Position Description

To ensure high-quality implementation, the project is structured around three complementary pillars: the Central Management and Coordination Team, the Local Experts (LEs), and a pool of Short-Term Experts (STEs) mobilised on demand.

-          The Central Management and Coordination Team includes a Head of Project, who provides overall leadership, coordination and technical guidance; a Key Expert on Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB), who ensures methodological quality and supervises the pool of LEs together with the STEs; a Project Manager, responsible for contractual, financial and administrative oversight; and a dedicated support team, composed of an Administrative and Financial Officer and a Project Assistant, providing logistical and financial management.

-          The Local Experts form the project’s frontline, working in close partnership with Beneficiary Authorities (BAs). They ensure that methodologies and tools are adapted to national and local contexts, provide tailored technical assistance and capacity building, and act as liaison between Expertise France and the BA.

-          Short-Term Experts (STEs) are mobilised during peak periods or for specialised contributions (e.g. gender impact assessment, MEAL, capitalisation, communication), complementing the work of the central team and the LEs by bringing targeted expertise.

This position is dedicated to providing tailored support to the French Ministry of Finance – State Procurement Department (DAE), with the objective of equipping the Department with practical levers to integrate gender equality into public procurement, particularly in the digital and green sectors.

France has created a strong policy framework for socially responsible procurement. The Interministerial Plan for Equality between Women and Men 2023–2027 identifies procurement as a key lever to promote equality. The Climate and Resilience Law (2021) mandates that from 2026, 100% of public procurement contracts above EU thresholds must include at least one social consideration. The National Plan for Sustainable Procurement (PNAD 2022–2025) sets an interim target of 30% of contracts including at least one social clause by 2025. In addition, the Green Industry Law (2023) requires state services to develop socially and environmentally responsible procurement schemes under DAE’s management.

This legal and strategic framework creates a decisive opportunity to structure gender equality as a legitimate and traceable social consideration in procurement. However, challenges remain: the absence of specific legal and operational tools to introduce gender criteria, limited training and awareness among procurement officials, and the lack of shared references and standardised clauses.

Through this project, the DAE will be supported to conduct an as-is analysis of socially responsible procurement with a focus on gender equality, co-develop guidelines and model clauses or criteria to integrate gender considerations into procurement, strengthen the capacity of state buyers to apply gender-responsive public procurement (GRPP) in practice, and design awareness-raising tools for suppliers and economic operators to enable compliance and foster inclusive participation in procurement opportunities.

3.1. Objectives

The Local Expert (LE) will contribute to the design and implementation of project activities in the French Ministry of Finance – State Procurement Department (DAE), provide tailored technical support aligned with the specific needs of the Beneficiary Authority (BA), and facilitate coordination with national and subnational stakeholders to ensure ownership and sustainability of results.

Specifically, the Local Expert will conduct the initial assessment and contribute to the Inception Report; provide tailored technical support for the as-is analysis and the co-development of guidelines and model clauses to integrate gender into procurement; deliver capacity-building activities for state buyers and develop awareness-raising tools for suppliers and economic operators; facilitate coordination between Expertise France, the Beneficiary Authority, and stakeholders; and contribute to monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning through regular reporting and inputs to capitalisation outputs.

3.2. Reporting Lines

The Local Expert will work under the overall supervision of the Head of Project, technical supervision of the Key Expert, and in close collaboration with Expertise France and the BA.

3.3. Main Tasks & Responsibilities

a.       Inception Phase:

Conduct desk research and fact-finding missions; review the legal, policy, and institutional frameworks for socially responsible and gender-responsive public procurement (GRPP); analyse existing practices and international benchmarks; provide methodological inputs; and produce the Inception Report. Establish the state of play and define the baseline for outputs and outcome indicators.

b.       Tailored Technical Support:

Guide the design and delivery of technical support to the State Procurement Department (DAE), including the preparation of the as-is analysis of socially responsible procurement with a focus on gender equality, and the co-development of guidelines to integrate gender considerations into procurement procedures. Prepare a tailored support report outlining activities, realistic timelines, recommendations, and mitigation measures. Contribute to the drafting of model clauses, award criteria, and monitoring indicators, ensuring alignment with the legal framework and applicability in the digital and green sectors.

c.       Capacity Building and Awareness Raising:

Identify training needs among state buyers in consultation with the Beneficiary Authority. Contribute to the design and delivery of training modules, and assess their effectiveness and sustainability. Support the development of awareness-raising tools for suppliers and economic operators (e.g. guides, checklists, FAQs) as well as internal communication tools for public buyers (briefing notes, infographics, key messages) to facilitate the integration of gender considerations into procurement.

d.       Coordination:

Maintain regular communication and hold coordination meetings with Expertise France and the French Ministry of Finance – State Procurement Department (DAE) to ensure coherence, alignment, and ownership of project activities.

e.       Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning  (MEAL):

Submit mission reports, contribute to regular progress reports, and provide inputs for capitalisation products and the final outputs of the project.

3.4. Key Deliverables