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 for women as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, the UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

Based on UN legislative mandates and the Strategic Plan, the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP (Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific) (Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific)) is tasked with providing strategic programme development, policy/ technical advisory services and quality assurance support to Multi-Country Offices (MCOs) and Country Offices (COs). It undertakes or coordinates regional research and data analysis; advises on norms, policies and strategies for achieving the internationally and regionally agreed goals related to gender equality and women’s empowerment issues. It acts as a knowledge hub at the regional level, collecting evidence on progress and emerging issues and sharing knowledge on innovative approaches and lessons learned in implementation.

Over the last decade, increasing natural hazards, climate-related emergencies, mounting insecurity and crises in Asia and the Pacific are eroding development gains, posing significant challenges in the transition to low-carbon, resilient societies. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the world was off-track to meet the transformational environmental, social and economic changes required to achieve gender equality, address climate change and realize human rights for all. The pandemic set back sustainable development progress while further increasing inequalities. Women and girls, especially those facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, have faced disproportionate fallout.

Environmental degradation and climate and disaster impacts are unequally felt across the region. For women, people in poverty and other marginalized groups, pre-existing discriminatory social norms and pervasive gender inequalities increase exposure to risks while undercutting the ability to cope and recover from shocks. Women’s livelihoods are often the first to decline due to climate-related hazards and disasters. Further, inequalities in access to resources, finance and technologies leave women with greater challenges in coping and rebuilding after a crisis.

The low-carbon transition and social transformation required to solve the climate crisis pose significant opportunities to redress gender inequalities and promote human rights. Women are powerful agents of change and can accelerate inclusive and gender responsive climate action. To uphold women's rights and fully leverage the potential of women's leadership in disaster risk reduction and climate actions, the perspectives of women and girls, in all of their diversity, must be integrated into the formulation and implementation of policies and programs at all stages.   

UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) is seeking technical support from an International Consultant under retainer contract to contribute to programme development, knowledge management, and coordination functions for the climate change and disaster risk reduction portfolio and targeted activities undertaken within the Asia Pacific region. 

Under the supervision and guidance of the Regional Advisor for Humanitarian Action, Disaster Risk Reduction, and Climate Change, and/or humanitarian focal points in Country Offices as assigned, the consultant may be asked to undertake the following tasks:

• Lead the development of gender-responsive climate change programming within UN Women Regional Office and Country Offices, providing technical leadership and expertise in climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, as well as DRR (Disaster Risk Reduction) and resilience-building initiatives.
• Provide strategic planning support for the regional office on addressing gender inequalities in the context of the climate crisis, including contributions to the regional business plan
• Provide UN Women Regional Office and Country Offices with up-to-date information and guidance on regional trends on climate change and their strategic implications to guide current and future regional climate change programming, including policy support and information in the context of multilateral negotiations/discussions on Gender and Climate Change, including those associated with the UNFCC.
• Provide substantive technical and policy support to UN Women partners in the design and implementation of gender-responsive climate change-related resources and projects and advise on the effective mobilization and management of different climate financing mechanisms.
• Provide support knowledge management, monitoring, and reporting. This includes preparation of briefs and talking points; preparation and finalization of knowledge resources, collection and analysis of data, and providing inputs to periodic reporting.
• Facilitate the establishment and strengthen strategic partnerships with stakeholders, regional/ international actors and development partners, in development of the humanitarian, DRR, climate change portfolio.
• Support UN Women ROAP/MCOs/COs/PPOs in documenting climate and DRR project implementation challenges, strategies adopted, as well as documentation of good practices and lessons learned.
• Provide targeted technical support and remote/in person capacity strengthening sessions/trainings/webinars on ad-hoc basis to UN Women ROAP/MCOs/Cos/PPOs and partners for the implementation of programmes relating to gender-responsive climate action and DRR in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Advise on resource mobilization strategies for humanitarian action, DRR, and climate change, including the identification and development of funding proposals for climate change-related programming, and advising UN Women staff and partners on best practices for mobilizing resources for climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives.

Expected Deliverables

In consultation with the Regional Advisor for Humanitarian Action, Disaster Risk Reduction, and Climate Change, and/or humanitarian focal points in Country Offices, the consultant will produce on a retainer basis:

• Strategic planning support for the development of gender-responsive climate change programming within UN Women Regional Office and Country Offices, including identifying key areas of focus, priorities, and activities.
• Ad hoc technical advisory and capacity strengthening support, technical assistance, mentoring, training, cross-partner learning, and/or capacity development initiatives.
• Technical guidance and support to ROAP, along with MCOs/Cos/PPOs, in mobilization of resources for the implementation and continuation of gender, climate and DRR programmes.
• Strategic input to the development, finalization, and presentation of key knowledge products such as analytical reports including collection and analysis of data, research papers, briefing notes, background papers, summaries, and correspondence on climate change (as needed).
• Strategic input to workshops with stakeholders, including governments, civil society partners, UN agencies, and donors to document outcomes and lessons learned, and facilitation of workshops/meetings,
• Coordination of briefs capturing lessons learned, good practices, and challenges related to gender responsive climate action.
• Support to the analysis of gender equality and DRR partnership landscape as well as strengthening of strategic partnerships to ensure optimal strategic alliances for UN Women.

*Payment will be made upon submission of deliverables and approval of the Regional Advisor, Humanitarian Action and Disaster Risk Reduction/humanitarian focal point from relevant M/COs.

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

• Master’s degree in gender studies, human rights, international affairs, disaster risk reduction, climate change, social science, public policy, and/or any relevant field directly related to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls;
• A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in the area of climate change, environment, disaster risk reduction, human rights, gender equality and women's empowerment, preferably at the international level; 
• Demonstrated experience in providing technical and policy guidance to UN agencies, governments, and civil society organizations on the design and implementation of gender-responsive climate change/ DRR programmes;
• Strong understanding of different climate financing mechanisms and proven ability to advise on the effective mobilisation and management of such mechanisms;
• Proven track record in developing and implementing successful resource mobilization strategies for humanitarian action, DRR, and climate change, including funding proposals for climate change-related programming;
• Excellent communication and writing skills, with the ability to develop clear and concise reports, policy briefs, and other knowledge products.
• Working experience with UN Women or other United Nations agency an asset.
• Working experience in Asia-Pacific is strongly desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of other languages spoken in the Asia-Pacific region an asset.

Contract period and work location

The consultant will be home-based, with the ability to maintain working hours compatible with Asia and the Pacific, and with potential travel to target countries as requested.

Reimbursement for travel, including DSA (Daily Subsistence Allowance), will be provided in line with UN Women guidelines. The contract period is 12 months from April 2023 – April 2024.

Evaluation

Applications will be evaluated based on 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

Interested candidates are encouraged to submit electronic application to hr.bangkok@unwomen.org with -cc to sirinapa.visessmith@unwomen.org no later than 11 April 2023, 23:59 Bangkok time.

Submission package includes:

• Letter of Motivation
• Personal History Form (P11) which can be downloaded from UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc (live.com)
• 2x writing samples, preferably in areas relating to gender, climate change or disaster risk reduction.
• Financial proposal: the financial proposal shall specify the daily professional fee in USD (US Dollar)

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11).

If applying through the system, kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. So please consolidate your (all) required documents into 1 file prior to attachment.

Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment. Please merge all documents into one document to attach.

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.

UN Women does not warrant that the maximum number of working days will be purchased during the term of Agreement.  The consultant can only be engaged through issuance of Purchase Order, based on agreed Contract every time the UN Women wishes to procure the service.

UN Women Statement

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.)