National consultant to provide expertise in strategic advisory support in vocational education and training (VET) interventions (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. As well, the project contributes to the implementation of the National Strategy “Education 2030”, thus fostering the efforts of the Ministry of Education and Research (MER) by enhancing access to inclusive education and adapting vocational training to meet economic and social demands (SDG 4).
Rationale
Women’s participation in Moldova’s labour market has shown gradual progress; however, significant disparities persist, particularly for women from vulnerable and marginalized groups, including women with disabilities, NEET women, women with care responsibilities, and women in rural areas. These gaps are closely linked to limited access to relevant skills development opportunities, skills mismatches, and constrained pathways from training to employment.
A critical factor affecting women’s employability is the availability of inclusive, flexible, and labour market-relevant education and training opportunities, particularly within the vocational education and training (VET) system and lifelong learning pathways. While Moldova has advanced reforms under the National Strategy “Education 2030”, led by the Ministry of Education and Research, challenges remain in ensuring that training programmes effectively respond to the needs of vulnerable women and evolving labour market demands.
Recent amendments to the Education Code have introduced new opportunities to expand flexible learning pathways, including micro-qualifications, as well as non-formal and informal education. However, translating these policy developments into practical, inclusive, and accessible training programmes remains a key challenge, particularly at the level of VET institutions and professional training providers.
VET institutions and training providers play a central role in equipping women with relevant skills, yet they require additional support to adapt curricula, strengthen teaching methodologies, and ensure accessibility for diverse groups of learners. At the same time, stronger linkages between VET institutions, the National Employment Agency, and the private sector are needed to facilitate smoother transitions from training to employment, including through apprenticeships, traineeships, and other work-based learning opportunities.
In this context, UN Women is supporting interventions aimed at strengthening the responsiveness of education and training systems to women’s needs, including through the development of inclusive curricula, Training of Trainers (ToT), and the promotion of lifelong learning and work-based learning opportunities for vulnerable groups of women.
To ensure that these interventions are effectively designed and implemented, there is a need for targeted technical expertise to support the Ministry of Education and Research, VET institutions, and training providers in operationalising inclusive and market-relevant training approaches, and in strengthening linkages between education, skills development, and employment pathways.
In this context, UN Women intends to engage a national consultant to provide technical and advisory support to ensure that vocational education and training (VET)-related interventions are coherent, feasible, and effectively aligned with the national education and training system. The assignment will focus on strengthening the relevance and inclusiveness of VET and training approaches, supporting the quality and appropriateness of capacity development activities (including Training of Trainers), and facilitating technical coherence and communication between key stakeholders involved in VET implementation, education policy, and skills development initiatives.
Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work
Under the overall supervision of the Gender Specialist-Women Economic Empowerment and Resilience and project team, the consultant will provide technical advisory support to ensure that project’s interventions in the area of vocational education and training (VET) are coherent, feasible, and effectively embedded within the national education and training system.
The contracted consultant will provide specialized expertise on:
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 up to 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:
Fluency in Romanian and English is required.
Please note 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.
