We improve lives

The IDB Group is a community of diverse, versatile, and passionate people who come together on a journey to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our people find purpose and do what they love in an inclusive, collaborative, agile, and rewarding environment.

About this position

In Latin America and the Caribbean, gender gaps in labor participation, access to leadership positions, and income persist. One of the main causes is the unequal distribution of caregiving tasks: women take on 71.3% of the hours dedicated to these tasks, compared to 28.7% by men. The supply of childcare services can help households meet their care needs, especially if these services are accessible and of high quality. However, in most countries in the region, the supply of childcare services is limited and often does not meet the demand of households in situations of greater poverty and vulnerability, even when these services are subsidized—partially or fully—by central or local governments.

Some countries have implemented policies to encourage the participation of the private sector in the direct provision of publicly funded or co-funded childcare services. The objective of this consultancy is to systematize which types of policies, incentives, or programs have been successful in achieving this.

This exercise is relevant to the support provided by the Gender Parity Initiative (GPI), led by the IDB alongside the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the French Development Agency (AFD). The GPI offers a public-private platform to close gender economic gaps in ten countries in the region, creating an opportunity to channel private sector commitment into the care agenda.

What you’ll do

The general objective of this consultancy is to systematize public policies, financing mechanisms, operational manuals, or other documents that describe the strategies that countries inside or outside the region have successfully used to increase private sector participation in the provision of childcare services for children under 4 years old.
The consultancy will be divided into two parts:

• Systematization of global experiences whose lessons learned are applicable to the region.
• Preparation of a technical note systematizing the results of the systematization

Stage 1. Exhaustive identification and comparative analysis

Prepare an inventory of relevant public policy experiences to increase private participation in providing care services for children under 4, in Latin America, Asia, the United States, and Europe.
Explicitly state the criteria for selecting experiences (e.g. regional relevance, scale, replicability, availability of evidence, scaling metrics, service impact, and success of the mechanism). Include both successful and failed models to learn what worked and what did not.
Analyze the mechanisms that facilitate or block private participation, including:
•    Institutional and governance arrangements.
•    Regulatory frameworks and rules of the game.
•    Fiscal, parafiscal, and contractual incentives.
•    Roles of the state, companies, unions, and civil society.
•    Financing models and resource flows.
•    Contracting processes.
•    Other relevant categories identified during the search process.

Propose a typology of mechanisms that classifies the incentives and policies used
Discuss factors that explain the greater or lesser success of the different mechanisms studied in achieving scale, quality, and impact.

Stage 2. Technical Note for IDB Group

• Prepare a technical note systematizing the main findings of the research described in Stage 1.
• Prepare an executive presentation of the main findings.

What you'll need

•    Education: Master’s degree in social sciences, political science, economics, public administration, public policy, or related fields. 

•    Experience: At least 10 years of experience in projects related to care, early childhood development, and/or gender issues, experience in designing policies or programs related to childcare, long-term care, disability, or other care services, whether from the public, private, or mixed sector. Experience in research and the collection and systematization of primary and secondary sources of information

•    Languages: Proficiency in Spanish and English, spoken and written, is required. 

Requirements

• Citizenship:  You are a citizen of one of our 48-member countries.
• Consanguinity: You have no family members (up to the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity, including spouse) working at the IDB, IDB Invest, or IDB Lab.
   

Type of contract and duration

• Type of contract: Products and External Services Consultant (PEC)

• Length of contract:  04 months
• Work Location: Remote.

Our culture

At the IDB, we work so everyone brings their best and authentic selves to work while finding their purpose. Our people consistently strive for excellence, and we recognize and celebrate the impact of their contributions.

In our efforts to drive innovation, we intentionally include all voices, cultivate a sense of belonging and champion fairness. We welcome individuals from underrepresented groups to join us and share their unique perspectives.

We ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to participate in the job interview process. If you require an accommodation to complete this application, please email us at accommodations@iadb.org.