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.
Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. In Viet Nam, UN Women contributes to the development objectives of Viet Nam’s Socio-Economic Development Plan and the National Strategy for Gender Equality. Its Country Strategy Note for 2022-2026 is aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (CF) 2022-2026 and is focused on supporting Viet Nam’s fulfilment of Gender Equality commitments under The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the promise of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda to “leave no one behind”. The key priorities of UN Women in the 2022-2026 period are:
Under the draft Strategic Note 2027–2031, UN Women Viet Nam will continue to promote gender-responsive disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and humanitarian action, including anticipatory action, women’s leadership in disaster risk management and climate-resilient livelihoods for women, especially ethnic minority women and women in rural, mountainous and climate-vulnerable areas. UN Women works with the Government, UN agencies, international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), the Viet Nam Red Cross Society and the Viet Nam Women’s Union, including through the UN Disaster Risk Management Team (DRMT) and the Disaster Management Working Group (DMWG), to ensure that preparedness and response address the specific needs and capacities of women and girls.
El Niño 2026–2027. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), El Niño is firmly established and is expected to become very strong, peaking towards the end of 2026, with a likelihood of nearly 100% that it will persist through February 2027 and with climate impacts continuing well into 2027.
At regional level, the inter-agency El Niño Status and Humanitarian Outlook (Global ENSO Analysis Cell, updated 22 June 2026) identifies October 2026 – March 2027 as the peak global impact window and lists Viet Nam among the Southeast Asian countries facing drought, heat and water stress, with the main impact window for Viet Nam, Thailand, Cambodia and Lao PDR expected in March – May 2027. The Asia and the Pacific Snapshot of El Niño & Middle East Crisis (OCHA, FAO, WFP, WMO; Snapshot #2 as of 28 August 2026, with UN Women contribution) highlights that the region is entering a period of overlapping risks: El Niño conditions are strengthening, a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is forecast from September 2026 and may reinforce dryness in Southeast Asia, while pressures linked to the Middle East crisis are adding uncertainty to fuel, fertilizer and food markets and supply chains. UN Women’s Gender Alert: The 2026 El Niño and Compounding Crises in Asia and the Pacific (June 2026) and the UNFPA/GBV AoR Asia-Pacific GBV in Emergencies Update – Q2 2026 (Special Release for El Niño) highlight potential impacts on women’s and girls’ food security, livelihoods, health, unpaid care work and protection, including risks of gender-based violence.
In Viet Nam, the Hydro-Meteorological Agency (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment – MAE) forecasts El Niño at very strong intensity in October–December 2026 (98% probability), persisting into early summer 2027. Two risk scenarios have been issued:
Drought and salinity risk is expected from the 2026–2027 dry season (from around November 2026) until around September 2027 depending on the region, with an estimated 424,800–502,300 ha of agricultural land at risk at peak, notably in the South Central Coast, Central Highlands, Mekong Delta, Southeast and North Central regions. A rapid transition to La Niña in late 2027 is also possible, which could bring heavier rainfall, floods and storms in the following season. An 18-month horizon is therefore needed to cover both the El Niño impacts and the possible transition period.
Past events show the scale of potential impacts. The 2015–2016 El Niño caused one of the most severe droughts and saltwater intrusion episodes in Viet Nam in decades, with 18 provinces declaring a state of emergency and serious impacts on food security, water supply, livelihoods, health and nutrition. Women, ethnic minorities, older persons, persons with disabilities and children were disproportionately affected, owing to their roles in agriculture and water collection, unequal access to land, credit, services and information, and an increased burden of unpaid care work. Economic stress may also heighten the risks of gender-based violence and distress migration.
The current outlook also comes at a time of institutional change: following the 2025 administrative restructuring, Viet Nam now has 34 provinces and centrally run cities with a two-tier local government system, which affects how risk information, historical data and interventions are organized and coordinated at sub-national level.
Operational context – inter-agency contingency planning. The El Niño response in Viet Nam is coordinated under the Government-led disaster management framework (National Civil Defence Steering Committee, with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment advising on disaster prevention and response) and, on the international side, within the DRRP and the UN Disaster Risk Management Team (DRMT), under the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office and with strong support from OCHA. Discussions and agreements reached so far through the contingency planning sessions include:
Gap. The existing contingency plan provides aggregated planning figures and names priority regions and provinces, but does not provide province-level, sex-, age- and disability-disaggregated analysis that would allow UN Women to justify geographic targeting or to design and cost specific interventions (e.g. for a concept note). Likewise, the regional analysis (the Asia and the Pacific Snapshots and the UN Women Gender Alert) covers Viet Nam only briefly, grouped with Cambodia, Lao PDR, the Philippines and Thailand, without a provincial zoom-in. A Viet Nam-specific, province-level GEDSI analysis is therefore needed to strengthen the gender-responsiveness of the inter-agency response and to inform UN Women’s own interventions.
Against this backdrop, UN Women seeks one national consultant – Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) Specialist (lead position) – to conduct a province-level GEDSI analysis of El Niño risks, produce a Viet Nam Gender Alert, propose specific interventions and activities for the most vulnerable groups, and support UN Women’s engagement in El Niño coordination at national and regional levels. The consultant will report to the Programme Analyst for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction, UN Women Viet Nam, with oversight from the Programme Management Specialist and overall management by the Country Representative. The consultant will also work with and report to the UN Women regional humanitarian team (ROAP) as specified below.
The consultant will work over the period [1 November 2026 – 31 January 2027] and will be responsible for the tasks and deliverables set out below. The GEDSI specialist leads the assignment and the final report. The consultant will build on, and not duplicate, existing analysis and scenarios, in particular the Viet Nam Multi-Hazard Contingency Plan, the Viet Nam El Niño Readiness and Response Plan and its sector inputs, national forecasts, the Asia and the Pacific Snapshots and the UN Women Gender Alert. All analysis should use sex-, age- and disability-disaggregated data (SADDD) where available.
Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work
GEDSI SPECIALIST
Task A1: Inception and GEDSI desk review (November 2026)
Deliverables A1: Joint inception report and workplan (including GEDSI analytical framework); GEDSI desk review note.
Task A2: Province-level GEDSI analysis (November – December 2026)
Deliverables A2: Province-level GEDSI analysis report with summary of consultations.
Task A3: Viet Nam Gender Alert on El Niño (December 2026 – January 2027)
Deliverables A3: Viet Nam Gender Alert on El Niño 2026–2027 (English and Vietnamese), ready for UN Women clearance and publication.
Task A4: Specific interventions and activity plan (January 2027)
Deliverables A4: Specific interventions for vulnerable groups and prioritized, costed activity plan; GEDSI review of mapped interventions; GEDSI inputs to inter-agency plans.
Task A5: Coordination and reporting to the regional humanitarian team (November 2026 – January 2027, intermittent)
Deliverables A5: Monthly update notes to the regional humanitarian team; meeting notes and follow-up actions; Viet Nam inputs to regional products as requested.
Task A6: Consultation workshop and final report (January 2027)
Deliverables A6: Consultation workshop materials and report; final consolidated report (English).
Consultation workshop: One consultation workshop (in person in Ha Noi or hybrid, indicatively in [mid-January 2027]) will be organized with the participation of relevant government agencies, UN agencies, INGOs, the Viet Nam Red Cross Society, the Viet Nam Women’s Union, OPDs and representatives of high-risk provinces, to consult on the province-level GEDSI analysis, the Viet Nam Gender Alert and the proposed interventions and activities. Workshop logistics and costs will be arranged and covered separately by UN Women.
GEDSI Specialist
| A1 | Task A1: Inception and GEDSI desk review | Joint inception report and workplan (by [13 November 2026]); GEDSI desk review note | [20 November 2026] |
| A2 | Task A2: Province-level GEDSI summary | GEDSI analysis with summary of at least 3 pprovince-level details | [18 December 2026] |
| A3 | Task A3: Viet Nam Gender Alert | Viet Nam Gender Alert on El Niño 2026–2027 (English and Vietnamese) | [8 January 2027] |
| A4 | Task A4: Specific interventions and activity plan | Specific interventions for vulnerable groups; prioritized, costed activity plan; GEDSI review of mapped interventions; GEDSI inputs to inter-agency plans | [22 January 2027] |
| A5 | Task A5: Coordination and reporting to the regional humanitarian team | Monthly update notes to the regional humanitarian team; meeting notes; inputs to regional products | [Monthly, until 31 January 2027] |
| A6 | Task A6: Consultation workshop and final report | Workshop materials and report; final consolidated report | [29 January 2027] |
Note: Timelines may be adjusted in consultation with UN Women depending on the evolution of El Niño and the availability of stakeholders. Any change to the scope requires UN Women’s written agreement.
The consultant will be paid in three instalments upon submission and approval of the deliverables by the Programme Analyst on DRR & CCA, UN Women Viet Nam, as below:
| No. | Expected Deliverables | Time (tentative) |
| 1 | Deliverables A1 and A2: Inception report; GEDSI desk review note; province-level GEDSI analysis report | [22 December 2026] |
| 2 | Deliverables A3 and A4: Viet Nam Gender Alert; specific interventions and activity plan; | [26 January 2027] |
| 3 | Deliverables A5 and A6: Update notes to the regional humanitarian team and meeting notes; consultation workshop; final report | [31 January 2027] |
Competencies :
Core Values:
Core Competencies:
Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework:
Functional Competencies:
GEDSI analysis and programming
Coordination, facilitation and reporting
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:
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