Background

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.

The UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office provides support and oversight to Country Offices in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova , Turkiye and Ukraine. In addition, the Regional Office directly supports programme and project presence in Kosovo (under UN Security Council Resolution 1244), Serbia, The Republic of North Macedonia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Women’s economic participation and paid and unpaid work contribute enormously to sustainable development and are key for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. Women make major contributions to the economy, directly and indirectly contributing to economic growth and development. The most direct route is via workforce participation, which boosts production – and thus income, savings, and tax contributions at the household, community, and national levels. And while the world has advanced significantly in ensuring equality in women’s and men’s legal rights to work, rights at work and access to economic resources, structural barriers continue to constrain women and girls from enjoying their full rights. Discriminatory laws, policies and social norms persist in impeding women’s full and equal participation in the economy. Additionally, shifts in the global economy and demographics, technological advancements, and protracted crises are driving a changing world of work, which presents both challenges and opportunities for women’s economic empowerment. Addressing the barriers to economic empowerment and unlocking opportunities requires work at multiple scales: from the attitudes, beliefs and practices of individuals and communities to institutions including workplaces, community organizations and public services, to economic markets and laws, policies, norms and regulations at national and international levels. It also requires engagement with and action from diverse stakeholders, each of which has a role to play: from women’s movements, civil society organizations and workers representatives; to private sector employers and organizations; to multilateral organizations including international financial institutions; to public sector policy-makers and decision-makers.

In 2023 UN Women has adopted Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy which articulates UN Women’s vision for enabling women’s economic agency, autonomy and wellbeing. Anchored in UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2022-2025 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, its objective is to provide a framework that galvanizes internal and external stakeholders to work together at the local, national and global level through transformative solutions that improve the lives of women and girls with no one left behind. The strategy has been informed by data-driven analysis, extensive consultations, and UN Women’s Independent Evaluation Service’s 2022 corporate evaluation of UN Women’s contribution to women’s economic empowerment by advancing gender responsive laws, frameworks, policies and partnerships and its recommendation to undertake such a strategy.

The Strategy follows a 3 by-3 by-5 framework. It identifies three key priority areas, or gender-equality accelerators where UN Women can make the most progress. These include women and the world of work, gender-responsive climate action, and transforming care systems. These three priority areas are underpinned by three cross-cutting areas on gender responsive macroeconomic policies, addressing discriminatory social norms and increasing financing for gender equality. The strategy then identifies five key pathways leveraging UN Women’s comparative advantage in advancing gender equality through global norms, public policy and government collaboration at the country level, partnerships with women’s organizations and other diverse stakeholders, generating gender data and convening key actors to engage collective action[1].

In order to put Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy into action in Europe and Central Asia region, UN Women is opening a call for applications to set up a Roster of Experts/consultants on various specializations under the umbrella of Women’s Economic Empowerment.

Areas of expertise the Roster covers include, but are not limited to:

Women in the world of work

• Decent jobs for women
• equal pay
• social protection
• entrepreneurship acceleration and business growth
• legal and policy frameworks
• gender responsive procurement
• equitable and inclusive business practices (including WEPs)

Transform Care Systems

• Costing of investments in care systems
• Financing care systems
• Paid/unpaid care and domestic work
• Working with private sector on care
• Change of social norms and perception on care

Gender Responsive Climate Action

• Women’s land rights
• Climate resilient agriculture

Gender Responsive Private Sector

• Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs)
• Diversity, Equality and Inclusion
• Gender responsive HR policies and practices
• Sustainable finance

Cross cutting areas

• Gender Responsive macroeconomic policies
• Changing harmful and discriminatory social norms
• Financing for gender equality

The consultant will be reporting to Program Specialist on Women’s Entrepreneurship Acceleration, with overall guidance of the Deputy Regional Director of UN Women Europe and Central Asia. In case the assignment is led by country office, the consultant will be reporting to the relevant responsible person from the CO.

[1] Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy, UN Women, 2023

Duties and Responsibilities

Depending on the assignment, consultants are expected to perform one or several of the following duties. Please indicate in your application which of the following tasks fall within your area of expertise:

• To develop a detailed workplan for the consultancy
• To support ECARO or relevant Country office in drafting project/program proposals related to the women’s economic empowerment issues listed above;
• To support ECARO or relevant Country office in drafting policy papers, analytical reports related to the women’s economic empowerment issues listed above;
• To support ECARO or relevant Country office in developing training manuals/modules related to the women’s economic empowerment issues listed above;
• To support ECARO or relevant Country office in conducting trainings related to the women’s economic empowerment issues listed above;
• To support ECARO or relevant Country office in designing and conducting trainings needs assessments/pre/post training surveys related to the women’s economic empowerment issues listed above;
• To support ECARO or relevant Country office in organizing (planning of the agendas and sessions, identifying of guest speakers, and, if necessary, preparation of materials/resources/tools/ templates) and facilitating events related to the women’s economic empowerment issues listed above;
• To support ECARO or relevant Country office in designing and conducting surveys/data collection related to the women’s economic empowerment issues listed above
• To support ECARO or relevant Country office in producing knowledge products/publications/brochures related to the women’s economic empowerment issues listed above
• To draft a detailed report of the consultancy

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy. As necessary, the consultant should be able to travel to countries covered by UN Women Europe and Central Asia (listed above) with travel cost covered per UNwomen applicable rules and procedures.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:

https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Excellent knowledge of one or more topics listed above;
• Excellent writing skills;
• Excellent analytical skills;
• Ability to write policy papers, speeches, briefings;
• Excellent knowledge of programme development, implementation, results-based management and reporting.
• Excellent training skills
• Ability to draft manuals/guidances/policy documents

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in development, economics, human rights, international relations or other social science fields is required;
• A first-level university degree in combination with 2 additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 5 years experience in designing policies and/or managing programmes on Women’s economic empowerment with some experience in developing countries;
• Experience in programme, policy analysis, and strategic planning;
• Experience working with the UN system is an asset;
• Experience working in the Europe and Central Asia region is an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of one or more languages of countries covered by UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office is an asset.

How to Apply

Personal CV or P11 (P11 can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc )

A brief cover note indicating the areas of your expertise.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)