Consultant To Lead The Development Of The Common African Position On Care Work Home Based Posting Date06/09/2026 BE THE FIRST TO APPLY

Organizational Context

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. Care work, both paid and unpaid, is a cornerstone of societal well-being and economic development, yet it remains undervalued and inequitably distributed. Across Africa, the systemic undervaluation of care work perpetuates gender inequalities, impedes women’s economic opportunities, and limits progress toward achieving gender equality. In sub-Sharan Africa, women and girls bear a disproportionate responsibility performing nearly 70% of unpaid care work, averaging 3 to 4 times more hours on unpaid care activities than men[1]. In Tanzania women spen

Job Purpose

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. Care work, both paid and unpaid, is a cornerstone of societal well-being and economic development, yet it remains undervalued and inequitably distributed. Across Africa, the systemic undervaluation of care work perpetuates gender inequalities, impedes women’s economic opportunities, and limits progress toward achieving gender equality. In sub-Sharan Africa, women and girls bear a disproportionate responsibility performing nearly 70% of unpaid care work, averaging 3 to 4 times more hours on unpaid care activities than men[1]. In Tanzania women spend an average of 4.5 hours per day on unpaid care work, compared to 1.5 hours for men. In Kenya, the figures are even higher with women spending up to 5 times more time on unpaid care and domestic work than men[2]. Unpaid care work, if assigned a monetary value, would represent significant shares of the GDP in countries, specifically, 7.2% in Ethiopia, 7.9% in Tanzania, 13.9% in Senegal, and 8.8% in South Africa[3]. Despite this enormous value, and its significant contribution to socio-economic development, unpaid care remains largely overlooked in fiscal and economic planning. Furthermore, the paid care sectors which consist mostly of women are characterized by poor pay and working conditions which creates further challenges for women’s social and economic wellbeing.[4] The paid sectors, including professions such as healthcare, education, and social services, also continue to experienc

Responsibilities

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. Care work, both paid and unpaid, is a cornerstone of societal well-being and economic development, yet it remains undervalued and inequitably distributed. Across Africa, the systemic undervaluation of care work perpetuates gender inequalities, impedes women’s economic opportunities, and limits progress toward achieving gender equality. In sub-Sharan Africa, women and girls bear a disproportionate responsibility performing nearly 70% of unpaid care work, averaging 3 to 4 times more hours on unpaid care activities than men[1]. In Tanzania women spend an average of 4.5 hours per day on unpaid care work, compared to 1.5 hours for men. In Kenya, the figures are even higher with women spending up to 5 times more time on unpaid care and domestic work than men[2]. Unpaid care work, if assigned a monetary value, would represent significant shares of the GDP in countries, specifically, 7.2% in Ethiopia, 7.9% in Tanzania, 13.9% in Senegal, and 8.8% in South Africa[3]. Despite this enormous value, and its significant contribution to socio-economic development, unpaid care remains largely overlooked in fiscal and economic planning. Furthermore, the paid care sectors which consist mostly of women are characterized by poor pay and working conditions which creates further challenges for women’s social and economic wellbeing.[4] The paid sectors, including professions such as healthcare, education, and social services, also continue to experience high budget cuts, leading to persistent threats of job insecurity for the workers. Underinvestment in care services has real costs including limited childcare facilities, inadequate social protection, and lack of essential infrastructure such as clean water and energy. These limited services disproportionately affect women’s ability to participate in the labour market, pursue educational opportu

Work Experience

- At least 7 years of experience in gender equality, care economy, social protection, or labor policy is required; - Demonstrated experience in developing regional/continental policy frameworks, gender-responsive macroeconomic and/or social policy is required; - Demonstrated experience in producing high level political declarations, statements, positions, and policy documents is required; - Strong knowledge of AU policy frameworks and Agenda 2063 is required; - Experience working in policy spaces in Africa is required; - Previous work on the Care economy including the 5R Framework is an asset; - Experience working with the AU, UN system, or regional institutions is highly desirable.

Skills

Not informed

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