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.

UN Women’s Country Office, based in New Delhi, India, works to accelerate the advancement of gender equality and the empowerment of women through the strengthening of strategic partnerships, technical and policy advisory services and advocacy with governmental, inter-governmental and civil society partners. In addition, UN Women CO is leading and coordinating the UN system’s work on gender equality, including through ensuring accountability for results.

Aligned with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UN Women is currently implementing a programme called Empowering Women in STEM to motivate and support young women to pursue education and careers in STEM. The programme is aimed at empowerment of the most marginalized women and girls from the tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, already enrolled in STEM courses in higher/technical/vocational education.

The programme is being implemented with Higher Education Institutes (HEI), Vocational Education Institutes and Technical Education Institutes in six districts of Madhya Pradesh (Betul, Burhanpur, Chindwara, Jhabua, Rajgarh and Ujjain) and five districts of Gujarat (Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Surat, Navsari and Valsad) to upskill young women and enable them to participate in the economy gainfully, or make informed choices to take up higher education in STEM.

The programme undertakes a holistic approach to empowerment offering pathways and support to access higher education, internships, apprenticeships, and employment opportunities for women. The programme offers a comprehensive solution by adopting a holistic approach, leveraging partnerships at all levels, using innovative pedagogies and finance to achieve its objective.

In this context, the Consultant/s will work under the guidance and direct supervision of the Programme Analyst and State Project Coordinator and overall supervision of Country Programme Manager (WEE), to support in the execution of the course curriculum and other programme activities and coordinate with relevant government technical institutes and team members, including the operations team, implementing partner organisations and government officials, to ensure successful implementation of Programmes.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Consultant:

• Classroom Management:

Conduct regular classroom sessions for beneficiaries, ensuring attendance is recorded in the attendance register and complete the training syllabus/curriculum as per given guideline and timeline.

• Job Opportunity Guidance:

Provide information to young women about various job opportunities, motivating them to participate in job fairs, campus drives, and exposure visits.

Support in conducting virtual job orientations and job fairs.

• Local Industry Identification:

Map the skill requirements of the local industry and companies; identify the industries in the respective districts to provide job opportunities for beneficiaries and organize exposure visits.

• Database Maintenance:

Regularly maintain and update the database of beneficiaries and industry partners in standard formats, sharing it with the program team as needed.

• Mobilization and Outreach:

Align mobilization efforts to identify and reach eligible beneficiaries, offering counseling and motivation for program enrollment.

Encourage young women to pursue higher education in STEM fields.

• Career Counseling:

Conduct regular counseling sessions focused on career guidance, pursuing STEM jobs, and higher education opportunities in STEM.

• Community Outreach:

Mobilize more women into ITIs through community outreach initiatives.

• Stakeholder Coordination:

Build rapport with stakeholders, including ITIs, government polytechnics, and individuals from diverse academic, socio-economic, and cultural backgrounds.

• Capacity Building:

Engage staff of ITIs especially Training and Placement Officers and Principals and build their capacity to carry out implement the WeSTEM activities once the project comes to an end. And create industry linkages with the institutes to ensure sustainability of the project.

• Reporting and Documentation:

Create internal reports, case studies and documentation of various activities to enhance internal knowledge on program implementation.

Generate regular progress reports for the project and engage in periodic updates with donors regarding program status and future planning.

Conduct regular feedback sessions with students and faculty for mid-course correction in content, facilitation or activities

End report to document the numbers trainers, jobs offered and training of ITI staff.

• Aspirational Mapping:

Conduct aspirational mapping through interviews and surveys, along with skills needs assessment of the students.

• Database Sharing:

Share the database of eligible aspirants with the program team based on stipulated criteria for placement opportunities.

• Additional Duties:

Perform any other duties assigned by supervisors as required and  perform other activities assigned under the programme

Expected Deliverables:

• Conduct regular classroom sessions, delivery of 122 Hrs of curriculum. Record attendance, and maintain a standard database of beneficiaries, updating the program team as required – January to March 2025
• Organize career counselling sessions, job opportunity guidance, and coordinating for job fairs, campus drives, and virtual job orientations –  4 every month
• Mapping of local industries for job requirements, exposure visits/job opportunities + organize community outreach event to mobilize more women into ITIs – One Exposure visit and Community event every month
• Collaborate with stakeholders, including Principal, staff, TPOs of ITIs and polytechnics, and foster engagement with local community and administration – Engagement report: One in every Month
• Prepare completion reports, success stories and case studies with regular progress updates for the project. – Success story: One in each Month; Monthly reports: 1 each month; Completion report: March 2025
• Conducted capacity building trainings of at least 1 placement coordinator of Govt ITIs  and Polytechnics, where the project is taking place, contributing towards strengthening their capacities – March 2025
• Orientation of girls, boys and community members on gender and STEM – January to March 2025
• Mobilization of more women in ITIs by engaging with the community and ensuring registration of at least 10 new girls into ITIs –  January to March 2025

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:

• Good programme management, monitoring and evaluation skills
• Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats;
• Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow;
• Good knowledge of technical area
• Ability to identify and analyze trends and opportunities.

Education:

• Minimum masters degree in Science/Social Sciences/Development Studies with atleast 3 years of progressive experience in the area of STEM and/or working with government agencies; 5 years of experience would be considered in lieu of Master’s degree.
• Degree in Management related field will be an asset.

Experience:

• At least 3 years of experience in coaching, counselling, coordination and capacity building
• Experience of working in the UN System is an asset
• Experience in the thematic area of women’s economic empowerment will be an advantage

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and working knowledge of Hindi is required
• Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset

Evaluation and Selection Criteria:

Criteria for shortlisting of CVs will be based on the following assessment:

• Required Degree and Qualification (5 points).
• Minimum Experience relevant to the assignment (10 points).
• Working knowledge and experience of working with National/State Government  (5 points).

The evaluation process for selection of the candidate will be based on the following assessment:

• Interview
• Writing Samples

Please Note:

• For an assignment requiring travel, consultants of 65 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work to engage in the consultancy.
• Consultants are required to submit doctor’s certificate to state fitness to work and travel for this assignment.
• Due to large number of potential applicants, only competitively selected candidates will be contacted for remaining steps of the service procurement process.
• The consultant is expected to use their own computer equipment. The office will not provide any computer equipment for this assignment.
• This is a full-time assignment. The consultant is expected to disclose any outside activity and shall not be permitted to take up any outside work during this assignment.

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