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. UN Women’s office in Nigeria works to advance implementation of the agency’s normative, operational and coordination mandate, in close partnership with the Government of Nigeria, the United Nations Country Team and civil society organizations.  The UN Women Nigeria Country Office prioritizes women’s economic empowerment as one of its core programmatic areas of focus. UN Women’s efforts to enhance women’s economic empowerment in the recent past has included support to women entrepreneurs, facilitating women’s financial inclusion, and supporting women in agricultural activities.

Nigeria has one of the highest numbers of female entrepreneurs in the world. Yet, women-owned businesses do not secure procurement contracts, suggesting systematic gender disparities in the procurement systems of both government and private sector organizations. The consensus on the positive correlation between gender equality and the socio-economic environment of a country calls for incentives to ensure equal opportunities for women entrepreneurs and their male counterparts, for instance, preferential treatment for marginalized groups when it comes to procurement of goods and services. The project Women’s Economic Empowerment through Affirmative Procurement Reform in West and Central Africa was launched to support women’s economic empowerment through enhanced opportunities for women-led businesses to access public procurement and corporate supply chains. The project integrates affirmative procurement initiatives in the context of COVID-19 response and recovery strategies. It supports reform and institutional strengthening to improve women-led businesses' access to public procurement and supports the development of gender-responsive procurement initiatives as part of the COVID-19 response strategies. It was designed as a catalyst to support an enabling environment for women to work and be financially independent and enhance government officials' capacities to formulate and implement gender-responsive policies. Gender-responsive policies are crucial to achieving sustainable development, as they enable women and girls to participate fully in and benefit equally from socioeconomic opportunities. address the underlying causes of vulnerability, including gender inequality.

Within the project, UN Women has supported a review of a number of legal frameworks which promotes the economic stability of business women; these includes: the Women Economic Empowerment Policy, Gender Responsive Procurement Policy of Lagos State, Nigeria and many others, to ensure sustainability of the project in Lagos States as well as monitoring the progress on implementation of the different policies in the State, there is a need to establish a robust team comprising of women leaders in this thematic area to provide strategic leadership in driving the advocacy and monitoring government interventions targeted at women’s economic empowerment especially as relate to promoting social capital and women’s entrepreneurial growth in the state. 

In line with UN Women’s coordination mandate, and as part of project exit strategy, the coalition will work with existing state institutions to push for approval of the state policies, monitor government interventions and promote the economic rights of women entrepreneurs in the state. Also, the coalition would be expected to push for the domestication of available legal frameworks that support women’s economic empowerment in the state. The coalition will in turn serve as key connectors to government and businesses and help to create a strong enabling environment for civil society organizations, democracy, and the rights of citizen action and participation.

Specifically, the coalition will focus on the following actions:

• Create awareness on issues limiting women economic empowerment in the state.
• Identify barriers to economic empowerment in the state.
• Work collaboratively to identify and take actions to address these barriers leveraging on the available policy instruments to address identified issues.
• Drive advocacy for the approval and domestication/adoption of the policies in the state
• Monitor the implementation of the approved/adopted state policies on women’s economic empowerment.

Duties and Responsibilities

Deliverables / Scope of Work

• Accurate administrative and coordination support provided on time, on scope and on budget.
• Provide timely and accurate support, planning and organization of coalition activities;
• Successfully organized advocacy engagements and meetings with few to no logistical or operational issues;
• Quality presentations, communications, and reports;
• Full compliance of administrative activities with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures.

Development Objective

To enhance the socio-economic empowerment of women in Lagos State through the approval and domestication of key policies, including the Affirmative Procurement Policy, the National Policy on Women's Economic Empowerment and Action Plan, and the development of a Care Policy, thereby fostering an inclusive and supportive ecosystem for women's economic participation and well-being.

Immediate objective

To secure the approval and domestication of the Affirmative Procurement Policy, the National Policy on Women's Economic Empowerment and Action Plan, and the development of a Care Policy in Lagos State through targeted advocacy campaigns and strategic engagement with relevant government institutions.

Outputs

Under the direct guidance and overall supervision of the Programme Specialist, Women Economic Empowerment, the Administrative consultant will undertake the tasks outlined in section five below. To facilitate the delivery of the above outputs, UN Women will provide consultants with available documents and relevant templates.

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: 

• Knowledge of basic procurement processes, systems, administrative rules, and regulations.
• Ability to write briefs and reports
• Knowledge in the use of spreadsheets and database packages.
• Ability to work well under pressure and minimal supervision and meet deadlines.
• Ability to administer and execute administrative processes and transactions.
• Ability to perform work of a confidential nature and handle a large volume of work.
• Good IT and web-based management skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Secondary education is required; University Degree is an advantage, but not required;

Experience:

• A minimum of 6 years of administrative support and office management
• Proven experience in planning and executing a diverse range of events, including webinars, annual meetings, expert group meetings, workshops and conferences is required.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities simultaneously.
• International experience working in the front office of a senior official in the United Nations or similar International Organization, providing direct administrative support is an advantage.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) is required; familiarity with UNW’s ERP system Quantum is an advantage.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.

How to Apply

• 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.

The above-mentioned documents should be merged in a standalone file including all them, since the online application submission does only permit to upload one file per application. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification.

Qualified women and men and members of minorities are encouraged to apply. UN Women applies fair and transparent selection process that would take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals.

Notes:

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.

Diversity and inclusion:

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 based on 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.)