National Consultant to develop a Gender-Transformative Climate Change Programming Strategy for a UN Women Project

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 the United Nations system’s 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 towards building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. 

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recognizes that climate change disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, particularly women, who often face greater risks and burdens due to their reliance on natural resources and unequal participation in decision-making. It emphasizes the importance of integrating a gender perspective into all climate action, ensuring women's full and equal participation in policymaking, and recognizing their crucial role in sustainable resource management and climate resilience. As a party to the Convention, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) acknowledges the importance of addressing climate change and has demonstrated its commitment through the ratification of the Paris Agreement in 2016. GoSL has also revised and submitted its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in July 2021 to the UNFCCC, as a required obligation being party to the Paris Agreement and developed the National Adaptation Plan (NAP), aiming to increase the resilience of economic sectors and natural systems against the emerging and projected impacts of climate change by adopting appropriate coping strategies and system improvements. 

Given Sri Lanka’s high vulnerability to extreme weather events, women, especially those in rural communities and those engaged in agriculture and fisheries, face disproportionate challenges. Yet, they remain largely excluded from decision-making processes that shape climate adaptation and economic policies. Globally, UN Women promotes women’s economic empowerment within the broader sustainable development agenda, with a focus on green economics and climate change. Against this background, UN Women Sri Lanka is in the process of planning the implementation of a five-year project focused on “THRIVE: Together for Her: Resilience-building, Inclusivity, and Voices for Equality in Sri Lanka” to strengthen the economic and social resilience of women who are marginalized by equipping them with the resources needed to navigate and recover from crises, insecurity, and the impacts of climate change. The project envisions three main outcomes: a) Women’s enterprises are resilient to climate impacts and crises, b) Shifts in community attitudes towards the perception of women, and c) Women’s participation in leadership and decision-making.

Accordingly, UN Women seeks to hire a National Consultant to develop a Gender-Transformative Climate Change Programming Strategy to inform the THRIVE project and ensure inclusive and effective programming. This five-year project is implemented by UN Women and Chrysalis and funded by the Government of Australia. THRIVE will operate across six districts: Badulla, Colombo, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Monaragala, and Nuwara Eliya, and is expected to engage women-led businesses, producers, MSMEs, as well as community members and leaders. The Gender-Transformative Climate Change Programming Strategy will be an evolving document, continuously updated and refined based on participant and stakeholder feedback as the project progresses.

The consultant will be reporting to the Head of Office of UN Women Sri Lanka, and will be supported by the Programme Analyst, who will be the point of contact on contract and payment issues. 

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Under the supervision and guidance of the Head of Office of UN Women Sri Lanka, the National Consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks and will remain accountable for the timely submission of the deliverables as per the timeline given below. 

Deliverables No. Deliverable Expected completion time (due day)  1

Methodology note outlining the approach to be taken for drafting and finalizing the Gender-Transformative Climate Change Programming Strategy. 

Note: The methodology should include a clear plan for data collection (both secondary and primary and data analysis, along with data collection tools (such as key informant interviews and/or consultation with key project stakeholders), and the expected process for integrating feedback from key stakeholders and UN Women.

2.1 Draft Gender-Transformative Climate Change Programming Strategy (not exceeding 10-12 pages) based on the outline below:

06 June 2025

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy. The consultancy is expected to start on 15 May 2025 and continue until 30 June 2025. The National Consultant is expected to conduct a few key informant interviews with relevant stakeholders online to the extent possible. If travel is required, the cost of most economic and direct travel must be pre-approved by the Head of Office of UN Women Sri Lanka and will be reimbursed in accordance with UN Women's travel guidelines. Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) and travel costs in compliance with UN Women Travel Guideline will be reimbursed to the consultant at actual amount upon submission of receipts and travel stubs.

Payments

Payments for this consultancy will be based on the achievement of each deliverable and certification that each has been satisfactorily completed. Payments will be based on the number of days worked in correlation to the completion of each stated deliverable within the indicated timeframes. Payments will be made upon submission of deliverables with an approval of the Head of Office of UN Women Sri Lanka.

Competencies :

Core Values:

Core Competencies:

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

Functional Competencies:

Required Qualifications:

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. Previous samples of written work on similar subject areas, along with any other relevant materials, such as reports, presentations, and publications will be requested from shortlisted candidates.