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 MCO-Caribbean Strategic Note (2022–2026) is the MCO's primary planning instrument, articulating its triple mandate (normative, coordination, operational) across 22 countries and territories in the English and Dutch-Speaking Caribbean; and is aligned to the 2022 – 2026 UN Multi-Country Sustainable Development Framework for the Caribbean (MSDCF 2.0), with the same geographic coverage. The MCO-Caribbean, in alignment with the MSDCF, serves, 6 UN Country Teams (Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean; Belize; Guyana; Jamaica; Suriname; Trinidad & Tobago and the Dutch Islands) and works with 5 UN Resident Coordinator Offices (The Resident Coordinator based in Trinidad covers that country and Suriname, i.e. 2 UNCTs). 

The Strategic Note addresses four interconnected outcomes: (1) Normative Frameworks (gender statistics, laws/policies, social norms), (2) Women's Economic Empowerment (business ecosystems, social protection, care economy), (3) Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (legislation, prevention/response systems, survivor services), and (4) Climate Change and Disaster Risk Resilience (adaptive capacity, gender-responsive DRM). The Strategic Note is strongly aligned with the priority gender equality challenges facing Caribbean SIDS and with national, regional, and UN system frameworks. Its focus on ending violence against women and girls, women’s economic resilience, care systems, gender statistics, and institutional capacity respond directly to binding regional constraints, including high GBV prevalence, economic insecurity, limited fiscal space, climate vulnerability, and weak data systems, and reflects areas where governments and regional institutions most consistently seek UN Women’s technical support. The Strategic Note is closely aligned with the MSDCF 2.0 and CARICOM priorities, particularly through contributions to gender-responsive governance, justice and security, social protection, and regional gender data standards, reinforcing UN Women’s role as a key normative and technical actor. 

The MCO-Caribbean, is embarking on the development of its 2027 – 2031 SN to align with the development of the 2027 – 2031 MSDCF (MSDCF 3.0) and will be informed by findings of an evaluation of the current SN and guided by UN Women’s 2026 – 2029 global Strategic Plan. 

The consultant will be reporting to the Deputy Representative, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Under the Technical Guidance of the Deputy Representative and in close coordination with the Monitoring and Reporting Analyst the consultant will be responsible for following tasks to review the current SN and prepare the 2027 – 2030 SN. This includes:

1. Develop inception report outlining the key steps of the SN review and development.
2. Desk review of key documents, including: 
   • UN Women MCO-Caribbean 2022 – 2026 Strategic Note 
   • Evaluation Report of the 2022 – 2026 MCO Strategic Note
   • UN MSDCF 2022 – 2026 (MSDCF 2.0)
   • Multi-Country Analysis and other relevant documentation for the development of the UN 2027 – 2031 MSDCF(MSDCF 3.0)
   • Relevant Programme and Project Documents
   • Donor reports 
   • Knowledge products, publications, and visibility materials 
   • Reports on specific activities 
   • Documents related to projects and programme achievements. 
   • UNCT-SWAP Gender scorecard assessments and annual progress reports for 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
   • Any other document that may be found very relevant to the consultant. 
3. Facilitate initial consultations with personnel to gather background information and develop the initial results framework.
4. Conduct consultations with key stakeholders for initial inputs into strategy content and direction from their respective perspectives. This includes the Strategic Dialogue and Early thinking consultation with UN Women staff.
5. Draft reports from all consultations and planning sessions with staff and external stakeholders, including the initial SN draft outline.
6. Work with the MCO team to develop session agendas and facilitate workshops with the UN Women team to develop various components of the SN including but not limited to the Theory of Change, Results Framework (DRF and OEE); 4-year budget and risk matrix.
7. Participate in joint planning exercises led by the Resident Coordinator’s Office to integrate UN Women contributions in the design of the MSDCF 3.0 and prepare progress updates.
8. Draft the first version of the Strategic Note as per the UN Women Guidance on SNs including coordinating the submission of inputs required from various staff.
9. Prepare an agenda, organize and facilitate the validation workshops with stakeholders as guided by the MCO Team.
10. Incorporate the comments from validation sessions with external stakeholders, Regional and Global Technical Review Committees and the global PRG into a complete Strategic Note package consisting of all the relevant attachments as per the Guidance note.
11. Prepare the power point presentation and a 2-pager containing infographics for the global PRG jointly with the MCO team.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy, no travel will be required.

The MCO will provide the required documents for the work of the consultant such as guidance note, templates for key documents as well as other key documentation. 

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:

• Excellent facilitation and communication skills, including experience in field data collection and facilitating meetings
• Extensive in Programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
• In-depth knowledge of gender equality and women's rights issues
• Knowledge of Results Based Management
• Ability to gather and interpret data, reach logical conclusions and present findings
• Good knowledge of technical area
• Good organizational skills and ability to pay close attention to detail
• Ability to use ICT based solutions
• Strong analytical and presentation skills

Required Qualifications:

Education and Certification: 

• Master’s degree in social sciences, gender/women’s studies, international development, international relations, programme management, public policy or other related fields is required 

  or 

  A bachelor’s in social sciences, gender/women’s studies, international development, international relations, programme management, public policy or other related fields degree with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of advanced degree. 

Experience:

• At least 7 years of professional work experience in programme development and implementation, including monitoring and evaluation activities is required. If the candidate does not have a Master’s degree, a Bachelor’s degree with 9 years of relevant professional work experience may be accepted. 
• Proven experience in guiding and documenting programme reviews, evaluations and using learning to prepare strategic documents for international organizations is required. 
• Proven knowledge of programme monitoring and evaluation theory, including theories of change, methodology, technology and tools is required. 
• Advanced knowledge of results-based planning, including planning of monitoring & evaluation work including demonstrated experience of UN results-based management standards and guidelines, and UN planning processes (UNDAF/UNSDCF and/or UN Country Program Documents) is required. 
• Demonstrated experience in conducting research and writing strategic documents, and proposals preferably within the UN system is required.
• Experience working on gender equality and women’s empowerment in the Caribbean is required.
• Demonstrated experience in project management will be considered an asset. 

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of Spanish any other UN official language 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.