Gender Expert - Fortified Complementary Food

1. Supporting countries to benefit from trade opportunities by enabling them to conform with standards and technical regulations, requiring quality infrastructure and conformity assessment services, as well as by streamlining regulatory and procedural frameworks at the regional and national levels. The programme will help the African countries to benefit from trade opportunities by being able to conform with standards and technical regulations, which requires establishing efficient testing, certification and accreditation mechanisms that conform to the requirements of the SPS and TBT agreements and benefit from international recognition. It will also strengthen governmental institutions in their capacity to create a more conducive business environment for MSMEs. 

1. Maximizing MSME export potential and access to new markets by overcoming constraints or developing enablers like value addition, and export capacities: In order to maximize MSMEs export potential and support them to enter new markets, the Programme will also address other market access constraints or enablers: enhance value addition and export capacities through marketing, labelling, branding strategies, sustainability and environmental issues, technology transfer and processing for export, business promotion through market linkages and capacitate trade and investment support institutions. Support will be provided both at institutional and policy level, as well as at private sector level, with a primary focus on selected key export-oriented regional priority value chains. Particular focus on intra-African exports as well as exports to the EU will be given, so regions can fully exploit their trade-driven growth potential, with a view to contribute to sustainable growth and jobs creation.  

The programme is thematically structured into five components leading to 5 outputs as follows: 

In relation to Specific Objective 1: 

Output 1.1: Market access barriers identified and reduced 

Output 1.2: Strengthened quality compliance and standards  

Output 1.3: Value-chain revision mechanism facilitated 

In relation to Specific Objective 2: 

Output 2.1: Enhanced value addition and diversification 

Output 2.2: Enhanced SME capacities and opportunities for business and export 

While UNIDO oversees implementing output 1.2 and 2.1., ITC is responsible for the implementation of output 1.1, 1.3 and 2.2 

To ensure an overall coherent umbrella of the ATCMA framework, coordination and complementarity between the Continental component and sub-regional components will be ensured throughout the overall programme implementation.  

Special attention will be given to enhancing the participation and empowerment of women and youth-owned/-led businesses, aligned with the objectives and implementation of the AfCFTA Women and Youth Protocol. The Protocol provides a legally binding framework to promote the effective participation of women and youth in intra-African trade, value addition, and integration into regional and continental value chains. In this context, the assignment will support evidence-based implementation of the Protocol through targeted gender analysis, identification of structural and regulatory barriers, and formulation of actionable recommendations relevant to ATCMA interventions. 

The programme will also integrate UNIDO’s approach to gender equality and women’s empowerment as a driver for sustainable industrial development.  The gender analysis will generate evidence-based recommendations to inform ATCMA programme design, implementation, monitoring and coordination across outputs, with particular attention to value chains, MSME competitiveness, quality compliance, market access and institutional frameworks. 

FUNCTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES 

To conduct a comprehensive gender analysis of target value chains and geographical areas within the ECOWAS region, identifying structural, regulatory, normative and market related barriers, opportunities affecting women and youth-owned and women and youth-led enterprises and formulating actionable recommendations to advance women’s economic empowerment, equal participation, leadership and benefit from inclusive and sustainable industrial development, including through enhanced participation in value chains, value addition and intra-African trade, in line with UNIDO’s Gender Equality Strategy (2024–2027) and the AfCFTA Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade.  

The expert will work under the overall guidance of the UNIDO Lead Programme Manager responsible for the ECOWAS Programme in the Division of MSME Competitiveness, Quality and Job Creation (TCS/SME) at UNIDO HQ, in close collaboration with the Industrial Development Expert of the ECOWAS Programme.   

The methodology shall explicitly reflect UNIDO’s gender-transformative approach, including analysis of gender norms, roles, power relations, and intersectional vulnerabilities affecting women’s participation in value chains, as well as identification of entry points for transformative change at policy, institutional and enterprise levels. Where relevant, findings may be channeled through existing regional coordination platforms, including the Value Chain Revision Mechanism, strictly as coordination and validation fora, without expanding the analytical scope beyond Outputs 1.1, 1.2, 2.1 and 2.2.  It shall combine desk review, stakeholder consultations and value-chain analysis to identify gender-differentiated barriers, opportunities and entry points for women’s economic empowerment across production, processing, quality compliance, enterprise upgrading and market access. 

The analysis shall assess: 

• Gender roles and participation across FCF value-chain segments, including primary production, processing, fortification, quality control and distribution; 

• Access to productive resources, skills development, certification and finance affecting women-owned and women-led enterprises operating in FCF value chains; 

• Barriers and growth opportunities related to enterprise upgrading, compliance capacity, and regional market access for women-owned and women-led FCF enterprises; 

• Gender-differentiated impacts of SPS and TBT regulatory frameworks, food safety standards, and quality infrastructure systems on FCF production and trade; 

• Gender representation within SPS competent authorities, food safety agencies and inspection bodies, including staffing composition, leadership roles and technical positions. 

• Institutional, policy and coordination gaps affecting the integration of gender considerations into FCF-related ATCMA interventions. 

All consultations and data collection shall follow ethical and do-no-harm principles, including informed consent, confidentiality, and safe handling of sensitive or commercially sensitive information. 

The Expert will be responsible for the performance of the following main duties:

SUMMARY OF DELIVERABLES 

All deliverables shall explicitly highlight implications for ATCMA Outputs 1.1, 1.2, 2.1 and 2.2, and identify practical entry points for coordination with ITC-led activities where relevant. 

1. Inception Note (max. 3 pages) – detailing methodology, workplan, and stakeholders mapping for consultations. 

1. Draft Gender Analysis Report (max. 20 pages excluding annexes) – synthesizing findings across value-chain participation, enterprise-level constraints, SPS/TBT and quality infrastructure impacts, institutional representation, and policy/coordination gaps, and providing prioritized, actionable recommendations aligned with ATCMA Outputs 1.1, 1.2, 2.1 and 2.2. 

1. Annex: Proposed Gender Indicators – including baselines, targets, and data sources. 

1. Final Gender Analysis Report – incorporating feedback from UNIDO, ITC and relevant programme stakeholders. 

MINIMUM ORGANIZATIONAL REQUIREMENTS  

Education: Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in gender studies, social sciences, international development, or a related field. 

Technical and Functional Experience: 

• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in gender analysis and women’s economic empowerment, preferably in trade, value chain, or industrial development context. 

• Demonstrated experience applying gender-responsive or gender-transformative approaches in trade, value chain development, MSME competitiveness or industrial development contexts is required. 

• Demonstrated experience in developing gender-responsive or gender-transformative indicators and conducting stakeholder consultations is required. 

• Experience in African region or similar socio-economic contexts is an asset. 

• Familiarity with AfCFTA frameworks and/or regional economic community trade policies is an asset. 

• Excellent analytical and report writing skills in English are required; working knowledge of French is desirable. 

• Experience with EU-funded programmes is desirable. 

• Ability to work in a multicultural environment is desirable.