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 - in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and European Commission - is implementing the regional programme “Win-Win: Gender Equality Means Good Business” to contribute to the economic empowerment of women, recognizing them as beneficiaries and partners of growth and development, by increasing commitment of private companies to gender equality and women´s empowerment and strengthening companies’ capacities to implement these commitments. The programme will ultimately contribute to the achievement of gender equality through enabling women’s labour force participation, entrepreneurship, economic empowerment and thus their full and equal participation in society.
Targeting women led enterprises and networks, multi-national companies, and relevant stakeholders in Europe and selected Latin American and Caribbean countries, the project will promote business links, joint ventures and innovation between women from both regions, while supporting inter-regional dialogue and exchange of good practices to increase the capacity of the private sector more broadly in the implementation of gender equal business.
The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited, in a 2015 report entitled “Private Sector Development in The Caribbean: A Regional Overview” referred to a scoping study of gender and enterprise development conducted by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The study noted that the Caribbean is characterized by low levels of labour market participation by women. Moreover, where women do participate in the labour market, it is mainly as employees and in low-growth, low-status and low-paying sectors. The suggested reason for this is the high level of gender stereotyping in the Caribbean, which has led to women being segregated educationally and consequently also occupationally and sectorally; this is even though women dominate tertiary education enrolment across the region. A recent study by the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI), an economics focused think tank, found that Jamaican women have less access to paid work and resources than men do and bear the largest responsibility for unpaid reproductive work. The study showed clearly that the allocation of Jamaican women's time to unpaid care work has a negative correlation with their labour force participation rates, labour exclusion and gender pay gaps.
The guiding platform to achieve gender equality is the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), launched in 2010 by UN Women and the UN Global Compact. The WEPs are a set of Principles for business offering guidance on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community. They emphasize the business case for corporate action to promote gender equality and women's empowerment and are informed by real-life business practices and inputs gathered from across the globe.
In Jamaica, a total of thirty companies have signed the UN Women/UN Global Compact Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs) CEO Statement of Support. Having demonstrated their high-level commitment to women’s empowerment and gender equality, it will be necessary to navigate these companies along the WEPs pathway enabling them to translate their commitments into corporate plans that are integrated throughout the business and across the value chain.
Duties and Responsibilities
The consultancy is under Win-Win Activity 1.1.2: to build the supply side of procurement capacities of women entrepreneurs and businesswomen to compete for procurement opportunities with companies (training and peer to peer exchange). The procurement capacity of women in coffee will also be addressed. The consultant will be contracted to conduct two 1.5 or 2-day training workshops (either hybrid virtual and physical or fully virtual) primarily for selected entrepreneurs/WEPs companies in gender-responsive procurement (supply side).
Under the overall supervision of the UN Women MCO - Caribbean Representative and reporting directly to the National Private Sector Specialist, the consultant will conduct the following tasks:
- Prepare an inception report and workplan, including timeline and methodology
- Develop and implement capacity development plan which includes training activities
- Develop Procurement Guide specifically targeting female entrepreneurs and business women.
- Prepare and submit Training Evaluation Report
- Provide weekly email updates to UN Women on the progress made, identify challenges and request support as needed.
The consultant must be equipped with a fully-functional laptop, which must run at least Windows 7. The consultant must be reasonably accessible by email and telephone (preferably mobile). The use of reliable, internet-based telecommunications application software (Skype or equivalent) is required.
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:
Functional Competencies:
- Ability to support the design and development of training and educational material for a professional audience.
- Knowledge of Results-Based Management principles and approaches, including gender mainstreaming.
- Ability to maintain networks and partnerships with key private sector partners.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Postgraduate degree in public administration, law, economics, human rights, gender equality, management, social sciences or other related areas is required. In lieu of a post-graduate degree, 8 years of practical experience working in gender issues may be considered in addition to a Bachelor’s degree.
Experience:
- At least seven (5) years’ experience in gender and development;
- At least seven (7) years of experience conducting procurement-related activities;
- At least three (3) years’ experience working in private sector companies` environment and corporate management practices and policies;
- Demonstrated knowledge of gender-responsive procurement
- Demonstrated experience in development of at least 4 training materials and delivery of at least 4 training sessions to a broad cross-section of participants
Languages:
- Fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of Spanish is an asset.
Desirable Skills:
- Prior experience in the private sector and in the Caribbean is preferred.
APPLICATION
Please submit relevant work samples.
Note:
- Submissions to UNDP Jobs are limited to a maximum of 10 MB, virus-free or corrupted contents to avoid rejection, and no more than 1 email transmission.
- All applications must be submitted through UNDP jobs. Please do not send applications to UN Women staff as they will not be accepted.
UN Women is committed to diversity in the world of work in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, nationality and culture. Women and others belonging to groups of people of African descent, indigenous people, LGBTTI, with disabilities, living with HIV and other vulnerable groups are encouraged to present themselves.