UN Women - Social Policy Consultant (Home-based)

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, 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.

Globally, care work is central to social protection, economic resilience, gender equality and sustainable development. Yet unpaid care and domestic work remain largely invisible in policy, budgets and labour markets, despite women’s disproportionate responsibility for childcare, eldercare, care for persons with disabilities, household management and community support. SDG Target 5.4 calls for the recognition and valuation of unpaid care and domestic work through public services, infrastructure and social protection policies, and the promotion of shared responsibility within households and families. SDG Indicator 5.4.1, on the proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work by sex, age and location, provides an essential measure for evidence-based policy reforms.

Regional commitments also provide an important normative basis for advancing comprehensive care systems. The Tlatelolco Commitment reinforces the need to guarantee the right to care, recognize care as a public good and a shared social responsibility, and promote care systems that are universal, comprehensive, rights-based, gender-responsive, intersectional, intercultural and co-responsible between the State, households, communities, the private sector and society as a whole. In this context, Jamaica’s National Care Systems Assessment will support the generation of evidence and recommendations to inform an integrated national approach to care, aligned with the 6Rs of decent care work: recognize, reduce, redistribute, reward, represent and resource care work.

In Jamaica, care policy is closely linked to social protection reform, women’s economic empowerment, labour force participation, decent work, poverty reduction and resilience. Existing evidence points to persistent gender gaps in social protection and care, including women’s heavier unpaid care workload, the concentration of women among beneficiaries and family representatives of social assistance programmes, the gendered implications of conditionalities, and the need for more responsive services for children, older persons, persons with disabilities, caregivers and care workers. Jamaica’s social protection system, including the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH), provides an important platform for strengthening shock-responsive, inclusive and gender-responsive care-related policy and programming.

Jamaica’s national policy framework provides a strong basis for this assessment. Vision 2030 Jamaica, the country’s long-term national development plan, articulates the national vision of making Jamaica “the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business” and emphasizes the importance of family well-being, equitable access to education and health care, social protection, poverty reduction, support for vulnerable populations, and the integration of older persons and persons with disabilities within society with access to appropriate care and support services. The Vision 2030 Gender Sector Plan further treats gender as a cross-cutting development issue and provides a basis for mainstreaming gender equality across all national development priorities, including social protection, labour, family life, health, education and community development.

The National Policy for Gender Equality also provides an important policy anchor for the National Care Systems Assessment. It commits Jamaica to gender mainstreaming within a human rights-based framework across State institutions and partnerships with the private sector, non-governmental organizations and civil society. Its focus on transforming gender relations, eliminating discrimination, advancing equal access to opportunities, resources and rewards, addressing poverty and vulnerabilities among women, and ensuring that women and men can participate fully in national development is directly relevant to care policy. These national commitments support the assessment’s focus on unpaid and paid care work, the redistribution of care responsibilities, access to support services, gender-responsive social protection, poverty reduction, and the strengthening of care systems for children, older persons, persons with disabilities, caregivers and care workers.

Jamaica’s climate and disaster policy architecture is also directly relevant to the assessment. The Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management Policy and Strategy 2020–2040 sets out Jamaica’s long-term vision for “A Safe and Resilient Jamaica” and calls for disaster risk management to be mainstreamed across national policies and sectoral planning, including the integration of disaster risk reduction with climate change adaptation. The Climate Change Policy Framework for Jamaica provides a national basis for coordinating adaptation and mitigation across sectors, including human settlements and infrastructure, water resources, agriculture and fisheries, tourism, health, biodiversity, disaster risk financing, land-use planning, communication, public awareness and support to vulnerable populations. These frameworks should inform the assessment’s analysis of how care systems can remain functional before, during and after shocks, and how public services, infrastructure, financing and community systems can reduce the unpaid care burden during climate- and disaster-related disruptions.

The Jamaica Gender and Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2022–2025 further strengthens the rationale for linking care systems to climate resilience. It identifies the need for gender-responsive climate action that addresses gender-differentiated needs and capacities, supports equitable participation in climate-related decision-making, and promotes equitable access to the benefits of climate investments. For the National Care Systems Assessment, this means examining how women, men and diverse groups experience climate risks differently; how climate shocks increase unpaid care and domestic work; and how care-related services, such as childcare, eldercare, disability support, health, social protection, WASH and shelter, can be designed as part of Jamaica’s resilience infrastructure.

The assessment must also address the nexus between climate change, disasters and care. As a small island developing state, Jamaica is exposed to climate-related hazards that disrupt care infrastructure, livelihoods, schools, health services, water and sanitation, housing and social protection delivery. Hurricane Melissa underscored how disasters intensify pre-existing gender inequalities and increase unpaid care burdens, particularly for women and girls, caregivers, women-headed households, older persons, persons with disabilities and people living in rural or hard-to-reach communities. The storm’s impacts on displacement, school disruption, housing damage, service access, protection risks, livelihoods and psychosocial well-being demonstrate the need for care systems that are climate-resilient, shock-responsive and grounded in gender equality and human rights.

Within this context, UN Women is seeking to contract a Social Policy Expert to support the Ministry of Labour and Social Security with undertaking a National Care Systems Assessment for Jamaica. Given the gender policy and mainstreaming remit of the Bureau of Gender Affairs, close coordination with the Bureau of Gender Affairs is necessary. The assessment will generate evidence on Jamaica’s care architecture, identify gaps and opportunities across policy, legislation, services, financing, data, governance and implementation, and provide actionable recommendations to inform the development of a national care policy, system or roadmap that advances gender equality, decent care work, climate resilience and inclusive social protection.

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women MCO - Caribbean Representative and directly reporting to the Deputy Representative, the Social Policy Expert will lead the design and implementation of a National Care Systems Assessment for Jamaica in collaboration with and with guidance from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and in coordination with the Bureau of Gender Affairs. The consultant will assess the current care ecosystem, including unpaid and paid care work, social protection, labour and family-friendly policies, childcare, eldercare, disability care, health and community-based care, domestic work, care infrastructure, care services, disaster response and climate resilience dimensions; and women´s participation in the policy and decision-making processes.

The consultant will apply a gender-responsive, rights-based, intersectional and life-course approach, ensuring alignment with the SDGs, including SDG 5.4 and SDG Indicator 5.4.1; the Tlatelolco Commitment; CEDAW; relevant ILO standards on decent work, social protection, maternity protection, domestic work and care work; and regional and international good practices on comprehensive care systems. 

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

The consultant will be responsible for the following areas of work:

• Policy, legislative and institutional review: Review Jamaica’s policy, legislative, institutional and service delivery frameworks relevant to care, social protection, labour, gender equality, child and family services, health, ageing, disability inclusion, disaster risk management and climate resilience.
• Care systems mapping: Map the actors, services, programmes, financing mechanisms, coordination arrangements and data systems that shape formal and informal care provision in Jamaica.
• Gender and intersectional analysis: Analyse how care responsibilities and access to care services differ by sex, age, disability, income, geographic location, household composition, employment status and exposure to disaster risk.
• Climate change and disaster resilience lens: Analyse the gendered impacts of climate-related shocks, including Hurricane Melissa, on care needs, care infrastructure, social protection access, livelihoods, education, health, WASH, shelter, protection risks and unpaid care burdens, and identify entry points for gender-responsive, inclusive and equitable climate action.
• 6Rs Framework: Assess opportunities to recognize, reduce, redistribute, reward. represent and resource care work through policies, services, labour protections, financing, social dialogue and institutional reforms.
• Stakeholder engagement: Design and facilitate inclusive consultations with government ministries and agencies, civil society, women’s rights and women-led organizations, care workers, caregivers, organizations of persons with disabilities, older persons’ representatives, employers’ and workers’ organizations, private sector actors, academia and development partners.
• Recommendations and roadmap: Develop actionable recommendations and a proposed roadmap for strengthening Jamaica’s national care system and related policies, including through integrated governance, financing, implementation, monitoring and accountability mechanisms and links to climate resilience and shock-responsive social protection.

Expected Deliverables

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy. As part of this assignment, the Consultant will be expected to conduct virtual consultations and may be required to support in-person stakeholder consultations in Jamaica, subject to confirmation by UN Women and the availability of resources.

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

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 Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Strong social policy, gender analysis and care economy expertise.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct policy, legislative, institutional and service delivery assessments.
• Excellent qualitative research, facilitation and stakeholder consultation skills.
• Strong understanding of gender-responsive social protection, unpaid and paid care work, decent work and labour rights.
• Familiarity with SDGs, including SDG 5.4.1, the 5Rs framework, the Tlatelolco Commitment, CEDAW and relevant ILO standards.
• Ability to analyse the links between climate change, disaster risk, humanitarian response, social protection and care systems.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to present complex analysis and recommendations clearly to policy and technical audiences.

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

•  A Master’s degree in Social Policy, Public Policy, Social Sciences, Economics, Gender and Development, Development Studies, Public Health, Labour Studies or a related field is required.

OR

• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least (7) five years of progressively responsible experience in social policy, gender equality, social protection, care economy, labour policy, disability inclusion, child and family policy or related fields nine (9) years' experience with a Bachelor’s degree is required.
• Demonstrated experience conducting national assessments, policy analyses, institutional reviews, qualitative research or stakeholder consultations is required.
• Experience working on care systems, unpaid care work, paid care work, family-friendly policies, childcare, eldercare, disability care or domestic work is required.
• Experience integrating gender-responsive, intersectional and rights-based approaches into policy and programme design is required.
• Experience working in Jamaica or the Caribbean region is highly desirable.
• Experience analysing climate resilience, disaster risk management, humanitarian response or shock-responsive social protection from a gender perspective is desirable.
• Prior experience working with government institutions, UN agencies, civil society, women’s organizations, workers’ organizations or employers’ organizations is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in written and oral English is required.

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, 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.)

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.