UN Women: International Consultant, Home-based, International Consultant for conducting a detailed study on Women’s Economic Empowerment

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.

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls, the empowerment of women, and the achievement of gender equality as fundamental to sustainable development, peace, and human rights. In its role as the UN system’s lead entity on gender equality, UN Women coordinates and supports global, regional, and national efforts to ensure gender mainstreaming and that commitments on gender equality are effectively implemented across all sectors.

In Uzbekistan, where women make up nearly 50% of the population, the Government has initiated wide-ranging reforms since 2016 across social, economic, and legal domains. Among these efforts, gender equality, women's empowerment, and prevention of gender-based violence have steadily gained prominence in national discourse and legislation. These include the adoption of the Law on the Protection of Women from Harassment and Violence (2019), criminalization of gender-based violence (2023), introduction of equal pay for equal work, and increased women’s representation quota in Parliament to 40% as of 2024.

Despite this progress, the intersection of gender equality and economic development remains under-leveraged. Harmful gender norms, early marriage, limited access to family planning, and systemic barriers continue to impede the full realization of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) in Uzbekistan 

To address these challenges, UN Women together with various UN agencies targeted expansion of it’s special programme for private sector entities in Uzbekistan and also increased women’s labour force participation through Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) programme. More concretely, UN Women is part of the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transition in Uzbekistan under which expansion of WEPs  programme is an important pillar. Additionally, together with UNFPA, and UNICEF, UN Women will soon launch the implementation of Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Project (2025–2028) financially supported by the EU. The project seeks to ensure that women equally participate in the economy and labour force of Uzbekistan without being constrained by harmful stereotypes or discriminatory practices. 

Objective 

Under the overall guidance of the UN Women Programme Manager in Uzbekistan the Consultant will provide technical expertise to support the expansion of WEPs in Uzbekistan targeting various sectors and also support WEE project activities. 

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Within the assignment, the Consultant will be responsible for the following activities: 

Task 1: 

Develop a strategy for expansion of WEPs targeting various private sector in Uzbekistan and Central Asia

Plan and execute introduction session to private sector participants

Task 2:

Based on needs/requests of WEPs signatories, deliver tailored capacity building sessions/trainings

Develop and deliver women empowerment trainings for different sectors such as energy and pharma

Task 3:

Develop a concept of Women Empowerment Forum including international speakers

Contribute to the development of knowledge products, training curricula, and advocacy materials under the WEE project.
Provide technical input into awareness-raising and communication campaigns on women’s economic empowerment, gender equality, and GBVH prevention.
Prepare presentations, briefs, and materials for stakeholder validation, learning, and policy dialogue.

Task 4: 

Providing tailor-made advisory services to private sector partners

Deliver one-on-one advisory sessions to WEPs signatories and other private sector partners.
Provide technical support on gender-responsive procurement.
Recommend strategies for integrating gender equality into corporate governance, investment decisions, and workplace practices.

Deliverables

It is anticipated the assignment will take up to 60 working days.

Payment for this consultancy will be on a monthly basis  the achievement of each deliverable and certification that each has been satisfactorily completed. Some of the deliverables require continuous work and consultations which will be taken into account. Payment will be based on the submission of the SSA report along with the timesheet and relevant annexes as supporting documents for the achievement of deliverables: #  Deliverables Target Date Days Required 1 WEPs Expansion Strategy & Introduction Sessions: Develop a strategy to expand WEPs outreach to the private sector and conduct introduction sessions to raise awareness.   10  days 2 Capacity Building & Sector-Specific Trainings: Deliver tailored capacity-building sessions and sector-specific women empowerment trainings (e.g., energy, pharma) based on requests of WEPs signatories.   15 days 3 Women Empowerment Forum, Knowledge Products & Awareness Campaigns: Develop a concept for a Women Empowerment Forum including international speakers; contribute to knowledge products, training curricula, and advocacy materials; provide technical input into awareness-raising and communication campaigns; prepare presentations, briefs, and materials for stakeholder validation, learning, and policy dialogue.   15 days 4 Advisory Services for Private Sector: Provide one-on-one advisory sessions and technical support on gender-responsive procurement, corporate governance, investment decisions, and workplace practices.   20  days

The Consultant shall promote a client-oriented approach consistent with UN Women rules and regulations and commits to high standards of quality, productivity and timeliness in the delivery of tasks. The Consultant will meet and apply the highest standards of integrity and impartiality. 

The Consultant must be fully dedicated to the mandate and the values of UN Women, particularly to promoting Gender Equality as a strategy to reduce conflict, improve livelihoods and ensure fairness and justice; to Women Empowerment underpinning Gender Equality promotion efforts; to inter-ethnic tolerance and concord; and to respect for diversity.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

Expected travel: Home based with necessary travels to Uzbekistan

Inputs from UN Women and UNFPA: 

• UN Women and UNFPA will provide the consultant with background materials for the assignments. Specifically, this will include national reports, research, data, etc. 

• UN Women Uzbekistan will provide the contact details and introductions to the National Consultant/partner. 

Reporting requirements: 

The International Consultant is expected to work remotely using her/his own computer. UN Women may provide support to coordinate activities with NSC, when and if required. 

Consultancy reports should be provided in electronic version in English with detailed description of the fulfilled tasks, according to the present Term of Reference, and the contribution of the national expert.  Analytical documents, reports and other materials developed by expert should be attached to the report as annexes, which will serve as justification for payment. 

 Competencies 

Core Values:

Core Competencies:

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

Experience:

Languages:

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.