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.

Part of the Strategic Partnerships Division (SPD), the Private Sector Partnerships Section Services (PSP) Section leads UN Women’s engagement with the private sector, corporations, philanthropy, foundations, and individuals - both in terms of a substantive components and resource mobilization - and it drives a wide range of UN Women’s global initiatives: HeForShe, Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and Unstereotype Alliance (UA). It also leads the work with all UN Women National Committees, and on the development of the individual/digital giving as well as Advisory Services business line for private sector. PSP’s main aims are to ensure that UN Women develops and sustains high quality and impact focused partnerships to achieve maximum results for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

UN Women has just launched a new Private Sector Engagement Strategy and to ensure knowledge is produced on the impact of this strategy and related work, UN Women’s PSP Section requires external expertise on monitoring, measuring and learning from private sector engagement. Independent, consultancy expertise is required to ensure learning processes benefit from external assessment. Under direction of the PSP Section Chief and the Private Sector Partnerships Adviser, the Private Sector Strategy and Knowledge Management Adviser (Consultant) will therefore be responsible for delivering key learning products. This will include measuring and monitoring progress towards the PSES as well as producing key knowledge products on the impact of private sector partnerships, with a focus on the HeForShe Initiative. The work will also include the design and initiation of a Flagship Report on the private sector’s role and impact on gender equality and women’s empowerment in partnership with other UN agencies and related products determined under the workplan for the new UN System Network for Private Sector Partnerships.

Duties and Responsibilities

Output 1: Develop a Results-Based Implementation Plan and learning approach for UN Women’s new Private Sector Engagement Strategy

Activities:

• Produce a draft Implementation Plan for the PSES, including an approach to measuring and monitoring the PSES – by April 2024.
• Consult with other Divisions and Departments on the above, ensuring that specific learning activities are included, with delegated roles and responsibilities – by May 2024.
• Provide training and socialization on the PSES’s Implementation Plan and approach for monitoring progress towards the PSES to key UN Women staff – by May 2024.
• Develop methodological notes and approaches for measuring the indicators in the PSES Implementation Plan and Results Framework – by May 2024.
• Produce the final Implementation Plan for the PSES – by June 2024.
• Deliver key guidance required to deliver the PSES and learning activities - such as Ethics Guidance – by July 2024.
• Produce the first annual review of the PSES against the Strategy, Implementation Plan and Results Framework by end 2024 –by November 2024.

Output 2: Produce key knowledge products for Private Sector Partnerships Section, including for the HeForShe Initiative.

Activities:

• Develop a vision and strategy (in the form of a concept note / proposal) for knowledge products to measure and gather knowledge on the impact of UN Women’s work with the private section – by April 2024.
• Contribute to the development and finalization of the key HeForShe knowledge products such as independent review of the first decade of the HeForShe Initiative, TOC for the renewed commitment for the second decade of the HeForShe Initiative and provide technical and expert support in the development of HeForShe Initiative Lab working streams on topics of women’s development and equal pay in the private sector – by April 2024.
• Develop plans for knowledge products and projects with the private sector as per the PSES commitments: i.e. deeper-dive analyses into specific areas of work and/or at least one key knowledge products/projects annually - by June 2024.
• Consolidate knowledge from practitioners in private sector engagements, and in collaboration with the private sector and other stakeholders, as per plans agreed – by August 2024.
• Produce a concept note, including a literature review annex, for the biennial Flagship Report on private sector’s contribution to gender equality and women’s empowerment for consultation internally and externally with other UN agencies – end July 2024.

• Consult with other UN agencies and private sector partners on the concept to initiate a partnership on production of the Flagship Report – September 2024.
• Develop the Inception Report for the Flagship Report, including securing additional research capacities as needed to conduct the work – December 2024.

Output 3: Develop the workplan and key products arising from the UN System Network on Private Sector Partnerships

Activities:

• Develop of Terms of Reference for the UN System Network on Private Sector Partnerships, with the Co-Chair, UNESCO – March 2024.
• Draft the workplan for the UN System Network on Private Sector Partnerships, in partnership with the Co-Chair, UNESCO and other UN partners – April 2024.
• Develop specific knowledge products and deliverables agreed under the workplan for the UN System’s Network on Private Sector Partnerships – October 2024.

Deliverables:

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 development management, business administration, organizational strategy, international relations, gender studies or another 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.
• At least 10 years of experience in strategic planning and knowledge management at the international level. 
• Proven experience producing strategic plans, knowledge management plans, results frameworks and/or monitoring and evaluation frameworks, data collection methods and tools, to measure implementation of strategic plans.
• Proven experience in results-based management of development projects, programmes or strategies, results reporting and accountability frameworks to donors and other stakeholders.
• Proven experience producing knowledge briefs, products, reports and research, with a focus on practice and practitioner-based research and knowledge.
• Experience and background in human rights based and gender responsive approaches to programming. 
• Proven experience in high level research, data collection, analysis, and communications. 
• Proven experience in writing for an international audience and producing clearly written and well-articulated strategies and reports.
• Previous experience in resource mobilization for knowledge production is an asset.
• Previous experience working in the UN system is an asset.
• Previous experience working with private sector partners is an asset.

Language:

• Fluency in oral and written English is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable

P11 and CV should also be provided, uploaded as one document in the application system.