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.

The East and Southern Africa Regional Office Strategic Note is the main planning tool for UN Women’s support to normative, coordination and operational work in the East and Southern Africa Region. This evaluation will consider the Strategic Note covering the period January 2022 – December 2025. A new Strategic Note is due to be developed starting in April 2025.

The evaluation will systematic assessment to validate the contributions made by UN Women Regional Office’s portfolio of interventions to development results with respect to Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment at the country level. It also assesses the Regional Office’s organisational effectiveness and efficiency in delivering the planned results. It uses the Strategic Note (including the DRF and OEEF) as the main point of reference.

The evaluation will be delivered by an evaluation team composed of the Regional Evaluation Specialist who will serve as the team leader, and 2 evaluation team members that will include an international evaluation consultant and a thematic coordination expert to support the Team leader in delivering the evaluation.

The consultant will be reporting to the Regional Evaluation Specialist, who will be responsible for overseeing the work of the consultant and assuring the quality of the work. The Regional Evaluation Specialist will manage the contract.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Evaluation expert is expected to support the Team Leader in:

• Scoping and design the evaluation, including drafting of the Inception Report and data collection instruments.
• Implementation of the evaluation and data collection, including participation in document review, interviews and focus group.
• Data analysis to develop preliminary findings and drafting of final report.
• Communication with evaluation stakeholders, including attending exit briefs, validation meetings etc.

Deliverables

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy.

As part of this assignment, there may be a maximum of one trip to either Gabarone, Botswana, or Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

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 Core Values and Competencies:

https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Ability to synthesize evaluative information and to write quality evaluation reports
• Broad and in-depth knowledge in social development issues particularly those pertinent to UN Women strategic priorities on gender issues and women’s rights;

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• At least a master’s degree in gender/women studies, sociology, international development, or related area

Experience:

• At least 15-years practical experience in coordination on gender equality, within the UN system at the regional level and / or with regional economic communities;
• Experience delivering evaluation and analysis on gender equality and women’s empowerment
• Regional experience in East and Southern Africa will be considered a strong asset;
• Any relevant humanitarian expertise will be considered a strong asset

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc. Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Notes:

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.