What are the responsibilities and job description for the International Consultant – Care Specialist (Retainer) position at UN Women?
Job Description
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.
The Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division develops and implements UN Women’s programme of work across its normative, coordination, and operational triple mandate and provides policy advice and guidance and technical support to intergovernmental processes, UN system, and UN Women regional and country offices, among other partners and stakeholders. The Division is organized in thematic sections, which undertake policy research; analyze data on country, regional and global trends; and propose evidence-based options for global policy, norms and standards as well as for UN Women’s policy advocacy and global programme strategies, including flagship programme initiatives. With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UN Women is supporting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) towards achieving gender equality and women's economic empowerment by 2030 to benefit all women and girls.
Economic empowerment is one of the priority areas of UN Women. UN Women works with governments, UN agencies, civil society organizations, regional economic commissions, academic and research institutions, and multilateral partners (World Bank, to promote women’s economic empowerment and increase their access to economic opportunities, especially for those who are most vulnerable and excluded. In 2024, UN Women has launched its new Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy, which articulates UN Women’s vision for enabling women’s economic agency, autonomy and well-being. Anchored in UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2022–2025 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, its objective is to provide a framework that galvanizes internal and external stakeholders to work together at the local, the national and international level. The strategy highlights three key priority areas, or Gender Equality Accelerators (GEAs), where UN Women can play a critical role:
(i) Women in the world of Work
(ii) Transforming care systems, and
(iii) Gender-responsive climate action.
The GEA on Transforming the care economy is hosted in the Care and Macroeconomic team within the Economic Empowerment section. To implement the GEA, the TransformCare initiative was created, aimed at transforming the undervaluing and gendered division of care and improve the lives of women and girls across 30 countries and six regions. The programme complements existing successful UN Women programmes such as the 3R programme to recognize, reduce and redistribute women’s unpaid care and domestic workloads and overall time poverty, the UN Women-ILO Joint Programme “Promoting Decent employment for women through inclusive growth policies and investments in the care economy”, and the new UN Joint Programme on Unpaid Care, Disability, and Gender Transformative Approach. The Initiative also benefits from the support provided by Sida to UN Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy through the expansion of the Strategic Partnership Framework (SPFIII).
To support the effective implementation of this GEA, UN Women seeks to hire two consultants with expertise in the field of care work, to provide technical assistance to the Care and Macroeconomic team in the implementation of global, regional and national initiatives on care.
Description Of Responsibilities /Scope Of Work
The overall purpose of this consultancy is to provide technical assistance to UN Women in the field of care work, a priority area for the implementation of UN Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy for Women and its GEA “Transforming care systems”.
Under the supervision of the Policy Advisor, Macroeconomics and Global Lead on Care, and working closely with the Macroeconomics and Care Team in the Economic Empowerment Section at UN Women, the consultants will be expected to perform the following tasks:
This consultancy is expected to start in March 2025 and end by December 2025. The consultancy is home-based, with some travel likely required (TBC).
Competencies :
Core Values
https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values
Functional Competencies:
Education and Certification:
Examples of relevant publications, reports, policy papers, tools, methodologies and/or training modules in the field of care work produced by the candidate will be an asset
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.
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.
The Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division develops and implements UN Women’s programme of work across its normative, coordination, and operational triple mandate and provides policy advice and guidance and technical support to intergovernmental processes, UN system, and UN Women regional and country offices, among other partners and stakeholders. The Division is organized in thematic sections, which undertake policy research; analyze data on country, regional and global trends; and propose evidence-based options for global policy, norms and standards as well as for UN Women’s policy advocacy and global programme strategies, including flagship programme initiatives. With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UN Women is supporting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) towards achieving gender equality and women's economic empowerment by 2030 to benefit all women and girls.
Economic empowerment is one of the priority areas of UN Women. UN Women works with governments, UN agencies, civil society organizations, regional economic commissions, academic and research institutions, and multilateral partners (World Bank, to promote women’s economic empowerment and increase their access to economic opportunities, especially for those who are most vulnerable and excluded. In 2024, UN Women has launched its new Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy, which articulates UN Women’s vision for enabling women’s economic agency, autonomy and well-being. Anchored in UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2022–2025 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, its objective is to provide a framework that galvanizes internal and external stakeholders to work together at the local, the national and international level. The strategy highlights three key priority areas, or Gender Equality Accelerators (GEAs), where UN Women can play a critical role:
(i) Women in the world of Work
(ii) Transforming care systems, and
(iii) Gender-responsive climate action.
The GEA on Transforming the care economy is hosted in the Care and Macroeconomic team within the Economic Empowerment section. To implement the GEA, the TransformCare initiative was created, aimed at transforming the undervaluing and gendered division of care and improve the lives of women and girls across 30 countries and six regions. The programme complements existing successful UN Women programmes such as the 3R programme to recognize, reduce and redistribute women’s unpaid care and domestic workloads and overall time poverty, the UN Women-ILO Joint Programme “Promoting Decent employment for women through inclusive growth policies and investments in the care economy”, and the new UN Joint Programme on Unpaid Care, Disability, and Gender Transformative Approach. The Initiative also benefits from the support provided by Sida to UN Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy through the expansion of the Strategic Partnership Framework (SPFIII).
To support the effective implementation of this GEA, UN Women seeks to hire two consultants with expertise in the field of care work, to provide technical assistance to the Care and Macroeconomic team in the implementation of global, regional and national initiatives on care.
Description Of Responsibilities /Scope Of Work
The overall purpose of this consultancy is to provide technical assistance to UN Women in the field of care work, a priority area for the implementation of UN Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy for Women and its GEA “Transforming care systems”.
Under the supervision of the Policy Advisor, Macroeconomics and Global Lead on Care, and working closely with the Macroeconomics and Care Team in the Economic Empowerment Section at UN Women, the consultants will be expected to perform the following tasks:
- Provide technical advice for the development of global, regional and country care normative frameworks
- Contribute to the development of context analysis, to inform the design of public policies, costings for care interventions and mappings of care services, includingdiagnoses and studies on supply and demand of care services.
- Provide technical advice to the development of care strategies at the local, national, regional and global levels.
- Review and prepare recommendations for care policy instruments at a global, regional, national and/or local level.
- Facilitate the application of costing methodology and projection of economic impacts of the implementation of care services.
- Contribute to the development of policy briefs, concept notes, reports, presentations and other technical documents/materials on care, including conducting data collection and compiling baseline information to prepare them.
- Review, provide inputs, and contribute to the development of knowledge products related to care.
- Collaborate in analyzing and systematizing experiences from various countries on care, along with the knowledge generated (e.g., guides, toolkits, case studies), helping to identify key insights, best practices, and lessons learned to inform future initiatives and track results
- Design and implement/apply tools and methodologies on care, for learning processes and capacity development for different audiences/stakeholders.
- Design, facilitate, and/or participate in in-person meetings/workshops and/or webinars.
- Contribute to the design of programme and project proposals aimed at resource mobilization on care at global, regional and country level.
This consultancy is expected to start in March 2025 and end by December 2025. The consultancy is home-based, with some travel likely required (TBC).
Competencies :
Core Values
- Respect for Diversity
- Integrity
- Professionalism
- Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
- Accountability
- Creative Problem Solving
- Effective Communication
- Inclusive Collaboration
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Leading by Example
https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values
Functional Competencies:
- Substantive knowledge of gender equality and women's economic empowerment, with a specific focus on care.
- Ability to gather and interpret data, reach logical conclusions and present findings and recommendations.
- Strong writing and communication skills.
- Proven analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to work with diverse stakeholders and different audiences.
- Capacity to work independently.
Education and Certification:
- Master’s degree or equivalent in international development, gender studies, economics, public policies, or a related field is required.
- A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
- At least 7 years of professional experience in women’s economic empowerment, with at least 3 years of specific experience in the field of care work is required.
- Experience in providing technical assistance and policy advice for the development of normative and policy frameworks
- Proven experience in the elaboration of knowledge products on care, including policy briefs and reports
- Experience in the facilitation of capacity building and training activities as well as in the design and organization of workshops and events
- Experience working in different countries and regions will be an asset.
- Experience working with the United Nations in areas related to the consultancy is an asset.
- Experience in applying an intersectional approach to gender equality is an asset.
- Fluency in English is required.
- Knowledge of French, Spanish or Arabic or any other UN official language is an asset.
Examples of relevant publications, reports, policy papers, tools, methodologies and/or training modules in the field of care work produced by the candidate will be an asset
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.
