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.
Placing women's rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.ย
UN Women in Uganda, in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the forthcoming United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF: 2026-2030) and the Global Strategic Plan (SP: 2026 โ 2029), looks to further collaborate with the Uganda government, UN Country team, civil society, womenโs rights organizations, the private sector and other development partners in the implementation of transformative programs with the aim to achieve gender equality and empowering women and girls in Uganda. The Government of Uganda has finalized its National Development Plan (NDP) IV- 5 Year Development Plan (2025/2026 โ 2029/2030). UN Women in Uganda will continue to support the advancement of key national commitments on gender equality and the empowerment of women โ in line with the NDP IV.ย Building on these opportunities, UN Women Uganda plans to develop its next country programme document โStrategic Note (2026-2029)โ which will set its vision, strategic results and implementation plan for the next four (4) years. The development of this Strategic Note (SN) will be guided by UN Womenโs Planning, Monitoring and Reporting Policy.ย
UN Women Ugandaโs work cuts across UN Womenโs triple mandate: normative, coordination and operational.ย Under the normative work, UN Women Uganda supports the Government of Uganda (GoU) to integrate global frameworks such as the SDGs within its development plans as well as domesticate most relevant intergovernmental, continental and global frameworks on Gender Equality and Womenโs Empowerment. Under coordination, the Country Office (CO) promotes the accountability of the UN system in Uganda on gender equality and womenโs empowerment (GEWE), broadly mobilizing and convening key stakeholders to ensure greater coherence and gender mainstreaming across the UN. UN Womenโs operational work involves implementing international standards on GEWE through programme and technical assistance in partnership with government and civil society.ย
Objective of the Assignment
UN Women Uganda is embarking on the process of developing its Strategic Note (SN) for the period of 2026 โ 2029. The SN will be aligned to the UNSCDF (2026 โ 2030) for Uganda as well as the NDP IV.ย The UNSDCF remains the most important planning and implementation instrument for UN interventions at country level.ย
UN Women Uganda needs to develop a SN that is:
Strategically alignedย to national priorities and the UNSDCF (COs must adopt relevant UNSDCF Outcomes verbatim as the SN Outcomes and and contribute maximally to attainment of SP Results: PMR Policy, 2024). In development contexts, the duration of the SN must be harmonized with the UNSDCF cycle: PMR Procedure, 2024). In the context of humanitarian crisis or emergency, the Planning, Monitoring and Reporting (PMR) Procedure also provides for the inclusion of one dedicated Outcome and corresponding Output(s) to ensure strategic alignment with the Humanitarian Response Plan (or equivalent). Focusedย and clearly aligned with UN Womenโs Strategic Plan (Regional and Global);ย Aligned toย relevant intergovernmental frameworks on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls including the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, CEDAW, Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security where relevant, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.ยIn addition, this SN should:
be robustย in development, peace and security;ย be consultative,ย developed through the engagement of key stakeholders within the country, including youth and beneficiary populations to ensure ownership of the programme;ย be based on evidenceย from previous Evaluations/reviews and UNSDCF evaluations,ย the common country analysis (CCA), ensuring that all major findings in these, other evaluative activities, and their subsequent management responses and/or implementation plans are reflected in the design and development of the SN document; andย be informedย by a review of existing and needed human resources, ensuring sufficient capacity is available to safely implement the country programme.ยTo this end, the UN Women Office in Uganda would like to bring on board a national consultant to support the development of the Strategic Note for Uganda, in line with UN Womenโs SN corporate ย guidelines. The consultant should employ a consultative and participatory approach throughout the development and drafting of the Strategic Note by involving UN Women staff, other UN agencies operating in the country, strategic partners including relevant government counterparts, key donors, CSOs and Womenโs Rights Organizations, Private Sector Actors and other stakeholders in the process.
Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work
The consultant will report directly to the Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Specialist and also work closelyย ย with the Deputy Country Representative. The Consultant will be required to carry out some or all of the following tasks (depending on what stage of the process Country Office is at), in close consultation with the country office team and drawing on UN Womenโs Country Office SN Guidance.ย
โข ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Develop inception report outlining the key steps of the SN development work
โข ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Conduct a desk review of relevant key documents includingย
The results and recommendations of mid-term review of SN (2022 โ 2025),ย Findings of recent external/internal audits,ย Cooperation Framework and other strategic evaluations such as corporate and regional evaluations, when available,ย Common Country Analysis reports,ย SDG monitoring data and previous UN Women and UNSDCF reports;ย Key normative frameworks such as Beijing+25; CEDAW, voluntary national SDG reports, National Development Plan IV (2025/2026 โ 2029/2030),ย UNCT frameworks documents such as the UNSDCF 2026 โ 2030 for Uganda, UNCT-SWAPย Gender scorecard assessments Previous Country Portfolio evaluation reportย Humanitarian Situation Overview (HNOs)ย and the resulting Humanitarian Response Plans (HRPs) for 2022, 2023 and 2024 Any other document that may be found very relevant to the consultantย Facilitate initial consultations with staff to gather background information and develop the initial results framework;ย Conduct consultations with key stakeholders in the country for initial inputs into strategy content and direction from their respective perspectives; Draft reports from all consultations and planning sessions with staff and external stakeholders, including the initial SN draft outline;ย Work with the CO team to elaborate session agendas and facilitate workshops with the UN Women team to develop various components of the SN including but not limited to the Theory of Change, Results Framework (DRF and OEE); 4-year budget and risk matrix; Draft the first version of the Strategic Note as per the UN Women Guidance on SNs including coordinating the submission of inputs required from various staff;ย Prepare an agenda for and facilitate the validation workshops with stakeholders as guided by the country team; Incorporate the comments from validation sessions with external stakeholders, Regional and Global Technical Review Committees and the global PRG into a complete Strategic Note package consisting of all the relevant attachments as per the Guidance note. Prepare the power point presentation for the global PRG jointly with the CO teamDeliverables
To achieve these requirements, the consultant is expected to fulfill the deliverables stated in the table below:
Deliverable Expected completion time (due day)ย Payment Scheduleย Inception report developed, including methodology and work plan and presented to UN Women Uganda management team 15thย July 202525% Reports of the consultations with various stakeholders and the desk review of key documents 26th July 2025 Draft Strategic Note Developed,ย containing all the relevant attachments as per the UN Women Guidance 31st August 2025 30% Draft Strategic Note validated by external stakeholders,ย UN Women Uganda office, Resident Coordinator, and Peer Review Group (PRG) of UN Women (regional and HQ office) 7th September 2025 45% Final Strategic Note documentย containing all the relevant attachments as per the UN Women Guidance 21st September 2025 A power point presentation summarizing the Strategic Noteย 21st September 2025
All deliverables shall be agreed with the UN Women Uganda CO management. All reports shall be electronic and presented in English.
Consultantโs Workplace and Official Travel:
This is a home-based consultancy. Stakeholder engagements outside of Kampala will be virtual, but the consultant will be required to attend in-person meetings at UN Women Uganda Country Office in Kampala.ย
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 visitย this linkย for more information on UN Womenโs Values and Competencies Framework:ย
Functional Competencies:
In-depth knowledge of gender equality and women's rights issues; Experience in Programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills Knowledge of Results Based Management Ability to gather and interpret data, reach logical conclusions and present findings Good knowledge of technical area Good organizational skills and ability to pay close attention to detail Ability to use ICT based solutions Familiarity with human rights concepts and approaches and GEWE normative frameworks Strong analytical and presentation skillsRequired Qualifications
Education and Certification:
A masterโs degree in social sciences, gender studies, international relations, international law, public policy, or a related field is required. A PhD in the relevant area would be an added advantage. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.Experience:
At least 7 years of experience in Organizational Development, Evaluations and Research in the international development field is required. Experience working on GEWE issues and gender analysis is required.ย Knowledge of results-based planning, including planning of monitoring & evaluation work and demonstrated experience of UN results-based management standards and guidelines, and UN planning processes (UNDAF/UNSDCF and/or UN Country Program Documents).ย Demonstrated experience in strategic planning including the preparation of or guiding teams on results frameworks and theories of change related to gender equality and human rights issues. Experience in participatory planning and coordination, including the ability to coordinate, probe and stimulate discussions.ย Experience with the United Nations system; Demonstrated knowledge of the UN Women mandate and its programmatic frameworks and rules and United Nations procedures would be an asset.Languages:
Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of any other UN official language is an asset.Management Arrangement
The consultant is expected to work using her/his own computer and other means of communications but may access the UN Women office for printing of relevant documents or should he/she be required to work on-site at any point during the assignment. The consultant is expected to arrange their own transport within Kampala. UN Women will arrange transport in the field if necessary.ย
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,ย and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age,ย ability, national origin,ย 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 toย UN Womenโsย policiesย and proceduresย andย theย standardsย of conduct expected of UN Women personnelย 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.
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