UN Women: International Consultant, Gender and Private Sector Engagement Expert in Crisis and Recovery Settings (Retainer), Home-Based

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 centre of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates the 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 States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. 

UN Women’s triple mandate, along with its global network and deep policy and programming expertise, continues to endow the Entity with a unique capacity to: (i) support Member States to strengthen global norms and standards for gender equality and women’s empowerment, and mainstream gender perspectives in other thematic areas; (ii) promote coordination and coherence across the UN system to enhance accountability and results for gender equality and women’s empowerment; and (iii) undertake operational activities to support Member States, upon their request, in translating global norms and standards into legislation, policies and strategies at country level. 

UN Women plays an innovative and catalytic role in the State of Palestine since its inception in 1997 (as UNIFEM). In line with the national priorities, the work of UN Women for the period 2023-2025 is aligned with three of the Palestine United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework’s (UNSDCF) outcomes:

•     Palestinians have greater access to economic opportunities that are inclusive, resilient, and sustainable, including decent employment and livelihoods opportunities in an empowered private sector.

•     Palestinians, including the most vulnerable, have equal access to sustainable, inclusive, gender responsive and quality social services, social protection, and affordable utilities.

•     Palestinian governance institutions, processes, and mechanisms at all levels are more democratic, rights-based, inclusive, and accountable.

Its three-year Strategic Note supports the efforts to achieve measurable results in country in terms of four UN Women global Strategic Plan impacts (2022-2025): (SP Impact 1). Governance and participation in public life; (SP Impact 2). Women’s Economic Empowerment; (SP Impact 3). Ending Violence Against Women and Girls; SP Impact 4. Women peace and security, Humanitarian & Disaster Risk Reduction. 

UN Women is planning to implement early recovery programming which aims to support enterprise recovery, restore livelihoods, create employment opportunities, and strengthen economic resilience, with a strong focus on ensuring that women benefit equitably from economic recovery efforts. Emphasis for this assignment will be on private sector recovery including in light industries, and in the textiles and garment industries, as well as in the care industry and food production and processing, among others.

Women-owned businesses, SMEs and women workers face multiple barriers to participation in economic recovery initiatives, including limited access to productive resources, workplace discrimination, care responsibilities, mobility restrictions, and reduced opportunities for advancement. In fragile and crisis-affected contexts, these challenges are often exacerbated. Consequently, there is a need to engage private sector actors in adopting gender-responsive business practices that promote women's participation, retention, leadership, and economic empowerment.

The consultant will provide strategic and technical expertise to strengthen gender-sensitive private sector engagement across the programme and ensure that women's economic empowerment objectives are systematically integrated into enterprise recovery interventions, workplace practices, and business development support. The consultant will provide advice through the framework of the Women's Empowerment Principles. 

Demand side (women workers): The consultant will support UN Women in Gaza and partners (including UN agencies and women-led organisations and enterprises) with outreach and identification of women workers, followed by developing a tailored case management to address barriers to employment. This could include identifying childcare and other care services, transportation, protection referrals, and other support needed for women to access and retain work. The consultant may also advise on facilitating TVET certification, skills development, mentoring, and coaching. 

Supply side (enterprises): The consultant will focus on supporting enterprises through expertise on the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and private sector engagement to create safer, more inclusive, and gender-responsive and disability inclusive workplaces. The consultant will support enterprises on a progressive pathway towards WEPs adoption by applying and operationalizing key WEPs principles.

The consultant will report to the Programme Analyst (Humanitarian and Early Recovery) and will work closely with the UN Women Gaza team, relevant ministries, project partners, participating enterprises, light industries/factories employing women, chambers of commerce, women-led and owned businesses, women's organizations, and other relevant stakeholders.

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

 1. Gender Analysis and Private Sector Engagement Strategy

• Conduct gender-responsive assessments of target enterprises and economic sectors.
• Identify barriers and opportunities affecting women's access to employment, entrepreneurship, leadership, and decent work.
• Analyze enterprise practices from a gender equality and inclusion perspective.
• Develop recommendations to strengthen gender-responsive private sector engagement throughout project implementation.
• Prepare a practical gender-sensitive private sector engagement framework.

2. Support Gender-Responsive Enterprise Recovery

• Provide technical guidance on integrating gender considerations into enterprise recovery and workforce development interventions.
• Advise on strategies to increase women's participation in employment opportunities created under the programme including in light industries.
• Ensure inclusion of women-led enterprises, cooperatives, and home-based producers.
• Develop recommendations to improve retention and advancement of women workers.

3. Workplace Inclusion and Responsible Business Practices

• Support participating enterprises in adopting gender-responsive workplace policies and procedures.
• Develop guidance on gender-responsive recruitment, retention, promotion, and leadership pathways.
• Strengthen enterprise capacities on prevention of workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse ensuring safe and protective workplaces for women workers.
• Advise on grievance, referral, and accountability mechanisms.
• Support implementation of workplace inclusion and safety standards.

4. Capacity Building and Coaching

• Design and facilitate training sessions for enterprises, business associations, and project partners.
• Deliver coaching and technical advisory support to participating businesses.
• Build awareness of the business case for gender equality and women's economic empowerment.
• Support companies in developing practical workplace improvement plans.

5. Data, Knowledge Products and Learning

• Advise on collecting and analysing data on women’s employment in the private sector.
• Develop practical guidance materials, tools, SOPs, and checklists related to gender-sensitive private sector engagement.
• Produce case studies highlighting successful practices and lessons learned.
• Document innovative approaches to women's economic participation and enterprise recovery.
• Contribute recommendations for future economic recovery and private sector programming.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy, without travel. 

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 expertise in women's economic empowerment and private sector development. 
• Strong understanding of gender-responsive business practices and workplace inclusion including WEPs. 
• Ability to engage effectively with private sector stakeholders and employers. 
• Capacity to translate gender analysis into practical business solutions. 
• Experience designing tools, frameworks, and guidance materials. 
• Strong analytical, facilitation, and advisory skills.

Education and Certification:

• Master's degree or equivalent in Gender Studies, Economics, Business Administration, Social Sciences, Development Studies, International Development, Human Rights, or a related field is required. 
• A first-level university degree combined with two additional years of relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in women's economic empowerment, private sector engagement, inclusive economic development, or related fields is required. At least 2 years of those must be experience working in Crisis and Recovery settings.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing gender-responsive employment, entrepreneurship, and private sector programmes is desirable. 
• Proven experience engaging with private sector actors and promoting inclusive workplace practices including familiarity with the Women’s Empowerment Principles is required.
• Experience conducting gender analyses and developing gender mainstreaming frameworks is desirable. 
• Experience delivering training, coaching, and technical advisory services is desirable. 
• Experience in humanitarian, recovery, or fragile contexts is highly desirable. 
• Previous experience in Palestine or the Middle East is highly desirable. 
• Experience working with UN agencies and international organizations is highly desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Working knowledge of Arabic is desirable.

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.