National Consultant to Support Gender Mainstreaming in Public Finance Management

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. 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 policy 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.

In April 2023 UN Women, with the generous support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) launched a four-year project “Women’s Increased Leadership for Democracy in Georgia” (WILD). The project aims to ensure that women and girls in all their diversity fully and equally participate in decision-making and benefit from gender-responsive governance in Georgia. Within the framework of the project, inter alia, UN Women provides technical support to the Government of Georgia to strengthen institutional mechanisms on gender equality and to develop and implement laws and policies on gender equality and gender mainstreaming in line with BPfA+25 review process and CEDAW recommendations.

Governments, including the Government of Georgia, have committed to the principle of adequate financing for gender equality and empowerment of women and girls through numerous international agreements and partnerships. The principle of adequate financing for gender equality is rooted in the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action adopted in 1995 (For more information on the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, see: http://beijing20.unwomen.org/en/about) and highlighted in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Both documents link the achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment with adequate and appropriate financing and make specific references to gender-responsive budgeting.  As a result, gender-responsive budgeting has been gaining increased traction in public financial management, with more than some 80 countries having institutionalized GRB in one form or another.

In 2019, the World Bank designed the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA - The Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) is a framework for assessing and reporting on the strengths and weaknesses of public financial management (PFM) using quantitative indicators to measure performance. PEFA is designed to provide a snapshot of PFM performance at specific points in time using a methodology that can be replicated in successive assessments, giving a summary of changes over time. PEFA framework it is subsequently established as a standard methodology for PFM diagnostic assessments,. Since 2001 PEFA has become the acknowledged standard for PFM assessments) supplementary framework for assessing gender-responsive public financial management (GRPFM - https://www.pefa.org/news/pefa-grpfm-framework-available-english-french-spanish-and-portuguese-languages). The PEFA’s GRPFM is a set of nine indicators which collect information on gender-responsive public financial management practices. These indicators are built on the PEFA framework and mirror the mapping of PFM practices and assessment of PFM institutions, processes, and systems as typically carried out during a PEFA assessment process. As a rule, the PEFA GRPFM supplementary assessment is conducted on a voluntary basis concurrently with a PEFA assessment.

In 2021-2022, the Ministry of Finance (MoF), with the support of UN Women, conducted a self-assessment of the PEFA Gender-Responsive Public Financial Management (GRPFM). The assessment is a part of the larger PEFA evaluation and evaluates the extent to which Georgia's public finance management (PFM) system is responsive to gender. The results of the assessment are expected to enable the measurement of progress and inform a broader strategy for the Government of Georgia to improve the PFM system and establish Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB) practices.

To support effective implementation of the PEFA GRPFM assessment report, UN Women will recruit a national consultant.

Duties and Responsibilities

More specifically, the national consultant will be responsible for the following tasks and deliverables:

• To provide technical support and guidance to the Ministry of Finance and line agencies in the implementation of recommendations under the PEFA GRPFM report
• To provide capacity development support to line ministries/state agencies (including workshops, trainings, couching and mentoring) on mainstreaming gender in their respective budgets per PEFA GRPFM report recommendations
• To provide continuous support to the Ministry of Finance in mainstreaming gender in PFM systems aligned with PEFA GRPFM indicators
• To draft briefs, memos and other relevant documentation, including periodic updates on the status of implementation of PEFA GRPFM recommendations
• To hold and participate in thematic workshops, consultation meetings, and discussions as required
• To prepare a final report about the work carried out, including key observations and recommendations for follow up.

Deliverables:

• Progress Report 1 – covering duties, responsibilities and a number of working days pre-agreed with the UN Women developed and submitted to UN Women by 30 August 2023.
• Progress Report 2 – covering duties, responsibilities and a number of working days pre-agreed with the UN Women developed submitted to UN Women by 30 November 2023.
• Progress Report 3 – covering duties, responsibilities and a number of working days pre-agreed with the UN Women developed and submitted to UN Women by 30 February 2024.
• Progress Report 4 – covering duties, responsibilities and a number of working days pre-agreed with the UN Women developed and submitted to UN Women by 30 May 2024.

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/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• At least Master’s degree in Public Finance, humanitarian affairs, development policy, and/or any relevant field directly related to the assignment.

Experience: 

• At least 3 years of experience in supporting public administration and public finance management reforms
• Proven experience in research and analysis in the field of gender equality will be a strong asset
• Previous experience of working on PEFA and PEFA GRPFM frameworks will be a strong asset
• Experience in facilitating consultations and workshops and engaging with diverse stakeholders, including CSOs, NGOs, national governments, UN agencies will be an asset.
• Demonstrated experience in producing well written reports demonstrating analytical ability and communication skill will be an asset.

Language:

• Fluency in Georgian and English

Evaluation Procedure:

The candidates will be evaluated in three stages: according to minimum qualification criteria; technical and financial evaluation.

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

• At least master’s degree in public finance, humanitarian affairs, development policy, and/or any relevant field directly related to the assignment.
• At least 3 years of experience in supporting public administration and public finance management reforms
• Fluent in English
• Fluent in Georgian

Technical evaluation criteria (including minimum qualifications):

• At least master’s degree in public finance, humanitarian affairs, development policy, and/or any relevant field directly related to the assignment (max 80 points)
• At least 3 years of experience in supporting public administration and public finance management reforms (max 80 points)
• Proven experience in research and analysis in the field of gender equality will be a strong asset (max 50 points)
• Previous experience of working on PEFA and PEFA GRPFM frameworks will be a strong asset (max 50 points)
• Experience in facilitating consultations and workshops and engaging with diverse stakeholders, including CSOs, NGOs, national governments, UN agencies will be an asset (max 30 points)
• Demonstrated experience in producing well written reports demonstrating analytical ability and communication skill will be an asset (max 30 points)
• Fluent in Georgian and English (max 30 points)

Maximum total technical score amounts to 350 points. Only candidates who have passed over the minimum qualification criteria and have accumulated at least 245 points out of maximum 350 under technical evaluation will qualify for the next stage i.e. evaluation of their financial proposals.

Evaluation of submitted financial offers will be done based on the following formula: S = Fmin / F * 150

S – score received on financial evaluation;

Fmin – the lowest financial offer out of all the submitted offers qualified over the technical evaluation round;

F – financial offer under consideration.

The winning candidate will be the candidate, who has accumulated the highest aggregated score (technical scoring + financial scoring).

Management arrangements:

The contractor will report to and work under direct supervision of UN Women Governance & Participation in Public Life (G&PPL) Programme Analyst and under the overall supervision of the UN Women Deputy Country Representative.

Financial arrangements:

Payment will be disbursed upon submission and approval of deliverables and certification by UN Women G&PPL Programme Analyst that the services have been satisfactorily performed. The payment per deliverable shall be calculated per number of working days captured in the progress reports/deliverables.

Application submission package:

• Duly filled in Personal History Form PHF11 that can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process
• CV;
• Financial Proposal - lump sum proposal/offer* in USD (including breakdown of this lump sum amount, indicating all necessary costs to complete this assignment).

*The applicants are required to submit an aggregated financial offer: “aggregated financial offer” is the total sum of all financial claims of the candidate, including travel costs (ticket, DSA etc.) for accomplishment of all tasks spelled out in this ToR.

How to Submit the Application:

• Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11)- https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process  
• Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), CV and the Financial Proposal into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded.
• Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement).
• Click 'Apply Now' button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click 'Submit Application;'
• Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above).
• You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

Notes:

• UN Women retains the right to contact references directly. Due to the large numbers of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.
• Applications without the financial offer will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
• The individual consultants should take the mandatory learning security course prior to commencement of assignment– details will follow before the issuance of contract.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need. 

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application. 

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.  All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.).