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 are translated into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts while building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

Building on the successes of the Europe and Central Asia Expo “Connect and Create” for Europe and Central Asia in 2021 and 2022, UN Women is launching the third phase of its Women's Entrepreneurship Expo series “Partner and Accelerate.” It will engage partners and mentor networks established and new ones to be established, the Expo will seek to accelerate women entrepreneurs’ greater access to markets and finance. Enhanced focus will be put on inclusion of women owned businesses in the corporate supply chains. In making more women become successful entrepreneurs regionally and beyond, UN Women is looking for partners to facilitate new business connections and maximize their business growth. Women-owned and-led businesses are gaining momentum in Europe and Central Asia, presenting benefits for women, marginalized groups, local markets and regional businesses and investors. There is a huge amount of business potential waiting to be unlocked which can lead to greater economic and social transformation. The Expo will provide an interactive and inclusive professional space for women entrepreneurs and business partners to convene and work together to grow and flourish businesses.  

Expo 2022 catalyzed ongoing strategic partnerships with international finance institutions (IFIs) and private sector companies to facilitate business connections and growth for women entrepreneurs. As a result of these partnerships, over 1,600 women entrepreneurs accessed an interactive and inclusive professional space to develop their skills, access business tools, and receive mentorship. Further, 243 women entrepreneurs physically presented and sold products and services through satellite Expos, and 163 women entrepreneurs increased their knowledge, networked, and promoted products during in satellite summits.

Reflective of the above, UN Women ECARO is seeking for several consultants experienced in working with entrepreneurs (pre-accelerators, accelerators, bootcamps etc), to provide expert support in planning, preparing and organizing the Expo. In addition, the consultants may support the profiling process and act as focal points for Expo in respective countries.

Goal and Objectives

The objective of this consultancy is to support UN Women’s ‘Women’s Entrepreneurship Expo 2023’ in the ECA region and provide technical expertise in Expo planning and coordination.

As this is a retainer contract, UN Women will engage the consultant on an ‘as-needed’ basis and does not commit to guaranteeing a certain number of days work for the consultant, noting that the maximum number of days within the contract will not be exceeded.

Duties and Responsibilities

Working under the guidance of, and in close collaboration with UN Women, the consultant will be responsible for the following as required:

• To develop entrepreneurs profile template and submit for UN Women’s approval;
• To review submitted applications of women entrepreneurs, assess against eligibility criteria, systematize, group per sector and develop individual profiles of women entrepreneurs
• In case of missing information in applications, follow up with entrepreneurs to fill in the information gaps;
• To maintain regular contact with women entrepreneurs (respond to their emails, clarification requests, ensure their participation in meetings, seminars etc) in close coordination with UN Women in English and in local language;
• To plan and conduct in close coordination with UN Women meetings/orientation sessions with women entrepreneurs to guide them through Expo stages;
• If necessary, conduct seminars on the topics identified in coordination with UN Women; 
• Offer professional, creative and interactive techniques to plan and execute the sessions to most value for entrepreneurs and other attendees;
• Support planning of the agendas and sessions, identifying of guest speakers, and, if necessary, preparation of materials/resources/tools/ templates;
• Provide professional, proactive and client-orientated event management and coordination services;
• Ensure smooth and professional facilitation between participants, and transitions between the sessions;
• If needed, prepare session reports and include a toolkit with resources used and shared;
• In coordination with UN Women and relevant partners, conduct pre-event assessment on the knowledge and needs of participating women entrepreneurs and a post-event evaluation on their learnings;
• Guide women entrepreneurs to the pitching training sessions and document best practices for women entrepreneurs;
• Support the communication and visibility efforts of the Expo by working closely with UN Women teams and partners to maximize Expo visibility on relevant social media channels and showcase supporters, relevant briefs and reports, activities and achievements.
• Support in systematizing information for creation of virtual booths of women entrepreneurs;
• Support the preparation process of women entrepreneurs for the meeting with investors;
• Prepare the detailed report on the tasks accomplished during the consultancy;
• Other related deliverables as agreed with supervisor.

Deliverables

The consultant will be required to support and produce the following indicative key deliverables within a period of up to 50 days between 30 April 2023 and 30 March 2024.

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/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Education and certification:

Master’s degree or equivalent in business management, social sciences, public administration, international relations, communications, gender studies, or a related field relevant to the requirements of this TOR;

A Bachelor’s degree can be accepted in lieu of a Master’s degree with two additional years relevant experience (total 7 years).

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in entrepreneurship skills development, and building of entrepreneurship ecosystems.  
• Minimum 3 years of professional experience at a national and/or international level in event planning, hosting and management, and developing event-related material.
• Experience at a national and/or international level in mentoring and coaching of entrepreneurs in business idea generation and facilitating businesses and entrepreneur networking would be an asset
• Experience working with the UN and/or civil society organizations, international institutions and the private sector is an asset
• Experience working in the Europe and Central Asia region is an asset

Language and Other Skills

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required
• Fluency in one of the following languages is required: Armenian, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Tajik, Turkish, Ukrainian
• Good computer skills in Windows, knowledge of internet communications and command of MS Office applications (Power Point, Word, Excel) required 

Application Procedure

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application:

• Cover letter to include a brief overview about which of your previous experiences makes you the most suitable candidate for the advertised position
• P11 including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted with the application
• Financial Proposal a US$ amount for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (daily rate and number of anticipated working days). The Consultant will work from home.

Payment Schedule

Workplan will be set at beginning of the contract with clear scheduled milestones/deliverables. This workplan will be agreed between the Consultant and the ECA RO supervisor.

Monthly payments will be made based on the Supervisor reviewing and confirming that the consultant has met the required deliverables set in this workplan. This will also be accompanied by a time sheet submitted by the Consultant to the Supervisor.

Evaluation of Applicants

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of qualifications and financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

1.Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

2.Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.

Financial Evaluation (30%) – max. 30 points:

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion. A suggested formula is as follows:

p = 30 (µ/z)

Using the following values:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

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.)