Consultant for Women’s Economic Empowerment

Job Posting Organization:
UN Women, established in July 2010, is the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. It was created as part of the UN reform agenda to consolidate resources and mandates for greater impact on gender equality and women's empowerment. UN Women operates in 41 Member States across Asia and the Pacific, including countries such as Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and many others. The organization focuses on eliminating discrimination against women and girls, empowering women, and achieving equality between women and men. It leads and coordinates efforts within the UN system to ensure that commitments on gender equality translate into action globally, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

Job Overview:
The consultant will provide specialized support to UN Women country offices, focusing on the implementation of the Transform Care Investment Initiative Asia-Pacific (TCII-AP) and the broader Women’s Economic Empowerment portfolio. This role involves conducting established policy tools, costing tools, economic modeling, program and policy development, and knowledge management. The consultant will be integral in advancing UN Women’s response capacity and will serve as a gender economist to support coordinated responses in the region. The consultancy is designed to be flexible, with the consultant working on specific deliverables as required by the relevant office, based on their expertise. The immediate deliverable will involve applying the care investment policy support tool in Viet Nam and potentially other countries.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The consultant will be responsible for a variety of tasks, including but not limited to: conducting applied policy analysis and development, providing ad-hoc specialist technical support to regional and country offices, conducting rapid analysis and stakeholder mapping related to care and social protection, organizing and facilitating events and trainings, creating documentation and guidance notes, and drafting care roadmaps and policies. The consultant will also be involved in quality assurance of deliverables and communication facilitation between the consultant and UN Women’s HQ, regional, and country offices. The consultant's work will contribute to the development of tools and methodologies for identifying coverage gaps in care services, estimating public investment costs, and assessing economic returns on such investments.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must possess an advanced university degree in gender and economics or related disciplines. A first-level university degree combined with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree. A PhD in economics is considered a plus. Additionally, candidates should have a minimum of 7 years of extensive experience that combines research and capacity development in gender and economics, legal analysis, or women's economic empowerment at both national and international levels. Experience in conducting similar policy tools, costing studies, and economic modeling is required, along with a strong background in gender analysis and the care economy.

Educational Background:
An advanced university degree in gender and economics or related fields is required. A first-level university degree with additional qualifying experience may be accepted. A PhD in economics is advantageous and preferred.

Experience:
Candidates should have at least 7 years of demonstrated extensive experience in research and capacity development related to gender and economics, legal analysis, or women's economic empowerment. This includes experience in conducting gender analysis, designing policy recommendations, and quantitative experience with economic modeling and forecasting techniques. Previous work with international organizations in developing knowledge products for capacity development/training is an asset.

Languages:
Excellent command of written and spoken English is required. Knowledge of other official UN languages is a plus, enhancing the candidate's profile for the position.

Additional Notes:
This consultancy is home-based and operates on a retainer contract basis, meaning that there is no guarantee of work, and selected consultants can decline assignments based on their availability and expertise. Payments will be based on the completion of specific assignments rather than the number of days worked. The consultant will be engaged under a retainer contract, which allows for direct engagement depending on need and availability. The service will be rendered on an 'on-call' basis, and the maximum number of working days is not guaranteed during the term of the agreement.