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
UN Women is committed to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women across all sectors, including the private sector. In alignment with the Womenโs Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and building on the successful implementation of the PROCEGEM programme in Mali, UN Women intends to develop a 5-year regional programme aimed at assessing, building capacity, and officially recognizing how well large private companies integrate gender into their business models.
The programme will be implemented in six countries in West and Central Africa: Benin, Cรดte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. It will focus on strengthening the private sector's contribution to gender equality by scaling up best practices, fostering partnerships, and encouraging private sector leadership in achieving gender equality goals.
UN Women seeks an international consultant to lead stakeholder consultations, identify strategic partnerships, and develop a full engagement strategy for resource mobilization and implementation.
The consultant will be reporting to the Deputy Regional Director, and will be supported by Title, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.
Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work
Deliverables
The main objectives of the consultancy are to:
- Conduct multi-stakeholder consultations in the six target countries to identify key priorities, gaps, and opportunities.
- Identify and engage potential strategic partners (corporate, civil society, and institutional).
- Design a comprehensive 5-year strategy, including a robust communication component.
- Lead a 3-day programme development workshop with regional staff to design a proposal, including results framework, budget, and implementation arrangements.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the UN Women Regional Office for West and Central Africa (WCARO), and in close collaboration with the Country Offices and relevant partners, the consultant will:
a. Inception Phase
- Review relevant documents (e.g., PROCEGEM reports, WEPs tools, regional gender equality frameworks, private sector engagement strategies).
- Develop an inception report outlining the methodology, work plan, and tools for consultations and partner mapping.
b. Consultations
- Conduct stakeholder consultations (virtual and in-person where feasible) with:
- Private sector actors (especially large companies)
- Business associations and chambers of commerce
- Government institutions and gender machineries
- Development partners and UN agencies
- Civil society and womenโs rights organizations
- Identify country-specific and regional priorities, needs, and readiness for WEPs-based programming.
c. Partnership Mapping and Engagement
- Identify and propose strategic partnerships at national and regional levels (private sector, donors, and technical partners).
- Develop a partnership engagement strategy and resource mobilization plan.
d. Proposal Development Workshop
- Design and facilitate a proposal development workshop for relevantย regional office staff to discuss:
- Situation analysis and rationale
- Theory of change and strategic framework
- Results and monitoring framework
- Implementation and governance arrangements
- Risk and mitigation strategies
- Indicative budget (with possible financing scenarios)
- Submit the workshop conclusions including a draft proposal to UN Women .
4. Deliverables and Timeline Deliverable Expected completion time (due day)ย Payment Schedule (optional) Inception report with methodology and work plan Week 2 ย Stakeholder consultation report (per country and consolidated) Week 8 ย Partnership and donor engagement strategy Week 10 ย Proposal development workshop Week 12 ย Submission of Draft proposal Week 16 ย
Consultantโs Workplace and Official Travel
This is a home-based consultancy.ย
As part of this assignment, there will be one visit to WCARO and maximum of 4 trip out of the 6 countries involved.
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:
- Strong knowledge of gender equality and women's rights issues
- Ability to communicate sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies
- Proven networking skills, and ability to mobilize potential strategic partners (corporate, civil society, and institutional);
- Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with strategic stakeholders
- Excellent programme formulation and implementation
- Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets,ย
- Strong communication, networking and advocacy skills
- Knowledge and understanding of UN system processes;
- Excellent IT skills, including databases, extranet and office software packages;
- Strong analytical and interpersonal skillย
Required Qualifications:
Education and Certification:
- Masterโs degree or equivalent in Gender Studies, Development Studies, Business Administration, Public Policy, or related fields.
- 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:
- Minimum of 7 years of professional experience in gender equality, private sector engagement, or programme design in international development.
- Demonstrated experience in partnership with high-level private sector entities.
- Previous work with the UN system and familiarity with the WEPs is highly desirable.
- Experience working in West and Central Africa is required.
Languages:
- Fluency in English and French is required (both written and oral).
- Knowledge of any other UN official language is an asset.
How to Applyย
- Personal CV or P11 (P11 canย be downloaded from:ย https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.docย )
- A technical proposal outlining approach and relevant experience
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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- Design and facilitate a proposal development workshop for relevantย regional office staff to discuss:
- Conduct stakeholder consultations (virtual and in-person where feasible) with: