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.

Through its programmes and projects, UN Women is providing technical assistance to national partners (governmental and non-governmental), including private sector, in the implementation of existing international and national commitments to women’s rights and gender equality, it facilitates networking and exchange of good practices and advocates for women’s rights and gender equality in all areas of life.

The work of UN Women in the Republic of Moldova is guided by its Country Strategic Note for 2023-2027, aligned with the Republic of Moldova–United Nations Partnership Framework for Sustainable Development 2018–2022, UN Women Strategic Plan 2022–2025, the National Program for Accelerating Gender Equality in the Republic of Moldova 2023-2027 and the Action Plan for its implementation, and aims to contribute to the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.    

The Country Strategic Note 2023 - 2027 focuses on four impact areas: 1. Governance & participation in Public Life 2. Economic Empowerment & Resilience, 3. Ending Violence against Women & girls, 4. Peace& Security, Humanitarian Action & Disaster Risk Reduction. To achieve progress in these areas, UN Women works with various national and international partners and as part of different national and regional initiatives. 

Gender equality and women’s empowerment are important national priorities and are also recognized as key factors in reducing poverty and achieving inclusive and sustainable growth. While policy statements, laws, and regulations often seem to be gender-neutral, they can have different impacts on women and men—and on particular subgroups of women and men—because of their different employment and livelihood activities, control of assets, household responsibilities, and prevailing gender norms and biases. Incorporating a gender lens in public sector ensures that public institutions promote gender equality and do not inadvertently reinforce gender biases and disparities. Mainstreaming can reveal a need for changes in goals, strategies and actions to ensure that both women and men can influence, participate in and benefit from development processes. This may lead to changes in organizations – structures, procedures, culture and policies to create environments which are conducive to the promotion of gender equality.

In the light of this context, UN Women has an active role in the implementation of the Programme to Promote and Ensure Equality between Women and Men in the Republic of Moldova 2023 – 2027 and the Action Plan for its implementation and aims to contribute to the gender- responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In 2022, UN Women signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State Chancellery to advance the gender mainstreaming in public policies and support the efforts of the Chancellery in adhering to the gender equality requirements integral to Moldova's EU integration agenda.

Duties and Responsibilities

In line with afore mentioned, to support this national effort, UN Women in Moldova will contract a pool of national consultants to support the public institutions in gender mainstreaming into the policies, and regulations relevant for selected institutions, from a gender perspective and identify opportunities to support gender-related policy improvements, narrow gender gaps, improve the collection of sex-disaggregated data, develop gender mainstreaming guidelines, strategies, action plan, related performance targets or indicators, resources needed to implement these sector-specific strategies/activities and appropriate implementation arrangements.

The consultants will be reporting to WEE Programme Specialist, and will be supported by WEE Project Officers, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

Deliverables

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy with potential on-site meetings with relevant stakeholders, beneficiary institutions and/or other relevant counterparts.

Payment

As full payment for the services performed by the Consultants, UN Women will pay the Consultants in accordance with the deliverables provided. Payments shall be made following certification by UN Women that the services related to each deliverable, have been satisfactorily performed and the deliverables have been achieved by or before the due dates, if any.

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/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values 

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES: 

• Proficiency in developing, managing, and adapting corporate social responsibility policies across public and private sectors.
• Ability to advocate for gender equality and promote the mainstreaming of gender perspectives within institutional and organizational frameworks.
• Analytical thinking in developing gender equality statistical indicators, implementing data collection methodologies, and utilizing data analysis to inform decision-making and stakeholder engagement.
• Effective communication skills to articulate strategic objectives, gain buy-in from stakeholders, and foster understanding and support for strategic initiatives.
• Competence in conducting research, evaluating program effectiveness, and developing monitoring and evaluation frameworks to assess progress towards gender equality goals and inform strategic planning.
• Ability to provide strategic guidance and recommendations based on expertise and understanding of gender mainstreaming related concepts and areas for improvement.
• Knowledge of labor laws, regulations, and policies, as well as understanding of labor market dynamics.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Law, Gender Studies, Social Sciences, Public Administration, International Relations, Economics or a related field.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Additional training or certification in gender mainstreaming, gender analysis, or related topics will be considered an advantage. This could include workshops, short courses, or certifications from recognized institutions or organizations specializing in gender equality and women's empowerment.

Experience: 

• At least 5 years of professional experience in the field of gender equality, women's empowerment, gender mainstreaming, and /or advocacy for equal rights or related fields is required.
• Experience developing, managing, providing advisory services in public and private sector in the fields of gender equality, gender mainstreaming is required.
• Experience in development and implementation of social strategies and policies in public or private sectors is required.
• Experience in mainstreaming gender considerations in public sector programs or projects will be considered an advantage.
• Experience working for governmental agencies, international organizations will be considered an advantage.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of Russian language is an advantage.

APPLICATION PROCESS AND SUBMISSION PACKAGE 

Interested candidates are invited to submit their online applications with the following documents:

• Personal CV or P11 (P11 can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc )
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)
• Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns, or other materials. Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment.

Please note that only short-listed applicants will be contacted.

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.

The United Nations in Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens legally entitled to work in the Republic of Moldova, are particularly encouraged to apply.