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.ย
Placing womenโs 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 Statesโ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.ย
In Viet Nam, UN Women contributes to the development objectives of Viet Namโs Socio-Economic Development Plan and the National Strategy for Gender Equality. Its Country Strategy Note for 2022-2026 is aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (CF) 2022-2026 and is focused on supporting Viet Namโs fulfilment of Gender Equality commitments under The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the promise of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda to โleave no one behindโ. The key priorities of UN Women in the 2022-2026 period are:ย
By 2026, people in Viet Nam, especially those at risk of being left behind, will benefit from and contribute to safer and cleaner environment resulting from Viet Namโs effective and gender responsive mitigation and adaptation to climate change, disaster risk reduction and resilience building, promotion of circular economy, the provision of clean and renewable energy, and the sustainable management of natural resources.ย By 2026, people in Viet Nam, especially those at risk of being left behind, will contribute to and benefit equitably from more sustainable, inclusive and gender-responsive economic transformation based on innovation, entrepreneurship, enhanced productivity, competitiveness, and decent work;ย By 2026, people in Viet Nam, especially those at risk of being left behind, will have benefited from and have contributed to a more just, safe and inclusive society based on improved governance, more responsive institutions, strengthened rule of law and the protection of and respect for human rights, gender equality, and freedom from all forms of violence and discrimination in line with international standards.ยViet Nam aims to become a high-income country by 2045 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.ย Sustainable financing for gender equality and womenโs empowerment is central to the realization of this ambition. Member States at the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68), agreed that more financial resources are required to reduce poverty among women and girls.
In Viet Nam, the private sector is a key contributor to inclusive and sustainable national economic growth and plays an increasingly important role in the development and promotion of womenโs economic empowerment in the workplace, marketplace, and the community, especially in the context of COVID-19 recovery. The private sector is increasingly gaining awareness on the benefits and taking on more accountability for gender equality and womenโs empowerment (GEWE) results in Viet Nam.ย UN Womenโs Private Sector Engagement Strategy (PSES) 2023-2025 outlines a framework for engaging with the private sector to advance the achievement of gender equality and women's empowerment (GEWE). The strategy contributes to UN Women's Strategic Plan 2022-2025 by guiding interaction with the private sector to drive transformational changes.
The engagement of UN Women Viet Nam with the private sector is guided by a clear vision and mission that reflect the organizationโs commitment to advancing gender equality and womenโs economic empowerment. A gender-responsive private sector in Viet Nam that actively promotesย and finances gender equality, womenโs empowerment, for inclusive economic growth, ensuring women and girls have equal opportunities to lead, thrive, and benefit from sustainable development.ย UN Women Viet Nam will pursue the following objectivesย (i)ย support businesses to become active champions of gender equality and womenโs empowerment (GEWE) leading in establishingย inclusive workplaces, equitable communities, and sustainable economies that uplift women and girls and contribute to Viet Namโs development priorities.ย (ii) mobilize increased resources to benefit women and girls by aligning corporate practices with global and national policy frameworks.ย UN Women Viet Namย Country Office seeksย a national/ international consultantย who can increase partnership with responsible, diverse, and inclusive private sector, in support of the full achievement of GEWE by enabling and ensuring women's equal access, participation, voice, agency and safety across all policies and practices, workplace, marketplace and community.ย
Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work
The consultant will workย under the overall guidance of the Country Representative and direct supervision of the Programme Manager on Womenโs Economic Empowermentย and in collaboration with other programme managers of other thematic teams toย implement the strategyย for private sector engagement of UN Women Viet Nam in alignment withย UN Womenโs global Private Sector Engagement Strategy (PSES) 2023-2025.ย
In particular, the consultant is expected to undertake the following functions and activities: Tasks
Deliverables
Support identification of large scale private sector companies interested in developing a long-term partnership with UN Women and undertakeย internalย private sector engagement policy and procedures required for partnership, using the developed tools of UN Women. in close collaboration with relevant thematic leads ย (30 days)ย 1. At least three (3) Partnership agreements signed with private sector following policy and procedures required for private sector engagement as per UN Women's policyย Lead the design and coordinate implementation of the innovative strategies of the UN Women Private Sector Engagement strategy namely (1) Innovation challenge; (ii) corporate gender equality accelerator, (iii) Interactive digital platform; (iv) Employee engagement toolkit; (v) Corporate gender equality dashboard; (vi) Events for pipeline cultivationย ย (90days)2.Minutes of Monthly briefing to Country Representative on progress.
Activity completion reports
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ย Total 120 days ยConsultantโs Workplace and Official Travel
The consultancy is due to start on 01 August 2025 and end on 30 July 2026.
This is a home-based consultancy, with possibility to present at the UN Women Office inย Viet Nam (VCO) for meetings and consultations (schedule to be agreed laterย with supervisor).ย The consultant is required to undertake regular update meetings with the Programme Manager and Country Representative. Broader meetings with the VCO programme team or others will be based on demand and time availability of the consultant.ย
As part of this assignment, there will be mission trips to selected provincesย and cities toย undertake required activities.
Work related travel of UN Womenโs consultants are considered as official mission and will be arranged by UN Women, in line with UN Womenโs Consultant Contract Policy, UN Women Duty Travel Policy and UN-EU cost norm.
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:
Good knowledge and understanding on international commitments on gender equality, including CEDAW, CSW, Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and SDGs. Good knowledge of the private sector context of Viet Nam. Strong analytical, writing and presentation skills with strong drive for results and capacity to work independently. Ability to provide advice, facilitation, and support. Strong planning and organizing skills. Strong interpersonal and communication skills.Education and Certification:
Masterโs degree or equivalent inย ย Business, Economics, Gender/ Womenโs Studies, Social Sciences, or a related field is required.ยExperience:
At least 8 years of experience in private sector entities, preferred working in the areas of partnership, public relations, business development At least 5 years' work experience in public-private partnership development,ย especially also with larger business and building of multi-stakeholder approaches At least 5 years of responsible work experience in the fields of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls Experience in managing government and private sector relations in Viet Nam is an advantageย Good analytical and writing skills in English.Languages:
Fluency in English is required. Fluency in Vietnamese is an added advantageStatements :
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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