UN Women: International Consultant for Programme Quality Assurance and Oversight (Retainer), Home-Based

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.

UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) addresses gender equality and women’s empowerment challenges in the Asia-Pacific region, including deeply embedded discriminatory social norms and practices that perpetuate inequalities based on gender and other intersectional identities (e.g. ethnicity, class, region, age, disability, migratory status, and sexual orientation and gender identity, among others). The Regional Office works across the following areas: Governance and Inter-governmental support, including Gender Statistics; Women’s Economic Empowerment, including Migration; Ending Violence Against Women; Women Peace and Security; Climate Change; Disaster Risk Reduction; and Humanitarian Action. Covering 42 countries within Asia and the Pacific, it exercises its triple mandate and functions, i.e. normative, coordination, and high-quality programming at a regional level and in support of UN Women’s offices and UN Country Teams in 24 countries across the region. ROAP also oversees and manages programming in programme presences. UN Women Regional Office Project and Programme Support and Management Unit (PSMU) is established to provide advisory services and direct support for project and programme development and implementation across the region.

The Retainer Technical Consultant for Programme Quality Assurance and Oversight will be reporting to the Regional Programme Management Specialist at Programme Support and Management Unit (PSMU) for the Asia-Pacific region and will be supported by a Programme Associate who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues. The consultant will play a proactive role in supporting the oversight of appraisal mechanisms, the quality assurance of field documentation and reviews, and the capacity assessment of offices to increase Delegation of Authority (DoA) for project approval, and related capacity-building support. The consultant works in close collaboration with regional programme teams, country offices (COs), multi-country offices (MCOs), and non-physical presences (NPPs) to ensure effective programme quality assurance and oversight, including special reviews and advisory inputs as required.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

The Retainer Technical Consultant for Programme Quality Assurance and Oversight will provide on-demand technical services across the following functional areas. Specific assignments, timelines, and outputs will be agreed upon prior to each engagement.

1. Programme Quality Assurance and Appraisal Support

• Provide technical support to assess and strengthen regional and country-level programme quality assurance and oversight mechanisms, with a focus on appraisal processes for RPAC and LPAC, ensuring compliance with UN Women corporate standards and policies.
• Deliver structured quality assurance feedback and recommendations to improve the quality, coherence, and compliance of submissions.
• Support the strengthening and standardisation of appraisal processes, including compliance with corporate tools, templates, and tracking systems.
• Develop an oversight strategy with clear activities, responsibilities and tools to detect delays, gaps in Partner monitoring, including pending actions in Partner and Grants Agreements Management System (PGAMS).

2. Quality Assurance of Field Documentation and Reviews

• Contribute to the systematic sample-based quality assurance reviews of field-level documentation and Partner monitoring processes, e.g. LPAC packages, partner documentation, including Risk-based Capacity Assessments, feedback provided by Project Managers, etc., to identify recurring issues, compliance gaps, and areas for improvement, and propose corrective actions.
• Collaborate closely with regional programme teams, COs/MCOs/NPPs to ensure coordinated support and alignment between programme implementation and corporate quality assurance requirements.

3. Capacity Assessment for increasing DoA to field offices

• Support implementation and monitoring of the capacity assessment plan.
• Conduct capacity assessment for COs/MCOs/NPPs and formulate evidence-based recommendations to support decision-making on increasing DoA.
• Apply corporate frameworks and provide assessment reports with findings and recommendations.

4. Capacity Building and Technical Advisory Support

• Design and deliver targeted capacity-building initiatives, including training, guidance materials, and on-the-job advisory support to enhance programme quality assurance and appraisal capacities.
• Provide hands-on advisory support to programme and operations teams to improve readiness and quality of submissions.

Expected Outputs

Under the retainer arrangement, the consultant will deliver assignment-based outputs upon request by the Regional Programme Management Specialist for the Asia-Pacific region. Expected outputs will include, but are not limited to:

• Quality-assured appraisal reviews, including written technical feedback on Concept Notes, ProDocs, budgets, revisions, and LPAC/RPAC submissions.
• QA assessment notes and reports on field documentation and review processes, including identification of gaps, risks, and recommendations for improvement.
• Capacity assessment reports for COs/MCOs/NPPs related to Delegation of Authority (DoA), including analysis, findings, and actionable recommendations.
• Capacity-building outputs, including training sessions, presentations, and advisory support documentation e.g. training materials, summary notes, or follow-up recommendations.
• Analytical briefs and knowledge products highlighting trends, recurring issues, and lessons learned in programme quality, compliance, and oversight.
• Ad hoc technical advisory outputs, including written inputs, reviews, or recommendations provided in response to emerging programme quality assurance needs.
• Oversight strategy with clear activities, responsibilities and tools to detect delays, gaps in Partner monitoring.
• Synthesis of best practices and lessons learned for adaptive oversight and quality assurance.

All outputs are expected to be high-quality, evidence-based, aligned with UN Women corporate policies and standards, and submitted within the agreed timelines for each assignment. The deliverables must be submitted in writing in English. Upon receipt and prior to paying the first instalment, UN Women will review and approve the tasks, related reports and documents. The review period is 7-10 working days after receipt.

Consultant's Workplace and Official Travel
This is a home-based consultancy without official travel.

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:

• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting.
• Ability to build strong relationships with clients; focuses on impact on results for the clients and responds positively to feedback.
• Ability to manage complexities.

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Business Administration, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political/Development Studies, or other relevant discipline 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;
• PRINCE2® Practitioner and/or Project Management Professional (PMP®) and/or Managing Successful Programmes (MSP®) Practitioner certification is an asset.

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible experience in project and programme management, quality assurance and oversight, including risk monitoring and mitigation at national and international levels is required;
• Proven track record of quality assurance of programme design and reporting, performance monitoring and implementing Partner oversight across multi-project or multi-country portfolios in development and/or humanitarian contexts is required;
• Technical expertise in all aspects of project management, including planning, financial management, budget management, risk management, communications and stakeholder engagement, is required;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling web-based management systems is required;
• Experience in data analysis, knowledge management, or reporting to inform decision-making and track the impact of digital or AI-related initiatives is an asset.
• Prior relevant experience in the UN System and understanding of UN accountability frameworks and compliance standards is desirable.
• Prior relevant experience in the Asia-Pacific region is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• The assignment runs from 1 July 2026 to 31 December 2026, for six (6) months with the possibility of extension.
• The consultant will be engaged on a retainer output-based/daily rate basis, with a maximum of 100 working days during the contract period. UN Women does not warrant the maximum of 100 days.
• Payments will be made based on the actual number of days worked and/or completion of agreed assignment outputs, as confirmed by the hiring unit.
• For each assignment: Consultant’s Profile Profiles of consultants included in the retainer system of experts will be published on the internal UN Women system and made accessible to UN Women ROAP and MCOs/COs/NPPs.. How to Apply 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.
  • A task request or agreement will be issued outlining the scope of work, expected outputs, and level of effort;
  • The consultant will submit the agreed outputs and a timesheet/invoice indicating days worked.
  • Payment will be certified by the hiring manager/supervisor upon:
    • Satisfactory completion and acceptance of outputs;
    • Verification that deliverables meet the required quality standards;
    • Confirmation of the actual level of effort utilised for the assignment.
  • No payment will be made in advance. Payments will be processed only upon certification of satisfactory performance in accordance with UN Women policies and procedures.
  • The total cumulative payments shall not exceed the maximum contract value or 100 working days stipulated in the contract.
  • Membership in the retainer system of experts is valid for three (3) years.
  • Fill in the online application in Quantum;
  • A cover letter with a maximum length of 1 page;
  • Examples of previous work will be requested from shortlisted candidates only.