National Consultant for Assessment and Strengthening of Care Services in Georgia

Consultancy Assignment

Background/Context:

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.

The economic empowerment of women (WEE) – to succeed and advance economically and to make and act on economic decisions – is a prerequisite for realizing gender equality and empowering women in all areas of life. It is also a cornerstone for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda, as well as the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform for Action. UN Women defines economic empowerment as a transformative, collective process through which economic systems become just, equitable and prosperous, and through which all women enjoy their economic and social rights, exercise agency and power in ways that challenge inequalities and level the playing field and gain equal rights and access to ownership of and control over resources, assets, income, time and their own lives. 

Unpaid care work is a crucial policy target in the global development agenda, as reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (UN General Assembly 2015). Under SDG 5 on gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls, one of the six targets (SDG 5.4) calls for “recognition of unpaid care work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility”. Furthermore, the global framework for action by the UN Secretary-General, Our Common Agenda calls on Member States to prioritize the care economy as a strategy to achieve two key objectives: (1) advancing women’s economic inclusion by reducing unpaid care work, thus tackling gender inequality and accelerating progress toward SDG 5, and (2) creating decent jobs by expanding formal care services, supporting productive employment, and advancing SDG 8. In alignment with this, the UN System Policy Paper on Transforming Care Systems, developed through an inter-agency effort with UN Women as penholder, provides a shared vision and coordinated guidance for transforming care systems as a cornerstone of sustainable development and gender equality (United Nations. (2024). Transforming Care Systems in the Context of the Sustainable Development Goals and Our Common Agenda: UN System Policy Paper. Available at: https://unsdg.un.org/resources/transforming-care-systems-un-system-policy-paper)

There is widespread consensus in research and policy evaluations of gender inequalities that women’s disproportionate shouldering of unpaid care work constitutes a root cause of their economic and social disempowerment. The huge gender gaps in unpaid care work time translate into parallel gaps in paid work time and systematically generate gender inequalities in the form of a multitude of market outcomes, including the gender employment gap, horizontal and vertical gender jobs segregation, the gender earnings and wealth gap, as well as gender gaps in political representation and decision-making. 

Care work encompasses both paid and unpaid dimensions (for example, childcare workers, pre-school and schoolteachers, health-care professionals and long-term care workers provide care services on a paid basis), but the majority of care work is performed on an unpaid basis at home, by women and girls. Furthermore, the data reveals the vast number of hours required to sustain the care economy and highlighting the significant gender gap. 

In Georgia, the recent Time Use Survey (TUS) indicates that the unpaid care work responsibilities, including domestic chores, caregiving, and community work, fall disproportionately on women. Women spend five times more time on unpaid domestic and care work than men. This gender ratio is highest in other urban areas at 5.1, compared to 4.6 in Tbilisi and 4.5 in rural areas. This disparity is reflected in women’s economic inactivity rate. In 2024, women’s labor force participation rate was just 44.9%, showing a significant 21.3 percentage point gap compared to men’s participation rate of 66.2 % (National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat), Labour Force Survey, 2024) A substantial majority of women, 55.1%, were economically inactive, meaning they were neither employed nor actively seeking jobs. Notably, this trend has remained consistent over the years. Contributing factors to women's economic inactivity, alongside the unequal distribution of domestic and care responsibilities, include limited access to public care services. Global studies have demonstrated a clear link between unpaid care work, gender equality, and women’s economic empowerment. As a result, the issue of women’s unpaid care work has recently gained increased attention, while the provision of care services can speed up economic growth through increased women’s labor force participation, improved revenue, expanded consumption and livelihood options; and job creation in the care sector and non-care sectors, thereby, benefitting families, communities, and country’s economy at large. 

To address the disproportionate share of care responsibilities shouldered by women in Georgia and to reframe care from a private household duty to a public good and essential work that underpins social and economic wellbeing, the UN Women Country Office, together with international and national consultants, is exploring innovative, context-specific approaches to care service delivery. These efforts aim to support national and local authorities in developing inclusive and sustainable care systems that recognize, reduce, redistribute, reward and represent care work. Models such as the Care Blocks and the Octopus both promote integrated, community-based care systems. Care Blocks are neighborhood-level hubs that provide a range of care services, including childcare, eldercare, and support for individuals with disabilities, in one accessible and coordinated space. By centralizing these services within communities, Care Blocks aim to reduce the time of caregiving, promote the creation of decent jobs for care workers who are predominantly women, and enable women to pursue education, training, or employment opportunities (OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation. (n.d.). Bogotá Care Blocks. Accessible at: https://oecd-opsi.org/innovations/bogota-care-blocks)

The Octopus Model of care refers to a multisectoral, decentralized care system coordinated across different government levels and service providers, ensuring that care needs are met holistically and responsively. The model emphasizes linkages between public services, private actors, and community-based organizations to offer flexible, equitable, and user-centred care options (Healthcare Central London. (2024). What is the Octopus? Accessible at:  https://healthcarecentrallondon.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/What-is-the-Octopus-19.9.pdf).

Given the need to adapt these innovative care models to Georgia’s specific socio-economic and institutional context, UN Women Country Office Georgia seeks to engage a national consultant experienced in care service development and delivery. The consultant will contribute to the Assessment and Strengthening of Care Services in Georgia by supporting the analysis of existing care services, identifying gaps, challenges and opportunities of existing services and developing practical recommendations to strengthen them.

This initiative will directly support the development and implementation of care-related policies and interventions that promote women’s economic empowerment and strengthen institutional capacities, in alignment with the priorities of UN Women’s global priorities on the TransformCare initiative, international, regional and national standards, including the UN System Policy Paper on Transforming Care Systems.  The consultancy will be co-funded through UN Women’s global TransformCare initiative under the Care Technical Assistance mechanism and co-financed by the UN Women Georgia Country Office through the Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus (WEESC) Project, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).

The consultant will report to the WEESC Programme Analyst and WEESC Project Analyst and will be supported by the WEESC Project Assistant, who will serve as the primary contact for contractual and payment matters.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work:

The National Consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Conduct assessment of existing care services in Georgia at both national and municipal levels, including:
  • Desk Review of existing state-funded care services and identification of service gaps and challenges.
  • Develop recommendations to improve the care gaps existing at the national and municipal levels.
  • Review and provide expert input on the report analyzing the successful practices of international care models for Georgia’s context and integrate the assessment of existing state-funded care services into the chapter prepared on Georgia’s care ecosystem, developed within the framework of the initiative “Analysis and Adaptation of International Care Models for Strengthening Gender-Responsive Care Services in Georgia”.
  • Assess the working conditions of care workers employed in state or municipality-provided services, analyzed vis-à-vis ILO decent work standards.

Deliverables:

• Deliverable 1: Action Plan and Timeline, outlining activities, methods, and key milestones for completing the assignment, prepared by 24 November 2025 (0.5 working days). 
• Deliverable 2: Desk review of care services offered at the central level in Georgia and its interlinkages to services offered at the municipal level, summarizing existing structures, service coverage, and key challenges and gaps in care provision, conducted by 10 December 2025 (9 working days). 

                 a) Mapping and Analysis of Existing Care Services: overview of care services available across national and municipal levels in       Georgia.

                 b) Gap Analysis: identification of systemic, operational, and policy-level gaps in care service provision of existing services. Analysis of disparities in access, quality, and workforce support

                 c) Actionable recommendations developed to enhance the quality and coverage of care services, improve working conditions for care workers, and advance a gender-responsive and inclusive care system in Georgia. 

• Deliverable 3: Technical and contextual input to the report analyzing international care models in Georgia provided, and the assessment of existing state-funded care services integrated into the chapter on Georgia’s care ecosystem under the initiative “Analysis and Adaptation of International Care Models for Strengthening Gender-Responsive Care Services in Georgia by 19 December 2025 (2 working days). 
• Deliverable 4: Assessment of Care Workers’ Working Conditions employed under state-funded care services, prepared by 30 December 2025 (8 working days):
• Qualitative analysis based on interviews with care workers.
• Review of employment contracts, working hours, wages, benefits, and occupational safety.
• Identification of challenges and vulnerabilities faced by care workers.
• Recommendations to improve labour standards, ensure decent working conditions, and strengthen the overall quality of care services.
• Deliverable 5: Final report summarizing the work performed and the associated time required to complete the outlined deliverables, submitted by 26 January 2026 (0.5 working days).

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy in Tbilisi, Georgia; however, travel outside Tbilisi to regions of Georgia might also be required.

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:

• Technical credibility in delivering training
• Excellent presentation/public speaking skills
• Partnerships building
• Negotiation
• IT literacy 

Required Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree in Social Sciences, Gender/Women’s studies, or a related field is required
• A first-level university degree in combination with seven (7) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 5 years in case of Master’s or 7 years (Bachelor’s degree) of professional experience in policy analysis, or advisory work in the areas of social protection, care economy, or gender equality.
• Sound understanding of Georgia’s care service system, national policy landscape, and institutional frameworks related to social services.
• Proven experience in care service development and delivery.
• Proven track record of analytical writing, including strategic papers or policy recommendations. 
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate and engage effectively with diverse national and local stakeholders, including organizing consultations and interviews.
• Prior experience in conducting tasks similar to the ones outlined in this ToR with UN/EU agencies will be considered a distinct advantage

Languages:

Fluency in English and Georgian is required.

How to Apply:

• Personal CV and P11 (P11 can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc )
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)

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