Gender Specialist for the Asian Women’s Forum (AWF) –with a focus on Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) (Home Based with potential travel to Tashkent/Uzbekistan)

Background

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.

Uzbekistan’s progress in respecting and promoting Gender Equality (GE) is highlighted in a series of international commitments and in national legal and policy frameworks. The main achievements in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment reside in Uzbekistan’s institutional and legal capacity development for the work on gender equality. As the Government of Uzbekistan sets very high targets until 2030 including doubling the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and halving the poverty, it needs strong institutions which have strong gender element in each and every step. In line with the “Strategy of achieving gender equality in the Republic of Uzbekistan until 2030”  (herein after the Strategy) accompanied by a Presidential Decree No. 87 on “Measures to further accelerate work on systematic support for families and women” (herein after the National  Programme), it is inevitable to have strong National Women Machinery working across and beyond the sectors for making gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) a reality and contribute the sustainable development of the country. The development and implementation of the national program serves as an important factor in creating the necessary conditions for the full participation of women in the political, economic, social and cultural life of society on the basis of equal rights.

The main goal of Uzbekistan’s gender strategy is to ensure the true equality of women and men, regardless of their race, nationality, language, religion, social origin, belief, personal and social position in other words “Ensuring gender equality and expanding the rights and opportunities of all women” in the country. Achieving the transformational goal of gender equality set by the Government of Uzbekistan is possible through the interaction of well planned, systemic and financially supported mechanisms in place both at public, private and civic spheres.

To accelerate the implementation of National Gender Action Plan, Government of Uzbekistan and UN Women agreed to intensify their efforts on priority area ‘Women’s Economic Empowerment’ (WEE). To ensure exchange of information on WEE, learn from best practices and develop regional strategies, Government of Uzbekistan will host Asian Women’s Forum (AWF) in May 2024 (tentative dates are 12-14), in Tashkent with the technical assistance of UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office. The overall goal is to renew and expand commitments on WEE, build the cross-regional learning connections and share the women-led innovative solutions and best practices. It could facilitate to agree on a roadmap and common approaches to bring down the systemic barriers for gender equal and inclusive economic participation and women’s access to decent work and to support multistakeholder partnership, considering the geopolitical global challenges (climate change, natural disasters, conflicts) and opportunities for effective actions to enhance women’s economic security and resilience in Asia. UN Women is the co-organizer of the AWF to provide technical support for ensuring high quality exchange with good practices by ensuring top level experts/speakers, country examples and also moderators.

Therefore, UN Women Uzbekistan under the supervision of ECA Regional Office UN Women Office seeks to contract an International Consultant/Specialist to support the AWF organization process from a technical point of view under the direct supervision of Country Programme Manager of Uzbekistan.

Duties and Responsibilities

Deliverables

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy.  As part of this assignment, there will be a maximum of 2 trips to Tashkent, Uzbekistan (before and during the Forum).  Travel arrangements will be covered separately by ECARO.

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:  

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES: 

Functional competencies (which includes knowledge and skills) are defined by responsibilities of a given job. Functional competencies vary between roles in a Job Family and between Job Families themselves. They are often specific to each Job Family. Typically, 5-6 functional competencies are assigned to a given job. Some examples: technical credibility in X, resilience, business acumen, risk management, change management, negotiation, commitment to continuous improvement, partnerships building, marketing, accounting, research, business planning. Please note that the functional competencies should not overlap with the experiences in the qualifications section. Functional competencies can be assessed during the selection process (e.g. video assessments, written test or interview).  

• Excellent analytical, writing and synthesis skills;
• Demonstrated expertise and experience working in Women’s Economic Empowerment;
• Proved record of working in Asian region;
• Experience in organizing high-level multi-stakeholder conferences, forums, events;
• Demonstrate responsiveness, objectivity, organization and have a good methodology in carrying out the work;
• Demonstrate an ability to produce quality results on time and to work under pressure;
• Experience in designing data and research-based strategies;
• Excellent language skills in English.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree preferably in gender equality, economics, social/political sciences, or other related disciplines.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience on working in gender equality, women’s rights, women’s economic empowerment, feminist economy, Gender responsive budgeting or social economic response 
• At least 3 years’ experience in developing analytical report, policy briefs and strategic documents 
• Prior experience in organizing conferences, forums, high level international events is an asset
• Prior working experience with UN Agencies is an advantage.
• Prior work experience with Asian countries is a strong asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of Uzbek or Russian is an asset.

V. How to Apply 

• Personal CV or P11 (P11 can be downloaded from: )
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)
• Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns, or other materials.

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.)