The Position:
National Consultant- Junior Expert on Strengthening Women-led Businesses and CSOs
You will report to WPS Project Manager
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How you can make a difference:
UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.ย UNFPAโs strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to โbuild forward betterโ, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on womenโs and girlsโ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.
In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.
UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.
Job Purpose:
UNFPA, as part of the joint UN project โWomen lead the way towards peace and security in Bosnia and Herzegovina,โ is launching a targeted intervention to strengthen the institutional resilience and financial sustainability of civil society organizations (CSOs) who are working with conflict-affected and marginalized women, including survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). Recognizing the critical frontline role played by CSOs in ensuring access to rights-based services, such as psychosocial support, legal aid, and sexual and reproductive health, the initiative seeks to equip them with the tools to build alternative income streams, enhance their strategic positioning, and reduce dependency on short-term donor funding.
Despite their essential role in ensuring access to rights-based services, many CSOs remain under-resourced and excluded from institutional partnerships. This initiative aims to address these barriers by piloting social enterprise models, enhancing strategic visibility and advocacy, and supporting the development of sustainable income streams aligned with the WPS agenda.
To achieve this, UNFPA will engage a national consultant with demonstrated experience in accompanying women-led business and civil society organizations in the practical development of sustainable income-generating models, improvement of their public visibility, and strengthening of their institutional branding. The consultant will provide hands-on support in the delivery of activities, including contributing to training preparations, co-facilitating sessions, mentoring CSOs in areas such as business planning, storytelling, and outreach, and supporting the refinement of individual organizational approaches. The consultantโs role is focused on applied capacity strengthening and delivery, while the entire initiative will be delivered jointly with senior expert who will be providing strategic guidance and thematic leadership. This ToR outlines the consultantโs responsibilities and expected contributions to the initiative.
You would be responsible for:
The National Consultant will be responsible for the following:
Task 1: Development of Workplan and Technical Preparation
โ Under supervision of the UNFPA programmatic team and senior expert, contribute to development of a detailed implementation plan for the initiative, including sequencing of activities, thematic framing, and expected outputs.
โ Support the evaluation and selection of CSOs to participate in the training programme, based on agreed criteria and methodology.
โ In consultation with UNFPA, support development of pre and post evaluation.
โ Contribute to development of detailed training agendas for the two capacity-building workshops:
โ Training I: Business Planning and Financial Sustainability of CSOs.
โ Training II: Access to Public Funding and Grants, Advocacy and Visibility.
โ Contribute to the drafting and refinement of the public call for CSO participation in the programme, including eligibility criteria, application templates, and scoring sheets.
โ Support the evaluation and selection of CSOs to participate in the training programme, based on agreed criteria and methodology.
Task 2: Delivery of Training Programme
โ Under supervision of senior expert, co-facilitate delivery of two two-days long training, aligned with approved workplan.
โ Contribute to development of post-training reports. This will include documentation of session content and methods, key feedback and learning from participants, recommendations for follow-up mentoring or adaptation.
Task 3: Mentoring of CSOs
โ Provide tailored mentoring to CSOs between the two training cycles, focusing on business development, public funding access, storytelling and outreach, and institutional positioning.
โ Co-facilitate delivery of online one-on-one or small group mentoring sessions based on CSO needs and readiness.
โ Contribute to development and/or adaptation of individual CSO business and advocacy plans based on feedback and feasibility.
โ Contribute to delivery of key conclusions and summary after mentoring sessions to participants and UNFPA.
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Qualifications and Experience:ย
Education:ย ย
University degree in Social Sciences, Economy, Gender Studies, or related fields
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Knowledge and Experience:ย
โ At least 2 years of professional experience in womenโs economic empowerment
โ Proven track record in mentoring or accompanying CSOs or social enterprises in strategy development, visibility, or access to funding
โ Demonstrated experience in designing and delivering capacity-building programmes for CSOs and women-led businesses
โ Excellent consultation and involvement skills
โ Strong analytical skills
โ Strong report writing skills
โ Excellent communication skills and teamwork skills
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Languages:ย
Fluency in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian and proficiency in English (spoken and written) is required
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Required Competencies:ย
Values:
ย ย Exemplifying integrity, ย
ย ย Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system,ย
ย ย Embracing cultural diversity,ย
ย ย Embracing change
Core Competencies:ย
ย ย Achieving results,
ย ย Being accountable,
ย ย Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen,
ย ย Thinking analytically and strategically,
ย ย Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships,
Functional Competencies:
โ Strong facilitation and mentoring skills, with demonstrated ability to tailor approaches to diverse organizational capacities.
โ Excellent analytical and strategic planning skills.
โ Strong report writing skills, including ability to produce concise and action-oriented documentation.
โ Knowledge of gender-sensitive and survivor-centered approaches is highly desirable.
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Compensation and Benefits:
UNFPA reserves the right to offer to the selected candidate the rate in accordance with UNFPA consultant rates and UNFPA available budget. Payment for contractors will not exceed average UNFPA rates for national consultants.
UNFPA Work Environment:
UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click hereย to learn more.
Disclaimer:
Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements.ย
UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts.ย
Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.