1. Background:

UN Women exists to advance women’s rights, gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. As the lead UN entity on gender equality and secretariat of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, we shift laws, institutions, social behaviours and services to close the gender gap and build an equal world for all women and girls. Our partnerships with governments, women’s movements and the private sector coupled with our coordination of the broader United Nations translate progress into lasting changes. We make strides forward for women and girls in four areas: leadership, economic empowerment, freedom from violence, and women, peace and security as well as humanitarian action. UN Women keeps the rights of women and girls at the centre of global progress – always, everywhere. Because gender equality is not just what we do. It is who we are.

A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes, and services needed to implement these standards. It stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on five priority areas: increasing women’s leadership and participation; ending violence against women; engaging women in all aspects of peace and security processes; enhancing women’s economic empowerment; and making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting. UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality.

UN Women in Georgia supports state and non-state partners towards the achievement of substantive gender equality in Georgia. In line with national and international commitments, UN Women works on the levels of policies and legislation, institutions and grassroots, in order to achieve transformative results for increased gender equality and greater protection of the rights of women and girls.

Women’s economic empowerment (WEE) is a transformative, collective process through which economic systems become just, equitable and prosperous, and through which all women enjoy their economic and social rights, exercise agency and power in ways that challenge inequalities and level the playing field and gain equal rights and access to ownership of and control over resources, assets, income, time and their own lives. The key elements of economic empowerment are equal rights and access to ownership and control over resources; agency, power and autonomy; and policies, institutions and norms ( UN Women, Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy. Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2024-03/un-women-womens-economic-empowerment-strategy-en.pdf ).

Women’s rights to economic equality and opportunities are enshrined in a number of multilateral normative frameworks, including CEDAW and the Beijing Platform for Action.  The economic empowerment of women—to succeed and advance economically and to make and act on economic decisions - is a cornerstone of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as reaffirmed also by the Agreed Conclusions of the 61st Commission on the Status of Women (2017). The UN Secretary General’s High Level Expert Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment has outlined an action agenda to accelerate progress, with key steps tailored to different sets of actors and seven drivers that can create enabling environment to accelerate the impact (2018). (UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment. Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2018/01/hlp-wee-reports-and-toolkits)

UN Women Country Office in Georgia with the generous support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Austrian Development Agency (ADA) is implementing the third phase of the “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus” (WEESC) project. The project’s overarching goal is to ensure that women, particularly the poor and socially excluded, in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are economically empowered and participate in relevant decision-making. The WEESC project applies a holistic approach to reach this goal, enabling linked interventions at three levels: grassroots, policies and legislation, and institutions. The chosen approach and the implementation of the WEE agenda in the South Caucasus during Phase I (2018-2021) and Phase II (2021-2024) of the WEESC project served as a catalyst for action at all levels and supported the state and non-state partners towards the achievement of substantive gender equality in all three countries (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan). Phase III of the project is implemented for two years, from 2024 till 2026. 

UN Women has implemented the first and second phases of this project in line with international and national commitments, on the levels of policies and legislation, institutions and grassroots. The project has been working towards transformative results for increased gender equality and greater protection of the rights of women and girls. To achieve the project’s ambitious goal and for the sustainability of the results, Phase III of the WEESC project aims to increase economic security and improve access to livelihood and development opportunities for women, particularly the poorest and most excluded in the South Caucasus through interventions on policy, institutions, and grassroots levels.

In order to contribute to the set overarching goal/impact, the third phase of the project aims to contribute to the following three outcomes: 

Outcome 1: Women, particularly the poor and socially excluded, use skills, economic opportunities, relevant information, network and support to become farmers/entrepreneurs or to join the formal labour sector in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia (grass-roots level)

Outcome 2: Armenia and Georgia implement adequate legislative and policy reforms and frameworks to enable women’s economic empowerment (policy and legislation level)

Outcome 3: The government, public and non-governmental institutions are strengthened to develop and deliver gender-responsive programmes, policies and services for women’s economic empowerment in Armenia and Georgia (institutional level)

The theory of change of how these outcomes contribute to the overarching goal/impact of the project is as follows: IF (1) women (particularly the poor and socially excluded) are empowered to become farmers/entrepreneurs or to join the formal labor sector and participate in local planning and budgeting, (2) IF the relevant legislators and decision-makers have the capacities and political will to carry out the legislative and policy reforms removing obstacles to women’s economic empowerment, and (3) IF the targeted governmental and non-governmental institutions, alongside with the private sector, are supported to develop and institutionalize specific programs empowering women and mainstreaming gender in their operations, THEN women, particularly the poor and socially excluded, will be socially and economically strengthened and will participate in relevant decision-making at various levels in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, BECAUSE the key structural barriers for women’s economic empowerment will be dismantled and an enabling environment will be created for their civil and social engagement, recognizing the gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and community.

Direct beneficiaries of the project: Activities related to the first outcome are carried out in Armenia, Azerbaijan ( In Azerbaijan, under the first Outcome only output 1.3 – “Businesses have an increased understanding of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and institutionalize measures that benefit women, specifically in rural areas” has been implemented.), and Georgia, with a specific focus on poor and socially excluded groups of women in rural areas, including those engaged in agriculture. These activities aim to increase women’s access to income-generating opportunities, knowledge, and training, and strengthen their capacities to organize and participate in decision-making at the national and local levels. The project also engages women working in the informal sector as domestic workers in the capitals of Armenia and Georgia, supporting their mobilization into professional networks and associations.

The second and third outcomes’ activities support the government officials and public servants in Armenia and Georgia providing them with technical support and capacity development. Indirect beneficiaries include women engaged in both the formal and informal economies, as these interventions enhance their access to decent work opportunities, and result in revised and strengthened gender-responsive policies and services. Women also gain enhanced access to information, skills development, and decision-making opportunities. The general population, including men and women, is engaged through public awareness campaigns on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.

Geographic coverage of the project: For the grass-roots level work with women (Outcome 1) in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia as well as on the policy and legislation and institutional level with local authorities (Outcome 2 and Outcome 3) in Armenia and Georgia, the following are the target geographic areas:

• Yerevan and six consolidated municipalities in Armenia: Two in Gegharkunik (Chambarak and Vardenis) and four in Shirak (Akhuryan, Amasia, Ani, and Ashotsk)
• Tbilisi and eleven municipalities across four regions in Georgia: three municipalities in Kakheti (Akhmeta, Lagodekhi, Telavi); three in Kvemo Kartli (Bolnisi, Marneuli, Tetritskaro); three in Samtskhe-Javakheti (Akhalkalaki, Akhaltsikhe, Aspindza); and two in Mtskheta-Mtianeti (Dusheti and Tianeti) 

2. Purpose and Use of the Evaluation Exercise

Upon the project completion, as established in the Project Document, a mandatory external final evaluation is to be conducted by UN Women for accountability and learning purposes. The main purpose of the final evaluation is assessing the achievement of project results and performance. Findings of the final external evaluation will inform UN Women Georgia’s future work in the area of Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE). The external evaluation will further identify lessons learned, best practices and challenges of the project “Women's Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus“.

The information generated by the evaluation will be used by different stakeholders to:

• Contribute to building of the evidence base on effective strategies for the economic empowerment of women in all three countries.
• Facilitate strategic reflection, learning and further planning for programming in the areas of women’s economic empowerment at policy, institutional and grassroots levels and promotion of women’s participation in decision making.
• Strengthen national stakeholders and structures with the aim to increase sustainability of the results beyond the project.

Main evaluation users include UN Women Country Office in Georgia as well as the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Austrian Development Agency (ADA) (project donors). Furthermore, national stakeholders – civil society partners, grassroots rural women and domestic workers and targeted state and non-state agencies will be also closely involved in the evaluation process to increase ownership of findings, draw lessons learned and make greater use of this final evaluation results. 

3. Objectives, Criteria and Key Questions of the Evaluation

The overall objective ofthis final evaluation is to assess the achievement of programme results and performance of the above-described intervention.

The specific evaluation objectives are as follows:

• Analyze the relevance and coherence of the implementation strategy and approaches of the project.
• Assess effectiveness and organizational efficiency in progressing towards the achievement of the project’s results as defined in the intervention.
• Validate the project results in terms of achievements and/or weaknesses toward the outcome and outputs.
• Assess the potential for sustainability of the results achieved by the project.
• Identify strategies for replication and up-scaling of the project’s best practices.
• Provide actionable recommendations to guide the implementation of future Women’s Economic Empowerment initiatives and modalities in the project countries, ensuring the sustainability of interventions.
• Assess how the project applies the Leave No One Behind (LNOB) and Do-No-Harm principles throughout its design, implementation, and exit, particularly with regard to sustainability and institutionalization
• Assess how the project and its results relate and contribute to commitments and achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia with a focus on SDC 5 and 8.
• Analyse how human rights approach and gender equality principles are integrated in implementation
• Identify and validate lessons learned, good practices and examples and innovations of efforts that support gender equality and human rights areas of work.

The evaluation will address the criteria of Project Relevance, Coherence, Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Sustainability. More specifically, the evaluation will address the key evaluation questions:

Relevance:

• To what extent is the intervention aligned with international, regional and national agreements and conventions on gender equality and women’s empowerment in each country including the CEDAW and the relevant SDGs?
• To what extent are the objectives of the intervention consistent with the demands and the needs of partner country (institutions and society, target groups) as well as the sector policies and strategies of the partner country?
• To what extent is the WEESC Phase III project contributing to the implementation of the UN Women Georgia Strategic Note (SN), as well as the Bi-Annual Work Plans for Azerbaijan and Armenia respectively?
• To what extent is the intervention design adequate to achieve its goals and objectives, and to what extent is it informed by quality analysis, including gender and human rights-based analysis, risk assessments, and socio-cultural and political context analysis?

Coherence:

• To what extent does the project fit within UN Women’s Strategic Plan, interrelated threefold mandate and UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks in the targeted countries?
• Are there any synergies and inter-linkages between the project and other interventions of UN Women?
• To what extent is the project in complementarity, harmonization and coordination with the interventions of other actors’ (including government and other un agencies) interventions in the same context while avoiding duplications? 
• What is UN Women’s comparative advantage in this area of work compared with other UN entities and key partners in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan? 

Effectiveness:

• To what extent the planned objectives at outcome level have been achieved taking into account their relative importance? If possible, distinguish the quality and quantity of results achieved.
• How effective have the selected programme strategies and approaches been in progressing towards achieving programme results? 
• Has the project achieved any unforeseen results, either positive or negative? For whom? What are the good practices and the obstacles or shortcomings encountered? How were they overcome?
• To what extent have capacities of relevant duty-bearers and rights-holders been strengthened at this stage of implementation? 
• Does the project have effective monitoring mechanisms in place to measure progress towards results?
• How adaptably and rapidly has the WEESC Phase III project reacted to changing country contexts, and to what extent does the intervention contribute to poverty reduction, inclusion, and/or reduction of vulnerabilities? (Dimensions for consideration are a) economic (income and assets); b) human capacities (health, education, nutrition); c) ability to take part in society (status and dignity); d) political capacities (institutions and policies); e) resilience to external shocks.)

Efficiency:

• Have resources (financial, human, technical support, etc.) been allocated strategically and cost-effectively to progress towards the achievement of the project outputs and outcomes? 
• Have the outputs been delivered in a timely manner? 
• To what extend were relevant stakeholders and actors included in the project planning and implementation?
• Has there been effective leadership and management of the project including the structuring of management and administration roles to maximize results? 
• To what extent was the monitoring data objectively used for management action and decision making?

Sustainability: 

• How effectively has the project been able to contribute to the generation of national ownership of the project outputs in each country, and do national and local institutions demonstrate leadership commitment and technical capacity to sustain and replicate project activities?
• To what extent was the project’s exit strategy across the three outcome levels clear, realistic, and appropriate for the local context?
• To what extent will the positive results (outputs and outcomes) be continued beyond the end of the intervention? Considering also potential risks in the context.
• To what extent are the key WEESC-supported mechanisms (e.g., women-led businesses, platforms, partnerships) likely to remain financially sustainable after the project ends?
• To what extend has UN Women been able to promote replication of project successes?

Human Right and Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women: 

• Has the project been implemented according to human rights and development effectiveness principles (Participation / empowerment; Inclusion / non-discrimination; National accountability / transparency)? 
• Is the project design tailored to target the underlying causes of gender inequality and address LNOB?
• To what extent is the project changing the dynamics of power in relationships between different groups?

The questions outlined above are preliminary and are expected to be revised and refined by the evaluation team during the inception phase of the evaluation.

4. Design Process and Methods

The evaluation process is divided in five phases: 1) Preparation, mainly devoted to structuring the evaluation approach, preparing the TOR, compiling programme documentation, and hiring the evaluation team; 2) Inception, which involves reconstruction of theory of change, organizing online inception meetings with the WEESC team, drafting inception report and finalizing the evaluation methodology; 3) Data collection including desk research, meetings  with key stakeholders and preparation of field missions, visits to project sites; 4) Data analysis and synthesis stage, focusing on data analysis, interpretation of findings and preparation of an Evaluation Report; and 5) Dissemination and follow-up, which will entail the development of a joint Management Response by UN Women.

The National Consultant/Evaluator in Armenia will work as part of a team with the International Consultant/Team Leader and the National Consultant/Evaluator in Georgia and will be responsible for the inception, data collection, and data analysis and synthesis phases in Armenia:

• Inception phase: Reconstruction of the theory of change; inception meetings with the WEESC team; preparation of the inception report; and finalization of the evaluation methodology.

  At the beginning of the consultancy, the consultant will be provided with key sources of information for an initial desk review. The online inception meetings will be conducted with the WEESC team. At the end of this phase an inception report that will include the refined evaluation methodology will be delivered. The inception report will be validated and approved by UN Women and project donors.

• Data collection phase: Desk research, meetings with key stakeholders, preparation of field missions, visits to project sites.

  Based on the Inception Phase, the evaluation team (International Consultant/Evaluator, National Consultant/Evaluator in Georgia, and National Consultant/Evaluator in Armenia) will conduct an in-depth desk review. Field missions will be planned and implemented to complete data collection and triangulation of information. Interviews and focus group discussions with key stakeholders, as relevant, will take place. 

  Data collection will be carried out jointly by the international and the national consultant/evaluator. Specifically, data collection plans and instruments will be developed jointly by the international consultant/evaluator and national consultant/evaluator. Field data collection in Armenia, including visits to project sites, field missions, online or face-to-face interviews will be conducted by the National Consultant in line with clear and specific guidelines provided by the International Consultant (international consultant/evaluator can also interview major English-speaking project partners online). National consultant/evaluator will provide summaries of interviews in English to the international consultant/evaluator in line with the pre-agreed format. 

• Data analysis and synthesis phase: Analysis of collected data, interpretation of findings, and preparation of the Evaluation Report.

  The information collected will be analyzed, and final evaluation report including case studies will be delivered. A validation meeting will be organized where the consultant will validate the final results and final report with case studies and approved by UN Women. 

5. Stakeholders Participation and Management of the Evaluation

The Evaluation will be a consultative, inclusive and participatory process and will ensure the participation of project beneficiaries. The evaluation will be human rights and gender responsible. 

UN Women Georgia CO will appoint an officer who will serve as the Evaluation Task Manager and who will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the evaluation and ensures that the evaluation is conducted in accordance with UN Women Evaluation Policies, United Nations Evaluation Group Ethical Guidelines and Code of Conduct for Evaluation in the United Nations system and other key relevant guidance documents. The evaluation process will be supported by the UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Evaluation Specialist.

Moreover, an Evaluation Management Group (EMG) comprising of senior managers from UN Women Georgia Office and relevant technical project staff from UN Women Georgia will be established to oversee and support the evaluation process, make key decisions and quality assure the different deliverables. The EMG will quality assure and approve all deliverables. EMG will be responsible for the coordination in the field including logistical support during field missions.

In light of the foregoing UN Women would like to hire a National Consultant/Evaluator in Armenia who in a team with the International Consultant/Team Leader and the National Consultant/Evaluator in Georgia, will be responsible for conducting Evaluation of the WEESC Project.

The consultant will report to and work under direct supervision of UN Women and in close collaboration with the Task Manager. 

6. Evaluation Ethics

This evaluation will be conducted in accordance with the principles outlined in the UNEG ‘Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation’. The consultant must safeguard the rights and confidentiality of information providers, interviewees, and stakeholders through measures to ensure compliance with legal and other relevant codes governing collection of data and reporting on data. The consultant must also ensure security of collected information before and after the evaluation and protocols to ensure anonymity and confidentiality of sources of information where that is expected. The information knowledge and data gathered in the evaluation process must also be solely used for the evaluation and not for other uses with the express authorization of UN Women.

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

The national consultant/evaluator will work under the direct supervision of the international consultant/evaluator and will benefit from technical and operational support of UN Women Country Office in Georgia. In more specific terms, the national consultant will be providing support to the international consultant in the process of the project evaluation and will be responsible for the following tasks: 

• Support the International Consultant/Evaluator in drafting of the Inception Report, reflecting a refined scope, a detailed outline of the exercise design and methodology, evaluation questions, and criteria for both the in-depth desk review and the selection of Case Studies, as well as for interviews in the data collection phase. The report should include an evaluation matrix and detailed work plan. The first draft report will be shared with the Management Group and, based upon the comments received, the Consultant/evaluator will revise the draft. The consultant/evaluator will maintain an audit trail of the comments received and provide a response on how the comments were addressed in the final inception report.
• Provide background and insights to the International Consultant/Evaluator into the local context, including WEE related data and trends, relevant legislation and policy framework, the landscape of state and non-state stakeholders and other contextual and environment-related issues, as relevant.
• Support the International Consultant/Evaluator in conducting online interviews with key stakeholders to collect and analyse data, where the list of key stakeholders will be identified in consultation with the Local Consultant. The Task Manager will support the Consultants in liaising with the key stakeholders to schedule interviews as necessary.
• Identify and develop the list of key stakeholders in Armenia in consultation with UN Women. Conduct online and face-to-face interviews and/or focus group discussions with key stakeholders in Armenia to collect and analyse data. The Task Manager will support the Consultant/Evaluator in liaising with the key stakeholders to schedule interviews as necessary.
• Support the International Consultant/Evaluator to prepare, submit and present a PowerPoint Presentation of preliminary findings, including the emerging findings of the project evaluation and selected case studies, to the Management Group for feedback. The Consultant/Evaluator together with International Consultant/Evaluator will incorporate the feedback received into the draft report.
• Support the International Consultant/Evaluator in the development of the Draft Evaluation Report and case studies which will be shared with the Management Group for initial feedback to identify factual errors, errors of omission and/or misinterpretation of information. The revised report will incorporate this feedback and shared with the Management Group for final validation. The Consultant/Evaluator together with International Consultant/Evaluator will maintain an audit trail of the comments received and provide a response on how the comments were addressed in the revised draft.
• Support the International Consultant/Evaluator in the finalization of the Evaluation report and case studies taking into consideration comments and feedback collected from UN Women. The report shall include the following chapters: Executive Summary, Introduction and Background, Approach and Methodology (including limitations), Findings, Conclusions, Lessons learnt, Recommendations, relevant Annexes and case study summaries.

Deliverables

• Deliverable 1: Desk review completed by 1 June 2026 (2 working days)
• Deliverable 2: Inception Report developed and submitted by 8 June 2026 (2 working days)
• Deliverable 3: In-depth desk review, interviews and/or focus group discussions with key stakeholders conducted in Armenia by 4 September 2026 (6 working days)
• Deliverable 4: Power Point Presentation of preliminary findings, including findings of the selected case studies developed, submitted and presented by 11 September 2026 (2 working days)
• Deliverable 5: Draft evaluation report (including two rounds of revision) and case study summaries developed and submitted by 30 September 2026 (8 working days)
• Deliverable 6: Final Evaluation Report, final case study summaries and evaluation communication products (brief PPT, two-pager) developed and submitted by 15 October 2026 (4 working days)
• Deliverable 7: Final presentation of the evaluation by 30 October 2026 (1 working days)

Deliverables will be developed collaboratively by the evaluation team. The National Consultant/Evaluator in Armenia will prepare and share the Armenia-specific components with the International Consultant/Evaluator, who will consolidate them and submit the final outputs to UN Women.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy, with travel to the project’s target regions in Armenia.

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:

• Commitment to continuous improvement 
• Risk management
• Partnerships building 
• Resilience 
• Negotiation 

Required Qualifications:

Academic Background:

• Advanced (at least Master) degree in one or more following areas: economics, social sciences, gender studies, political science, social policy, development studies or another related field.
• A first-level university degree in combination with seven (7) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Relevant Work Experience:

• At least 5 (five) years of practical experience in the field of human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment in Armenia in lieu of advanced degree, or 7 (seven) years of similar experience in case of first level university degree.
• Proven experience and knowledge in monitoring and evaluation of strategies, policies, and projects.
• Excellent report-writing skills and ability to produce clear, well-structured analytical reports.
• Excellent analytical, facilitation and communications skills and ability to negotiate amongst a wide range of stakeholders.
• Prior experience in implementing or evaluating women’s economic empowerment programmes will be considered an asset.
• Prior experience in conducting tasks similar to the ones outlined in this ToR with UN/EU agencies will be considered a distinct advantage.

Languages:

Fluency in Armenian and English is required. 

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.