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 the regional office in Bangkok and several country and multi-country offices, UN Women builds on a long history of support to governments and women’s movements. UN Women’s programmes in Asia and the Pacific focus on ending violence against women; humanitarian action and disaster risk reduction; women’s economic empowerment and migration; governance, peace and security; gender and climate; gender statistics and HIV/AIDS. For more information about UN Women in Asia and the Pacific, please visit asiapacific.unwomen.org.
The Resource Mobilization (RM) and Partnerships team is one of the three functional teams within the External Relations Unit (covering regional RM and Partnerships, Advocacy and Communications) at UN Women’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (UN Women ROAP). The RM and Partnerships team focuses on building partnerships with both public and private sector partners, supporting country offices with their resource mobilization and donor engagement efforts, and building the capacity of country-level RM and partnerships focal points.
The RM and Partnerships team is looking for highly skilled proposal writer consultant(s) with a proven track record of developing high quality proposals for traditional donors to support grant development efforts of the regional office, country offices and programme presences, based on needs, to facilitate resource mobilization.
The consultant(s) will report to the Head of External Relations or hiring managers of country offices, who will be supported by the RM and Partnerships Coordinator as the point of contact for contract and payment issues.
Note: The service will be rendered on “on call” basis. UN Women does not warrant that the maximum of contract amount will be purchased during the term of the Agreement. While on retainer, there is no guarantee of work, and selected consultants retain the right to decline assignments based on their availability and expertise.
Duties and Responsibilities
Description of Responsibilities/Scope of Work
In alignment with donor priorities and submission requirements, the consultant(s) will support UN Women ROAP, country offices and/or programme presences with drafting, editing, and finalizing competitive and high quality solicited and unsolicited proposals, concept notes and other materials for timely submission to major international donors such as, but not limited to: Australia (DFAT), EU, New Zealand (MFAT), Japan, United Kingdom and pooled funds such as the Women, Peace and Humanitarian Fund.
In particular, the consultant(s) are expected to carry out the following tasks:
- Provide relevant analysis of the donor guidelines and templates to the team to guide the preparation of submissions and needed technical, administrative and financial inputs.
- Following UN Women’s technical guidance, manage the full cycle of proposal/concept note development, including:
- Planning and requesting for the relevant contributions from the programmes, finance, administrative and partnerships teams as per the call’s requirements;
- Following up on the needed technical, financial or administrative inputs and reviews from the team to complete the application;
- Drafting the initial materials needed for the application for the technical team’s reviews;
- After UN Women’s review, reflecting feedback and consolidating the team’s various contributions towards the finalization of the application documents;
- Ensuring quality check and final consistency in regard to the donor language and requirements of the call for proposals;
- Delivering the finalized package to the requesting team for submission.
Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel
This is a home-based consultancy.
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 UN Women and international development issues, particularly those related to gender and women’s empowerment.
- Sound knowledge of key international donors’ funding mechanisms and regulations, including, but not limited to Australia (DFAT), EU, New Zealand (MFAT), Japan, United Kingdom and pooled funds such as the Women, Peace and Humanitarian Fund.
- Excellent writing skills in English: demonstrated track record in writing proposals securing six and seven figure funding from public sources.
- Strong understanding of programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and results-based management principles.
- Strong research capacity (mainly on internet); interpreting, analyzing, complex international development issues and representing such information in a clear and concise written manner.
- Ability to adhere to tight deadlines and manage multiple projects simultaneously while being autonomous.
- Ability to exercise discretion and maintain confidentiality.
Required Skills and Experience
Education and Certification:
- Master’s degree or equivalent in Development Studies, Gender, Social Sciences, Public Policy, Project Management or a 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 7 years of progressively responsible work experience in proposal writing is required.
- Experience of proposal writing on gender-related issues is a strong asset.
- A proven track-record of successful proposals submitted to one or more of the following donors is required: Australia (DFAT), EU, New Zealand (MFAT), Japan, United Kingdom and/or pooled funds such as the Women, Peace and Humanitarian Fund.
- Previous work experience with the UN, including UN Women, or other development agencies is an asset.
- Experience working on similar assignments in Asia and the Pacific will be considered an advantage.
Languages:
- Fluency in English is required.
How to Apply:
- 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)
- An example of a successful proposal will be requested from shortlisted candidates.
Payments:
Payments for this consultancy will be based on the achievement of the agreed deliverables and certification that each has been satisfactorily completed. Payments will be based on the agreed number of days worked within the indicated timeframes. Payments will be made upon submission of deliverables with the approval of the Head of External Relations or the hiring managers of country offices in case of engagement by country offices.
Diversity and Inclusion 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.)