Background

Programme background

The WeEmpowerAsia programme (WEA) is a collaborative effort between UN Women, as the UN executive agency for gender equality and empowerment of women, and the European Union (EU), which is funding the action under its Partnership Instrument. With this programme the two entities will leverage their joint commitment to enhance women’s economic empowerment globally. They each have longstanding experience and partnerships in the Asian region.

The overall objective of the WeEmpowerAsia programme is that more women lead, participate and have access to enhanced business opportunities and leadership within the private sector to advance sustainable and inclusive growth. The programme is implemented in seven selected middle-income countries in Asia - China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam – and will achieve its objective through three complementary areas:

• ADVOCACY: Women’s networks, public institutions, and the private sector will collaborate and share expertise and knowledge to build an enabling business environment for women’s economic empowerment in the workplace and in the marketplace,
• ENTREPRENEURSHIP: The capacity of women-owned businesses and women entrepreneurs will be developed to enable them to engage with government and private sector corporations in policy development and dialogues for advancing women’s economic empowerment, and
• BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT: The private sector will be supported to implement gender-sensitive practices and culture within their businesses through the take-up of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (the WEPs – a set of guiding principles to achieve gender equality within companies).

The activities of the WeEmpowerAsia programme will offer learning opportunities for the various stakeholders – women entrepreneurs, policy and decision makers, and private sector – in order to enable them to collaborate and create and implement policies and programmes that better meet women’s needs and rights in the economy, be it women as employees, managers, or business owners.

At the core of WeEmpower Asia’s business engagement pillar is mobilizing private sector companies to commit to and implement the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), which were formulated and launched by UN Women and the UN Global Compact in 2010. The WEPs are 7 principles that support companies to take a gender-sensitive approach throughout their value chain, within leadership, the workplace, the marketplace, and community. WeEmpowerAsia works with companies in Asia and in the EU to translate these seven principles into concrete actions within the businesses, while encouraging them to work together and share their ‘WEPS’ journey’ across countries and regions. To date, more than 3,000 companies have signed the WEPs globally, and in the Asia-Pacific more than 750 companies have committed.

UN Women 2021 Asia-Pacific and Thailand WEPs Awards

WeEmpowerAsia hosted the first UN Women 2020 Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards programme and held the regional awards ceremony on December 15th, 2020, followed by 5 national ceremonies celebrating the achievements of the outstanding winners. The programme aimed to encourage, value and recognize the efforts of individuals and businesses that promote gender-inclusive business cultures and the achievement of gender equality in the Asia and the Pacific region, guided by the WEPs. Receiving more than 400 applications from 17 countries, the Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards recognized initiatives in the following categories: Leadership Commitment, Youth Leadership, Gender-inclusive Workplace, Gender-responsive Marketplace, Community and Industry Engagement and COVID-19 Action. A total of 6 winners, 6 first runners-up and 6 second runners-up were announced and awarded the UN Women prize, whose profiles can be found here.

This year, UN Women is collaborating with various key partners, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of SMEs Promotion, AWEN Thailand, Kenan Foundation Asia, Global Compact Network Thailand, TMA and Investing in Women in hosting the Awards. These partners are playing significant roles with the programme to mobilise applicants, organise the ceremonies, provide logistical support, hold information sessions for companies and provide other means of support as needed. 

UN Women seeks the services of a national consultant to coordinate and build relationships with companies and private sector organisations who are interested in applying for the WEPs Awards, as well as the listed key partners and supporters to mobilise applicants for the Awards through various activities, such as information sessions and workshops. They will engage with the prospective applicants (e.g. WEPs signatory companies) to maintain their interests and motivations in applying for the Awards and provide the necessary support to the applicants throughout the application process e.g. by responding to their queries and giving advice to them on completing the application forms. The consultant will also provide support to the WEA Thailand team in the selection and judging processes, whereby companies or applicants will be shortlisted and selected as winners for each Award category. Furthermore, the consultant will also assist in mobilising participants to the Thailand WEPs Awards ceremony, which is to be held on 21st October. In this process, they will also be coordinating with and providing support to the companies and private sector organisations in the registration processes and their participation in the virtual event. The consultant will coordinate with the winners of the Awards to produce testimonial media, provide support with their publicity as an awardee and keep them engaged with the WEPs community.

Aside from the scope of the WEPs Awards, the consultant will be engaging companies throughout the process of signing the WEPs and becoming part of the WEPs community in order to express their commitment in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in the business sector. They will also be working with partners to organise and coordinate relevant activities to enhance engagement within this Community and further expand it by mobilising more signatories.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of Country Programme Manager, Thailand WeEmpower Asia Programme and in close consultation with the Programme team, the national consultant will provide technical expertise in coordinating and liaising with companies and private sector organisations  throughout the process of recruitment of applicants, applications for the Awards and participation in the Thailand WEPs Awards ceremony.

Specifically, the consultant will undertake the following tasks: 

• Coordinate and connect with prospects and applicants (I.e. companies and private sector organisations) throughout the processes of recruitment and application for the Thailand WEPs Awards e.g. by responding to their queries and supporting them on the application processes on emails and phone calls, and following up with those who could be prospective applicants to maintain their interests in applying for the Awards
• Coordinate with key partners (I.e. co-organisers and key supporters) to mobilise applicants for the Awards and hold information sessions to give them further details on the WEPs and the WEPs Awards application processes
• Engage with companies and private sector organisations who are interested in becoming WEPs signatories and with prospective companies and organisations in the respective networks to grow the WEPs community
• Conduct due diligence processes and update the contact list of WEPs signatories
• Provide support in the selection processes of award applicants e.g. conducting initial screenings and due diligence verification, and send the verified application forms to the panel of judges for short listing
• Provide support in the invitation and registration processes for the Thailand WEPs Awards ceremony, as well as provide technical support and respond to queries from invitees and participants prior to, during and after the ceremony
• Translation of application forms written in English into Thai if required by the judges and translation of application forms of National winners from Thai into English to be sent for nomination at the regional level
• Coordinating and liaising with the 2021 awardees in the production of promotional materials e.g. testimonial videos and press releases

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to UN Women’s mission, vision and values;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Technical Competencies:

• Demonstrate strong verbal communication skills with experiences in coordinating and managing stakeholders in a professional manner
• Professional experience in project coordination and stakeholder management  
• Strong command of Thai and English
• Knowledge of gender and socioeconomic issues in Thailand
   

Leadership and Self-Management:

• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Remains calm, in control even under pressure;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Demonstrate understanding of gender and development in South East Asia;
• Demonstrable ability to work in a team;
• Ability to work under pressure;
• Excellent writing and communication skills;
• Excellent computer literacy and skills.

Required Skills and Experience

RECRUITMENT QUALIFICATIONS AND APPLICATION

• Bachelors’ degree in Gender and Development Studies, or any Social Sciences
• Minimum 1 year of professional experience in stakeholder management and coordination,  experience in project management and coordination is a plus.
• Knowledge in gender issues and experiences working in the private sector is preferred
• Experience in event management and coordination is preferred
• Excellent verbal communication skills (Thai)

• Strong written skills in English and good command over official Thai language as medium of communication is preferred

Evaluation:

Applications will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis.

• Technical Qualification (100 points) weight; [70%]
• Financial Proposal (100 points) weight; [30%]

A two-stage procedure is utilised in evaluating the applications, with evaluation of the technical application being completed prior to any price proposal being compared. Only the price proposal of the candidates who passed the minimum technical score of 70% of the obtainable score of 100 points in the technical qualification evaluation will be evaluated.

Technical qualification evaluation criteria:

The total number of points allocated for the technical qualification component is 100. The technical qualification of the individual is evaluated based on following technical qualification evaluation criteria:

Only the candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% of total points will be considered as technically qualified candidates who may be contacted for validation interview.

Financial/Price Proposal evaluation:

• Only the financial proposal of candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% score in the technical evaluation will be considered and evaluated.
• The total number of points allocated for the price component is 100.
• The maximum number of points will be allotted to the lowest price proposal that is opened/ evaluated and compared among those technical qualified candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% score in the technical evaluation. All other price proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.

Submission of application

Interest candidates are encouraged to submit electronic application to UNDP website and UN Women website as well as to hr.bangkok@unwomen.org and copy to dollaporn.intrroong@unwomen.org, no later than 9th July 2021, COB.

Submission package includes:

• Updated CV
• Personal History Form (P11) which can be downloaded http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/about-us/jobs;
• Writing examples (Thai and English)
• Financial proposal

Note:

• Applications received after the close date will not be accepted;
• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
• 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.
• The applicants need to combine all files in one single PDF before submission on UNDP website

Payments:

Payments for this consultancy will be based on the achievement of each deliverable and certification that each has been satisfactorily completed. Payments will not be based on the number of days worked but on the completion of each stated deliverable within the indicated timeframes. Any travel under this consultancy will be covered by UN Women as per our rules and regulations.