International consultant to support UN Women ECARO engagement with private sector

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 United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides support to Member States’ efforts and priorities in meeting their gender equality goals and for building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. Currently, UN Women is drawing on its existing resources and capacities to immediately respond to the COVID-19 outbreak.

First reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) with its rapid spread has taken the world by surprise. On 11 March 2020, COVID-19 was declared a ‘global pandemic’ by WHO, the highest-level classification the organization can give. WHO on 13 March declared “Europe at the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic” due to an alarmingly rapid rise in cases than the rest of the world. Calls for social distancing and isolation, barriers in trading of goods and services, severe travel restrictions and overwhelming of healthcare systems are differentially impacting the lives of women and men in the region. While the COVID-19 pandemic is shifting needs, responsibilities and challenges faced by both women and men, women are playing a disproportionate role in responding to the outbreak, including as frontline healthcare workers, caregivers at home and as community leaders and mobilisers. As a response to this, UN Women ECARO is engaged into consultations with partners, including UN sister agencies, private sector companies and other development actors to find practical ways and solutions for delivery of gendered response to COVID-19 and support those who are left behind. In this context, there is an acute need for deepening engagements with the private sector that can support it to achieve results and ensure equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development across the region. ECARO is exploring new partnerships and collaborations with the private sector that respond to problems faced by women and girls, as a key priority. In ECA region, there are important strategic opportunities to engage with the private sector as part of COVID-19 response in order to ensure women’s economic livelihood and resilience in these times as well continuing to advance gender equality and women’s rights in the workplace, marketplace and community. UN Women ECA RO is seeking to capitalize on these opportunities, drawing on the private sector’s growing level of interest in women’s empowerment and also encourage private sector representatives to work toward a more gender-sensitive corporate culture and a more inclusive economy.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance from the Deputy Regional Director and the direct supervision of Partnership Specialist, the consultant will:

Support ECA RO to follow-up on development of plan of actions for engagement with the private sector on COVID 19 response, GEWE advocacy and possible joint programmatic work at the regional level, including continuation of work on the Women’s Entrepreneurship Virtual Expo in 2021,
Build support from the private sector including WEP signatories, other partners and networks, and women entrepreneurs to continue to participate in and benefit from the following stages from the Women’s Entrepreneurship Virtual Expo, including the Pitching Finale and events leading up to it,
Engage new partners, from private sector and civil society across the region as strategic partners in work related to women’s economic empowerment in the region, including for the Women’s Entrepreneurship Expo,
Build support for a regional e-commerce platform and network of entrepreneurs to increase their visibility and business networks across the region,
Liaise and communicate with UN Women HQ Economic Empowerment Section and attend meetings related to WEPs in time of COVID crisis and share regular updates about policies and changes with ECA field offices,
Follow up with reporting and knowledge dissemination in the region for private sector and WEPs related activities at regional level and create linkages with work of country offices,
Support organization of webinars with the private sector companies in the region to discuss priorities for the joint work and follow-up on them, including their engagement in the Women’s Entrepreneurship Virtual Expo related activities and for new companies and entrepreneurs to become WEP signatories,
Support communications and technical teams to continue visibility and support of the activities from the Women’s Entrepreneurship Expo,
Lead the ECA RO’s preparations of a Pitching Finale event following the virtual Women’s Entrepreneurship Expo on 27-29 April, including webinar series, and publishing of entrepreneurs stories,
Assist in the organisation of regular communication with private sector companies to follow-up on implementation of the joint plan of actions,
Contribute substantive inputs to concept notes and proposals to strengthen partnerships with the private sector and generate greater financial resources in support of UN Women programmatic initiatives especially relating to COVID 19 response, including research on women’s access to markets and finance in the ECA region,
Contribute to advocacy and communications activities of the CO related to the WEPs and private sector engagement
Provide Deputy Regional Director support on an ongoing basis to coordinate above activities, and other requirements as needed.

Deliverables and Payment Schedule

Duration of the assignment is 4 months from September 2021 to December 2021. The Consultant is expected to spend up to 22 working days per month throughout the assignment.

Expected Deliverables and Payment Schedule:

The following table summarizes main activities and expected deliverables against targeted delivery deadlines and indicative working days to be invested by the Consultant and to be carried out remotely.

Deliverables

Timeframe

Amount of payment

Work plan with proposed deliverables and timelines for 4 months consultancy.

Week 1 or assignment

N/A

Summary report of tasks performed under expected duties and responsibilities and timesheet.

On a monthly basis, by 25th of every month

Monthly lumpsum

Final consolidated report with indication of key achievements and handover notes

By 28 December

Final month’s lumpsum

The mentioned number of working days has been estimated as being sufficient/feasible for the envisaged volume of work to be completed successfully and is proposed as a guideline for the duration of assignment. It cannot and shall not be used as criteria for completion of work/assignment. The provision of envisaged deliverables approved by the UN Women ECA RO shall be the only criteria for Consultants work being completed and eligible for payment(s).

Payment Schedule:

The Consultant shall be paid upon successful completion of the deliverables in monthly installments as per the above table. Payment shall be affected only if all the deliverables in this TOR are submitted to UN Women ECA RO within the timeframes stipulated in the TOR and they are approved by the respective supervisor. Without submission and approval of the deliverables, Consultants shall not receive any payment even if they invest time for this assignment.

The consultant should not surpass 22 days work per month unless cleared by the supervisor in writing prior to the days worked.

Travel:

This is home-based assignment and no travel requirements are envisioned under this assignment. In exceptional case of an unforeseeable travel, the travel arrangements will be handled by UN Women as per the UN Women rules and regulations. In the exception situation that travel is required under this assignment, the Consultant is required to provide the relevant ECA RO Operations support team with required travel documentation in a timely manner and before the travels. Please note that failure to do so may result in no entitlement.

Key Performance Indicators

Timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.
Adherence to UN Women standards and rules.

Competencies

Core Values:

Respect for Diversity
Integrity
Professionalism

Core Competencies:

Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
Creative Problem Solving
Effective Communication
Inclusive Collaboration
Stakeholder Engagement
Leading by Example

Functional Competencies

Ability to communicate sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies;
Knowledge of gender equality and women’s empowerment issues;
Focuses on impact and results for client;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Proven networking skills, and ability to mobilize support on behalf of UN Women;
Good negotiating skills;
Knowledge and understanding of UN system;
Strong IT skills, including databases, extranet and office software packages;
Strong analytical and interpersonal skills.

UN Women does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

Master’s degree or equivalent in economics, business management, social sciences, public administration, international relations, communications, women's studies, or another area relevant to the requirements of the TOR.
A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Skills and Experience

At least 4 years of experience at a national or international level in business development and innovation.
Experience within UN system (preferably UN Women) in private sector engagement and innovation.
Experience in gender equality and women's empowerment considered an asset.
Knowledge of the ECA region considered an asset.

Language Requirements

Fluency in English (written and oral);
Knowledge of other UN working languages is an asset.