth goal on gender equality in addition to gender-sensitive targets across other goals.

Given these imperatives the need to produce relevant and quality gender-sensitive indicators to monitor the SDGs is now greater than ever. To respond to the challenges, but also harnessing the current momentum and support for the SDGs and for gender statistics more broadly, UN Women has launched 5 years Flagship Programme Initiative Making Every Woman and Girls Count (MEWGC) aims to affect a radical shift in the production, availability, accessibility and use of quality data and statistics on key aspects of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Since 2018 the UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECA RO) is implementing the regional project and provides technical support to countries on gender statistics and to strengthen regional-level collaboration with key partners in order to better contribute to SDGs monitoring at the country and regional levels. In ECA region countries are at varying stages of nationalizing and assessing current capacity to produce and use the statistics needed to monitor SDG progress and gender-responsive SDGs prioritization and monitoring continue to be a challenge in the region. Part of the challenge is due to the low priority afforded to gender statistics within national statistical systems, evident in the weak organizational structures (e.g. single gender focal point), limited or no budget allocation, and absence of a strong commitment to gender monitoring and reporting in national statistical strategies and plans

Although data production is relatively strong in the ECA region currently, only 42% of countries regularly produce statistics on unpaid work and a mere 7% for satellite accounts of household production. Time-use statistics are becoming an important tool in understanding gender-based inequalities, in estimating the contribution of women’s unpaid work to national well-being and in designing policies for women’s empowerment.

To assist countries in the production and dissemination of time use statistics, the United Nations Statistical Division developed the Guide to Producing Statistics on Time Use: Measuring Paid and Unpaid Work, which presents an overview of the different approaches that have been adopted in the design of time-use surveys and in the dissemination of time-use data. In 2016, the International Classification of Activities for Time Use Statistics (ICATUS2016), was updated and endorsed by the UN Statistical Commission for use as an international statistical classification at its 48th session, 7-10 March 2017.

In 2000, the Eurostat issued the methodological guideline for “Harmonized European Time Use Surveys” (HETUS) to facilitate the data collection process in European countries. This guideline was revised several times and the last version (HETUS2018) was prepared for upcoming HETUS 2020 wave of data collection.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) developed the Guidelines for Harmonizing Time Use Survey, that was endorsed by Conference of European Statisticians in 2013. The Guidelines include recommendations of preferred or best practice, based on the experience of member countries of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and other developed countries participating in the work of CES. This Guidelines are meant to complement the United Nations Guide to Producing Statistics on Time Use: Measuring Paid and Unpaid Work (United Nations 2005a) and the Harmonized European Time Use Surveys: 2008 guidelines (Eurostat 2009), and therefore do not attempt to cover the issues that are thoroughly addressed in those publications.

Low frequency of data collection, non-harmonized implementation methods, and high costs related to TUS, however, hamper the availability and international comparability of time-use data. To fulfill the data gaps and improve data availability to measure and report on value of unpaid work as part of official statistics and for assessing the effectiveness of gender-related policies, UN Women Regional Office for ECA will support countries to improve data production and use by strengthening the technical capacity to design and conduct time use survey aligned with internationally agreed standards, and to promote the value of survey to inform policy and decision making.

Goal and objectives

National practices in collecting time-use data vary depending on methodological aspects regarding the type of survey (i.e. independent, modular), data collection method (i.e. full diary, light diary, stylized questions), reference days for data collection, respondent selection and other criteria that implies a choice of sampling strategy, technical expertise on pre and/or post coding, procedures to minimize respondent burden, etc., that ultimately results in different operational costs. UN Women ECA RO is seeking the services of an experienced international consultant to support strengthening the capacity of National Statistical Offices from ECA region to design and conduct a Time Use Survey in accordance with the best practices from the region and applying the international standards and recommendations on producing time use statistics as part of official statistics.

The international consultant will work on two general tasks:

  1. preparation of the Sub-regional Workshop on Time Use Statistics;
  2. provide guidelines in designing and preparation of time use survey in selected countries, such as Georgia and Armenia.

The international consultant will work under supervision of UN Women Gender Statistics Specialist and in close collaboration with the national survey teams from selected countries. During this assignment the International Consultant will work closely with National Statistical Offices from Georgia and Armenia in order to prepare the survey plan and methodology to be tested and piloted until Q1 2020, as a full-scale survey is envisaged to be conducted in Q2-Q3 2020.

Duties and Responsibilities

The International Consultant will cover the following tasks to fulfill the assignment:

1. Preparation of the Sub-regional Workshop on Time Use Statistics;

  • Develop the Concept Note and Workshop Agenda and support the preparation of relevant material to be used during the workshop: TUS methodology, data collection tools, guidelines, etc.;
  • Identify and suggest key speakers to be invited to moderate specific topics on time use statistics, if needed;
  • Lead and moderate the workshop sessions (tentatively 3-4 days).

2. Providing guidelines in designing, preparation and implementation of time use survey in selected countries, such as Georgia and Armenia, that have already committed to conduct this survey in 2019-2020 in cooperation with UN Women.

  • Provide support to National Statistical Offices (NSOs) in assigned countries (Georgia, Armenia) in the designing of TUS activities, specifically to develop a country survey plan, budget and timetable;
  • Support NSOs in assigned countries remotely and through in-county visits (if requested) to develop the most feasible and relevant scenario to conduct time user survey: questionnaires, reference unit, reference period, data collection methods etc.;
  • Review and provide feedback to UN Women Country Offices (COs) and NSOs on the survey tools and documents, in compliance with international guidelines and recommendations, such as questionnaires and manuals, classification of activities, etc.
  • Take part in missions to support countries in designing and implementation of testing and pilot survey, if requested;
  • Document all lessons learned, problems, and good practices throughout the TUS designing and implementation process;

Expected deliverables

Deliverables

Timeframe

1. Detailed work plan with timeline of the work envisioned in the framework of the expected tasks.

By 5 October 2019

(3 w/days)

Documentation for the sub-regional workshop on TUS:

2. Concept note and agenda of sub-regional inception regional workshop developed and consulted with UN Women.

By 10 October 2019

(4 w/days)

3. TUS training materials: quediliness, classification, countries experience, etc.

By 1 November 2019

(5 w/days + 5 w/days workshop)

4. Workshop summary/report: key outcomes, analysis of pre- and post- evaluation questionnaires.

By 10 November 2019

(3 w/days)

Provide guidelines and support in designing and preparation of time use survey in selected countries, such as Georgia and Armenia

5. Country specific recommendations on TUS design and collection methodology submitted

By 10 November 2019 (5 w/days)

6. Country survey plan, budget and timetable revised and submitted

By 25 November 2019 (12 w/days)

7. Data collection tools, namely questionnaires are revised taking into consideration national context and available infrastructure for data collection

By 14 December 2019 (13 w/days)

Final consultancy report

8. Final report summarizing key activities, progress achieved and recommendations to NSOs to design and develop Time Use Survey methodology

By 25 December 2019 (5 w/days)

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: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications Education:

  • Advanced (Masters) degree or equivalent in demography, statistics, economics or other fields of study of social sciences relevant to the requirements of the ToR.

Experience:

  • At least 10 years of experience in the quantitative household surveys design and implementation at national and/or regional level. Prior Time Use Survey methodology development and/or survey management experience is required;
  • At least 5 years of proven experience of work in official statistics at the national and/or regional level;
  • Good knowledge and experience in leading and designing statistical capacity on times use statistics or other quantitative household surveys;
  • Strong knowledge of international standards recommendations on production of time use statistics;
  • Previous professional experience with development agencies and/or the United Nations is an asset.

Languages and other skills: 

  • Proficient in written and oral English is required. Knowledge of Russian is an asset;
  • Computer literacy and ability to effectively use computers, related software and standard applications for concise communication and development of complex written documentation;
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

 Application Process 

The application should include:

  • Personal History Form (P-11 form) - including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted;
  • Financial Proposal: Specify a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (per deliverable, any other possible costs); 
  • Travel expenses will be covered by UN Women separately.
  • Candidates should have the ability to quickly produce degree certificates and medical certification (of good health) should they be short-listed in consideration of the consultancy post.

Management and financial arrangements

The contractor will report to and work under direct supervision of UN Women ECA RO Gender Statisticians Specialist.

Payment will be disbursed in three installments upon submission and approval of deliverables and certification by UN Women ECA RO that the services have been satisfactorily performed as specified below:

  • Deliverable 1-4: 30% of contract amount
  • Deliverable 5-7: 60% of contract amount
  • Deliverable 8: 10% of contract amount

Evaluation process

Consultants will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of qualifications and financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a)   Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b)   Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

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

  • University degree (Masters or PhD) in social and political sciences or relevant field to the requirements of the TOR;
  • At least 10 years’ experience in coordination and implementation of household-based surveys, including prior experience and involvement in Time Use Surveys is required;
  • Strong knowledge of international methodological framework on time use statistics (classification of activities, quediliness, etc.)

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.

Evaluation Criteria

Max points

TECHNICAL EVALUATION (70%)

Language Requirements

Fluency in written and spoken English

REQUIRED

Education

Advanced (Masters) degree or equivalent in demography, statistics, economics or other fields of study of social sciences

10

0: without relevant university degree

0 -10: relevant university degree

(PhD degree will be considered as the advantage)

Professional Experience

At least 10 years of experience in the quantitative household surveys design and implementation at national and/or regional level. Prior Time Use Survey methodology development and/or survey management experience is required

15

0: without relevant expertise and experience

0-10: up to 10 years of experience

10-15: more than 10 years of experience

At least 5 years of proven experience of work in official statistics at the national and/or regional level

15

0: without experience

0-10: 5 years of experience

10-15: more than 5 years of experience

Specialized Knowledge

Good knowledge and experience in leading and designing statistical capacity on times use statistics or other quantitative household surveys

10

0: without experience

0-10: demonstrated experience

Strong knowledge of international recommendations on production of time use statistics

15

0: without experience

0-15: demonstrated experience

Previous professional experience with development agencies and/or the United Nations is an asset.

5

0: without experience

5: demonstrated experience

Total technical

70

Financial Evaluation (30%) – max. 30 points:

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion.

Evaluation of submitted financial offers will be done based on the following formula: p = 30 (µ/z)

Using the following values:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

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.
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