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. In Kenya, UN Women's mandate is to lead, promote, and coordinate efforts to advance women's rights and empowerment within the UN system and among various stakeholders.
With support from the government of UAE, UN Women is implementing a gender-responsive procurement programme that seeks to economically empower women by ensuring governments and the private sector institutions adopt and implement gender-responsive procurement laws, legislation and policies and increase procurement spend from women-owned, led and gender-responsive businesses.
The programme aims to empower women entrepreneurs by supporting the integration of their businesses into corporate and public sector supply chains in Kenya, regionally and globally. The programme aims to advance gender-responsive procurement to empower women economically through strengthened global norms, enhanced women's entrepreneurial capacities, stakeholder collaboration, and evidence based tools. Key programme outputs include:
Output 1: Global norms, standards and frameworks for Gender-Responsive Procurement are strengthened and regional, national and local level uptake and implementation supported
Output 2: Women’s capacities to start and grow their enterprises supported in Kenya
Output 3: Women’s organizations, procurement and supply chain actors and other stakeholders, such as regional economic commissions, convened to build support for gender-responsive procurement
Output 4: Procurement and supply chain actors equipped with the data, evidence and knowledge to practice gender responsive procurement.
Public and private procurement represents trillions of shillings in spending globally, yet women-owned and women-led businesses continue to receive a disproportionately small share of these opportunities. Globally, women-owned businesses secure just 1% of procurement contracts across both public and private sectors. Only 4% of companies set specific procurement targets for women-owned enterprises, and less than 5% offer training to help women compete in formal bidding processes. Even more concerning, only 9% of companies track procurement spend with women-owned businesses, and a mere 6% publicly report on it (UN Women, 2022).
The Kenya 2010 Constitution outlines procurement principles under Article 227, emphasizing fairness, equity, transparency, and cost-effectiveness. The Public Procurement And Asset Disposal Act (2015) mandates 30% of government contracts to be reserved for women, youth, and persons with disabilities via the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) Programme.
In Kenya, public procurement is governed by the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act (PPADA) 2015, which aligns with Article 227 of the 2010 Constitution, but with no standardized Supplier Code of Conduct (SCoCs) explicitly mandated across all public procuring entities. Instead, ethical and business conduct standards are embedded in various regulations and guidelines including the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) which oversees compliance with procurement laws and the Public Officers Ethics Act, 2003 which outlines a code of conduct for public officers, including procurement officials. In addition, the Kenya Institute of Supplies Management (KISM), under the Supplies Practitioners Management Act, enforces a professional Code of Ethics for procurement practitioners. Further, in the private sector, Supplier Codes of Conduct are not uniformly standardized and vary by organization.
While Kenya has regulatory frameworks and ethical guidelines for procurement in both sectors, there is no standardized, gender-responsive Supplier Code of Conduct universally applied. Public sector procurement relies on constitutional principles, PPADA regulations, and KISM’s Code of Ethics, but enforcement and gender-specific criteria are weak. In the private sector, SCoCs are ad hoc, with limited adoption of gender-responsive standards.
Further, Kenya lacks a standardized, comprehensive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework specifically designed for gender-responsive procurement. Public sector monitoring through the PPRA and AGPO Secretariat provides some oversight, but it is not tailored to GRP and lacks gender-disaggregated data. In the private sector, M&E is ad hoc, with limited adoption of gender-responsive metrics.
Based on the above context, UN Women’s ongoing programme on gender-responsive procurement aims to address this gap by developing a robust M&E framework to track the implementation and impact of gender-responsive procurement initiatives and a standardized Supplier Codes of Conduct to provide standardized standards and guidelines on ethical and business practices that suppliers, especially those engaging with the programme should adhere to.
Gender-responsive procurement (GRP) is the sustainable selection of goods, services, and works from women-owned or women-led and gender-responsive businesses. It is geared towards providing a transformative opportunity to foster inclusive sourcing strategies that prioritize women-led/owned enterprises. GRP is believed to promote gender equality while delivering significant business outcomes. Organizations implementing GRP experience enhanced supply chain resilience, reduced procurement costs, improved brand reputation, and greater innovation (UN Women, 2022; BSR, 2021).
Key Objective
The primary objective of this consultancy is to develop a robust monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework to effectively track the implementation and impact of Gender-Responsive Procurement initiatives in Kenya, ensuring alignment with national and county government and private sector systems, and creating a standardized Supplier Code of Conduct that provides clear, ethical, and gender-responsive standards and guidelines for suppliers participating in the programme, thereby enhancing equitable access for women-owned/led businesses and advancing gender equality in public and private sector procurement processes.
Specific Objectives
1. Develop a comprehensive, gender-responsive M&E framework with measurable indicators and targets to track the implementation and impact of Gender-Responsive Procurement initiatives in Kenya, ensuring alignment with national, county, and private sector procurement systems.
2. Create an M&E plan specifying data collection tools, sources, frequency, disaggregation, reporting, and data use to monitor outcomes and outputs of Gender-Responsive Procurement initiatives.
3. Formulate a standardized, ethical, and gender-responsive Supplier Code of Conduct to provide clear guidelines for suppliers, enhancing equitable access for women-owned/led businesses.
4. Conduct stakeholder consultations with government, private sector, women’s organizations, and procurement bodies to ensure alignment and buy-in for the M&E framework and Supplier Code of Conduct
5. Develop capacity-building guidelines and an implementation roadmap to support stakeholders in adopting and rolling out the M&E framework and Supplier Code of Conduct.
Expected Outputs
The consultant is expected to deliver the following:
1. Monitoring and Evaluation Framework: A comprehensive, gender-responsive M&E framework, with measurable indicators and targets, tailored to track the implementation and impact of Gender-Responsive Procurement (GRP) initiatives in Kenya, aligned with national and county government procurement monitoring systems and private sector practices. Further, propose ways and means for integrating them with existing procurement monitoring systems in the public and private sector.
2. Monitoring & Evaluation Plan-An M&E plan informed by the outcomes and outputs in the M&E Framework including indicators and targets. The plan should define the data collection tools, sources of data, frequency of data collection, data disaggregation frequency of reporting, data use, etc.
3. Standardized Supplier Code of Conduct: A clear, ethical, and gender-responsive Supplier Codes of Conduct, providing standardized guidelines for suppliers, particularly those engaging with UN Women’s GRP programme, align with procurement practitioners code of ethics in public and private sector to enhance equitable access for women-owned/led businesses.
4. Stakeholder engagement report: A report documenting consultations with key stakeholders, including government entities, private sector actors, women’s organizations, and procurement bodies, to ensure alignment and buy-in for the M&E framework and the Standardized Supplier Codes of Conduct.
5. Capacity-building guidelines and implementation roadmap: Recommendations for training and capacity building activities to support stakeholders in adopting and implementing the M&E framework and Supplier Codes of Conduct, and a detailed plan outlining steps for rolling out the same.
Activities/Scope of Work
Under the direct supervision of the Women’s Economic Empowerment Specialist-Gender-Responsive Procurement, and with technical support from the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, the consultant will conduct the following activities:
1. Desk review and contextual analysis:
- Review existing procurement frameworks in both public and private sectors, including the Kenya Constitution (2010), Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act (2015) and Regulations (2020), AGPO program, PPRA guidelines, KISM Code of Ethics, and private sector SCoC.
- Analyze global best practices in GRP and M&E frameworks to inform the development process.
- Identify gaps in current public and private sector procurement systems related to gender-responsiveness and M&E.
2. Stakeholder consultations
- Engage with key stakeholders, including National Treasury, PPRA, KISM, national and county governments, private sector entities, women’s organizations, and women-owned/led businesses.
- Conduct focus group discussions, and key informant interviews to gather insights on needs, challenges, and opportunities for GRP.
- Ensure inclusive representation of Leaving no one behind (LNOB) groups such as women entrepreneurs, youth, and persons with disabilities during data collection.
3. Development of monitoring and evaluation framework and plan
- Design a gender-responsive M&E framework with clear indicators, data collection methods, and reporting mechanisms to track GRP implementation and impact.
- Incorporate gender-disaggregated data and metrics aligned with programme outputs (e.g. increased procurement spend on women-owned businesses).
- Ensure compatibility with existing national and county government M&E systems and private sector practices. • Develop an M&E plan informed by the outcomes and outputs in the M&E Framework including clear indicators and targets.
4. Development of Supplier Codes of Conduct (SCoC)
- Draft a standardized Supplier Codes of Conduct that integrates ethical, business, and gender-responsive standards for suppliers.
- Include provisions for equitable access, non-discrimination, transparency, and accountability, with a focus on empowering women-owned/led businesses and gender-responsive businesses.
- Align the Supplier Codes of Conduct with national regulations such as PPADA, KISM Code of Ethics and international best practices.
5. Development of a Pre-Investment Gender-Responsive Screening Tools
- Develop a pre-investment gender-responsive tool to assist organizations in evaluating the potential impact of their investments on gender equality before they are made.
- Develop a Post-Investment Gender Impact Assessment Tool to enable organizations to measure the impact of their investments on gender equality after they have been implemented.
6. Capacity-building and implementation roadmap:
- Develop guidelines for training procurement officers, suppliers, and stakeholders on the M&E framework and SCoC.
- Create a roadmap for rolling out the M&E framework and SCoC, including timelines, resource requirements, and monitoring mechanisms.
Geographical Scope
The consultant will conduct the study at national and county levels, focusing on procurement practices within the public and private institutions.
Methodology: The consultant will employ mixed methods, including quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, desk reviews of existing procurement tools, standards and M&E frameworks within the public and private sectors.
Timeframe: The study should be completed within ten weeks falling between 11th August-and 15th October 2025).
Timeline and deliverables
Deliverable
Expected completion
time
Payment Schedule
Inception report with work plan, tools and timelines. The
consultant should submit an inception report capturing
5 working days
1stinstalment of the
consultancy fee - 20%
relevant information such as proposed methods, sampling and data collection procedure, schedule of task matrix, and background information. In addition to the workplan, include
the tools to be used in data gathering
after submission of the inception report2
Draft Tools, Standards and M&E Framework and Plan -Submit draft tools for review, including Standardized Supplier Code of Conduct, Pre-Investment Screening Tool, Post-Investment Assessment Tool, M&E Framework, M&E plan, GRP Tools and Guidelines (e.g. evaluation criteria)
End of week5
2nd instalment of the consultancy fee - 30% after submission of the draft report and raw data
Submit raw collected data in machine-readable format such as Word Document, CSV or Excel
Presentation and validation of report: Deliver a presentation to UN Women and key stakeholders summarizing findings and recommendations. Further, conduct a validation workshop with key stakeholders (both public and private) before the final report. i.e. after the drafts have been prepared and
undergone internal validation by UNW.
End of week7
Final Comprehensive Report-The consultant should submit a comprehensive report that integrates feedback given on the draft report during validation exercise, and includes Standardized Supplier Code of Conduct, Pre-Investment Screening Tool, Post-Investment Assessment Tool, M&E
Framework, M&E plan and GRP Tools and Guidelines
End of week8
3rd and final instalment of the consultancy fee- 50% after submission of the final comprehensive report, and the stakeholder engagement report
Stakeholder Engagement Report-Submit a report documenting stakeholder engagements and recommendations for improving procurement systems
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 visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework:
Functional Competencies:
- Very strong background in gender and women’s economic empowerment approaches, including GRP
- Experience in assessing the impact of policies, strategies and measures from a gender perspective.
- Proven analytical and research skills with an understanding of quantitative/qualitative methods and data analysis.
- Ability to manage time and meet tight deadlines.
- Focuses on impact and results for the client and responds positively to feedback.
- Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills.
Required Qualifications
Education
- A Master’s degree in gender studies, procurement, supply chain management, development studies, economics, 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 experience in developing gender-related tools, policies, and or frameworks.
- Expertise in designing monitoring and evaluation frameworks for development programs, preferably related to gender equality or procurement.
- Demonstrated experience with data collection and analysis methodologies, and practical use of digital M&E systems and tools.
- Familiarity with the Women’s Empowerment Principles, UN Women’s Gender-Responsive Procurement frameworks, and Kenya’s procurement policies and frameworks such as the 2010 Constitution, AGPO, Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act 2015.
- Proven ability to facilitate stakeholder engagements with diverse groups, including women entrepreneurs, procurement officers, and policymakers.
- Strong analytical, communication, and report-writing skills.
- Understanding of Kenya’s public and private sector procurement processes
Languages:
- Fluency in English and Kiswahili is required.
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, 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.)
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.
- Fluency in English and Kiswahili is required.