National consultant on Women’s Economic Empowerment (Local Post for Armenia)

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. 

UN Women is currently implementing a regional project on “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus” Phase III (WEESC III). The project has started in September 2024 and will last till August 2026. The first phase of the project took place during 2018-2020, followed by the second phase during 2021-2024. The overarching goal of the project is to ensure that women, particularly the poor and socially excluded, in the South Caucasus countries are economically empowered and participate in relevant decision-making. Despite notable advancements, Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE) remains a significant challenge in the South Caucasus. Factors such as low female participation in formal employment, gender wage disparities, unequal political engagement, and women bearing disproportionate responsibility for caregiving all contribute to limited access to financial services for women and hinder their economic empowerment. Additionally, pervasive gender stereotypes and discriminatory practices persist across all three countries, further impeding progress in WEE.

One of the outputs under the first outcome of the project in Armenia, is to facilitate businesses to have an increased understanding of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and institutionalize measures that benefit women, specifically in rural areas. The activities under this output will be focusing on providing technical support to companies to raise awareness of and adopt the UN Women/UN Global Compact Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs). The aim is to implement gender-responsive corporate policies and practices that enhance women’s access to decent work and promote the inclusion of more women-owned and collective enterprises in supply chains. This technical support will equip private companies with tools to develop and implement gender-responsive corporate policies and practices that increase women’s access to decent work. Target companies will include medium- and large-sized businesses operating in or with supply chain links in rural areas to integrate more women-owned enterprises in their supply chains.[1]

The activities will specifically:

• Promote the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) among private companies and assist interested companies in conducting WEPs assessments and designing WEPs action plans.
• Support companies in implementing their WEPs action plans and foster sustainable changes within the companies by implementing gender-responsive corporate policies that also extend to the wider community and their clients / suppliers

In this context, the project is looking for a national consultant on Women’s Economic Empowerment in Armenia.

The consultant will be reporting to the WEESC III Project Analyst of UN Women in Armenia and will be supported by UN Women Team in Armenia and Georgia.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

1. Promote Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) among private sector partners and business associations in Armenia through multilateral and bilateral meetings. 
2. Provide guidance to companies that are interested to join the WEPs global network to complete the online application through https://www.weps.org/join 
3. Create, update and maintain the coordination work around WEPs with the engagement of WEPs focal points from private sector companies
4. Review, revise and support implementation of internal Gender Action Plans of the WEPs signatory companies following 3 (three) gender gap analysis with the help Gender Gap Analysis Tool available at  https://weps-gapanalysis.org/  
5. Organize periodic capacity development, learning and exchange initiatives with WEPs signatories. 
6. Liaise with WEPs Secretariat vis-à-vis Armenia members as relevant 
7. In collaboration with UN Women communications team implement the strategic and communication plan of the WEPs community and ensure visibility of the WEPs community in the social networks.
8. Using the pre-designed questionnaire by UN Women, administer the annual WEPs survey to gather and analyses  information on the implementation of the WEPs by the businesses in Armenia. 
9. Undertake other tasks to promote WEPs as requested by UN Women in Armenia.

Deliverables:

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 knowledge and in-depth understanding of gender equality and women’s empowerment issues, challenges and motivations in the private sector. 
• Ability to organise and complete multiple tasks by establishing priorities. 
• Experience establishing, building and sustaining effective relationships with the private sector partners
• Strong networking skills.
• Knowledge and expertise in gender research and policy analysis;
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills;
• Excellent negotiation skills;

Education

• Master’s degree or equivalent in business, finance, gender, social sciences, economics, or related fields is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.

Experience:

• At least 2 years of relevant experience in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment, in case of Bachelor’s degree.
• At least 2 years of experience in engaging with business associations, Chambers of Commerce, and similar groups in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion with the private sector, in case of Bachelor’s degree.
• Experience of coordinating networks would be an asset.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Languages:

Fluency in English and Armenian is required.

How to Apply:

• Personal CV and  P11 (P11 can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc )
• 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. 

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.)