Consultant to undertake a gender-responsive review of national agriculture and small business support programmes and incentive schemes

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.

Studies have demonstrated that businesses run by women (such as those in the agriculture and fisheries related sector) face major establishment hurdles and are frequently unable to respond to emerging economic opportunities. While women have the rights to own assets, including land, and operate businesses in their own name, informal barriers and costs, and social rules, (including sex stereotyping that leads to occupational sex segregation); as well as weak bargaining position also discriminate strongly against women’s economic participation (World Bank:  https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/unleashing-power-women-entrepreneurs-breaking-down-legal-barriers and Caribbean Development Bank, Gender Inequality Assessments; 2016).

Gender inequalities in access to economic incentives and productive resources reduce productivity and output. They prevent women from sharing in the benefits of production, even when they have done most of the work. For example, giving women farmers the same level of land tenure rights as men for the land they work on as men could increase, as per some studies and research, agricultural production in some countries by 20% and thereby make a huge contribution to national and regional food security.

Policy settings and regulatory frameworks often drive these less positive outcomes, engineered by discriminatory social institutions that reproduce gender stereotypes and mind-sets. This needs to be addressed sustainably through in-depth (focused) policy and legislative change.

The above provides the conceptual foundation for the project, “Building Effective Resilience for Human Security in the Caribbean Countries: The Imperative of Gender Equality and Women Empowerment in a Strengthened Agriculture (and related Agri/Fisheries Small Business) Sector”, supported by the UN Trust Fund for Human Security (UNHSTF) in collaboration with the UN Sub-Regional Team for Barbados and the OECS (UNST). This project argues strongly that gender inequality and women disempowerment is one of the main determinants of human insecurity.

The project thus aims, through a combination of policy reform advocacy and technical advice, as well as, direct downstream support to up to 2,500 farmers and small agro- and fisheries business entrepreneurs, (the majority women), to advance multi-faceted human security by focusing on the economic empowerment (of women) in these sectors.

By doing so, the project will also lay the basis for the further up-scaling of the impact upon the completion of this 3-year project, and the expansion of its innovative strategy to other sectors. Success expected to be achieved under this project will then provide a major impetus for a broader recognition of the priority of gender equality and women empowerment for enhanced resilience; for stronger economic growth; for a more inclusive society; and finally, for strengthened and sustainable human security.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women MCO - Caribbean Representative, the consultant will be contracted to undertake a gender-responsive review of national agriculture and small business programmes run by Governments, Non-Government organisations, the Private Sector and other relevant stakeholders and their incentive schemes in 5 participating countries in the project, “Building Effective Resilience for Human Security in the Caribbean Countries: The Imperative of Gender Equality and Women Empowerment in a Strengthened Agriculture (and related Agri/Fisheries Small Business) Sector”. These countries are Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, and Saint Lucia. The review will identify the support measures and incentives available in the agriculture, fisheries, and small business programmes generally, such as access to finances, tools of the trade, and equipment, but will also specify the existence of special assistance provided to specific target groups including women smallholder farmers, fishers and women small business entrepreneurs. The analysis of incentive schemes within each sector will, at a minimum, outline the range of support activities and/or assistance provided and identify recommendations for improvements to the schemes in relation to beneficiaries of the specific sector.

This review should consider, reflect, and build upon the recently completed desk review and development of a “’How To’ Guide for Women Farmers and Small Business Entrepreneurs on Practical Steps for Land and Business Registration”, prepared by Dr. Tessa Barry, which can be obtained from UN Women-MCO. Information gathered through these activities will help to inform the wider policy environment which this project seeks to influence in relation the impact on gender equality and the economic empowerment of women, in this instance, within the agriculture and fisheries sector.

The consultant can work from their home country for the full duration of the assignment and will be expected to deliver the following results:

• Desk review of agriculture and fisheries programmes and incentive schemes in the 5 target countries.
• Desk review of small business programmes and incentive schemes in the 5 target countries.
• Desk review of the recently completed “How To” Guides for Business and Land Registration in the 5 target countries (which UN Women will provide).
• Develop an outline of the document “Gender-Responsive review of national agriculture and small business support programmes and incentive schemes” for discussion and approval by UN Women.
• Prepare the draft document “Gender-Responsive review of national agriculture and small business support programmes and incentive schemes”.
• Prepare the final document “Gender-Responsive review of national agriculture and small business support programmes and incentive schemes” based on feedback from UN Women.
• Submit Draft document on a “Directory of Services available to support women smallholder farmers, fishers and women small business entrepreneurs.”
• Submit Final document on a “Directory of Services available to support women smallholder farmers, fishers and women small business entrepreneurs” based on feedback from 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:

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

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to support design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects.
• Knowledge of Results Based Management principles and approaches.
• Ability to maintain networks and partnerships with UN agencies and other international.
• Strong gender and social research and analytical skill.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills including the conveying complex concepts and recommendations, in a clear and persuasive style tailored to match different audiences.
• Ability to interact independently as part of a team.
• Ability to multi-task and operate effectively in stressful situations.

Required Skills and Experience

Experience:

• Minimum of five years’ experience working on gender and social research within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), evidenced by a written body of work, is required.
• Experience working in the agriculture and fisheries sector within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is required.
• Experience working in the small business sector within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is required.
• Prior experience in the UN System and the Region will be an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in oral and written English is required.

Education:

• Advanced University Degree in any of the following areas: Gender and Development, Public Policy, Sociology, Agriculture, Business Administration, Economics or,
• A Bachelor’s Degree University Degree in any of the following areas: Gender and Development, Public Policy, Sociology, Agriculture, Business Administration, Economics, and a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience.

      LOCATION AND DURATION

• The consultancy will be home based in their country of origin (no travel is required).  
• The consultant will be engaged for a maximum of 40 working days during the period March 1st, 2021- June 30th, 2021.

      REMUNERATION

• The consultancy fee will be negotiated before contracting. Each payment will be based on a predefined and formal agreement between UN Women and the consultant and will be disbursed based on satisfactory completion of agreed deliverables.

• The remuneration for this contract type is an all-inclusive fee, the organization will not be liable for additional cost or benefits.  Hence, it is the responsibility of the consultant to take out adequate medical insurance for the duration of the contract and it is recommendable that the policy includes coverage for COVID-19 related illness.   The medical coverage should be international when the contract requires missions or international assignment.

• If selected for this vacant post, proof of medical coverage should be presented within the first two months of the contract.

    HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, AND COMMUNICATION:

• The consultant must be equipped with a fully functional laptop, which must run at least Windows 7. The consultant must be reasonably accessible by email and telephone (preferably mobile). The use of reliable, internet-based (Skype or equivalent) is required.

    REFERENCES:

• Minimum of three client references that include the name of the contact person, title and contact information.

    OTHER:

• The consultant contracted will be required to sign a statement of confidentiality and freedom from any conflict of interest with potential future contractors with respect to the TORs and work that they will be delivering

 Note:

Submissions to UNDP Jobs are limited to a maximum of 10 MB, virus-free or corrupted contents to avoid rejection, and no more than 1 email transmission.  

All applications must be submitted through UNDP jobs.  Please do not send applications to UN Women staff as they will not be accepted.