UN Women National Consultant - Gender Coordinator, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India

UN Women National Consultant - Gender Coordinator, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India 

I.  Contract Overview
Consultancy Title    UN Women National Consultant - Gender Coordinator
Organization    United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)
Contract Supervision    State Lead and Policy Specialist, Madhya Pradesh
Duty Station    Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India, with local field travel as required
Contract Type    SSA
Number of Positions    One
Contract Duration    One year (20 Working Days per Month), renewable subject to programme requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance

II. Consultancy Assignment
Background/Context

UN Women promotes integrated approaches to ensure that all women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence. Gender-based violence (GBV) exists in various settings, including domestic, public, private, online, and workplaces and affects all genders, women and marginalised genders bear a disproportionate burden of its impact. Violence against women (VAW) is a grave violation of human rights with far-reaching consequences for women, their families and communities worldwide. It has tremendous costs from greater strains on health care to legal expenses and losses in productivity. The violence cuts across boundaries of age, class, caste, sexuality, sexual expression, education, marital status, race, culture, and geography, among others.

UN Women in India has played a pivotal role in supporting governments in eliminating violence and discrimination against women by demonstrating models of that work to prevent and respond to violence. Efforts towards promoting gender equality are multiplied through partnerships with governments, women’s organisations, civil society, academia, private sector, and the larger UN ecosystem. Initiatives range from strengthening legal frameworks and specific national and sub-national actions, including enhancing service provisioning for survivors of violence, and supporting prevention at the grassroots level. UN Women India supports strengthening data collection and knowledge generation on VAW, facilitating new learning on the issue. Through advocacy and communication campaigns, UN Women India works to transform gender norms, behaviours and attitudes that perpetuate gender inequality.

UN Women’s Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces approach addresses sexual harassment and other forms of violence against women and girls in public spaces through locally owned, evidence-based and multisectoral action. In Madhya Pradesh, UN Women works with state and city institutions to strengthen gender-responsive urban governance by linking women’s lived experiences and safety evidence with coordinated planning, budgeting, infrastructure and service improvements, institutional capacity, community participation, and stronger prevention and response systems. Within this broader state-level focus, Jabalpur provides an important city-level platform to translate these principles into sustained institutional practice and a model that can inform learning and replication across Madhya Pradesh.

Jabalpur launched its Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces initiative in July 2025, building on the Bhopal Declaration and city leadership. The first year established the foundation for city-level action through institutional coordination, safety assessments, public-space improvements, capacity development, community engagement and public awareness.
The next phase will focus on consolidation and institutionalization rather than expansion of standalone activities. This includes strengthening monitoring, evaluation and learning systems; embedding gender-responsive approaches within the routine functioning of Jabalpur Municipal Corporation, Police, Women and Child Development, Transport, Railways, Education, Tourism, Health and allied departments; and ensuring that women’s safety, accessibility and inclusion are reflected in planning, budgeting, maintenance, service delivery and review mechanisms.

By the end of the assignment, the consultant is expected to help UN Women and city partners achieve a clearer institutional model for safe and enabling public spaces in Jabalpur: validated evidence and trackers in use; costed and owned departmental action plans; visible and monitored improvements in priority locations; strengthened referral and response linkages; and practical documentation that supports sustainability and replication in other cities of Madhya Pradesh.

Within this context, UN Women seeks a Gender Coordinator to support the State Lead and Policy Specialist, Madhya Pradesh, in providing city-levelclose coordination, technical assistance, monitoring with the State Lead on, documentation and learning support for the Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces initiative in Jabalpur. The role will prioritize consolidation of existing work, institutionalization of gender-responsive approaches across relevant departments, and evidence-based planning for sustained improvements in public spaces.

2. Roles and Responsibilities 
Under the direct supervision of the State Lead and Policy Specialist, Madhya Pradesh, with technical guidance from UN Women’s EVAW team, the consultant will support implementation of a focused annual workplan for Jabalpur. The role will emphasize coordination, evidence consolidation, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL), institutionalization, documentation and follow-up on agreed city priorities, aligned with UN Women’s safe cities and safe public spaces framework. The consultant will work in close coordination with designated government nodal officers and relevant departments.

3. Priority Areas of Work
3.1 Institutional Coordination and Gender-Responsive Governance

• A functional city coordination mechanism operates with clear roles for key government departments, civil society, academia and community institutions.
• City priorities, departmental commitments, bottlenecks and follow-up actions are tracked and reviewed.
• Women’s safety, accessibility and inclusion are integrated into departmental plans, budgets, inspections, services and maintenance systems.
• Departmental focal points, ownership arrangements and review mechanisms support sustainability.

3.2 Safety Evidence, Planning and Follow-up

• Safety audits, mobility mapping, assessments and consultations are consolidated into one evidence repository.
• City priorities are validated with women and girls, ward representatives, service providers and marginalized groups.
• Validated findings inform prioritized, costed and owned departmental and ward-level action plans.
• Corrective actions are reassessed through user feedback and functionality checks.

3.3 Gender-Responsive Infrastructure and Services

• Public-space improvements reflect gender and inclusion inputs on lighting, sanitation, signage, accessibility, transport, CCTV and reporting information.
• Improvements are field-veri fied for functionality, maintenance gaps, user feedback and departmental follow-up.
• A Safe and Enabling Public Spaces checklist supports routine inspections and follow-up.
• Strengthening prevention and response mechanisms with focus on women help desks at police stations, Gender resource centers and One Stop Centres.

3.4 Capacity Development and Institutional Practice

• A needs-based capacity-development plan covers municipal staff, police, transport, railways, educators, ward representatives and service providers.
• Priority stakeholders strengthen practice on gender-responsive planning, harassment prevention, survivor-centred response, accessibility and accountability.
• Training results are captured through participation data, pre/post assessment, feedback and application evidence.
• Departmental focal persons or trainers support continuity beyond one-off sessions.

3.5 Community Participation and Social Norm Change

• Women’s groups, youth, vendors, transport associations, men and boys, civil society and community institutions participate through structured platforms.
• Safe feedback channels enable women and girls to share concerns without exposing personal or sensitive information.
• Bilingual materials communicate respectful public-space norms, services, reporting pathways and shared responsibility.
• Community feedback informs departmental action and is communicated back accessibly.

3.6 Monitoring, Documentation and Learning

• Prepare a results and monitoring framework in consultation with UN Women’s MEL specialist, EVAW team and State Lead, with sex-, age- and disability-disaggregated indicators wherever feasible and appropriate.
• Maintain trackers for audit recommendations, infrastructure and service actions, capacity development, community engagement, referrals and institutional commitments.
• Prepare monthly progress updates, quarterly analytical reports, briefing notes, presentations, case studies, human-interest stories and inputs to institutional and donor reports.
• Document implementation challenges, adaptations, good practices, costs and enabling factors, and prepare an operational Jabalpur model or guidance note for replication and inter-city learning.
• Ensure informed consent, confidentiality, safeguarding, ethical documentation and responsible data management across all activities.

4. Key Deliverables and Completion Standards
1.    Institutional coordination and gender-responsive governance - Coordinate the city mechanism; clarify stakeholder roles and departmental focal points; track commitments and follow-up; and document meetings, decisions and sustainability arrangements. Key Stakeholders: JMC, district administration, Police, WCD and other nodal departments; civil society, academic institutions and community organisations.
2.    Safety evidence, planning and follow-up - Consolidate and validate safety evidence; coordinate preparation of costed departmental and ward action plans; monitor recommendations; and maintain the evidence repository and action tracker. Key Stakeholders: JMC and ward representatives; Police, Transport, Railways and service departments; academic institutions, community interface structures, and diverse women and girls, including women in the informal economy.
3.    Gender-responsive infrastructure and services - Apply the public-space safety checklist; coordinate field verification and corrective action with departments; monitor functionality, accessibility, maintenance and user feedback; and document improvements, track capacity building results and strengthened GBV referral and response linkages through frontline capacity enhancement. Key Stakeholders: JMC, Police, WCD, Transport, Railways, Health and service providers; local transport operators, including three-wheeler drivers; women users, informal workers and persons with disabilities, One Stop Centres, Gender Resource Centres, women helpdesk.
4.    Capacity development and institutional practice - Implement a needs-based capacity plan with adapted bilingual materials; coordinate participation and focal-person orientation; monitor learning through pre/post assessments and application evidence; and document attendance, feedback and results. Key Stakeholders: Municipal staff, Police, Transport, Railways, academic institutions; ward representatives, GBV response service providers, local transport operators and departmental focal persons.
5.    Community participation and social norm change - Convene civil society organizations (CSOs) through a structured city-level platform; facilitate consultations and bilingual outreach; coordinate community-to-government feedback; monitor participation and action on concerns; and document CSO engagement, feedback, commitments and follow-up. Key Stakeholders: Women's groups, women in the informal economy, youth, vendors, local transport operators including three-wheeler drivers, men and boys, civil society, academic institutions, community interface structures and relevant departments.
6.    Monitoring, documentation and learning - Maintain the results framework and trackers; coordinate data collection and review; monitor progress and implementation quality; and prepare monthly updates, quarterly analysis, briefs, case studies and the Jabalpur operational model, with ethical data management. Key Stakeholders: Government focal points, implementing departments, service providers, women participants and community representatives.

5. Evaluation Criteria of submissions

Evaluation and Selection Criteria:

• Criteria for shortlisting of CVs will be based on the following assessment:
• Required Degree and Qualification (5 points);
• Minimum Experience relevant to the assignment (5 points);
• Experience in advancing gender equality, including working on prevention strategies and response mechanisms to address gender-based violence in public spaces, and engaging with municipalities, panchayats and district administration is required (5 points);

Please Note:

• For an assignment requiring travel, consultants of 65 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work to engage in the consultancy.
• Due to large number of potential applicants, only competitively selected candidates will be contacted for remaining steps of the service procurement process.
• Contract will be issued initially for one year. It will be extended subject to availability of funds.
• This is a full-time assignment. The consultant is expected to disclose any outside activity and shall not be permitted to take up any outside work during the course of this assignment.

6. Key Performance Indicators

• Effective city coordination mechanism with current action tracking, clear departmental ownership and documented follow-up.
• Available assessment findings consolidated, validated and translated into prioritized actions with status evidence.
• Proportion of agreed actions completed, functional and maintained, reported without overstating attribution.
• Routine use of the public-space checklist and monitoring tools by designated institutions.
• Capacity-development results reported through participation data, pre/post analysis and evidence of workplace application.
• Meaningful participation of diverse women and girls, with feedback loops showing how inputs informed decisions.
• Quality and timeliness of monthly, quarterly and final deliverables, including disaggregated data where feasible.
• Jabalpur operational model finalized with practical tools, sustainability measures and recommendations for replication.
  7. Reporting
• A monthly action plan will be agreed in advance. Monthly progress reports and updated trackers will be submitted by the last working day of each month.
• All external communications, public materials, data collection tools and knowledge products will require prior clearance through the agreed UN Women process.
• The consultant will maintain neutrality, confidentiality and a collaborative approach and will not make commitments on behalf of UN Women or government partners without authorization.
• Field travel within Jabalpur and, when approved, elsewhere in Madhya Pradesh may be required.

III. Competencies 
Core Values: 

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism
  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 Core Values and Competencies:  
https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values 

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES: 

• Excellent knowledge of Gender
• Knowledge about governance framework
• Strong knowledge of the region
• Excellent networking skills
• Ability to perform qualitative and quantitative policy research.
• Ability to advocate and provide policy advice.
• Excellent analytical skills.
• Ability to write policy papers, speeches, briefings.
• Strong knowledge of programme development, implementation, results-based management and reporting
  IV. Required Qualifications

Education

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Gender Studies, Social Sciences, Social Work, Urban Planning, Public Policy, Public Administration, Development Studies or a related field.
• A first-level university degree with two additional years of relevant qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.
  Experience
• At least five years of relevant professional experience in gender equality, EVAW/GBV, urban governance, public-space safety, community development or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience working with government, preferably urban local bodies, district administration, police, transport or other public-service institutions.
• Experience in coordinating multi-stakeholder programmes, undertaking participatory assessments, facilitating capacity development, and monitoring implementation.
• Experience in results-based reporting, analysis and development of practical tools, guidance notes or knowledge products.
• Experience in Madhya Pradesh or comparable state and city contexts is desirable.
  Language and Digital Skills
• Professional proficiency in English and Hindi is required.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications is required. Familiarity with mobile data tools, data visualization, GIS or digital safety-audit platforms is desirable.

VII. APPLICATION
Interested applicants should apply to this announcement through UN Women jobs site: 
Careers at UN Women | UN Women – Headquarters

Evaluation and Selection Criteria:
The evaluation process for selection of the candidate will be based on the following assessment:
•     Writing Samples Assessment (30%)
•     Interview (70%)

         Please Note:

• For an assignment requiring travel, consultants of 65 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work to engage in the consultancy.
• Consultants are required to submit doctor's certificate to state fitness to work and travel for this assignment.
• Due to large number of potential applicants, only competitively selected candidates will be contacted for remaining steps of the service procurement process.
• The consultant is expected to use their own computer equipment. The office will not provide any computer equipment for this assignment.
• This is a full-time assignment. The consultant is expected to disclose any outside activity and shall not be permitted to take up any outside work during this assignment.

Inclusion Statement:

• At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employ, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, religion, colour, 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:
  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.