Mar 27, UNDP National Consultant-Gender Responsive Public Procurement Jobs in Ethopia

Background

Public procurement refers to the many ways in which governments acquire goods (supplies or products), works, and services, using a range of contractual arrangements and purchasing tools. Public procurement offers an attractive market for entrepreneurs since governments around the world spend around 12 per cent of global GDP on public contracts. Public procurement was estimated to be at least $13 trillion out of the global GDP in 2018.

Access to public procurement represents an important potential market and a significant source of business for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) since public contracts can stimulate an increase in investment, job generation and productivity for firms. Moreover, a well-designed public procurement framework strengthens citizens’ confidence in government and private sector competitiveness, especially by creating opportunities SMEs. Women own 30 per cent of the small and medium businesses worldwide, yet women-owned businesses only access 1 per cent of all procurement contracts suggesting systemic gender disparities within procurement systems. In Ethiopia more than 1.5 million SMEs face a financing gap of 1.6 billion USD, which would have created 7.5 million jobs, if well addressed (First Consult 2021). While the gap is much more for women owned in SMEs (Ethiopian Economic Association (EEA), 2022).

In balancing the gender disparities and reaching the most marginalized ones, countries are developing policies and legal frameworks in facilitating business licensing and permits, trade regulations, labor regulations, tax administration and collateral by allowing use of rural land and resources (Ethiopian Rual Land use and Administration Policy). These efforts among others aim to support rural entrepreneurship and foster inclusivity.

While these are encouraging actions to help women actively participate in various developmental activities and entrepreneur ecosystem, realizing potential requires the implementation of policies and practices actively promoting the inclusion of women-led businesses and concerted efforts to integrate and include women in the workforce (Africa Freedom of Information Centre, 2023).

While government contracts can be crucial for businesses and contribute to local economic growth, women-led enterprises face significant underrepresentation in this sector. Gender bias and entrenched power dynamics perpetuate discrimination and oppression throughout the planning, procurement, implementation, and monitoring of government expenditures.

One key strategic approach to promoting women’s empowerment and fostering their active involvement in and benefit from the economy is Gender Responsive Public Procurement.

This involves making sustainable choices in the acquisition of services and goods, considering their impact on gender equality and the empowerment of women by prioritizing sourcing from women. The entity responsible for overseeing public procurement in Ethiopia is The Ethiopian Federal Government Procurement and Property Administration Agency, which is accountable to the Ministry of Finance.

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has demonstrated an explicit commitment to address gender and other social inequalities that discourages sustainable and equitable development through conducive legal, policy and instrumental frameworks that support gender equality and women empowerment at all spheres of development.

However, there is no existing policy or legal framework that particularly promotes the participation of women led businesses in public procurement in Ethiopia. The

Ethiopian Federal Government Procurement and Property Administration Proclamation (No. 649/2009) does not offer preferential treatment to women entrepreneurs, and there is a lack of available data on the extent of government sourcing from women entrepreneurs.

The current proclamation (No.649/2009) is waiting for endorsement from the House of People’s Representatives. To this effect UN Women has been providing documents on countries experience to support the agency on revising the public procurement Proclamation to become more gender responsive with a view that provisions on gender responsive procurement would enable Ethiopia’s women led businesses to compete and win more tenders contributing to their economic participation and sustainable development.

The Public Procurement and Property Administration Agency is currently preparing a guideline on procurement, this would be an opportunity for UN Women to support the Agency to assess the gap and enhance their capacity towards gender responsive procurement practices.

Duties and Responsibilities

An inception report clearly outlining the scope of the assessment

Facilitate an inception workshop that will involve relevant stakeholders and develop a report of the inception workshop

Develop an assessment report and a two-pager policy brief (English and Amharic) on gender responsive procurement in Ethiopia.

Facilitate a validation workshop of the draft assessment and provide workshop report

Develop a training manual (English and Amharic) to enhance capacity of the staff of the

Provide a training in two rounds to the relevant staff of the agency

Develop report of the outcome of the training

Functional Competencies

Ability to work with minimal supervision.

Evidence of having undertaken similar assignments

Experience on gender responsive, procurement, budget analysis and development of assessments

High level written and oral communications skills in Amharic and English

Result-oriented, team player, exhibiting high levels of enthusiasm for gender equality, diplomacy and integrity.

Demonstrate excellent interpersonal and professional skills in interacting with government and development partners at regional and federal level.

Experience in conducting assessment, writing high quality reports both in English and Amharic

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in Gender, Economics, International Development, or other relevant Social Science fields.

Experience:

At least 10 years professional experience related to the qualifications stated.

Demonstrated expertise with comprehensive and documented knowledge of public procurement issues, coupled with a strong understanding of gender mainstreaming principles.

Proven experience in conducting assessments, developing training manual and delivering training, and facilitating workshops for government officials.

Familiarity with effective training methodologies and techniques.

Experience working with the United Nations will be considered an advantage.

Language Requirements: Amharic and English

How to Apply

For more information and job application details, see; UNDP National Consultant-Gender Responsive Public Procurement Jobs in Ethopia

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