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.

In support of the organization’s objectives, the Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division (PPID) provides global support to UN Women offices at Headquarters and in all field locations to deliver results in support of UN Women's Strategic Plan 2018-2021 and internationally agreed goals on gender equality and women's empowerment, including the Beijing Platform for Action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Division provides intellectual and strategic leadership on normative support and the delivery of integrated policy and programme advice, including through policy analysis and gender mainstreaming. The Division leverages innovation, knowledge management, and cutting-edge technical expertise to support UN Women programmes and to build the capacity of partners to deliver results on gender equality and women's empowerment.

The UN Women Training Centre is the training arm of UN Women under the Policy, Programme, and Intergovernmental Division. It is dedicated to supporting the UN and other stakeholders to realize commitments to gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s rights through transformative training and learning. The Training Centre’s catalogue of training for gender equality encompassed 86 courses at one point that range from basic to advanced levels and span several different modalities (online, blended and face-to-face), in different languages (English, Spanish, French and Arabic) and provides possibilities for capacity development in each of UN Women’s strategic areas. All of these courses are based on the key international normative frameworks for gender equality: the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action (PFA) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2020, the TC trained 130,000 participants through our training courses. The Training Centre’s services include technical assistance for content development, design, implementation, documentation, evaluation, and participatory methodologies to develop courses and training resources; databases of training institutions, opportunities and resources; and delivery of training courses including custom-made training upon request. The UN Women Training Centre’s eLearning Campus, launched in 2014, is one of the only public platforms devoted to training for gender equality worldwide. It is accessible in four languages (English, French, Spanish, and Arabic) and has 147,487 active registrants as of the end of 2020.

Under the overall guidance and direction of the Deputy Director, PPID, and working with the UN Women Training Center team, the Consultant will work to design a forward-looking strategic vision and business plan for the future of the UN Women Training Center. Building on existing analyses, evaluations, and plans, the Consultant will engage with UN Women Training Center personnel, UN Women HQ, regional, and country office teams, as well as external partners to prepare a comprehensive vision, strategy, and way forward for the UN Women Training Center. 

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant will be responsible for redefining, refining, and helping set in motion a strategic vision and business plan for the future of the UN Women Training Center, including maximizing online presence, techniques, and approaches; This will include:

• Review of existing plans, strategies, evaluations, and reports concerning the UN Women Training Center specifically, and UN Women’s new 2022-2025 Strategic Plan, training, and partnerships efforts more broadly;
• Undertake internal and external stakeholder consultations and synthesize recommendations into a business plan (report + presentation) with scenarios/options, detailed next steps, including activities, budget estimates, timelines, indicators and a resource mobilization plan;
• Support PPID management in presenting and securing buy-in and approval of UN Women senior management for a UN Women Training Centre way forward strategy

The consultant must have excellent communication and organizational skills to manage the substantive inputs and quality control of work related to the assignment and must be able to work with a broad range of stakeholders.

Deliverables:

• Inception report outlining the approach/methodology of work, including for stakeholder engagement, milestones and timelines.
• Bi-weekly updates
• Presentation of preliminary recommendations
• Final business plan (report and presentation) with scenarios/options detailed next steps, including activities, budget estimates, timelines, indicators and a resource mobilization plan.

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

Required Skills and Experience

Required Qualifications, Experience and skills:

• Master’s degree in business or public administration, development, project management, social sciences or a related field;
• 10 years of relevant and progressively responsible experience, including experience in management consulting, organizational development, business planning, project management and change management;
• Experience working with training institutions/providers and their products and services, particularly delivering training with a gender equality focus.
• Excellent presentation, facilitation and interpersonal skills;
• Excellent knowledge and work experience in adult learning, training and facilitation, including in hybrid/virtual formats of training delivery;
• Excellent knowledge and work experience in mapping business processes, analysis and identification of gaps;
• Excellent ability and work experience in developing online content/materials and presence, and drafting policies, procedures and guidance;

Language:

Fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is desirable.