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 South Africa Multi-Country Office (SAMCO) is based in Pretoria, South Africa and covers 5 countries (Botswana, Lesotho Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland). SAMCO works with the government, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the Private Sector to contribute to gender equality through the formulation and implementation of norms, laws, policies, programmes, and services that ensure the human rights of women and girls and increase economic participation. SAMCOโs programmes include increasing womenโs political participation and leadership, securing womenโs economic rights, strengthening women's involvement in peacebuilding, ending violence against women, and making government budgets and policies gender responsive.
The EntreprenHer to Accelerate Womenโs Owned Micro Enterprise Phase 3 programme has been designed to target 1500 women entrepreneurs in the informal sector who have been adversely affected by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the rising unemployment and inequality in the region. The 3-year programme (2023-2026) is proposed to be implemented in South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia.
The overall goal of the programme is to equip 1500 low-income women entrepreneurs (micro-entrepreneurs across the 3 countries with business skills that contribute to managing their enterprises, create decent jobs and acquire income security and/or autonomy.ย
Key Programme Objectives:
- Increase capacity in business and life skills of programme participants to successfully manage their enterprises and improve the quality of their livelihoods.
- Advocate for and apply policies and strategies that advance the economic empowerment of women micro-enterprises.
- Leverage innovation and technologies to improve access to markets for micro women enterprises such as the www.buyfromwomen.org online platform and introduce digital literacy as part of the programme.
- Increase communication and advocacy for visibility and replication of AWOME programme model.
- Technical and institutional support will be provided to the Implementing Partners to enhance the efficiency in the implementation and operationalization of the AWOME model.
- Expose women farmers to adopt Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) technologies that will enhance productivity and increase resilience among the women farmers.
- Facilitate the exposure of women farmers to networks, information, and capacity-building opportunities in male-dominated sectors.
- Provide programme participants with exposure to both foundational and advanced digital skills training.
The consultant will be reporting to the Programme Manager EntreprenHer and will be supported by the Programme Analyst who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.ย
Scope of work
To enhance capacity and accelerate women entrepreneurs in the informal sector, management support is provided to the UN Women programme called the EntreprenHer to Accelerate Womenโs Owned Micro Enterprise Phase 3 (2024-2026). The incumbent will coordinate with the municipalities of Blouberg and Musina to provide training and post-training support to 270 entrepreneurs operating in the informal sector in the second year of the programme.
Description of Responsibilities
The Consultant will lead the training component of the EntreprenHER programme for the duration of the contract in South Africa, specifically in the Limpopo Province, focusing on the Musina and Blouberg municipalities. Below are the duties and responsibilities.
- Training Needs Assessment:
- Conduct a trainersโ needs assessment using the baseline data tool for the 72 female mobilized entrepreneurs to tailor the training content and approach effectively.
- Onboarding Entrepreneurs on the Management Information System (MIS):
- Facilitate the onboarding of the women entrepreneurs onto the programmeโs MIS platform. This will involve close collaboration with the Implementing Partner and UN Women staff to ensure seamless integration and user support.
- Prepare and Conduct Training:
- Prepare and deliver Start, Generate, and Improve Your Business (SGIYB) training sessions for the 270 women entrepreneurs, ensuring quality facilitation and engagement.
- Reporting and Documentation:
- Generate detailed reports from the SGIYB training sessions, including:
- Training Report: Outline the delivery process, attendance, and key outcomes.
- Post-Training Evaluation Report: Highlight programme impact, challenges, and actionable recommendations for future training cycles.
- Logistics Facilitation for Additional Trainings:
- Coordinate and facilitate logistics for other post SIYB post training interventions. Including but limited to:
- Advanced Digital Literacy Training/ Workshop.
- Climate Smart Agriculture Training.
- Male-Dominated Sectors Intervention.
- MIS Updates and Maintenance:
- Mentorship:
Contractual Arrangement:
The Consultant will be contracted on a 8 months retainer contract, which facilitates direct engagement of the consultant depending on the need and availability within the contract period. The fee will be disbursed as a lump sum multiplied by the number of days agreed upon and worked for each assignment.
This arrangement will ensure consistent availability and flexibility to meet the programmeโs evolving needs throughout the duration of the contract.
Deliverables: Deliverables No of days (indicate by when) Amount/Currency(%)
Training Materials:
- Basic Digital Literacy Training Material
- SIYB Training Materials
- Inception Reportย By 30th June 2025 (Musina and Blouberg)
10%
Improve Your Business Training:
- Validated Baseline Data of 2025 beneficiaries
- Trainee Individualized Action Plans (according to total number of individuals trained)
- Attendance Registers (according to total number of individuals trained)
- Training Reportย
By 31st August (Musina)
By 31 August (Blouberg)
40%
Start and Generate Your Business Trainings
- Validated Baseline Data of 2025 beneficiaries
- Trainee Individualized Action Plans (according to total number of individuals trained)
- Attendance Registers (according to total number of individuals trained)
- Training Reportย
By 30 September (Musina)
By 30th September (Blouberg)
40%
Technical Supportย
- Climate Smart Agriculture Training In-person
- Virtual and In-Person National Community of Practice
- Male Dominated Sector Workshop/Training
- Attendance registers (according to total number of individuals trained)
- ย Final Reportย ย
By 30 November (Musina)
By 30 November (Blouberg)
10% Total ย
100%ย
Consultantโs Workplace and Official Travel
This home-based consultancy assignment will involve trips to the Musina and Blouberg municipalities on a as needed basis. These trips are essential for conducting activities outlined in the 2025 EntreprenHER implementation plan.
In case of any official trip,ย approved by the office, the travel-related costs will be covered per the associated duty travel policy.\"
Competencies :
Core Values:
- Integrity;
- Professionalism;
- Respect for Diversity.
Core Competencies:
- Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
- Accountability;
- Creative Problem Solving;
- Effective Communication;
- Inclusive Collaboration;
- Stakeholder Engagement;
- Leading by Example.
Please visitย this linkย for more information on UN Womenโs Values and Competencies Framework:ย
Functional Competencies:
- Ability to establish, build and sustain effective relationships with clients;ย
- Strong training skills;
- Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats, using appropriate IT functionality;ย
- Strong research and communication skills;
- Strong interpersonal skills.
- Strong commitment to and good understanding of gender equality, womenโs empowerment issues and implementation of community focused initiatives.
Required Qualifications
- Completion of secondary education required.
- Bachelorโs degree in social sciences, human rights, and gender/womenโs studies.
- ILO Start and Improve Your Business (SGIYB) Trainer Certification will be and added advantage.
Experience:
- At least 5 yearsโ experience in working directly with communities on the ground in gender equality and women empowerment and experience in training women owned businesses at a micro level;
- Experience in facilitating and conducting trainings on gender equality and women economic experience business trainings is required;
- Excellent analytical skills with strong drive for results and capacity to work independently;
- Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) is required;ย
- Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable
Languages
- Fluency in English is required and local language.
- Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable
Statements :
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,ย and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age,ย ability, national origin,ย 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 toย UN Womenโsย policiesย and proceduresย andย theย standardsย of conduct expected of UN Women personnelย 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.)
Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.
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- Coordinate and facilitate logistics for other post SIYB post training interventions. Including but limited to:
- Generate detailed reports from the SGIYB training sessions, including:
- Training Needs Assessment: