Background
UN Women’s presence in the Republic of Moldova has evolved from being a project-based office in 2007 to a Country Office with full delegated authority as of 2015. Currently, UN Women Moldova Country Office is in the fourth year of implementing its Strategic Note (SN) for 2018-2022, which is aligned with the Republic of Moldova-United Nations Partnership Framework for Sustainable Development 2018-2022 and the Global Strategic Plan of UN Women. The SN 2018-2022 aims at advancing progress under the following three Impact Areas (IA): IA1: More women from diverse groups fully participate and lead in governance processes and institutions, IA2: Women have income security, decent work, and economic autonomy, IA3: Public authorities, institutions and communities prevent violence against women and girls and deliver quality essential services. Under the impact on income security, decent work and economic autonomy, UN Women contributes to the realization of the Outcome: Parliament and Government adopt and implement legislation, policies, and services that address unpaid domestic and care work and improve income security and decent work for women with two outputs: Output 1. Government has capacities to develop and implement laws, policies and services that positively impact women’s income and decent employment and recognize, reduce, and redistribute unpaid care work; 2. Women, including those from excluded groups, have skills and knowledge to access economic opportunities.
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”; target 8.5 calls to “achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value” etc. To achieve gender equality by 2030, is required urgent actions to eliminate the many root causes of discrimination that still curtail women’s rights in private and public spheres.
Contributing to the realization of these results, UN Women works to strengthen capacities of the Parliament and Government to develop, adopt and implement legal, regulatory and policy frameworks, as well as care service provision models that create decent work for women and that support the reduction and redistribution of unpaid care work and more equal sharing of care and domestic work between women and men. UN Women works to improve women’s access to male dominated professions, notably in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and build their ICT skills and promote women’s increased access to economic opportunities through trainings, coaching and financial support, as well as through supporting best practices of the private sector. The cooperation with the private sector covers the work on promotion the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs). Companies are becoming more aware about the WEPs and knowledge products and tools to guide private sector institutions on WEPs implementation and monitoring in their workplaces and industries etc. were developed. Further work is required to continue promotion of WEPs within the private sector.
In March 2021, a small group of companies from Moldova joined forces to create a fist association dedicated to promoting the corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles within the local companies. The Association, called Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility Association from Moldova (CSR Association), aims to bring together, inspire, and support private companies to help them contribute to a better world, eliminate discrimination, create long-term business value, and scale their social, economic, and environmental impact. It supports businesses to transform and collaborate towards practical solutions and sustainable growth and it advocates for systemic change by following the SDG (Millennium Development Goals). The CSR Association aims, among others, to promote WEPs within the companies, both its members and non-member SMEs in Moldova, to help them understand, integrate, and maintain gender equality principles.
Even though there is increasing pressure to dress up CSR as a business discipline and demand that every initiative deliver business results, there is limited expertise on the market on CSR and WEPs in Moldova. In 2019-2020, UN Women offered a set of trainings for local companies on WEPs, and, following that, provided hands-on coaching on self-assessment and development of Action Plans on integration of WEPs for 7 selected companies. The process needs to be continued and a dedicated CSR Associations is considered to become a potential partner on continuing promotion and work on CSR and WEPs in Moldova.
Considering the above, UN Women is looking for a consultant with practical expertise in application of corporate social responsibility and women empowerment principles, to provide support to the newly created Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility Association from Moldova (CSR Association).
Duties and Responsibilities
Scope of Work
The selected consultant will be responsible for supporting CSR Association in becoming active promoter and service provider on implementation of CSR and WEPs principles among its members and non-member SMEs. She/he will work in close collaboration with the operations and Programme staff in the UN Women Moldova CO.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the direct supervision of the UN Women WEE Programme Coordinator and in close cooperation with Programme Associate, the following major tasks shall be undertaken by the consultant:
Tasks and activities | Estimated workload (workdays) |
|---|---|
| Up to 5 days |
| Up to 15 days |
| Up to 10 days |
Total | Up to 30 days |
Note: The mentioned number of working days has been estimated as being sufficient/feasible for the envisaged volume of work to be completed successfully and is proposed as a guideline for the duration of assignment. It cannot and shall not be used as criteria for completion of work/assignment. The provision of envisaged deliverables approved by the UN Women responsible staff shall be the only criteria for the Consultant work being completed and eligible for payment/s.
Deliverables
The assignment should be carried out within a period of 3 months, not exceeding 30 working days.
The expected deliverables include:
- Needs Assessment report.
- Training agenda and support materials.
- Report on delivered training.
- 3-years action plan for the CSR Association on promotion and integration of CSR and women empowerment principles.
- Final report on carried out activities, achievements, and challenges, recommendations for future steps.
All the deliverables should be agreed with the UN Women responsible staff and provided in English electronic copy.
Duration of the assignment
The total duration of the contract is tentatively planned for up to 3 calendar months starting with October 2021 with the possibility of extension subject to funds availability.
Management arrangements
The Consultant will work under the direct supervision of the UN Women Programme Coordinator and in close cooperation with Programme Associate.
The consultant should work in close cooperation with the CSR Association and adapt its activities based on the needs of the association.
Travel
In the case of travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between UN Women and the Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.
Performance evaluation
Consultant’s performance will be evaluated against such criteria as: timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.
Financial arrangements
Payment will be disbursed on a monthly basis, upon submission and approval of deliverables and timesheets with actual days worked and certification by the UN Women responsible staff that the services have been satisfactorily performed.
Competencies
Consultant should have proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations, in particular respecting differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other.
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
To learn more about UN Women values and competencies, please follow the link https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Master’s degree in economics, social science, human rights, gender equality, management, or other related areas.
- Professional specialization in CSR/WEPs will be considered a strong advantage.
Experience:
- Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience at national or international level in managing complex and multi-component programmes and projects, preferably in CSR, or gender equality, or women’s economic empowerment.
- Strong analytical and writing skills and experience.
- At least 2 years of experience in delivering training in the fields of CSR and/or WEPs.
- Experience in the UN system, agencies and international organizations is an asset.
- Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems.
Language skills:
- Fluency in English required. Knowledge of Romanian and/or Russian is an advantage.
Application process
- Qualified and interested candidates can view the vacancy and apply online at https://jobs.undp.org/. The system will only accept one document. The interested candidates must submit the following documents/ information to demonstrate their qualification:
- Letter of Intent with justification of being the most suitable for the work, vision and working approach, specifically indicating experience of carrying out evaluations and in producing out analytical reports, (provide links to previous evaluations and analytical reports) etc.;
- Duly filled Personal History Form (P11) and/or CV, including records on past experience in similar projects/assignments and specific outputs obtained. (blank form can be downloaded from: (https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment );.
- Financial proposal (in USD for the international consultant) - specifying an all-inclusive daily fee, and the lump sum for the envisaged number of working days. The financial offer should include all costs related to completion of the task under the current Terms of Reference.
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.)