JOB DESCRIPTION

Background/Context

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 is mandated to lead, coordinate and promote the accountability of the United Nations system in its work on gender equality and the empowerment of women, including in humanitarian action. As such, UN Women has established its role as the thought leader and promoter of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls across the global humanitarian system and continues to expand its country presence and capacity in the coordination of major humanitarian contexts worldwide.

This role has manifested itself most prominently in its contributions to the IASC’s focus on gender by developing its 2024 Gender Policy on the IASC’s behalf, as well as stewarding the annual gender accountability framework process. Closely linked to the strategic output of the IASC, UN Women also leads on facilitating the consideration of gender into the output of the Grand Bargain, through the Friends of Gender Grand Bargain Group created and led by UN Women.  Since May 2022, UN Women has served as the UN co-chair role of IASC Gender Reference Group (GRG). It also continuously manages the GRG Secretariat and Gender Desk, the body responsible for drafting the annual Gender Accountability Framework Report.

Humanitarian needs are at an all-time high, with an estimated 150 million women and girls requiring assistance and protection due to escalating conflicts, climate-related disasters, and food insecurity. Yet, funding freezes and budget cuts by major donors have triggered a global ‘humanitarian reset’—a shift requiring the sector to meet growing, complex needs with significantly fewer resources. In Asia and the Pacific—the world’s most disaster prone and crisis-affected region—women’s rights and women led organizations (WRO/WLOs) are at the forefront of responding to climate emergencies, conflict, economic injustice, and displacement. However, their leadership remains under-recognized and under-resourced. Gains made in supporting WRO/WLOs with quality funding and decision-making power are now at risk, as the reset increasingly prioritizes efficiency over equity. While this shift presents serious challenges, it also opens a window for transformative change. Amid global pushback against gender equality, there is a critical opportunity to rebuild a humanitarian system that not only delivers targeted, high-quality support for women and girls, but also centers their leadership putting power and resources directly in the hands of those on the front lines. Women’s organizations across the region are already bridging the humanitarian–development–peace (HDP) nexus responding to immediate crises while strengthening community resilience, advancing just transitions, and defending rights.

In light of this, UN Women would like to work with a consultant to co-develop a feminist, partner-led strategy to strengthen engagement with WRO/WLOs working in humanitarian response and resilience building. This process will centre the expertise and leadership of feminist actors working at the frontlines of crisis and care: many of whom operate across the HDP nexus. This work will ensure that UN Women Asia and the Pacific’s efforts to ensure WRO/WLOs continue to have their work increasingly recognized and resourced is not lost in the current context.

The consultant will be reporting to the Resilience Team Programme Manager and will be supported by Programme Associate, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Deliverables

The objectives of the work will be to:

• Strengthen operational clarity to localisation within humanitarian and climate contexts,
• Practical framework on feminist leadership and collective care that can be embedded in institutional strategies, planing and operational documens
• Create pathways for WRO-led influence in coordination spaces, starting with the GiHA working groups,
• Develop a joint advocacy agenda to challenge extractive models of aid and promote feminist funding across the nexus.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy.

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:

• Capacity to design strategies that embed feminist principles into institutional frameworks and humanitarian coordination systems.
• Expertise in convening and co-creating with diverse feminist and grassroots actors.
• Strong facilitation skills to conduct interviews, lead consultations, and synthesize inputs from WROs/WLOs.
• Skilled in feminist research methodologies, especially those focused on documenting systemic shifts in power and influence.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, tailored for varied audiences including WROs, UN agencies, and donors.
• Excellent analytical skills with strong drive for results and capacity to work independently.

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in public administration, human rights, gender equality, humanitarian action, disaster risk reduction, management, social sciences or other related areas is required
• 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 working with feminist movements and women-led organizations in humanitarian, development, or climate response contexts, ideally within Asia and the Pacific
• Experience designing and facilitating participatory research, consultations, or strategy development processes, particularly those centering local or marginalized actors
• Demonstrated experience influencing or engaging with UN coordination mechanisms (e.g., GiHA, IASC, Grand Bargain) or similar multilateral platforms on gender equality and localization issues
• Work experience in the Asia and the Pacific is desirable

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required
• Excellent English communication and writing skills