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.

Under Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) UN Women Uganda focuses on programmes that provide technical, financial and opportunities for business development targeting women emerging entrepreneurs to own, manage and benefit from small medium and large enterprises in a profitable and sustainable manner. This includes providing opportunities for women and young girls to access sustainable livelihoods, strengthening the capacity of financial systems to empower young women and their allies, and strengthening the capacity of public and private sector employers to adapt practices and policies that promote decent work and socio protection policies for the vulnerable and marginalized populations, among others. WEE is a central component under UN Women Uganda’s Strategic Note 2026-2030. As implementation of the new Strategic Note begins, the Country Office is focusing on both the sustainability and the scaling up of our programming in this area, fostering robust relationships with donors, government partners, international organizations, and the private sector as well as non-traditional donors and high net worth entities.

This consultancy assignment is guided by this background and will be focused specifically on supporting the expansion of partnerships for the Country Office focused primarily on Women’s Economic Empowerment and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), but also on cross-cutting priorities including Humanitarian Action and Women, Peace and Security. It will also support the start-up of small WEE-focused projects.

The consultant will be reporting to the Programme Specialist for Humanitarian Action (WEE Focal Point).

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work:

Provide programme development services to the Women’s Economic Empowerment/DRR Portfolio:

• Prepare WEE programme briefs, policy position papers and other documents related to Women’s Economic Empowerment in Uganda and the region;
• Assist in drafting project concept notes and proposals;
• Identify areas for support and interventions within the Women’s Economic Empowerment Portfolio, particularly in its intersection with other thematic areas (Governance; EVAWG; GiHA).

Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization with traditional donors, private sector, and philanthropists:

• Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization to fund WEE outcomes;
• Support in providing relevant documentation on donors and potential opportunities for resource mobilization;
• Analyze and research information on donors, prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation;
• Determine programmatic areas of cooperation, based on strategic goals of UN Women, country needs and donors’ priorities and develop the relevant partnerships.

Provide technical support to the start-up, implementation and management of the WEE/DRR programme:

• Assist in the planning, implementation and evaluation of WEE projects, ensuring alignment with gender-responsive frameworks and standards;
• Provide inputs to the project workplan and budget and assist with setting up the projects in UN Women’s systems;
• Support results reporting on WEE/DRR in UN Women and inter-agency systems.

Support advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts: 

• Develop advocacy strategies related to WEE/DRR and support their implementation;
• Contribute and support knowledge management strategies, products, and methodologies on Women’s Economic Empowerment; 
• Support the process of identifying and synthesizing of best practices and lessons learned that are directly linked to the implementation of the programme and contribute to their global dissemination. 

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy, with an expected full-time level of input throughout the consultancy period. 

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 programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills;
• Good budget and finance skills;
• Good knowledge of Results Based Management;
• Ability to gather and interpret data, reach logical conclusions and present findings and recommendations;
• Excellent analytical skills with strong drive for results and capacity to work independently;
• Knowledge of UN programme management systems;
• Good knowledge of IT and database packages.

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in economics, social sciences, Gender Studies, Law, Political Science, Development Studies or closely related fields;
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree;
• A project/programme management certification would be an added advantage.

Experience:

• At least 2 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in programmes to advance women’s economic empowerment and DRR, with responsibility for the design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of projects is required;
• Experience contributing to resource mobilization on women’s economic empowerment (concept notes, proposals) is required;
• Experience designing and implementing gender-responsive programming, particularly in an East African context, is an asset;
• Experience in working with local and national partners to design and implement capacity strengthening initiatives is an asset;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required;
• Experience working with UN agencies is an added advantage.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Knowledge of any other UN official is an asset.

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.