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 Eastern & Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) maintains a large presence in the region, covering 13 countries with program presence in Somalia.ย
Financial Inclusion as defined by the World Bank is aimed at ensuring that individuals and businesses have access to and can effectively use affordable financial products and servicesโsuch as payments, savings, credit, and insuranceโthat meet their needs and are delivered responsibly and sustainably.ย
There is currently a low level of financial inclusion of women in East and Southern Africa and available data are not always disaggregated by sex. Financial inclusion has been identified as one of the potential contributors to sustainable economic growth and stability as well as the industrialization agenda and it is therefore important to ensure that financial inclusion data collection and analysis includes a gender perspective.ย
One of the prerequisites for womenโs empowerment through economic participation is having access to and use of quality financial products and services. Access to these services is important for inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction as it enables people to better manage risk and invest in a variety of products and economic activities. However, it is even more important for women because of limited control over economic resources, limited asset ownership and their unequal representation in labour markets. From a green economy perspective, it will also become increasingly necessary to develop systems that measure the extent to which women use and benefit from financial products and services offered by the public, private and not-for-profit sectors that consider environmental factors and are associated with environmentally sustainable development priorities. All these policies are important but without the necessary data, it is not possible to adequately quantify the current situation nor monitor changes over time.ย
During 2024, UN Women partnered with SADC in support of the implementation of the data component of the financial inclusion gender action plan.ย This included the production of a report based on a gendered analysis of existing data with a summary of key financial inclusion indicators for the 16 SADC member states. This collaboration also resulted in the production of a toolkit that provides technical guidance and standards on the measurement of financial inclusion to SADC member states. The toolkit was used to train gender statisticians from all 16 members states on how to better produce gender data.ย
The UN Women East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESA RO) would like to build on and expand this work by contracting a consultant to generate a gender and financial inclusion statistical report for countries in East Africa where there is existing data. Additionally, by using the SADC toolkit on producing gender and financial inclusion data, the consultant will be tasked to develop a more generic toolkit that is based on global frameworks, rather than only that of SADC.ย
The consultant will be supervised by the Gender statistics specialist of the UN Women ESA-RO, with additional inputs and advice from a steering committee consisting of the SADC statistics unit, SADC gender unit, SADC Directorate of Finance Investment and Customs and the UN Women ESA-RO Women Economic Empowerment advisor.
Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work
The overall goal of the project is to establish and describe the current availability of gender related financial inclusion data in countries in East Africa and develop a generic toolkit and standardized guidance showcasing the best international practices of mainstreaming gender in financial inclusion and asset ownership data collection
Deliverables
Inception report that contains a literature review and describes the process and methods that will be used for data collection across member states; Consolidation of the key findings of the key indicator study in a 20-page regional report;ย Make recommendations on improved data use and further research opportunities;ย One generic training toolkit consisting of 30-50 pages that can be used in Africa. It should include practical examples from countries in the region and should be compiled as a collection of best practices and practical โIdeas and Tipsโ of how to mainstream gender in financial inclusion data systems as well as measure outcomes and impact.ย Deliverable Expected completion time (due day)ย Prepare an inception report: Desk review of international best practices and bi lateral consultation with relevant users and producers of financial inclusion statistics.ย 25th August 2025 Analyze existing financial inclusion data for countries in East Africa from a gender perspective 5th September 2025 Prepare of overview report on status of financial inclusion in the sub-region 16th October 2025 Prepare training materials and a toolkit which provides guidance on best generic practices for the measurement of financial inclusion 14th November 2025Consultantโs Workplace and Official Travel
This is a home-based consultancy and will be done virtually
Competencies :
Core Values:
Core Competencies:
Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues; Accountability; Creative Problem Solving; Effective Communication; Inclusive Collaboration; Stakeholder Engagement; Leading by Example.Please visitย this linkย for more information on UN Womenโs Values and Competencies Framework:ย
Functional Competencies:
Demonstrable statistical and related experience in the East and Southern Africa region; Demonstrated knowledge or experience in organizing information and materials for knowledge sharing and learning; Knowledge of the Sustainable Development Goals and national efforts to implement them is strongly preferred; Excellent writing skills.Required Qualifications:
Education and Certification:
Masterโs degree in economics, finance, gender studies, sociology, development studies or related field A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree A project/programme management certification would be an added advantage.Experience:
Minimum 10 yearsโ experience in working in the field of financial inclusionย Excellent English communication and writing skills;ย Experience in gender and womenโs economic empowerment related programming and projectsย Statistical analysis experience is required.ย Experience in working with Government institutions and national statistics offices will be an advantage Excellent analytical skills with strong drive for results and capacity to work independently.Languages:
Fluency in English or French is required; Knowledge of any other UN official language is an asset.Statements :
In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.
Diversity and inclusion:
At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates,ย and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age,ย ability, national origin,ย 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 toย UN Womenโsย policiesย and proceduresย andย theย standardsย of conduct expected of UN Women personnelย 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.)
Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.
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