Background:

UN Women’s mandate on gender, the green economy and climate change

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) is the UN agency mandated to accelerate progress on gender equality and address the needs of women worldwide. UN Women supports Member States in setting and implementing global standards for achieving gender equality and coordinates gender-related work within the United Nations. UN Women’s Strategic Plan focuses on four thematic outcomes: promoting women’s leadership; women’s economic empowerment; women’s engagement in peace, security and humanitarian action; and ending violence against women and girls. In parallel with these four thematic results, to address the root causes of gender inequality, UN Women, in collaboration with other actors, contributes to seven systemic results, including: strengthening global normative frameworks and gender-responsive laws, policies and institutions; financing the promotion of gender equality; women’s equitable access to services, goods and resources; and the production, analysis and use of gender statistics, sex-disaggregated data and knowledge.

In the area of women’s economic empowerment, UN Women works to promote the economic advancement of women so that they enjoy income security, decent work and economic autonomy. In particular, it works to: promote increased participation and leadership of women in the green and blue economy sectors; promote women’s entrepreneurship and public procurement opportunities for women-led businesses; and mainstream gender into climate, environment, agriculture and green, circular and blue economy initiatives.

Regional project Gender and the Green Transition in West and Central Africa 

Since 2022, the UN Women Regional Office for West and Central Africa, in close collaboration with ECOWAS and other partners, has been implementing the regional project “Gender and Green Transition in West and Central Africa”. The project aims to facilitate women’s participation in the green economy in the region by building on research, knowledge generation, capacity building of policymakers and advocates, as well as policy dialogue and reform on gender and the transition to a green economy at the national and regional levels. As part of this regional project, UN Women is working with the Government of Senegal to integrate gender into a number of climate and green transition policies.

The government of Senegal is in the process of developing a green taxonomy, led by Ministry of Environment and Ecological Transition (METE), and the Ministry of Finance and Budget (MFB), with the support of the German Agency for International Development Cooperation (GIZ). As part of this process, UN Women will support the Government in integrating gender in the green taxonomy to allow the country to leverage gender co-benefits resulting for green investments in the future and in so contribute to an inclusive green transition.

To support this process, UN Women is recruiting the services of a national gender consultant. The consultant will report to UN Women’s Regional Advisor for Women’s Economic Empowerment and will work in close collaboration with the gender and green economy specialist of the Regional Office. The consultant will also work closely with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Environment and Green Transition, GIZ and other technical partners supporting the development of the taxonomy.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work : 

The National Gender Consultant will be responsible for the integration of gender in the green taxonomy. This will mean coordination of inputs of different actors contributing to this process and producing the final gender report for the integration of gender in the green taxonomy. In particular, this will include the following tasks:

1.  Coordination and support to gender focal points of technical expert groups

• Develop and deliver induction training for the gender focal points of the taxonomy technical expert groups
• Organize, facilitate and record results of one-hour bimonthly meetings with gender focal points participating in sector groups of the taxonomy
• Liaise with sectoral gender focal points in order to integrate results of sectoral discussions in the development of gender report of the taxonomy

1. Institutional Engagement and Capacity building

• Participation in gender project working groups, and other project meetings as needed, with the two ministries, UN Women, GIZ and other partners.
• Organize workshop and deliver targeted technical sessions in capacity-building workshop for senior officials and policymakers on gender and green taxonomy

1. Drafting of gender elements of green taxonomy

• Contribute to the development of a methodology to integrate gender into the Minimum Social Standards module of the green taxonomy, working closely with UN Women’s international experts.
• Provide gender-related inputs/Integrate gender into the green taxonomy document throughout the process of development, revision and finalization
• Organize and conduct workshop to finalize the gender component of the green taxonomy
• Draft gender report including gender and MSS component, results of sectoral work discussions, and input from final validation workshop

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:

• Strong analytical skills in economic and gender policy and women’s economic empowerment;
• Strong writing and communication skills in French.
• Ability to work effectively with national stakeholders in Senegal and build partnerships.
• Strong commitment to knowledge sharing, stakeholder engagement, and partnership building.
• Ability to design and deliver trainings and other capacity-building strategies in the area of gender, climate and the economy.
• Ability to produce impactful communication materials and knowledge products.

Required Qualifications : 

Education and Certification: 

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Gender and Economics or Development Economics, Economics, Social Sciences, Law or any other relevant field

• 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 5 years of experience in integrating gender considerations into economic and/or climate policy
• Experience in the area of gender and climate change, environment and sustainable development policies
• Experience working on social/gender safeguards will be considered and advantage
• Experience working with national policy processes to integrate gender into economic/green economy policies and strategies
• Experience facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogues and capacity building events in the area of gender and development
• Excellent analytical skills with a strong drive for results and an ability to work independently.
• Excellent communication and writing skills in French; (Samples of previous work will be required.)

Languages:

• Fluency in French is required.
• Knowledge of the English language is an asset.

How to Apply 

• Personal CV
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)
• If possible, share previous reports, presentations, publications, guidance notes and/or policy briefs that the consultant has produced on the topic of gender and green economy / finance.

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.)

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements