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 for women as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, the UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.
Over the last decade, increasing natural hazards, climate-related emergencies, mounting insecurity and crises in Asia and the Pacific are eroding development gains, posing significant challenges in the transition to low-carbon, resilient societies. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the world was off-track to meet the transformational environmental, social, and economic changes required to achieve gender equality, address climate change, and realize human rights for all. The pandemic set back sustainable development progress while further increasing inequalities. Women and girls, especially those facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, have faced disproportionate fallout.
Environmental degradation and climate and disaster impacts are unequally felt across the region. For women, people living in poverty and other marginalized groups, pre-existing discriminatory social norms and pervasive gender inequalities increase exposure to risks while undercutting the ability to cope and recover from shocks. Women’s livelihoods are often the first to decline due to climate-related hazards and disasters. Further, inequalities in access to resources, finance and technologies leave women with greater challenges in coping and rebuilding after a crisis.
The low-carbon transition and social transformation required to solve the climate crisis pose significant opportunities to redress gender inequalities and promote human rights. By placing women and other marginalized groups at the centre, this transition can advance gender justice and occur more quickly with empowered women and marginalized groups acting as change agents.
UN Women, in partnership with the UN Environment Programme, is implementing the second phase of the EmPower: Women for Climate Resilient Societies Programme to scale up results and promote gender-responsive and human rights-based climate action by supporting key regional and country stakeholders to achieve a broader impact across the Asia-Pacific region. The project is a joint project implemented with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), with financial support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. EmPower aims to achieve the outcomes bellow:
Outcome 1: Asia-Pacific actors increase action on gender responsive climate change adaptation and mitigation. Outcome 2: Women in all their diversity and other marginalized groups are represented as key environmental actors in climate and DRR decision-making Outcome 3: Women and other marginalized groups in Asia-Pacific secure climate-resilient livelihoodsIn Cambodia, UN Women is committed to advancing gender equality by empowering women to participate fully in public life and decision-making. Our mission is to ensure substantive equality, giving women equal opportunities and access to the resources they need to thrive.
Our work focuses on four key areas:
Strengthening women’s economic empowerment by promoting fair wages, equal access to financial resources, and business opportunities. Expanding women’s leadership in governance by increasing female participation in public life and decision-making roles. Integrating gender equality into national policies and action plans to ensure that laws and programs actively support women’s rights and empowerment. Addressing violence against women by advocating for stronger legal protections and support services.We work closely with Cambodia women machinery, including Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Cambodia National Council for Women, National Committee for Disaster Management, Ministry of Environment, civil societies such as women organisations, community women groups/networks and youth networks to drive these efforts forward.
Cambodia office is part of the EmPower: Women for Climate Resilient Societies Programme. The programme’s approach is to expand decision-making spaces, raise awareness and support the prevention and response to gender-based violence (GBV) in the context of climate change and disaster and strengthening economic and leadership skill for women, including HIV affected women, women migrant workers, rural women, particularly women from climate change and disaster prone areas. This includes empowering women and girls through amplifying their voice and sharing their stories and providing climate resilient livelihoods and business.
Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work
The Women’s Economic Empowerment and Climate Resilience Consultant will contribute to Cambodia’s efforts to advance gender equality in climate action by strengthening partnerships, fostering women’s leadership in climate-resilient livelihoods, and ensuring marginalized groups gain access to finance, relevant technology, and skills. This role emphasizes coordinating and providing technical expertise to enhance the implementation of Outcome 3 (mentioned above) of the EmPower Programme.
Working under the guidance of the Programme Specialist on Gender and Climate Action at UN Women Cambodia, the consultant will support the effective coordination and delivery of key programme interventions. Responsibilities include:
Providing technical inputs to strengthen partnerships and networks that promote gender-responsive, climate-resilient livelihoods. Leading and supporting women’s economic empowerment by ensuring coherence across interventions that enhance access to climate finance, renewable energy, and low-carbon technologies. Coordinating with UNEP partners and other stakeholders to align strategies, optimize resources, and integrate gender considerations in climate resilience initiatives. Monitoring and reporting on progress toward Outcome 3’s objectives, ensuring effective tracking of gender-responsive climate actions and identifying opportunities for course correction and learning.In collaboration with government counterparts, civil society organizations, private sector actors, and financial institutions, the consultant will facilitate cross-sectoral engagement and scale impact-driven solutions. This role will also contribute to knowledge exchange and advocacy efforts to advance gender-responsive climate action in Cambodia and the broader Asia-Pacific region.
Duties and Responsibilities
The purpose of the consultancy is to provide dedicated technical support to advance gender-responsive climate action under the “EmPower: Women for Climate Resilient Societies” programme, aligned with UN Women’s broader mandate on gender equality and climate action in the Asia-Pacific region.
In light of this, the Consultant will perform the following tasks:
Coordination of Partnerships for Women Climate Resilient Livelihoods Facilitate coordination among partners implementing the climate resilient livelihoods component of the Programme, ensuring synergy across interventions. Engage with UNEP partners and other stakeholders delivering Outcome 3 to align efforts and avoid duplication. This includes development of women leadership, and climate resilient entrepreneurship skills, with focus on renewable energy and other relevant livelihoods opportunities. Organize regular meetings with implementing partners to track progress, address challenges, and identify opportunities for scaling impact. Foster linkages between women-led enterprises and financial institutions, technology providers, and training institutions. Technical Support for Programmatic Strategy and Implementation Capacity Building and Knowledge Development Provide time-bound, specialized technical input to refine and strengthen regional strategies on gender-responsive climate action, specifically under the EmPower programme and UN Women’s broader mandate. Contribute to programmatic frameworks that embed gender equality and human rights in climate adaptation and mitigation, with a focus on enhancing the resilience of vulnerable communities. Prepare high-quality knowledge products, including policy briefs, technical guides, and strategy documents, that reflect best practices in gender and climate resilience. Provide technical expertise on integrating gender-responsive approaches into climate-resilient livelihoods and women’s economic empowerment interventions. Support the identification and scaling of innovative financing mechanisms for women’s access to climate finance. Advise on best practices and models for enhancing access to renewable energy and low-carbon technologies for women’s livelihoods. Ensure coherence across different economic empowerment initiatives and interventions under the EmPower Programme. Monitoring, and Reporting Advocacy, Communication, and Knowledge Management Assist with data collection and provide input into monitoring templates as required, ensuring consultant-led tasks are aligned with Results-Based Management (RBM) principles. Submit detailed quarterly reports that track progress on specific EmPower programme outputs, outcomes, and milestones, with insights into opportunities for improvement and alignment with regional strategies. Deliver a final report summarizing achievements, key lessons learned, and recommendations for sustaining and scaling gender-responsive climate action under the EmPower programme and broader UN Women climate agenda. Draft advocacy materials, including talking points, presentations, and briefs, to advance gender-responsive climate action in Asia and the Pacific. Coordinate the development of knowledge-sharing resources and events to highlight success stories, best practices, and innovative approaches within EmPower and related UN Women initiatives. Document lessons learned and best practices to contribute to the broader knowledge base on gender and climate action.Final Products and Expected Outputs
The consultant is expected to provide the following outputs:
No.
Expected Outputs
Timeline
1
Report of the provision of technical and strategic lead in developing targeted materials for community women’s networks to acquired entrepreneurship and networking skills
Monthly, on 28th of the month
2
Produce a snapshoot report on synergy for possible joint activities with UNEP and its partners for women enterprise and renewable energy
Target submission date will be set up when the assignments are given.
3
Capacity Building, focusing on climate resilient entrepreneurship, the identification and scaling of innovative financing mechanisms for women’s access to climate finance and Knowledge DevelopmentTarget submission date will be set up when the assignments are given.
4
Activity Monitoring and Reporting including Consultant’s Reflections and RecommendationsTarget submission date will be set up when the assignments are given.
5
Development and implementation of advocacy strategies, communication tools, and knowledge management practices.Target submission date will be set up when the assignments are given.
6
Coordination and engagement with key Stakeholder and Partnership to strengthen collaboration and support alignedTarget submission date will be set up when the assignments are given.
All the tasks, including annexes, notes, and reports, should be submitted in writing in English. Upon receipt and prior to paying the first instalment, UN Women will review and approve the tasks and related reports and documents. The review period is one week after receipt.
Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel
The time required for the consultancy is estimated at a maximum of 150 working days within the period from 15 May 2025-31 December 2025. For any travel within and outside of duty station, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, UN Women will be responsible for the accommodation and travel expenses if any travel is incurred during the assigned period. The consultant will be engaged under a retainer contract, which facilitates direct engagement of the consultant depending on need and availability within the contract period for a pre-agreed fee.
UN Women will not be committed to purchasing any maximum quantity of the Services, and purchases will be made only if there is an actual requirement upon the issuance of a Purchase Order based on this retainer contract. UN Women shall not be liable for any cost in the event that no purchases are made under this retainer contract.
The expected number of workdays for each deliverable will be discussed between the consultant and UN Women on a case-by-case basis. Payment will be made upon satisfactory completion of a deliverable or as agreed between the consultant and UN Women.
Schedule of Payments
Payment will be made monthly, 15 day after the submission of monthly claim. The amount paid will be based on the number of day within the month that the consultant has done the assignment.
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:
Demonstrated ability to work efficiently, proactively and responsively within a multicultural team, while demonstrating strong initiative and high degree of personal motivation needed to carry out tasks independently Sound judgement, good coordination, communication and analytical skills as well as professionalism and maturity Experience in deep understanding of climate change adaptation, mitigation, and disaster risk reduction Ability to build and maintain strategic partnerships Skill resource mobilization, including proposal development and engaging stakeholders for climate change initiatives. Strong ability to provide technical support and capacity-building Excellent communication skills, both written and verbalEducation and Certification:
Master’s degree in climate action, disaster risk reduction, social science, public policy, gender studies, human rights, international affairs, and/or any relevant field directly related to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. A first-level university degree in similar fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.Experience:
At least two years of progressive experience in gender and climate change, women’s economic empowerment, or sustainable livelihoods. Demonstrated ability to design and implement strategies, tools, and knowledge products that address gender equality in climate adaptation, mitigation, or renewable energy programs. Proven experience in coordinating multi-stakeholder partnerships, particularly in Cambodia or the Asia-Pacific region. Demonstrated experience in developing practical, user-friendly knowledge resources (e.g., toolkits, case studies) that enhance stakeholders’ understanding of gender and climate interlinkages, through collaborative work with interdisciplinary teams and local stakeholders to ensure relevance and accessibility. Extensive experience in Results-Based Management (RBM), monitoring, and reporting, having successfully tracked progress on multiple projects, ensured alignment with strategic objectives, and provided timely reports on deliverables, thereby contributing to transparent and accountable project management. Experience in collecting and synthesizing data, evaluating outcomes, and producing concise progress reports for senior management and stakeholders, highlighting achievements, challenges, and actionable recommendations, through the use of qualitative and quantitative analysis methods to inform decision-making. Strong experience in monitoring and reporting on development projectsLanguages:
Fluency in English is required.