UN Women National Technical Consultant – Women Artisans of Change (Crafts Sector) - Women's Economic Empowerment Programme, Home Based, India

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’s Country Office, based in New Delhi, India, works to accelerate the advancement of gender equality and the empowerment of women through the strengthening of strategic partnerships, technical and policy advisory services and advocacy with governmental, inter-governmental and civil society partners. In addition, UN Women CO is also leading and coordinating the UN system’s work on gender equality, including through ensuring accountability for results.

Numerous challenges have impeded the growth of women's entrepreneurship in India, perpetuating their economic marginalization for decades. Traditional mindsets, gender biases, limited economic opportunities, and a lack of capital and resources have all contributed to their struggles. Despite these obstacles, there is an increasingly acknowledged importance in promoting women as entrepreneurs, recognizing their potential to significantly contribute to empowerment and well-being. 

The textile sector is one of India's largest employers, providing livelihoods to millions of women across handloom, handicrafts, and allied value chains. Recognizing the sector's potential to advance women's economic empowerment, UN Women has established a strategic partnership with the Office of the Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles, to strengthen women's leadership, skills, entrepreneurship, and market participation across the handloom and handicrafts ecosystem. The partnership also seeks to promote environmentally sustainable and circular production practices, enabling women artisans and weavers to adopt resource-efficient techniques, improve market competitiveness, and contribute to a more resilient and inclusive textile sector.

Building on this partnership, UN Women is implementing the Women Artisans of Change (WeACe) initiative to strengthen the capacities of women artisans and weavers through skills development, entrepreneurship, design innovation, market access, and institutional partnerships. The initiative promotes collaboration with design institutions, government agencies, and the private sector to introduce sustainable production techniques, strengthen women's leadership and enterprise development, improve access to domestic and international markets, and enhance the visibility of women-led enterprises. It also supports knowledge generation, policy dialogue, and advocacy on women's participation in the textile sector, including issues related to circularity, sustainable livelihoods, and decent work.

The purpose of this consultancy is to support the implementation of UN Women's partnership with the Office of the Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles, and the WeACe initiative. Under the direct supervision of the Programme Analyst (Women's Economic Empowerment), the consultant will provide technical support for the day-to-day implementation of project activities; coordinate with government ministries, development partners, and implementing organizations; support the design and delivery of capacity-building programmes and training of trainers; develop high-quality knowledge products, policy briefs, proposals, and communication materials; and contribute to the planning and implementation of national consultations, conferences, and flagship events, including Bharat TEX. The consultant will also support research and advocacy on women's economic empowerment, leadership, entrepreneurship, and circularity within the handloom, handicrafts, and broader textile sector.

Under the supervision of the Programme Analyst, Women's Economic Empowerment, the Technical Consultant will:

• Provide technical support for the implementation of UN Women's initiatives on women's economic empowerment in the handloom, handicrafts, and textile sector.
• Coordinate with the Ministry of Textiles, government agencies, implementing partners, industry, and academic institutions to support programme implementation.
• Design and facilitate training programmes, workshops, and capacity-building initiatives on gender, entrepreneurship, leadership, and sustainable textile practices.
• Develop technical reports, policy briefs, concept notes, proposals, knowledge products, and communication materials.
• Support research, documentation, and advocacy on women artisans, weavers, and circularity in the textile sector.
• Coordinate the planning and implementation of consultations, conferences, exhibitions, and flagship events, including Bharat TEX.
• Support partnership development, resource mobilization, and engagement with government, private sector, and development partners.
• Monitor programme implementation, document lessons learned and good practices, and prepare high-quality donor and programme reports.
• Provide technical and coordination support for major convenings and flagship events, including Bharat TEX, National Handloom Day and other relevant Ministry of Textiles and UN Women events, including preparation of required programme, communication and design materials.
• Support regular coordination and engagement with the Ministry of Textiles and relevant government agencies, as and when required, and maintain ongoing coordination with implementing partners, industry stakeholders, academic institutions, civil society organizations and development partners for effective programme implementation.
• Identify and support partnership-building and resource mobilization opportunities on an ongoing basis, including preparation of background materials, briefing notes, partnership concepts and proposals, and engagement with government, private sector and development partners.
• Provide monthly technical inputs to programme monitoring and progress reviews, including review of programme data, documentation of results and lessons learned, donor and internal reporting, policy advocacy and strategic programme planning.
• Undertake other technical and programmatic assignments related to the portfolio, as required by the Programme Analyst, Women’s Economic Empowerment.

The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Programme Analyst, Women's Economic Empowerment, in close coordination with the Country Programme Manager, WEE, UN Women India Office, to achieve the following deliverables on a monthly basis:

• Successfully organize at least 1 capacity-building workshop/session per month for women weavers, artisans and/or other relevant stakeholders, including development or adaptation of training curricula, facilitation materials, presentations and tools on entrepreneurship, gender equality, leadership, sustainable textile practices and other relevant thematic areas.
• Successful delivery of at least 2 consultations/meetings per month with women weavers, artisans, entrepreneurs or collectives to inform programme implementation, capture feedback and identify emerging needs and opportunities.
• Ensure delivery of knowledge products including technical reports, training reports, concept notes, policy briefs, proposals, communication and advocacy materials, briefing notes and resource mobilization materials.
• Ensure provision of 1–2 social media and communication outputs per month highlighting programme activities, results, women’s leadership, good practices and key sectoral messages, in coordination with the UN Women and Ministry of Textiles’ communications team.

Payment Terms: 20 working days with monthly progress reports and timesheets submitted by the last day of each month detailing activities undertaken and progress made during the reporting period.

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:

• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills
• Focuses on impact and result for the partners and responds positively to feedback

Education:

• Degree in design or fashion technology or equivalent in a related field.
• A first-level university degree in combination with four additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in working in the handloom, handicrafts, textile sector, and sustainable or circular economy.
• Sound knowledge of gender equality and women's economic empowerment, particularly in the areas of livelihoods, entrepreneurship, skills development, and value chains.
• Significant expertise in developing training manuals and conducting training workshops in the textile sector
• Experience of working with the government institutions, development partners, private sector, and civil society organizations.
• Good communication skills and strong technical writing skills with the ability to prepare high-quality reports, proposals, policy briefs, and knowledge products.
• Experience in designing and facilitating workshops, consultations, and capacity-building programme.
• Ability to synthesize evidence into practical recommendations and support programme implementation.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint); familiarity with digital collaboration and communication tools is an asset.
• Experience of working in similar assignments is preferable.
• Experience of working with UN agencies, international organization will be an asset.

Language Requirement:

• Strong written skills in English and good command over Hindi.

Evaluation and Selection Criteria:

Criteria for shortlisting of CVs will be based on the following assessment:

• Required Degree and Qualification (5 points).
• Minimum Experience relevant to the assignment (10 points)
• Working knowledge and experience of working with Government on gender issues (5 points).

The evaluation process for selection of the candidate will be based on the following assessment:

• Interview (80 points)
• Writing Samples (20 points)

Please note:

• For an assignment requiring travel, consultants of 65 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work to engage in the consultancy.
• Consultants are required to submit doctor's certificate to state fitness to work and travel for this assignment.
• Due to large number of potential applicants, only competitively selected candidates will be contacted for remaining steps of the service procurement process.
• The consultant is expected to use their own computer equipment. The office will not provide any computer equipment for this assignment.
• This is a full-time assignment. The consultant is expected to disclose any outside activity and shall not be permitted to take up any outside work during this assignment

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.