National Consultant to conduct a Gender Gap Assessment and support Gender Mainstreaming in Sectoral Programmes and Budgets

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.

Placing women's rights at the center of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world.

The work of UN Women in Moldova is guided by its Country Strategic Note 2023 - 2027 , aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Moldova (2023-2027),  UN Women Global  Strategic Plan, National Programs and Strategies and aims to contribute to the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Country Strategic Note focuses on four main areas: 1) Ending Violence against Women; 2) Women’s Leadership and Governance; 3) Women’s Economic empowerment and 4) Humanitarian and Peace development nexus and UN Coordination on Gender equality.

Based on the European Commission Implementing Decision on the Annual Action Plan in favour of the Republic of Moldova for 2022 NDICI-GEO-NEAR/2022/ACT-61535 EU4 Resilience and Governance, UN Women Moldova CO is implementing a four-year project (November 2023 – October 2027) titled "Ending Violence, Expanding Livelihood Opportunities for Women and Accelerating Gender Governance in Moldova" (hereinafter EVOLVE4GE). The project is implemented in line with and in contribution to the Gender Action Plan III (GAP III) of European Commission" Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in External Action 2021–2025", adopted in November 2020, Country gender profile and its Country Level Implementation Plan – CLIP for the Republic of Moldova which aim to accelerate progress on empowering women and girls, and safeguard gains made on gender equality during the 25 years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and its Platform for Action . It also supports the Government to advance implementation of the gender equality commitments aligned with the EU candidacy status granted to the Republic of Moldova in June 2022.

The project builds on UN Women’s advocacy and past work in strengthening capacities for gender responsive governance, on the Country office best practices around women’s economic empowerment through business development and increased participation of women in sectors with high economic potential and high gender gap, as well as on lessons learned collected through the support provided to the Government in the development of integrated – survivor oriented – provision of assistance and establishment of specialist services for survivors of violence against women and girls.

The interventions contribute directly to the implementation of the national priorities set the Government Programme on Gender Equality (2023-2027), The RoadMap for Economic Empowerment of Women, the National Programme on Ending Violence against Women (2023-2027), as well as to the gender responsive provisions of the Public Finance Management Strategy (2023-2030) and Public Administration Reform Strategy (2023-2030).

One of the anticipated results of the EVOLVE4GE project is the enhancement of the capacity of both Central and Local Government authorities to design and implement gender-responsive policies. To achieve this, the project aims to strengthen the capacity of central and local Gender Equality Mechanisms (GEMs); offer customized assistance to the Ministry of Finance and other central budget users to integrate gender considerations into public finance management; build the capacity of public oversight institutions to incorporate gender perspectives into oversight and audit practices; and by providing comprehensive support to Local Public Administration for piloting gender-responsive budgets.

In this framework, UN Women within EVOLVE4GE project seeks to contract consultants (here and after “The Consultant”) to provide expert support to state institutions including but not limited to the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (MLSP), Ministry of Energy (MoE) and other sectoral ministries to support sectoral gender analyses in the framework of the efforts for institutionalization of GRB. These efforts are closely informed by the Public Expenditure and Finance Accountability Assessment (PEFA) supplementary assessment on gender - and in line with the newly adopted Public Finance Management Strategy (PFM) for 2023-2030 and SDG indicator 5.c.1

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

The consultant will work closely with a team comprising one national and one international expert in Public Finance Management (PFM) and Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB). The primary responsibilities include conducting gender analysis of at least one selected budget sub-program within the Ministry of Energy and extending mentorship support to the working group established for piloting gender responsive budgeting. In addition, the consultant will extend mentorship support and guidance to other pilot ministries (up to 5), under the guidance of the national and international consultants.

• Examine budget allocations for the selected budget programme of the Ministry of Energy and assess its gender responsiveness based on the availability and relevance of gender-disaggregated data within the referenced budgets of the ministry.

• Identify and quantify gender disparities in access to services, or beneficiary selection, including procedures, inclusivity, and allocated amounts under the specific programme.

• Contribute to formulating actionable recommendations to address identified gender gaps and enhance the gender responsiveness of targeted sub-programme for the upcoming fiscal year.

• Consolidate findings, analyses, and recommendations into a detailed report highlighting gender gaps in the energy vulnerability sub-program.

• Assist in designing and delivering capacity-building activities focused on gender-responsive budget analysis for the working group at the Ministry of Energy

• Provide mentorship support and guidance to up to 5 other line ministries, and enhance their knowledge and capacities on gender responsive planning and budgeting.

The consultant will report to the Project Officer on Gender Responsive Governance (EVOLVE4GE project), who will serve as the primary contact for all matters related to the contract and payments. The consultant’s work will be carried out under the overall coordination of the EVOLVE4GE Project Manager.

The consultant is expected to maintain regular communication and coordination with the Project Officer on GRG regarding the progress of deliverables. Additionally, the consultant must promptly inform UN Women in writing of any unforeseen challenges or risks that may arise during the assignment and propose a backup plan to ensure the timely and successful completion of deliverables.

Deliverables

Deliverable

Expected completion time (due day)

Installments

Detailed outline – of the analysis approach, methodology, and timeline.

June 2026

1st Installment

Draft summary report of budget spending patterns and gender-disaggregated data findings.

August 2026

A detailed report identifying and quantifying gender gaps and a PPT.

September2026

2nd Installment

A document containing actionable recommendations for enhancing gender responsiveness in the selected budget subprogramme for the next fiscal year budget planning.

October 2026

Mentorship reports and related materials (inputs and recommendations for introducing gender objectives and indicators) developed for line ministries piloting gender responsive budgeting

November 2026

3rd Installment

Final report that integrates all findings, analyses, and recommendations, presented in a clear and accessible format

December 2026

• The first and last final deliverables should be in English

Payments shall be made following certification by UN Women that the services related to each deliverable, as described above, have been satisfactorily performed and the deliverables have been achieved by or before the due dates specified above, if any.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy, with no travel required for this assignment.

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:

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Shares knowledge and experience

• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside UN Women

• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills

• Development and Operational Effectiveness

• Demonstrates excellent written and oral communication skills. Communicates sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies

• Demonstrates very good understanding of and experience in communications and outreach/advocacy

• Ability to perform a variety of standard specialized and non-specialized tasks and work processes that are fully documented, researched, recorded and reported

• Ability to review a variety of data, identify and adjust discrepancies, identify and resolve operational problems

• Uses Information Technology effectively as a tool and resource

Leadership and Self-Management

• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback

• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude

• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure

• Proven networking skills and ability to generate interest in UN Women’s mandate

• Identifies opportunities and builds strong partnerships with clients and partners

Work in teams:

• Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree in public administration, social studies, sociology, gender studies and/or international relations, or any other degree relevant to the requirements of the TOR 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 2 years of experience in drafting and writing policies, reports, or guidelines, preferably in the context of gender analysis, budgetary programs, or gender-responsive budgeting initiatives is required.

• At least 2 years of experience in research and policy analyses is required.

• Experience in working on central government finance policies and processes – including medium-term budgeting program (MTBP), budgeting methodologies and approaches is consider an asset.

• Previous experience working with international organizations is considered an asset.

Languages:

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

• Knowledge of the Russian language is an asset.

Please note that only shortlisted will be contacted.

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.