What are the responsibilities and job description for the UN Women: Gender-Responsive Finance Expert for the Caribbean, Home-based, International Consultancy 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 UN Women MCO-Caribbean covers 22 countries and territories in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean. Strides towards gender equality in the countries covered by the MCO have resulted in gains for women and girls in the Caribbean, relating primarily to high education rates and increases in employment rates. However critical gaps and inequalities remain which have been exacerbated since COVID-19 and other environmental hazards.
Poverty in the Caribbean continues to disproportionately affect women and youth, who experience higher levels of unemployment and are impeded by limited access to finance, limited digital proficiency, the unpaid care burden, and a lack of social protections. While entrepreneurship is emerging as a livelihood opportunity and women are very engaged in MSMEs, across Latin America and the Caribbean, women’s businesses tend to be smaller, use less technology and are concentrated in the low growth and vulnerable sectors. For example, regional averages in the Caribbean suggest that 90% of women entrepreneurs have no employees, and just 1% have five or more employees.
Key constraints that have been identified are the cost of finance as well as access to adequate products, with approximately 65% of women-led micro, small, and medium-sized businesses in developing economies being either financially unserved or underserved globally. While Gender Lens Investing is a growing field, research has shown that many Financial Institutions (FIs) are unsure where to begin to promote gender responsive finance, or what women entrepreneurs, the majority of whom are in the informal sector, need.
At the same time, women-owned Micro, Small and Medium size Enterprises (MSMEs) do not access existing financial products for various reasons, including the cost of finance, negative experiences with finance institutions, self-exclusion, risk aversion, or lack of documentation and financial management systems. Direct support to women-owned MSMEs on identifying and adopting existing viable solutions, including digital solutions, can help them grow their operations.
As one part of its strategic focus, UN Women MCO-Caribbean is working towards supporting more productive and inclusive business ecosystems. It does this by strengthening the competitiveness and resilience of women-owned MSMEs and contributing to innovative forms of financing for gender equality to increase financing for MSMEs.
UN Women is implementing projects in Antigua & Barbuda and Saint Lucia, as well as the OECS countries to address the barriers women face to economic empowerment and particularly in accessing finance to grow their business.
To address the needs both of women entrepreneurs as well as finance and investment professionals, UN Women is seeking to hire a Gender-responsive Finance Expert in the Caribbean.
Objective
Under the overall supervision by the Private Sector Specialist, the service provider will be contracted to contribute to the following objectives:
Description Of Responsibilities/Scope Of Work
Deliverables Timeline Payment Schedule (proposed)
This is a home-based consultancy, with up to two trips (one to Antigua & Barbuda, one to Saint Lucia). The consultant will be engaged for a maximum of 40 working days during the period 01 April – 30 August 2025. The consultant must be reasonably accessible by email and telephone (preferably mobile). The use of reliable, internet-based communication technology is required.
The consultancy fee will be negotiated before contracting. Each payment will be based on a predefined and formal agreement between UN Women and the consultant and will be disbursed based on satisfactory completion of agreed deliverables.
As part of this assignment, there will be a maximum of two (2) travel, one to each country. Travel will be organized and paid for by UN Women.
Subcontracting of parts of the work is possible (after securing approval from UN Women) for not more than 50% of the outlined work, as per UN Women General Conditions of Service for Consultants. It is highly encouraged to subcontract a part of the work to a national of Antigua & Barbuda or Saint Lucia.
Competencies :
Core Values:
Functional Competencies:
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 UN Women MCO-Caribbean covers 22 countries and territories in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean. Strides towards gender equality in the countries covered by the MCO have resulted in gains for women and girls in the Caribbean, relating primarily to high education rates and increases in employment rates. However critical gaps and inequalities remain which have been exacerbated since COVID-19 and other environmental hazards.
Poverty in the Caribbean continues to disproportionately affect women and youth, who experience higher levels of unemployment and are impeded by limited access to finance, limited digital proficiency, the unpaid care burden, and a lack of social protections. While entrepreneurship is emerging as a livelihood opportunity and women are very engaged in MSMEs, across Latin America and the Caribbean, women’s businesses tend to be smaller, use less technology and are concentrated in the low growth and vulnerable sectors. For example, regional averages in the Caribbean suggest that 90% of women entrepreneurs have no employees, and just 1% have five or more employees.
Key constraints that have been identified are the cost of finance as well as access to adequate products, with approximately 65% of women-led micro, small, and medium-sized businesses in developing economies being either financially unserved or underserved globally. While Gender Lens Investing is a growing field, research has shown that many Financial Institutions (FIs) are unsure where to begin to promote gender responsive finance, or what women entrepreneurs, the majority of whom are in the informal sector, need.
At the same time, women-owned Micro, Small and Medium size Enterprises (MSMEs) do not access existing financial products for various reasons, including the cost of finance, negative experiences with finance institutions, self-exclusion, risk aversion, or lack of documentation and financial management systems. Direct support to women-owned MSMEs on identifying and adopting existing viable solutions, including digital solutions, can help them grow their operations.
As one part of its strategic focus, UN Women MCO-Caribbean is working towards supporting more productive and inclusive business ecosystems. It does this by strengthening the competitiveness and resilience of women-owned MSMEs and contributing to innovative forms of financing for gender equality to increase financing for MSMEs.
UN Women is implementing projects in Antigua & Barbuda and Saint Lucia, as well as the OECS countries to address the barriers women face to economic empowerment and particularly in accessing finance to grow their business.
To address the needs both of women entrepreneurs as well as finance and investment professionals, UN Women is seeking to hire a Gender-responsive Finance Expert in the Caribbean.
Objective
Under the overall supervision by the Private Sector Specialist, the service provider will be contracted to contribute to the following objectives:
- UN Women MCO Caribbean has a strengthened strategic engagement around promoting gender-responsive financial solutions for MSMEs, and particularly women-owned MSMEs
- Interested financial institutions know how to and are supported in developing gender-responsive financial systems or solutions
- Women-owned businesses are equipped with the knowledge to use and access existing digital and financial solutions to grow and run their business
Description Of Responsibilities/Scope Of Work
- Inception Report, outlining the workplan and overall approach
- Develop strategy of engagement for UN Women MCO to advance gender-lens investing including increasing Financial Institutions gender capacities and women entrepreneurs’ access to finance
- Conduct capacity-building workshops with relevant financial stakeholders, focusing on Antigua & Barbuda and Saint Lucia, on strategies to reduce risk and improve financial inclusion of women and youth
- Adapt guidelines and training materials for on the job training for FIs to better serve women owned MSMEs (using existing materials).
- Conduct capacity-building workshops with financial stakeholders in Antigua & Barbuda and Saint Lucia (in-person, include online exchange across countries) (target: 40 stakeholders trained).
- Facilitate one public forum on Financial Inclusion in Antigua & Barbuda or Saint Lucia.
- Skills-building training interventions for women and youth MSME owners on digital payments/e-money and financing solutions for women MSME owners.
- Adapt guidelines and training materials targeted at women and youth-owned MSMEs on how to use and integrate digital payments and financing solutions.
- Conduct capacity-building workshops with MSME owners in Antigua & Barbuda and Saint Lucia (target: 120 MSMEs trained).
- Facilitate one public forum on digital financial solutions for women-owned MSMEs in Antigua & Barbuda or Saint Lucia.
- Training follow-up with Financial Institutions and women-led MSMEs
- Final Report on results achieved
Deliverables Timeline Payment Schedule (proposed)
- Inception Report Thursday, May 1, 2025 10%
- Develop strategy of engagement for UN Women MCO to strategically advance Gender-Lens Investing, including increasing Financial Institutions gender capacities and women entrepreneurs access Friday, May 16, 2025 30%
- Adapt guidelines and learning materials for on the job Trainings for FIS Friday, May 30, 2025
- Adapt guidelines and learning materials for skills-building training interventions for women and youth MSME owners on digital payments and financing solutions. Friday, May 30, 2025
- Antigua and Barbuda Stakeholder engagement and capacity development Monday, June 9, 2025 30%
- Conduct capacity strengthening with financial stakeholders
- Facilitate one public forum on Financial Inclusion
- Conduct skills-building training interventions for women and youth MSME owners on digital payments and financing solutions for women MSME owners (online or in-person)
- Facilitate one public forum on digital financial solutions for women-owned MSMEs
- Saint Lucia Stakeholder engagement and capacity development Monday, June 16, 2025
- Conduct capacity strengthening with financial stakeholders
- Facilitate one public forum on Financial Inclusion
- Conduct skills-building training interventions for women and youth MSME owners on digital payments and financing solutions for women MSME owners
- Facilitate one public forum on digital financial solutions for women-owned MSMEs
- Training follow-up technical support to FI Friday, July 11, 2025 30%
- Training follow-up technical support to MSMEs Friday, July 11, 2025
- Final Report on results achieved Friday, July 18, 2025
This is a home-based consultancy, with up to two trips (one to Antigua & Barbuda, one to Saint Lucia). The consultant will be engaged for a maximum of 40 working days during the period 01 April – 30 August 2025. The consultant must be reasonably accessible by email and telephone (preferably mobile). The use of reliable, internet-based communication technology is required.
The consultancy fee will be negotiated before contracting. Each payment will be based on a predefined and formal agreement between UN Women and the consultant and will be disbursed based on satisfactory completion of agreed deliverables.
As part of this assignment, there will be a maximum of two (2) travel, one to each country. Travel will be organized and paid for by UN Women.
Subcontracting of parts of the work is possible (after securing approval from UN Women) for not more than 50% of the outlined work, as per UN Women General Conditions of Service for Consultants. It is highly encouraged to subcontract a part of the work to a national of Antigua & Barbuda or Saint Lucia.
Competencies :
Core Values:
- Integrity;
- Professionalism;
- Respect for Diversity.
- Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
- Accountability;
- Creative Problem Solving;
- Effective Communication;
- Inclusive Collaboration;
- Stakeholder Engagement;
- Leading by Example.
Functional Competencies:
- Strong problem-solving skills
- Excellent analytical and reporting skills
- Good planning, goal setting and prioritization
- Ability to multi-task and address competing priorities
- Ability to work with different actors, including through remote contact
- Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct
- Ability to work in a high-pressured environment and handle logistical details
- Strong sense of responsibility, confidentiality and accountability
- Good communicator
- Advanced University degree in Finance, Sustainable Development, Gender studies or related fields.
- At least 10 years of experience working in Sustainable Financing for MSMEs is required
- At least 5 years’ experience working on issues related to gender-responsive finance and supporting MSME development with a gender lens is required
- At least 2 years' experience in delivering capacity building activities is required
- Strong networks with financial actors and business support networks in the Caribbean (especially in Antigua & Barbuda / Saint Lucia) is an asset
- Previous experience in working in the Caribbean region or with Small Island Developing States is an asset
- Previous experience with the UN, governmental agencies or other international organization is an asset
- Fluency in written and oral English is required.
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.
