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. UN Women in Georgia supports state and non-state partners towards the achievement of substantive gender equality. In line with national and international commitments, UN Women works on the levels of policies and legislation, institutions and grassroots, to achieve transformative results for increased gender equality and greater protection of the rights of women and girls.

UN Women is currently implementing a regional project on “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus” Phase III (WEESC III) funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The project has started in September 2024 and will last till August 2026. The first phase of the project took place during 2018-2020, followed by the second phase during 2021-2024. The overarching goal of the project is to ensure that women, particularly the poor and socially excluded, in the South Caucasus countries, including Azerbaijan are economically empowered and participate in relevant decision-making. Despite notable advancements, Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) remains a significant challenge in the South Caucasus. Factors such as low female participation in formal employment, gender wage disparities, unequal political engagement, and women bearing disproportionate responsibility for caregiving all contribute to limited access to financial services for women and hinder their economic empowerment. Additionally, pervasive gender stereotypes and discriminatory practices persist across all three countries, further impeding progress in WEE.

The project aims that women, particularly the poor and socially excluded, are able to use skills, economic opportunities, relevant information, network and support to become farmers/entrepreneurs or to join the formal labor sector in the South Caucasus countries. The project is planning to achieve this through an increased understanding of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) of private sector and institutionalize measures that benefit women, specifically in rural areas among others. With this purpose the activities will be caried out in Azerbaijan, focusing on providing technical support to companies to raise awareness of and adopt the WEPs. The aim is to implement gender-responsive corporate policies and practices that enhance women’s access to decent work and promote the inclusion of more women-owned and collective enterprises in supply chains. This technical support will equip private companies with tools to develop and implement gender-responsive corporate policies and practices that increase women’s access to decent work. Target companies will include medium- and large-sized businesses operating in or with supply chain links in rural areas to integrate more women-owned enterprises in their supply chains.

Over the past five years, the private sector’s interest in women’s empowerment has been steadily growing across Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, driven in part by UN Women’s engagement. An increasing number of businesses in the region have adopted policies, programmes, and initiatives that foster diverse and inclusive workplaces where women and girls can thrive. More companies are integrating inclusive business models and investing in women’s economic empowerment, recognizing that gender equality is not only a social imperative but also a business advantage.

Businesses across the region are realizing that fostering gender-inclusive environments leads to better outcomes—including reduced absenteeism and turnover, increased innovation and employee engagement, expanded market opportunities, stronger investor confidence, enhanced community reputation, and improved productivity and profitability. These efforts contribute not only to the success of individual companies but also to the broader economic and social well-being of communities, ultimately driving sustainable growth across the region.

As a continuation of the WEPs work, the UN Women plans to continue reaching out to and supporting businesses in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia through the provision of information on the WEPs, tailored and targeted advisory services and other types of technical support to implement WEPs-guided, gender-responsive measures.

For this assignment, UN Women Georgia seeks to contract an international consultant, who, in close cooperation with the UN Women WEE team will develop the capacity of the private sector partners from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to implement the WEPs. The international consultant will be responsible for developing and delivering a comprehensive workshop for private sector participants coming from different countries, conducting assessments before and after the training, analyzing the results, and preparing a final report with recommendations for further capacity development.

The consultant will be reporting to Programme Analyst from the UN Women’s Economic Empowerment portfolio, and the Project Assistant from the same portfolio who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

Description of Responsibilities / Scope of Work

•     To review existing training modules on Women’s Empowerment Principles and in close consultation with UN Women staff develop a detailed agenda, presentations and relevant training materials for the training for private sector from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
•     To conduct 3.5 days of trainings/workshops on the Women’s Empowerment Principles for the training participants coming from the private sector from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
•     To carry out post-training assessment questionnaire with the training participants – in line with UN Women Georgia Country Office’s relevant templates.
•     To develop and conduct analysis of pre- and post-training assessments.
•     To draft and submit the final training report outlining the training process, pre-and post-training assessments and recommendations for follow up actions, including on further capacity development needs of the participants.

Deliverable:

•     A detailed work plan for the assignment submitted to UN Women based on the consultations with the UN Women staff by 30 April 2025 (2 working days);
•     Detailed agenda, presentations and relevant training materials, including pre- and post-training tests (by 30 April 2025 (4 working days);
•     Pre- and post-training tests conducted and analyzed by 23 June 2025 (2 working days);
•     3.5 days of trainings conducted on Women’s Empowerment Principles within the private sector by 23 June 2025 (4 working days);
•     The final training report in English, outlining the training process, results of the pre-and post-training assessments and recommendations for follow up actions, including on further capacity development needs of the participants written and submitted to UN Women by 23 June 2025 (2 working days).

Payment Schedule (optional)

•     Payment will be made by 9 May 2025 (30%)
•     Payment will be made by 30 June 2025 (70%)

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy.
As part of this assignment, there will be a maximum one trip to Tbilisi, Georgia with 4 working and 2 travel days.

Competencies:

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

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 Values and Competencies Framework:

Functional Competencies:

•     Technical credibility in policy research
•     Technical credibility in legislative analysis
•     Business acumen
•     Negotiation
•     Partnerships building

Required Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

•     Advanced University degree (at least Masters) in Economics, Sociology, Law, Gender, Human Rights, Labor relations, or similar fields is required.
•     A first-level university degree in combination with 9 additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

•     At least 7 years with Master’s degree or minimum 9 years with Bachelor’s degree of relevant professional experience in the field of gender equality and women’s rights.
•     At least 7 years with Master’s degree or minimum 9 years with Bachelor’s degree of working experience providing capacity development trainings on gender equality and gender mainstreaming to various stakeholders, including representatives of the private sector, is required.
•     Demonstrated knowledge of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and experience in delivering trainings on the WEPs.
•     Previous experience in working with UN agencies, and other international organizations would be a strong asset.

Languages:

•     Fluency in English is required.

Statements:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

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.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.