National Consultant - Costing Specialist

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.

UN Women supports national partners in Armenia in strengthening the legal, policy and institutional frameworks for advancing gender equality and preventing and responding to violence against women and girls.

As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen national capacities in international compliance and governance, UN Women works closely with state institutions, civil society organizations, and international partners to bridge the gap between global commitments and national reality. This involves translating international human rights treaties, gender equality standards, and normative frameworks into actionable, localized policies. By providing targeted technical assistance, fostering multi-stakeholder dialogue, and building institutional ownership, UN Women ensures that countries are fully equipped to design, implement, and monitor inclusive strategies that drive sustainable change and uphold women's rights at every level of governance. Building upon UN Women's broader mission to advance gender equality and strengthen normative frameworks, the objective of this consultancy is to provide specialized technical support in the costing and financial planning of the draft National Action Plan. 

Designed to ensure the smooth implementation of obligations under the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence in the context of its upcoming ratification, the consultant will develop a comprehensive budget and resource-mobilization framework. This will entail conducting a thorough financial assessment of planned interventions, establishing clear cost metrics for line ministries, and aligning the Action Plan with national budgetary processes to guarantee viable, long-term funding for survivor protection, prevention strategies, and multi-sectoral response systems 

The assignment will be carried out during the period of 20 September to 30 October.

Description of Responsibilities / Scope of Work

Under the overall guidance of UN Women UN Women Programme Specialist based in Armenia  and in close coordination with the relevant national counterparts, the National Consultant will provide technical expertise for the costing of the Action Plan for implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence .

The consultant will undertake the following tasks:

• Desk review and analysis: Conduct a targeted review of the draft Action Plan, relevant national strategies, programmes, budgets, expenditure frameworks and other relevant documents to understand the existing resource allocation and financing arrangements related to prevention and response to violence against women and domestic violence.
• Development of costing methodology: Develop and agree with UN Women on an appropriate methodology and costing framework for estimating the financial requirements of the Action Plan. The methodology should be practical, transparent and adapted to the Armenian national planning and budgeting context.
• Identification of cost components: Review the proposed objectives, activities and measures under the Action Plan and identify the key cost components and assumptions required for costing each activity, including human resources, capacity development, service provision, institutional strengthening, communication and awareness-raising, monitoring and evaluation, and other relevant costs.
• Data collection and consultations: Consult relevant government institutions and other stakeholders to collect available financial, budgetary and programme data necessary for the costing exercise and validate key costing assumptions.
• Costing of the Action Plan: Develop detailed cost estimates for the activities and measures included in the Action Plan, including annual and overall financial requirements, as applicable. The costing should clearly present the methodology, unit costs, assumptions, quantities and calculations used.
• Analysis of existing resources and financing gaps: Where information is available, assess existing or planned national budget allocations and other potential resources relevant to implementation of the Action Plan and identify indicative financing gaps and resource requirements.
• Integration of costing into the Action Plan: Ensure that the costing framework and estimates are appropriately reflected in the structure of the Action Plan and aligned with its objectives, activities, implementation timelines and responsible institutions.
• Validation of costing: Present the preliminary costing and methodology to UN Women and relevant national stakeholders, explain key assumptions and calculations, and facilitate discussion and validation of the proposed estimates.
• Finalization: Revise and finalize the costing of the Action Plan based on comments and data received from UN Women and relevant national stakeholders and provide the final costing framework, calculations and supporting documentation.

Deliverables

The consultant will be responsible for the following key deliverables:

1. Inception report and workplan, including the proposed costing methodology, approach, data requirements, timeline and key stakeholders to be consulted by September 22, 2026 (1day).
2. Costing methodology and framework, including proposed cost categories, unit-cost approach, assumptions, data sources and calculation methodology by September 26, 2026 (2 days).
3. Data collection and costing template, populated with available financial and programme data and agreed costing assumptions for activities included in the Action Plan by September 28, 2026 (5 days).
4. First draft of the detailed costing of the Action Plan, including activity-level cost estimates, annual and total resource requirements, key assumptions and, where feasible, an analysis of existing resources (secured, planned and potential resources) and indicative financing gaps by October 5, 2026 (6 days).
5. Presentation and validation of the draft costing with UN Women and relevant national stakeholders, including documentation and incorporation of substantive comments and additional financial information received by October 7, 2026 (2 days) .
6. Final costing of the Action Plan for implementation of the the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, including a detailed costing matrix, methodology and assumptions, overall and annual financial requirements, and a brief analytical note outlining key findings, financing considerations and recommendations for implementation by October 12, 2026 (4 days).

Duration of the Assignment

The consultancy will be carried out from 20 September to 30 October 2026.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy in Yerevan, Armenia. 

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:

• Technical credibility in policy research 
• Technical credibility in legislative analysis 
• Business acumen
• Negotiation 
• Partnerships building

Required Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in economics, public finance, finance, public administration, public policy, development studies, statistics, or another relevant field.
• A first-level university degree in combination with 7 additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 5 years with Master’s degree or minimum 7 years with Bachelor’s of relevant professional experience in public finance, programme costing, budgeting, financial analysis, costing of national strategies/action plans, or related areas.
• Demonstrated experience in costing national strategies, policies, programmes or action plans, preferably in the social sector, gender equality, human rights or related areas.
• Proven knowledge of public financial management, national planning and budgeting processes and methodologies for costing policy interventions.
• Strong knowledge of Armenia’s national budgeting, planning and public finance context.
• Experience in developing costing methodologies, costing matrices, financial models and resource requirement estimates.
• Demonstrated ability to collect and analyze financial and budgetary data and translate programme activities into realistic cost estimates.
• Experience working with government institutions and consulting relevant stakeholders on budgeting, costing and financial planning.
• Experience in gender-responsive budgeting and/or costing interventions related to gender equality and violence against women would be a strong asset.
• Previous experience working with UN agencies or other international organizations would be an asset.
• Excellent analytical, quantitative, drafting and communication skills.

Languages:

• Fluency in Armenian and English is required.

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, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, 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 to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel 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.