Consultant on WEPs implementation and policy development

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.

Despite the volatility and war inside of Ukraine, UN Women remains committed to delivering results across strategic priorities, exercising its triple mandate and building key partnerships. With the war in Ukraine having dramatically shifted the immediate priorities, it remains all the more essential that rights of women and girls remain at the centre of the humanitarian response. Aligning with the UN priorities, UN Women’s future operations in the country will focus on amplifying the localization agenda and strengthening the local women-led gender-responsive humanitarian response and ensuring the experiences of displaced, at risk and vulnerable women and girls are centralized during the recovery process.

In 2025-2029 Strategic Note, UN Women Ukraine CO determined three main pillars for the strategic interventions 1) Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions; 2) Inclusive Economic Growth; 3) Humanitarian Assistance & Coordination.

In line with the UN Women Ukraine Country Office Strategic Note 2025–2029, UN Women applies transformative approaches to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment by addressing the root causes, structural barriers, and restrictive social norms that sustain gender inequalities across different areas of life.

Under Outcome 2 – Inclusive Economic Growth, the Country Office focuses on strengthening women’s economic empowerment as a key driver of Ukraine’s inclusive and sustainable recovery. UN Women works simultaneously with government institutions, women’s organizations, and the private sector to foster an enabling environment for equal opportunities, inclusive labour markets, and gender-responsive business practices. This comprehensive approach aims to ensure that women and men have equal access to economic resources, decision-making, and opportunities to contribute to and benefit from Ukraine’s recovery and growth.

Gender stereotypes remain a significant factor preventing the achievement of gender equality in all spheres of life, despite Ukraine’s accession to international agreements and adoption of national legislation on equal rights and opportunities for women and men.[1]

Since 2006, Ukraine’s ranking in economic participation and opportunity in the Gender Gap Index has fallen from 24th to 63rd place in 2024.[2] Gender segregation and discriminatory attitudes towards women permeate the workplace (namely, age discrimination of women over 45, women with small children and pregnant women). Employed women have less access to finances compared to men: the gender pay gap between women and men in Ukraine is 41,4 per cent.[3]

[1] Ukraine (2019). National Review of the Implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Available at: link to Ukrainian source.

[2] World Economic Forum (2024). Global Gender Gap Report 2024. Available at: link

[3] UNDP. “Gender Profile of Ukraine: Fast Facts.” Available at: link.

In 2020, women’s employment rates were lower than men: 51 per cent versus 62 per cent.[1] The socioeconomic impact of the crisis since 2014 has affected women and men’s access to paid work, increasing unemployment by 30 per cent. For internally displaced persons, the gap was even higher: according to the National Action Plan for the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (published in 2020), only 43 per cent of internally displaced women had found employment, as opposed to 58 per cent of men.[2]At the same time, there has been an expanding informal economy of which Ukrainian women have become a crucial part.[3] Existing gender norms translate into the imbalance of unpaid care work, which is predominantly performed by women. 92.2 per cent of single parents in Ukraine are mothers,[4] who often manage care, domestic and income-generating work. Restrictions related to COVID-19 caused further pressure on women to combine their professional duties with their household duties and care work.[5]

Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian military invasion, Ukraine is rapidly emerging as one of the world’s most complex emergencies with over 6,5 million refugees already fleeing the country and with steadily growing humanitarian needs.[6] The full-scale war will impact unemployment rates among all categories of the population and will most likely continue pushing women into the unprotected informal sectors of the economy. Poverty and dependency on social payments, especially among a growing number of female-headed households, will be expected to increase. Age, disability, displacement status and other characteristics further affected access to employment and financial resources in the pre-war period and are likely to impact the socioeconomic situation of the citizens of Ukraine during the war.

To contribute to the women’s economic empowerment during the full-scale Russian invasion to Ukraine, UN Women has supported services on raising awareness, providing training and aid to the women and girls affected by the full-scale war to improve their economic opportunities in Ukraine and abroad (with a special focus on IT and tech industries), as well as enhancing capacities of the private sector to respond to unemployment and career disruption of women in Ukraine caused by displacement and economic crisis. Support of private companies on women economic empowerment during the full-fledged war in Ukraine is one of the key areas of UN Women's interventions is the work with the private sector to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community through implementation of the Women`s Empowerment Principles (WEPs).

WEPs were established by UN Global Compact and UN Women, these principles are a primary vehicle for corporate delivery on gender equality dimensions of the 2030 agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. By joining the WEPs community, the CEO signals commitment to this agenda at the highest levels of the company and to work collaboratively in multistakeholder networks to foster business practices that empower women. 60 Ukrainian business entities signed WEPs to ensure equal pay for work of equal value, gender-responsive supply chain practices and zero tolerance against sexual harassment as of October 2025.

As part of its work, UN Women is seeking a National Consultant to support private companies and business associations, including current and potential WEPs signatories, in advancing the implementation of the Women’s Empowerment Principles. The Consultant will provide practical support to companies in assessing, developing, reviewing, and adapting internal policies and practices related to gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, including areas such as equal opportunities, non-discrimination, prevention of sexual harassment, and inclusive workplace practices. The Consultant will also contribute to the organization and follow-up of capacity-building activities, support engagement with companies and partners, and assist with ad hoc requests related to WEPs implementation and partnership development.

[1] State Statistics Service of Ukraine (2021). Indicators for monitoring gender equality in Ukraine. Monitoring report, p. 31. Available at: link.

[2] Ukraine (2020). National Action Plan for the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 “Women, Peace, Security” until 2025, approved by Order No. 1544-r of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of 28 October 2020.

[3] Milana Nikolko, Samuel MacIsaac and David Carment (2021). “The Impact of Ukraine’s Informal Economy on Women: Mobilizing Canada’s Diaspora for Growth and Opportunity During Crisis”, in Political Turmoil in a Tumultuous World, pp. 295–315. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

[4]State Statistics Service of Ukraine (2018). Socio-demographic characteristics of households in Ukraine in 2018. Statistical bulletin. Available at: link to Ukrainian source.

[5] Jurfem Association of Women Lawyers (2020). Impact of COVID-19 on women’s rights in Ukraine. Available at: link.

[6] IOM, Key Figures: Mobility and Displacement, 2024 link

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

Under the overall guidance of the UN Women Representative and direct supervision by the WEE Programme Specialist/Project Manager, and in close cooperation with the WEE Programme Analyst, Private Sector Partnership Analyst and the Consultant on

Support to the Private Sector Partners on Implementation of Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiatives, the National Consultant will provide technical and coordination support in the implementation of WEPs-related activities. The Consultant will support private companies and business associations, including current and potential WEPs signatories, contribute to the collection and systematization of data on trainings and participants (including the development and maintenance of a consolidated database), assist in the preparation and follow-up of capacity-building activities, and provide support to companies in reviewing, internal policies and practices and revising and/or developing gender-reponsive corporate policies and procedures. The Consultant will also support ongoing communication, reporting, and ad hoc requests related to WEPs implementation and partnership development. The assignment will include, but will not be limited to, the following tasks:

1. Provide support to private companies and business associations in reviewing, developing, and adapting internal policies and practices related to gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, including contributing to self-assessments and Gender Action Plans.
2. Develop, consolidate, and maintain databases related to WEPs activities, including training participants, outreach activities, and partner engagement, ensuring data accuracy and regular updates.
3. Support the implementation and coordination of WEPs engagement activities in line with programme priorities.
4. Assist in identifying and sharing relevant opportunities for companies (e.g. partnerships, initiatives, or other forms of support) related to WEPs implementation.
5. Contribute to the implementation of initiatives engaging private sector companies in advancing women’s economic empowerment.
6. Prepare regular progress updates and final reports, including consolidation of data, lessons learned, and recommendations.
7. Support engagement with companies through online and in-person formats, including possible field visits to partner companies and business associations, as required.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy

Travel might be required upon UN Women's request

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 knowledge and understanding of gender equality and women’s economic empowerment frameworks, including the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), and their application within private sector operations.
• Experience in supporting engagement with private sector companies and business associations, including communication, coordination, and follow-up with partners.
• Demonstrated experience in supporting the review, development, and adaptation of corporate policies and practices related to gender equality, including conductingself-assessments and developing and implementing Gender Action Plans.
• Experience in data collection, organization, and management, including development and maintenance of databases and tracking tools (e.g. training participants, partner engagement, outreach activities).
• Experience in supporting the organization and delivery of capacity-building and awareness-raising activities (e.g. webinars, workshops), including preparation of materials and coordination with participants.
• Ability to contribute to monitoring and reporting processes, including consolidation and analysis of data, and preparation of progress updates and reports in line with Results-Based Management (RBM) principles.
• Strong communication and organizational skills, with the ability to support engagement with diverse stakeholders and respond to ad hoc programme needs.

Required Qualifications

Qualifications Education:

Advanced (Masters) degree in Economics, Marketing, Sociology, Gender Studies, Social Sciences or related field.

Experience:

• Minimum 2 years of relevant work experience (after Master’s degree) in the field of labour market, private sector, gender equality and women’s economic empowerment;
• Previous experience on providing trainings and consulting for private business on women economic empowerment;
• Previous experience of gender analysis, surveys, research, assessments, development of gender-responsive policies and procedures;
• Proven experience of work with different stakeholders, including private sector, CSOs and development partners. Experience of work with UN will be considered as an asset;
• Advanced understanding of gender equality, Women’s Empowerment Principles and women’s economic empowerment.

Languages:

• Fluency in verbal and written English and Ukrainian is required.

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.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.