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

UN Women is dedicated to advancing gender equality and women’s human rights in Afghanistan. Staff and consultants of UN Women Afghanistan are expected to contribute to a professional working environment in which the strengthening of national capacities and human potential is prioritized. Respect for diversity and human dignity is required, as is the active pursuit of a collaborative and inclusive approach to both internal and external stakeholders, including colleagues and partners.

Afghanistan is one of the world’s most complex emergencies, and the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Afghan people are grappling with the impact of conflict, poverty, economic decline, and natural disasters. In this context, Afghan women and girls face unique vulnerabilities and require urgent support as gender inequality is interwoven with conflict dynamics and humanitarian needs. It is essential that Afghan women and girls can continue to shape the development of their country, and that their gains are protected. UN Women remains fully committed to supporting Afghan women and girls and to putting them at the center of the global response to the crisis in Afghanistan.

UN Women has been in Afghanistan for two decades. UN Women’s programming approach is informed by analysis of the political, economic, and humanitarian situation, risks to and capacities of partner organizations, and needs of Afghan women and girls. UN Women Afghanistan currently has four key programme priorities: (1) Gender in Humanitarian Action, (2) Ending Violence Against Women, (3) Women’s Economic Empowerment, and (4) Women, Peace and Security.

In the context of the economic crises, it is key that women should engage in income generating activities (IGA). Hence, the Women’s Economic Empowerment unit (WEE), through its various programme, is improving women’s access to entrepreneurship skills, finance, and markets; provide cash for work opportunities for at risk women and enhance women’s access to employment opportunities through the provision of job readiness training, internships, and job placements in private sector entities.

Objective of the Assignment:

ACO Women’s Economic Empowerment unit is seeking to recruit an international consultant to provide support to the team for knowledge management and visibility of the programme results and lessons learned for interventions implemented under the various WEE programmes and other jointly implemented programmes in UN WOMEN Afghanistan country office. The consultant will report to the WEE Programme Manager and work collaboratively with WEE Programme Staff and other UNW ACO staff to ensure the visibility of projects implemented under the WEE portfolio.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop a Knowledge Management and visibility plan for the WEE unit in close consultation with the WEE team and main partners, which identifies and launch information opportunities, activities, approaches and platforms.
• Liaise with the UN Women M&E unit, relevant partners and beneficiaries to produce knowledge management and visibility products.
• Support the development of knowledge resources and communication materials for beneficiaries, websites and social media, both printed and digital and coordinate its dissemination through effective channels. This includes human stories, videos, articles, briefs, testimonials, info, and video graphics. In addition to projects’ info/background materials, such as fact sheet, flyer, brochure, and project card.
• Support the production of viability and promotional materials as per project needs such as banners, posters, pens, folders, notebooks, bags, etc.
• Support the data collection for the development of a digital one-stop-shop to support women create sustainable businesses on inclusive economic growth, through offering support covering the life cycle of a woman entrepreneur’s journey.
• Provide relevant visibility and communication support for WEE events including workshops, consultations, etc. In collaboration with relevant stakeholders and the UN Women Afghanistan office communication team.
• Guide and collaborate closely with communication colleagues in other offices to ensure consistency with corporate policies, messaging and initiatives.

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.

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

Functional Competencies

• In-depth knowledge of gender equality and women's rights issues and familiarity with UN Women;
• Demonstrates very good understanding of and experience in communications and knowledge management
• Excellent communications skills. Communicates sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies.
• Proven networking skills, and ability to generate interest in UN Women’s mandate;
• Demonstrated research and analytical capacity;
• Proven ability to manage diverse and complex tasks, with tight deadlines;

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in gender studies, social science, communication science or related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of relevant experience in knowledge management and strategic communications is required.
• Demonstrated experience in data collection, production of communication and visibility materials is required.
• Experience in gender equality and women empowerment is required.
• Previous experience on Women Economic Empowerment is an advantage.
• Excellent writing skills, and synthesizing research/policy reports for multiple audiences
• Work experience with UN agencies or other international organizations is an advantage.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of Dari and Pashto is an asset.
• Working knowledge of another official UN language is an asset.

Evaluation Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology: Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation.

Criteria Weight Technical: 70% (70 points)

• Education requirement:  15 points.
• 5 years of relevant experience: 15 points.
• Demonstrated experience in data collection: 10 points.
• Experience in gender equality and women empowerment 5 points.
• Experience on WEE: 5 points.
• Excellent writing skills: 5 points.
• Work experience with UN agencies 5 points.
• Fluency in English: 5 points.
• Knowledge of Dari and Pashto: 5 points.

Financial: Lowest Financial Proposal: 30% (30 points)

The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula:

• Contract will be awarded to the technically qualified consultant who obtains the highest combined score (financial and technical);

Application:

• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from Application and recruitment process | About us: Careers at UN Women | UN Women – Headquarters  Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality, and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW, and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Inclusion Statement:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employ, 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.)