National consultant to provide strategic expertise in employment practices, livelihoods programmes and awareness raising initiatives (Local post for residents of the Republic of Moldova)
UN Women
Consultancy Locallly Recruited 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.
Through its programs and projects, UN Women is providing technical assistance to national partners (governmental and non-governmental), including private sector, in the implementation of existing international and national commitments to women’s rights and gender equality, it facilitates networking and exchange of good practices and advocates for women’s rights and gender equality in all areas of life.
The work of UN Women in the Republic of Moldova is guided by its Country Strategic Note 2023 - 2027, aligned to the UN-Moldova Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2023-2027 and the UN Women Global Strategic Plan (SP) (2022-2025), and aims to contribute to the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The overarching vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is inclusive and sustainable growth with its promise to leave no one behind. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, target 5.5. calls to “ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of the decision-making in political, economic and public life”. Gender equality is mainstreamed throughout the SDGs, including SDG 8 “Decent Work and Economic Growth”. Gender equality by 2030 requires urgent action to eliminate the many root causes of discrimination that still curtail women’s rights in private and public spheres. At its core, the economic empowerment of women depends on the quantity and quality of paid employment, the provision or absence of public services, the amount of unpaid care work borne by women, as well as coverage or lack thereof under core social and labour protections.
The Country Strategic Note 2023 - 2027 focuses on four impact areas: 1. Governance & participation in Public Life 2. Economic Empowerment & Resilience, 3 Ending Violence against women & girls, 4 Peace& Security, Humanitarian Action & Disaster Risk Reduction. To achieve progress under these areas, UN Women works with variety of national and international partners and as part of different national and regional initiatives.
Within Outcome 2 of the UN Women Country Strategic Note on Economic Empowerment and Resilience, UN Women is implementing complementary initiatives that support women’s access to quality employment, family-friendly workplaces, and sustainable livelihoods. Current efforts also address climate resilience in rural areas by promoting sustainable management of natural resources and by strengthening the skills and employability of women and girls, especially those most vulnerable. Together, these initiatives aim to enhance women’s economic opportunities, reduce vulnerabilities, and contribute to more inclusive and resilient communities.
The projects support the key reforms and programmes under the MLSP, specifically the Reform on improving NEA services 2023-2026, by strengthening territorial offices' capacities to reach better quality, and effectiveness of employment opportunities for women with children, women with disabilities, and other categories of vulnerable groups, addressing significant gender and socioeconomic disparities.
Rationale
Women’s participation in Moldova’s labour market has shown gradual progress; however, persistent gender disparities remain, particularly for women from vulnerable and marginalized groups. Women with disabilities, women caring for family members with disabilities, women migrants, women from ethnic and linguistic minorities, and women with children continue to experience disproportionately low labour market participation. These gaps are driven by multiple, interrelated factors, including skills mismatches, limited career pathways, insufficient job availability, especially in rural areas, and structural constraints linked to unpaid care responsibilities.
Women in Moldova remain overrepresented in traditionally feminized and lower‑paid sectors such as education, health, and social services, while men are more likely to be employed in higher‑paid sectors, including technology and engineering. Women’s greater burden of unpaid care work contributes to higher rates of part‑time employment, reduced job stability, and limited opportunities for career advancement, reinforcing existing gender pay gaps. These challenges are further compounded by poor working conditions, discriminatory employer attitudes, entrenched gender stereotypes, limited availability of family‑friendly work arrangements, and insufficient childcare infrastructure.
Within this context, and under Outcome 2 of its Country Strategic Note, UN Women is implementing two complementary initiatives aimed at advancing women’s economic empowerment. The first focuses on strengthening women’s resilience through skills development, inclusive livelihoods and employment measures for vulnerable groups, including NEET women, women with children, and older women, and the promotion of family‑friendly infrastructure in collaboration with local authorities, vocational education and training institutions, and the private sector. The second initiative addresses rural development challenges by expanding women’s access to climate‑smart agriculture, leadership and business opportunities, while tackling barriers to education and finance and promoting evidence‑based, gender‑responsive policymaking.
Advancing women’s economic empowerment through inclusive and gender‑responsive livelihoods programming remains a strategic priority for UN Women. Despite existing policies and assessments, women, particularly those facing intersecting vulnerabilities, continue to encounter structural barriers to accessing sustainable livelihoods opportunities. Addressing these gaps requires context‑specific expertise to ensure that livelihoods interventions are responsive to national and local realities, aligned with gender equality commitments, and effectively translated into practice.
While national‑level assessments and policy frameworks provide a critical foundation for strengthening livelihoods programmes, their effectiveness depends on how well they are operationalised at the local level. There is a clear need for dedicated national expertise to review and advise on existing and emerging livelihoods programmes, identify gaps and opportunities from a gender equality and social inclusion perspective, and support alignment with both national priorities and international good practices on women’s economic empowerment.
Furthermore, awareness‑raising initiatives are essential to addressing persistent gender norms, stereotypes, and institutional practices that constrain women’s participation in livelihoods programmes. Contextually grounded expertise is required to inform the conceptualisation of gender‑responsive awareness‑raising initiatives and ensure that messaging is relevant, accessible, and capable of contributing to social and behavioural change.
Effective engagement and coordination at the local level is also critical to the successful implementation of livelihoods interventions. Local authorities, service providers, and other community‑level actors play a pivotal role in programme delivery; however, coordination gaps can undermine coherence, efficiency, and impact. Strengthened local‑level engagement and coordination is therefore necessary to bridge national frameworks with local implementation and to ensure that livelihoods interventions respond to women’s needs in practice.
In this context, UN Women intends to engage a national expert to provide strategic guidance and technical advice with a specific focus on livelihoods programming. The assignment will be structured around three core areas of work: (i) reviewing, advising on, and strengthening gender‑responsive and inclusive livelihoods programmes; (ii) contributing to the conceptualisation of awareness‑raising initiatives aimed at addressing structural barriers to women’s economic participation; and (iii) facilitating coordination at the local level to promote coherent, inclusive, and gender‑responsive implementation of livelihoods interventions, in line with UN Women priorities and national good practices.
Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work
Under the overall supervision of the Gender Specialist-Women Economic Empowerment and Resilience and project team, the consultant is expected to provide strategic expertise and technical support to strengthen institutional capacities, enhance knowledge and skills, and improve tools for delivering inclusive, gender-responsive services.
The contracted consultant will provide specialized expertise on:
Technical advisory support on employment programmes’ design and interventions:
Advisory support on local-level implementation and coordination:
Support with awareness-raising and advocacy campaign conceptualisation:
Reporting:
Language of deliverables
The reports and timesheets delivered to UN Women shall be prepared in English.
The assignment should be carried out within a period of 8 months (with possibility of extension following satisfactory performance and needs for support expressed by national counterparts).
The start date of the assignment is envisaged for May 2026 and will be completed by December 2026, unless extended by UN Women based on amended ToRs.
Payment Details
Full payment for the services performed by the Consultant under the conditions of the Contract, per day worked. UN Women shall pay the Consultant upon certification by UN Women that the services have been satisfactorily performed, and upon submission and approval of corresponding deliverables and timesheets. The fee may be payable in instalments and the number of days worked is to be determined solely by UN Women. The Consultant agrees and acknowledges that acceptance of the Contract does not guarantee any minimum fee to be paid to the Consultant.
Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel
This is a home-based consultancy. The payment of the consultant will include the transportation costs. All travel shall be coordinated with UN Women.
Competencies :
Core Values:
Core Competencies:
Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework:
Functional Competencies:
IV. Required Qualifications
Education and Certification:
Experience:
Languages:
Please note that only shortlisted will be contacted.
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.
