Background/Context
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.
In a frame of implementation of its regional Strategic Note (SN) for 2022-2025, UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECARO) intends to deepen sub-regional approaches through the development and implementation of tailored sub-regional strategies/roadmaps. In 2022 UN Women developed the first sub-regional Roadmap - for the Central Asia sub-region, covering all five countries namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It was developed through analyses related to progress and perspectives for gender equality and womenโs empowerment (GEWE) and other related issues in Central Asia and the broader region, including national strategies and actions plans, strategic documents of UN Women and UN system as well as other regional partners. It was also built on the results of extensive multi-stakeholder consultation including with UN Women staff, other UN agencies, both in-country as well as on regional level, and all key partners and collaborators of UN Women in Central Asia.
In early March 2025, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution initiated by the Government of Kazakhstan to establish the Regional Center for SDGs for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty. This opens new opportunities fostering regional collaboration and addressing shared challenges on GEWE in the sub-region.
UN Women intends to revisit new developments in the subregion and links with its new corporate policies, including the humanitarian strategy, DRR, TransformCare, etc. as well Humanitarian-Peace-Development nexusโ approach in links with mixed migration aspects and considering the UN Women Coordination Strategy. For this purpose, UN Women ECARO intends to update the Central Asia sub-regional roadmap, taking into account the changing context, current regional needs, priorities, and emerging opportunities for regional collaboration. With the development of a new Strategic Note by ECARO, serving as its four-year programmatic framework to support the GEWE agenda in Europe and Central Asia within a broader context, the updated sub-regional roadmap will be aligned with UN Womenโs overall vision and sub-regional strategic framework. It will also build on achievements and lessons learned from the previous programmatic cycle. The sub-regional roadmap is expected as a flexible strategic framework to be adapted to new priorities and opportunities for GEWE transformative work. This should result in an action plan to implement roadmap and the concept notes for the thematic subregional GEWE accelerators with a clear partnership and knowledge management strategies.
For this purpose, UN Women ECARO intends to hire an international consultant who will work under the overall supervision of the UN Women ECA Deputy Regional Director and with be engaged with UN Women ECA Regional Director for a strategic guidance and regular updates. He/she will be engaged with the UN Women Liaison Manager for Central Asia expected to start assignment later May 2025 and with ECARO policy/programme colleagues and colleagues in Central Asian offices and interact with partners in respective countries.
Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work
GEWE Landscape Analysis for Central Asia in links with the current geopolitical and development context at the sub-regional and country levels, including:
- To undertake a substantial analysis of the current political, economic, and social dynamics in Central Asia, with a focus on gender equality and womenโs empowerment (GEWE) and alignment with the SDGs and perspectives of regional collaboration.
- To identify gaps, challenges, and emerging opportunities in the GEWE landscape, particularly those that can be addressed at the sub-regional level.
- To assess the current and planned strategic priorities and recent contributions to Gender Equality and Womenโs Empowerment (GEWE) by relevant UN Country Teams, including GEWE-targeted and mainstreamed programs, as well as UNSDCFs, and to advise on UN Womenโs potential role, including the need for technical expertise and coordination in alignment with global gender equality frameworks.
- To assess existing data, reports, and studies to identify knowledge gaps that hinder evidence-based policymaking and programming for GEWE in Central Asia.
- To elaborate recommendations and short- and long-term actions to improve knowledge management to deliver on GEWE in Central Asia. Analyze existing mechanisms for sharing knowledge among stakeholders, including governments, civil society, and regional organizations, and suggest how to improve the efficiency of GEWE knowledge management to support evidence-based decision-making.
Provide advisory support to design a strategic vision for UN Womenโs sub-regional operation, aligned with UN Womenโs Strategic Note for 2026-2029. More specifically:
- Consult with key stakeholders to elaborate on GEWE strategic vision for UN Women operations, linking them to ongoing country-specific initiatives and emerging sub-regional priorities. Focus on innovative, high-impact interventions and scalable models for advancing GEWE in Central Asia.
- Analyse the current presence modality for UN Women in the sub-regio and advise how the UN Women presence approach could be strengthened to deliver on the strategic vision and results at the country and sub-regional levels.
- Assess UN Womenโs comparative advantages and value added in Central Asia, ensuring alignment with regional needs and global mandates as well as the applicable UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks. Suggest scenarios for UN Women strategic interventions at the sub-regional and country levels in line with necessary resources and capacities to implement the suggested scenarios.
- Develop a forward-looking strategic document outlining UN Womenโs vision, priorities, and value-added for sub-regional operations in Central Asia. Prepare an implementation framework, outlining key steps, priority actions, timelines, and responsible actors in line with UN Womenโs strategic priorities.
- Align the document with UN Womenโs global mandates and regional needs, focusing on advancing gender equality and womenโs empowerment (GEWE) in the sub-region.
- Include clear objectives, expected outcomes, and innovative approaches to address emerging challenges and opportunities in Central Asia.
- Ensure the document serves as a foundational input for UN Womenโs Strategic Note for 2026-2029, guiding programmatic and partnership strategies.
Elaborate detailed partnership strategy for UN Women in Central Asia, including:
- Elaborate and present a clear vision for the partnership focused on expected results, level and modality of engagement, priorities for long-term financial and technical support for GEWE initiatives.
- Enhance collaboration with governments, civil society, and regional bodies to ensure coherent and integrated efforts in advancing GEWE, taking into account UN Womenโs role in the respective UN Country Teams and expanded coordination platforms.
- Develop a resource mobilization strategy aligned with the identified programmatic priorities and emerging opportunities in Central Asia.
- To suggest partner-specific advocacy packages, including tailored proposals and pitches, emphasizing the impact of their support on GEWE initiatives in Central Asia, toolkits to effectively advocate for GEWE, etc.
Deliverable Expected completion time (due day) Payment Schedule (optional)
Detailed analysis of GEWE Landscape for Central Asia and a vision for UN Women subregional programmatic workโs priorities and its operational presence - final version after addressing comments for the initial draft By 5 June Upon certification of the quality delivery
Strategic Visionary Document for UN Womenโs Sub-Regional Operations in Central Asia (2026-2029), including modality of implementation, partnership, knowledge management, etc. By 4 July Upon certification of the quality delivery
Consultantโs Workplace and Official Travel
This is a home-based consultancy with a one travel to the subregion.
III. Competencies
Core Values:
โข Respect for Diversity
โข Integrity
โข Professionalism
Core Competencies:
โข Ethics and Values
โข GEWE and Organizational Awareness:
โข Development and Innovation
โข Work in teams
โข Communication and Information Sharing
โข Self-management and Emotional Intelligence
โข Conflict Management
โข Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing
โข Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making
Please visit this link for more information on UN Womenโs Core Values and Competencies:
https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values
FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:
โข Strong knowledge of gender equality and womenโs empowerment;
โข Strong political experience preferably in the Europe and Central Asia region;
โข Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision from the spectrum of development experience;
โข Excellent negotiation, advocacy and interpersonal skills;
โข Proven expertise in writing cogent and convincing documents;
โข Strong communications and public speaking skills;
โข Proven analytical and problem solving skills;
โข Ability to lead a team and manage performance;
โข Ability to interact with high-level decision-makers and good understanding of intergovernmental processes;
โข Effectiveness in establishing and fostering good relations with government counterparts, UN agencies, donors, and NGO partners.
IV. Required Qualifications
Education and Certification:
โข Masterโs degree or equivalent in International Relations, Gender Studies or related field is required.
โข 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:
โข At least 10 years of active participation in or leadership of gender-related development programmes is required.
โข Significant experience working in an international or multinational setting is required.
โข Prior experience in the region is required.
โข Experience with UN Women is an asset.
Languages:
โข Fluency in English is required.
โข Knowledge of Russian is an asset.
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.
ย