➡️ Apply here: National Consultant on Barriers and Incentives to Transition from Informal to Formal Employment among Families with Children
👩💼 Want to stand out? Improve your resume to appeal to recruiters, hiring managers, and Applicant Tracking Systems. ➡️ Improve your resume
**Job Title:** National Consultant on Barriers and Incentives to Transition from Informal to Formal Employment among Families with Children, Tbilisi, Georgia.
**Company:** UNICEF
**Location:** Tbilisi, Georgia
**Purpose of Activity/Assignment:**
To identify and analyze the key barriers and incentives affecting transitions from informal to formal employment, and from TSA dependency to formal, sustainable employment, with a focus on households with children.
**The Consultant Will:**
* Map and analyze the full package of benefits linked to TSA scores, including those provided by national agencies and municipalities.
* Provide analysis of the barriers to moving to formal employment.
* Identify and, as much as possible, quantify what families lose or gain when moving from informal to formal employment.
* Propose policy recommendations to strengthen incentives for formalization and formal employment among families with children.
* Contribute to the design of a quantitative study to test the main hypotheses derived from this analysis.
**Scope of Work:**
**Strategic Context:**
Despite Georgia’s steady economic growth and continued expansion of social protection, a large share of the working-age population remains engaged in informal employment. Informality is especially common among low-income families with children, including recipients of the Targeted Social Assistance (TSA) programme. The TSA programme’s structure and interaction with other benefits may inadvertently create disincentives for formalization and labor market activation. This consultancy aims to understand these dynamics and propose solutions.
**Rationale:**
UNICEF seeks to better understand the interplay between social protection, labor market incentives, and family welfare in Georgia.
**Specifically, It Is Critical To Investigate:**
* Barriers hindering families with children from transitioning from informal to formal employment, and from TSA beneficiaries to formal employment.
* Monetary and non-monetary gains or losses experienced during the transition from informal to formal employment.
* How the TSA and related social benefits influence household decisions regarding formal employment.
* Characteristics of formal employment that would make it attractive and feasible for TSA recipients.
* Policy measures to remove existing disincentives and strengthen pathways from social assistance to decent and formal work.
**The Assignment Aims To:**
* Identify structural, institutional, and behavioral barriers preventing parents from transitioning to formal employment.
* Map gains and losses families experience when moving from informal to formal employment.
* Analyze the role of the TSA program and related benefits in shaping families’ decisions about formalization.
* Identify existing or potential incentives for formal employment.
* Recommend policy and programmatic measures to encourage transition to formality among families with children.
* Provide inputs to the design of a quantitative survey or module testing key hypotheses on determinants and incentives for formalization.
**Expected Results and Use:**
Findings will inform UNICEF and government partners’ understanding of social protection and formalization, the design of policy measures and pilot initiatives, and the quantitative impact evaluation or survey module.
**Scope of Work and Tasks:**
The Consultant will perform the following tasks:
* **Task 1. Desk Review and Mapping:** Review literature, map TSA-linked benefits, and summarize their impact on incentives.
* **Task 2. Stakeholder Consultations and Qualitative Research:** Conduct interviews/focus groups with families, employers, government representatives, and experts.
* **Task 3. Analysis:** Analyze how social protection and benefit structures affect employment decisions, considering gender and regional differences.
* **Task 4. Recommendations and Policy Options:** Propose policy and programmatic measures to remove barriers and strengthen incentives.
* **Task 5. Contribution to Quantitative Study Design:** Identify key hypotheses and variables for future surveys.
**Work methodology:**
The consultant will work under the supervision of the Social Policy and Economic Specialist. Work can be partially remote, with requirements for field visits and workshops.
**Duration:** 15 November 2025 to 1 March 2026.
**Location:** Home based.
**Work Assignments Overview:**
* **Inception Report:** Research framework, methodology, timeline. (Due: 10 November 2025)
* **Analytical Note:** Initial findings from desk review and mapping. (Due: 20 November 2025)
* **Qualitative Findings Report:** Synthesis of insights from consultations. (Due: 20 December 2025)
* **Draft Final Report:** Integrating analysis and policy recommendations. (Due: 20 January 2026)
* **Presentation:** Summary of key findings and recommendations. (Due: 30 January 2026)
* **Final Report:** Polished, evidence-based narrative with practical recommendations. (Due: 20 February 2026)
**To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…**
**Minimum Requirements:**
* Advanced university degree (Masters’) in public administration, public policy, social science, law, economics, or related field.
* At least 7 years of experience in social policy, employment, or poverty analysis.
* Proven experience in analyzing informal labor markets, social assistance systems, or behavioral economics aspects of employment.
* Strong understanding of Georgia’s social protection system and TSA scheme.
* Experience in both qualitative and quantitative research design.
* Excellent analytical and writing skills in Georgian and English.
**The UNICEF Competencies Required For This Post Are:**
* Builds and maintains partnerships
* Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
* Drive to achieve results for impact
* Innovates and embraces change
* Manages ambiguity and complexity
* Thinks and acts strategically
* Works collaboratively with others
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all qualified candidates.