Background:

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between all genders as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action, and peace and security. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates the efforts of the United Nations System 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 national priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with government, civil society, and other relevant actors. In Nepal, UN Women, with an overarching five-year Strategic Note (SN) 2023 – 2027, aims to support the national stakeholders in advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women in line with internationally agreed normative standards that contribute to four outcome areas of the UNSDCF 2023 – 2027.

Under the framework of the current UN Women Nepal Country Office (NCO) Strategic Note 2023-2027, UN Women in Nepal continues its work to strengthen women’s leadership and participation in national and local level decision-making processes, empower women economically by supporting women, especially those from the most vulnerable and excluded groups, promote environmental sustainability, climate and disaster resilience, and transform gender discriminatory social norms and end harmful practices for inclusive and transformative human development.

Within the Current SN 2023-27 framework, UN Women is implementing EU-UN Joint Programme “Empowered Women, Prosperous Nepal (EWPN)” in three provinces of Nepal namely Madhesh, Karnali and Sudurpaschim province. One of the key outcome areas of the Joint Programme is to advance women’s economic empowerment through comprehensive business development support packages including technical skill training. Through this intervention, UN Women is supporting women from three provinces with the objective to increase women’s access to market demand based economic opportunities for income generation through self-employment (farm and off farm) and limited support to wage employment. From the field observations and review, one strong reflection is to transition from livelihood approach to viable, profitable and sustainable business by providing customized business development and market linkages support, unpacking the market driven approach to entrepreneurship development.

Against this backdrop, UN Women is looking to hire a provincial consultant to strengthen UN Women market driven approach to enterprise development, including private sector engagement under women’s economic empowerment interventions.  This consultancy aligns with the UN Women's Strategic Plan, which prioritizes strengthening women’s economic empowerment, through women’s entrepreneurship development. 

2. Objectives

The primary objective of this assignment is to provide tailored business development support to women entrepreneurs/producers group for business startup and scaling, facilitate access to finance and markets through coordination and partnerships with private sector actors through Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs) framework and Gender Responsive Procurement (GRP) tools. 

Scope of Work

Under the supervision of the Programme Specialist (WEE) and in coordination with Provincial Coordinator and other stakeholders, the consultant will be responsible for the following:

A. Business Development and Capacity Building Support

• Update and implement the Provincial Business Scaling and Market Linkage Plan with clear milestones and partnership targets. 
• Technical guidance and advisory to refine the business models, implement business development support package including branding and packaging and digital marketing for women MSMEs supported by EWPN.
• Facilitate connections with banks, cooperatives, and microfinance institutions for credit access and investment opportunities.

B. Private Sector Engagement and Partnership Building

• Map potential private sector partners (business and industries) willing to adopt Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and collaborate on women-led supply chains and/or responsible sourcing in the province. The focus will be on business and industry in agriculture, handicraft, Care and tourism/hospitality sectors to promote WEPs adoption in line with the UN Women Nepal Country Office Private Sector Engagement Strategy.
• Facilitate coordination and technical guidance on implementation of selected principles, especially around equal opportunity, women’s leadership, and gender responsive procurement for supply chain integration/market linkages for women MSMEs 
• Identify opportunities for job placement for women interested to join labour market through wage employment opportunities
• Organize buyer–seller meetings, exhibitions, and product showcase at provincial level — bringing together women entrepreneurs, cooperatives, private companies, and digital platforms.
• Support buyer–seller agreements or partnership MoUs with private sector actors and business associations for long-term marketing and supply chain engagement.

C)Promotion of Gender Responsive Procurement (GRP)

• Develop and deliver tailored orientation sessions for private sectors and local governments on GRP and inclusive sourcing at Provincial level.
• Identify opportunities and entry points for women entrepreneurs to access procurement opportunities from private and public buyers.
• Support development of practical GRP tools/checklists and case studies to demonstrate business benefits of GRP.
• Work with business federations, cooperative, provincial and local government agencies to promote enabling policies and programs for women entrepreneurs, including gender responsive procurement.

E. Knowledge and Coordination

• Document good practices, success stories, and lessons learned on business growth, finance access, private sector engagement and gender responsive procurement.
• Strengthen collaboration among provincial industry, businesses and cooperatives for sustained support systems.
• Submit progress and final reports summarizing outcomes, challenges, and recommendations.

Deliverable 

• Customize and implement Provincial Business Scaling and Market Linkage Plan with clear milestones and partnership targets. 
• Number of business development and capacity development provided to women MSMEs including technical guidance to local level implementing partners and its staff.
• Evidence of buyer seller meetings, women’s access to market linkage and partnership with business associations, private sector actors and local governments.
• Number of buyers–seller or private sector partnership agreements established.
• A list of private sectors identified and WEPs signatories signed. 
• A summary report of GRP sessions/advocacy events designed and delivered
• Document key learnings, recommendations for scaling up, and sustainability measures for market-driven business development support, private sector engagement and gender responsive procurement with private and public sectors.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy. As part of this assignment, the consultant will travel to provinces as per the need.

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:

• Strong commitment to and good understanding of gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. 
• Strong interpersonal skills; 
• Strong organizational skills and strong self-direction. 
• Work in teams: Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multiethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.                   
• Communicating and Information Sharing: Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication. 
• Ability to handle documents and the information contained therein with strictest confidentiality is a non-negotiable requirement.
• Self-management and Emotional Intelligence 
• Conflict management: Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution. 
• Partnership development and negotiation skills. 

Education and Certification:

Master’s degree in economics, Business Administration/Management, Agri-economics, enterprise development or any other related field of studies. 

Experience: 

• At least five years of professional experience in market driven business development support and private sector engagement, with demonstrated expertise in women’s economic empowerment, entrepreneurship development and market system approach.
• Proven expertise in designing and facilitating business development services, market linkage support and buyer-seller engagement. 
• Strong research and analytical skills, with a track record of producing high-quality technical reports, toolkits, and guidance materials. 
• Prior work experience on gender responsive procurement would be an additional asset.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and effectively with diverse stakeholders, including government agencies, private sector actors, civil society organizations, local service providers and development partners.
• Experience working with the UN system is a considerable asset.  

Languages:

Fluency in English and Nepali is required. 

Evaluation Criteria :

• At least five years of professional experience in market driven business development support and private sector engagement, with demonstrated expertise in women’s economic empowerment, entrepreneurship development and market system approach. (35)
• Proven expertise in designing and facilitating business development services, market linkage support and buyer-seller engagement. (25)
• Prior work experience on gender responsive procurement would be an additional asset. (20)
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and effectively with diverse stakeholders, including government agencies, private sector actors, civil society organizations, local service providers and development partners. (15)
• Experience working with the UN system is a considerable asset. (5)

The maximum score that the candidate can achieve for this consultancy is 100. Out of 100, candidates who receive a score higher than 60, will be qualified for this position.  

Please mention your preferred working Province in your application. 

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.