I. 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 center of all its efforts, UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors

In Liberia, UN Women contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) (2026–2030), which aligns with the Government’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development and is organized around three outcomes: human capital development, governance, and inclusive economic growth and climate action. Sixteen UN agencies, including four non-resident agencies, support this collective effort. UN Women Liberia’s new Strategic Note (SN) (2026–2030) sets out its contribution to all three outcomes, focusing on strengthened gender-responsive laws and policies, accountable and inclusive institutions, and empowered women and girls across four impact areas: women’s leadership and decision-making; women’s economic empowerment; women and girls free from violence; and women, peace and security.

Building on its normative and coordination mandates, UN Women supports national institutions to apply global gender equality standards and translate these commitments into laws, policies, and institutional practices. It strengthens the UN system’s performance on gender equality through UNCT-SWAP requirements, enhances gender analysis across joint planning processes, and ensures gender-responsive indicators, targets, and financial tracking are integrated throughout the UNSDCF. UN Women also works with national institutions and women’s rights organisations to reinforce gender coordination mechanisms, promote coherent action on GEWE, and improve monitoring of national and international normative commitments. Through this role, UN Women helps ensure that gender equality priorities are fully reflected in national planning, policy development, and UN joint programming, and that women’s rights organizations have stronger influence in decision-making spaces.

During a critical period of Strategic Note operationalization, UN Women Liberia seeks to engage a National Coordination and Partnerships Consultant for a period of three (3) months to provide targeted, technical support, working under the overall supervision of the UN Women Country Representative.

II. Objectives of the Assignment

The primary objective of this consultancy is to strengthen UN Women Liberia’s coordination, normative engagement, and partnerships capacity during the initial phase of Strategic Note (2026–2030) implementation.

Specifically, the consultancy aims to:

• Support Liberia’s alignment with international gender equality norms and standards, including the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), Beijing+30, and CEDAW, through coordinated technical inputs and follow-up.
• Operationalize key gender coordination mechanisms, including the UNCT Gender Theme Group (GTG) and the Gender Partners Coordination Group, to strengthen coherence, accountability, and collective action on GEWE.
• Develop and operationalize a Resource Mobilization and Partnerships Strategy, aligned with UN Women Liberia’s Strategic Note (2026–2030) and the 2026 Annual Workplan, to strengthen donor engagement, partnership positioning, and funding pipelines.
•  Strengthen strategic partnerships, donor coordination, and civil society engagement, including structured engagement with development partners and the UN Women Civil Society Advisory Group (CSAG), in line with UN Women’s coordination mandate.
• Deliver concrete, time-bound outputs that reinforce UN Women’s leadership within the UN system and national gender equality architecture and support effective implementation of the Strategic Note.

III. Key Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Country Representative, the Consultant will work closely with programme teams, UNCT members, government counterparts, development partners, and civil society organizations to deliver the following:

1. Normative Alignment and Global Reporting Support

• Support Liberia’s preparation for and engagement in the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), including preparation of technical briefs, key messages, and coordination inputs.
• Support implementation of the Beijing+30 Action Agenda Roadmap, including tracking priority actions and preparing concise progress updates.
• Support the Government of Liberia in advancing implementation of CEDAW Concluding Observations, including follow-up actions related to the 9th and 10th CEDAW Reports.

2. UN System Coordination and Programme Alignment

• Lead the initial operationalization of the UNCT-SWAP Gender Equality Scorecard Action Plan (2026–2030) by translating agreed actions into a sequenced implementation roadmap with priorities, timelines, and responsibilities.
• Facilitate structured knowledge-sharing and coordination among UNCT members and Results Groups to advance UNCT-SWAP and the Gender Equality Acceleration Plan.
• Provide technical support to joint UN planning and coordination processes, including analytical inputs to UNCT and RC engagements.
• Prepare analytical briefs and advisory notes for the Country Representative on gender priorities.
• Facilitate and support the work of the UNCT Gender Theme Group (GTG), including documentation, action tracking, and follow-up.

3. Strategic Partnerships, Donor Coordination, and Civil Society Engagement

• Lead the development and finalization of the Resource Mobilization Strategy and Partnerships Strategy, aligned with the Strategic Note and 2026 Annual Workplan.
• Provide strategic advisory support to the Country Representative on donor outreach, partnership positioning, and engagement priorities.
• Support the coordination and functioning of the Gender Partners Coordination Group, including agenda setting, facilitation, documentation, and follow-up.
• Support the engagement and functioning of the UN Women Civil Society Advisory Group (CSAG), ensuring CSAG inputs are systematically integrated into UN Women’s thematic priorities, programme implementation, and policy advocacy.
• Support the development of donor-ready products, including concept notes, funding briefs, and presentations.
• Ensure all partnership and donor engagement actions are accurately recorded in the LEADS system.
• Provide technical input to proposals, Framework Arrangements, and Cost-Sharing Agreements, as required.

1. Expected deliverables/Description of Responsibilities

Duration of the Work 

The duration of this assignment will be for up to 3-month work assignment, tentatively from 1 January 2026 to 31 March 2026.  Completion and payment depend on the submission and approval of deliverables and monthly report by the UN Women Country Representative

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This consultancy will be office-based in Monrovia, Liberia. Any required travel will be discussed and approved in advance by UN Women.

Performance Evaluation

The Consultant’s performance will be evaluated based on timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.

Financial Arrangement

Payments will be disbursed to the consultant on a monthly basis, upon submission and approval of major outputs or functions set forth in Section “Description of Responsibilities” above, timesheets with actual days worked and certification by the Country Representative that the services have been satisfactorily performed. 

IV. 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 knowledge of gender equity and women’s empowerment issues 
• Strong knowledge of UN system and understanding of inter-agency coordination processes 
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with government representatives of Member States (donor and programme)
• Proven networking skills, and ability to mobilize support on behalf of UN Women
• Strong knowledge of results-based programme planning and management 
• Strong negotiation skills
• Ability to promote and monitor inclusion of gender-specific objectives, indicators, targets and activities in the UN agencies programmes 
• Strong analytical and interpersonal skills 
• Strong IT skills, including databases, extranet and office software packages

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.