INTERNATIONAL MICROFINANCE GENDER BASELINE SURVEY CONSULTANT

Liberia is a small country situated on the West Coast of Africa with a population of approximately 3.8 million people in an area of 11,370 square kilometers. Nearly three quarters of this population live below the poverty line of 1 USD per day. Fourteen years of war have been the main contributory factor leading to the decline in Liberia’s social indicators which has resulted in the country being near the bottom of UNDP’s Human Development Index. The socio-economic decline of the country is reflected in a GDP which in 2007 was estimated as one –eighth of what it was prior to the war. Further manifestations of the effects of the war are: a collapse in the productive sectors, severe macroeconomic imbalance, weakened economic management capacity, damaged infrastructure, unemployment, especially amongst youth and an economy dominated by a large informal sector characterized by low productivity and lack of innovation. Liberia is now in the process of rebuilding its social and economic infrastructure. The challenge ahead is how to resuscitate the economy, create significant job prospects that could make an impact quickly, rebuild infrastructure and the various economic sectors. As in the other countries, women play an important role in the economy of Liberia representing 50% of the labour force in both the formal and informal sectors. As with other countries also, women remain the most disadvantaged section of the population. Women’s position of economic disadvantage in Liberia was also exacerbated by the war. Many women lost their husbands and sons during the war and have become the sole or primary income earners in the household as widows, single mothers or orphans. At the same time they did not gain in terms of power, status, or privileges. Losses of property, such as homes and other physical assets have left most women with no means of sustainable livelihoods and exposed their households to a higher risk of malnutrition, shorter life -expectancy, illness, illiteracy and insecurity of income. With over half of the population living in abject poverty, together with the added disadvantage of women’s situation of poor women, the Government of Liberia in collaboration with the Danish Government intend to impact of the lives and women and girls through the promotion of the of MDG Goal 3 related to gender equality and empowerment of women. The Government of Liberia has also identified micro-finance as a major strategy for poverty alleviation, which relates to MDG one and the second pillar of the PRSP which focuses on poverty reduction through economic revitalization.

Duties and Responsibilities

The assignment to be undertaken addresses output 3 of component 3 of the JP-GEWEE. The main focus of the assignment is to set a gender baseline on socioeconomic opportunities and challenges for rural women in selected counties. The assignment is expected to provide qualitative and quantitative gender-based data to inform potential financial service providers and stakeholders on possible strategies and programmes to improve and deepen rural women financial access. More specifically, the mission will: Complete a gender mapping exercise focusing on the appraisal and analysis of: The business profile and performance of rural women as oppose to rural men; The kind of financial products and services that are accessed and needed by the rural women; The kind of responses that are provided and that should be provided by the potential financial service providers and other stakeholders in meeting the financial and non financial needs of rural women. Assess and analyze the size, location and scope of the type of business activities commonly implemented by the rural women as oppose to rural men; Determine the profile and characteristics of the related Business Holders including their age, education, revenue, marital status, etc; Determine their financial needs in terms of loans, savings, housing, micro-insurance, etc; Highlight and make proposals on issues to be addressed beyond credit and financial services, including business development services and financial education and literacy; Articulate a strategy for women empowerment beyond credit and financial services. The strategy should incorporate the following : i. Indicative Activities; ii. Output and outcome indicators; iii. Budget; iv. Monitoring and evaluation plan; Integrate in this program, issues specific to financial education and literacy, business development services and health care for rural women ; Define indicators and mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation of the interventions; Outline the most appropriate training programme of rural women entrepreneurs. Present the key findings and recommendations to a stakeholder’s workshop and facilitate discussions around mainstreaming gender sensitive strategies and approaches in microfinance, particularly with respect to Savings mobilization and Micro Health Insurance;. Outline most appropriate intervention that would impact on the economic empowerment of women, including business development services and financial literacy. Documentation review Leading the intervention design team in planning and developing materials. Deciding on division of labor within the team Use of best practice gender sensitive interview methodologies and guidelines. Leading presentation of findings and recommendations at the mission debriefing sessions with the LIFS project staff and at the national stakeholders’ workshop. Leading the drafting and finalization of the Gender Baseline Survey report The outcome of the assignment must enable financial service providers and other stakeholders to get a better knowledge and understanding of the financial and non financial needs of the rural women along with what they really want, how they want it, and how they should access it. Deliverables are linked to the payment as follows: Deliverable Assignment # of deliverables Tentative Timeline % of payment Produce a summary report on the findings, conclusion and recommendations of the field mission 1 27/09/2011 30 % of total Present the summary report at the National Workshop for Mainstreaming Gender in Microfinance 1 Submit the draft report on the Gender Baseline Survey, including a description of the situation, an analysis of the findings and an outline of the required strategies for empowering women beyond credit and financial services 1 14/10/2011 50 % of total Finalize the report after incorporating the comments, observations and suggestions of the project and stakeholders 1 21/10/2011 20 % of total Only shortlisted applicants will be notified and forwarded the Individual Consultant Procurement Notice along with terms of reference and general conditions of contrat for the services of Individual Contractors. Short listed candidates will be asked to submit the follwing: 1. General Proposal: Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work 2. Financial proposal 3. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references

Competencies

A minimum of five years of consulting experience in gender mainstreaming, community development and/or women empowerment; Must have extensive experience in designing and conducting related Baseline Survey and Capacity Needs Assessment; Comprehensive knowledge of gender issues and women empowerment; Relevant experience at the country/regional level. Excellent report writing and communication skills in English Ability to work in team and in multicultural situations Fluent in written and spoken English

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Minimum Masters degree in Economics or Social Science, Community Development, Health Science or relevant degrees Experience: Minimum of five years of consulting experience in gender mainstreaming, community development and/or women empowerment. Solid experience in researching on gender sensitive strategies and programmes. Language: Fluency in written and spoken English.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.