CONSULTANT TERMS OF REFERENCE          

 I.  Contract Overview                                       

Consultancy Title:                         Coordination Consultant

                                                         Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division 

Location:                                           New York

Practice Area:                                  Gender Equality

Type of Contract:                              Individual Consultant

Category (Eligible applicants):         External

Post Level:                                       International Consultant 

Languages Required:                      English

Starting Date:                                   24 March-31 July 2026                  

Duration of Contract:                       4 months  

II. Consultancy Assignment

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 throughout the world. 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.

The Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division (PPID) is accountable for Strategic Plan (SP) implementation through effective and efficient intergovernmental, policy and programmatic support, and is accountable for driving and coordinating the delivery of the UN Women development results (DR) as outlined in the SP:

• Impact Areas: Leadership and decision-making, Women’s economic empowerment in resilient economies, Women and girls free from violence, Women, peace and security and humanitarian action 
• Cross-cutting Outcomes: 1) Norms and standards uphold the rights of all women and girls, 2) Institutions are accountable to all women and girls with financing, data and practices that support gender equality; 3) more women and girls exercise their agency and have equitable access to quality services, resources and assets.

Under the supervision of the Special Assistant situated within the PPID Directorate, the Coordination Consultant will support Division-wide coordination, tasking, and information flow across PPID, ensuring timely preparation, routing, and follow-up of materials to support leadership decision-making and engagement in priority intergovernmental processes.

Responsibilities and Deliverables 

Provide Division-wide coordination support 

• Serve as a day-to-day coordination focal point supporting directorate-wide tasking, routing, and decision-readiness across PPID, acting as connective tissue between the Directorate, PPID Sections, and other Divisions and Offices. This includes supporting PPID’s engagement in major intergovernmental processes during the assignment period, with a particular focus on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and HLPF.
• Support the consolidation, organization, and ongoing management of information related to CSW and other priority engagements, including:
  • maintaining up-to-date trackers of approved side events and related documentation;
  • liaising with internal teams to ensure timely submission of concept notes and required materials;
  • organizing information in a clear, accessible, and user-friendly manner for internal reference.
• Act as a day-to-day coordination liaison with the EDEO and DEDO scheduling teams on ELT tasking and engagement planning, including:
  • supporting the tracking of PPID engagement requests and recommendations;
  • facilitating the tasking of briefing notes and background materials across PPID sections;
  • following up on inputs to support timely preparation.
• Maintain and update internal coordination trackers related to leadership tasking and intergovernmental engagement.
• Conduct initial screening of briefing materials and submissions to ensure completeness, clarity, and adherenc, and support the timely entry and follow-up of relevant items in the Director’s Decision Sheet, under the guidance of the Special Assistant.

Support leadership coordination, internal governance, and review processes

• Serve as Secretariat to the PPID Leadership Team and Extended Management Team, including:
  • supporting preparation and circulation of agendas and background documentation;
  • drafting meeting  summaries;
  • tracking and following up on agreed action points.
• Support coordination of division-wide meetings and internal gatherings, including logistical preparation, documentation, and follow-up as required.
• Provide operational support to leadership review and clearance processes by conducting initial checks of submissions against established guidelines and checklists to ensure completeness prior to final review within the Directorate.
• Support backstopping of PPID’s Global Service Tracker by processing and organizing incoming requests, summarizing information to support efficient review and decision-making by the Director and Deputy Director, and providing recommendations to support more efficient workflows.

Contribute to communication support, knowledge management, and process standardization

• Support the preparation and coordination of external-facing communication materials related to leadership representation, including drafting and editing content and supporting the development of materials across multiple communication formats.
• Contribute to internal communication efforts by supporting the preparation and dissemination of clear, timely information related to leadership priorities, key processes, and upcoming milestones.
• Contribute to knowledge management and institutional memory efforts within PPID by documenting lessons learned from key engagement cycles and coordination processes; supporting the organization and maintenance of internal tools, trackers, and reference materials;  and contributing to efforts to standardize workflows, coordination practices, and documentation to enhance consistency and efficiency across the Division.

Key Performance Indicators: 

• Timely and accurate maintenance of coordination trackers and planning/decision tools within the Directorate
• Timely support to Division-wide tasking and intergovernmental engagement processes, including CSW
• Quality and completeness of materials prepared for leadership review and clearance
• Effective secretariat support to leadership meetings and follow-up actions
• Quality contributions to knowledge management and documentation efforts

III. 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:

• Good planning, goal-setting and prioritization;
• Strong communication skills, both written and oral;
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills;
• Strong inter-personal skills, communicate effectively with staff at all levels of the organization;
• Ability to work in a highly pressured environment;
• Ability treat sensitivities matters with confidentiality and accountability;
• Knowledge and understanding of gender equality issues as well as more broadly, human rights and development cooperation;
• Proficient IT skills;
• Familiarity with UN and UN Women system is a distinct advantage.

IV. Required Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master's degree (or equivalent) in: Administration, International Relations, Communications, Public Relations, Public Affairs, Social Sciences,
• or a related field; a first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Certification in project or programme management is an asset.

Experience:

• At least one year of experience in coordination, programme support, or analytical roles within international organizations, including experience supporting complex, multi-stakeholder processes.
• Demonstrated experience working on gender equality and the empowerment of women.
• Demonstrated experience supporting intergovernmental processes and high-level engagements, including preparation of background materials, coordination of inputs, tracking of follow-up actions, and support to leadership engagement.
• Experience supporting communication and dissemination activities related to gender equality, policy, or representational engagement, including drafting and editing written materials and coordinating inputs across formats and teams.

• Prior experience in the UN System is an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English, both oral and written, is required; 

Proficiency in other UN languages is an advantage.

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.