Local Consultant for Introduction of Women Empowerment Principles to the Tourism Industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina


About USAID Turizam
USAID-funded Developing Sustainable Tourism Activity in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a five-year program aims to accelerate economic growth in the tourism sector, provide sustainable income for producer organization and tourism-related companies, help to transform the “BiH brand”, and have a positive spill-over effect to other sectors; such as agriculture, transportation, and environmental protection and nature conservation. In achieving this overarching goal, TURIZAM focuses on the following objectives: 
Objective 1: Enabling Environment with the Harmonized Policies and Regulations Necessary for Noticeable Growth in the Tourism Sector Established Objective 2: Tourism Quality, Services, and Branding Strengthened Resulting in Improved BiH Tourism Industry Objective 3: Tourism Service Providers, Agriculture, and Other Tourism-Related SMEs Gain Improved Access to Finance Resulting in a Substantial Increase in Investment Objective 4: Tourism and Agriculture Products Gain Increased Access to Regional and Global Markets


Challenges to be addressed by this consultancy
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is facing significant workforce outflows of tourism workers, including women, and the country is left with few courses of action – improving conditions for the workforce, activating the inactive working age population, and opening the job market to immigrants. In tourism development, BiH has an opportunity to better meet differential needs and expectations of gender diverse tourists and to promote gender sensitive representations of its heritage, which is both smart business and a global commitment at the same time (UNWTO/UNDP 2017). Main issues detected in the most recent and the first BiH Gender Assessment done for tourism sector are:

  • Limited gender mainstreaming and absence of gender responsive tourism development
  • Weak application of antidiscrimination and anti-harassment policies and labor laws in tourism, the non-existent anti-trafficking guidelines or standards for tourism businesses in BiH, exclusion of women workers from social dialogue, and occupational segregation and gender discrimination which lead to inefficient job allocation.
  • Low share of women guides and business owners in outdoors and adventure tourism and unpreparedness for women outdoor travelers and adventurers, including women solo travelers.
  • Low share of women entrepreneurs and women’s lack of collateral and gender-specific obstacles in access to finance, loans, and grants for starting and scaling up their businesses in tourism, crafts, and food processing, as well as aversion to risk-taking.
  • Difficulty reaching tourists for women who run tourism services, crafts, and food processing businesses in rural areas.
  • Undervalued role of women in rural areas as carriers of intangible cultural heritage.
  • City guides’ exposure to abuse and a need to make their training more gender sensitive.

Following the UNWTO Gender-inclusive strategy for tourism businesses, as a guideline that is intended to support private sector tourism enterprises to achieve effective and consistent strategies and programs for gender equality across their operations, and which is in line with The UN Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), Turizam will be promoting WEPs through the awareness-raising activities.  WEPs represent the leading global program for private sector engagement with gender equality and serve as steering framework for the present guidelines for a UNWTO Gender-inclusive Strategy in tourism.
USAID Turizam will be collaborating with UN Women BiH team on disseminating WEPs to the BiH tourism industry and an informal WEPs team will be established consisting of USAID Turizam and UN Women staff. The WEPs team will serve as a sounding board and a coordination mechanism for individual activities, specific to each party. To ensure synergy and higher impact, deliverables and products from this consultancy will be reviewed by the WEPs team, but the final authority will remain with USAID Turizam.


Objective of the Consultancy
The objective of this consultancy is to work closely with an international consultant to provide targeted Technical Assistance (TA) to relevant tourism industry stakeholders (hotels, restaurants, agencies, etc.) to introduce them to the Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs), based on the WEPs introductory process and model developed in cooperation with international consultant. The local consultant will be responsible to work closely with USAID Turizam, UN Women (WEPs team) and international consultant to provide a tailored guidance and support to selected stakeholders, aimed at enhancing gender equality and women's empowerment in their businesses.
Together with the international consultant, the consultant will work closely with the WEPs team and stakeholders to develop and implement effective strategies and policies that foster a more inclusive and diverse workplace, leading to greater gender equity and empowerment. Additionally, the consultant will be tasked with monitoring progress towards achieving WEPs objectives and providing regular reports on the impact of their work.


Specific Consultancy Activities
The Consultant shall work on different tasks, as follows:

  1. Conduct at least two working sessions with the international consultant to familiarize with the WEPs and plan the work dynamics. These working sessions will focus on capacity building of the local consultant, and later be used by the local consultant to support the selected industry representatives introduce the WEPs.
  2. With the support of WEPs team, reach out to and engage with the potential WEPs signatories.
  3. In consultation with the international consultant, prepare materials to support delivery of an engaging presentation that showcases benefits and good practices, aimed at introducing the WEPs agenda and its entire process to the identified hotels (up to 15 hotels). This introductory orientation session will serve to raise awareness on WEPs among tourism business and screen among them those committed to adopting and implementing WEPs.
  4. Support international consultant in delivery of a one-day training session on the implementation of WEPs for the focal points of 5 to 7 hotels. 
  5. Work closely with selected hotels to assess their policies and practices.
  6. Support international consultant in WEPs Action Plan and implementation period development.
  7. Support the development of a WEPs assessment and WEPs Action Plan for hotels based on the assessment of policies and practices. 
  8. Support international consultant in providing relevant content and material for toolkit aiming at the awareness-raising campaigns and Turizam Academy to communicate the importance of understanding the benefits of WEPs.
  9. Support Turizam to introduce short-course training opportunities and online courses on Turizam Academy to promote WEPs.
  10. Organize meetings with WEPs focal points to discuss the WEPs Action Plan and Implementation plan.
  11. Provide summary report on the agreed WEPs Action Plan, Proposed Activities and Monitoring Mechanisms. 10-15 pages.

Reading Materials
The consultant should be knowledgeable about the situation in:

  1. BiH tourism
  2. WEPs implementation and integration
  3. WEPs principles

The consultant shall read, but not limited to, the materials available from the relevant statistical offices, employment bureaus and international projects.
Consultant Qualifications and Professional Experience
The consultant shall have the following minimum qualifications to be considered for this consultancy:
Professional experience:

  • A strong background and expertise in gender and diversity issues, as well as experience developing and delivering gender-sensitive training programs.
  • A background in the tourism industry and experience working with hotels, tour operators, guides, and other tourism-related businesses.
  • Experience working with rural tourism stakeholders, including local communities, tour operators, and governments, to promote sustainable and gender-inclusive tourism practices.
  • Strong communication and training skills, including the ability to effectively convey complex concepts to a diverse group of participants.
  • Familiarity with a variety of training methods, including in-person, virtual, and self-paced options.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of the training program and make recommendations for improvement.
  • Proficiency in relevant software and technology for creating and delivering training materials and conducting virtual trainings.
  • Proficiency in both BHS and English.

Educational Qualifications:

  • A relevant degree in related fields such as gender studies, tourism management or human resources management.

Application Instructions

Please submit a CV and cover letter using LINK option by June 30, 2023. Candidates will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. No telephone inquiries, please. Finalists will be contacted. Chemonics International Inc is an equal opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices.

Location: Working Onsite, Sarajevo's Office (possibility of frequent travel across Bosnia and Herzegovina)

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