National Consultant- Programme Analyst: Women Economic Empowerment

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 acknowledges that the economic empowerment of women including those facing intersecting forms of discrimination is a direct path towards gender equality, poverty alleviation and inclusive economic growth.  Nonetheless, the majority of women in Zimbabwe continue to be on the margins of economic development efforts with limited income security, few decent work opportunities and less economic autonomy. Furthermore, women’s economic livelihoods have been disproportionately affected by the general decline in Zimbabwe’s socio-economic indicators over the past decades caused by economic volatilities, rapid deindustrialization, inflationary pressures, public health disasters like Covid 19 and climate change-induced crises. The situation is aggravated by the dwindling financing for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in many countries including Zimbabwe. It is against this backdrop that UN Women in Zimbabwe, through its Women Economic Empowerment initiatives, is collaborating with multiple stakeholders including the private sector, Government of Zimbabwe, development partners and other stakeholders to empower women to meaningfully contribute to, and benefit from, economic opportunities in Zimbabwe.

 

To support effective implementation of this work, the Country Office is hiring a Programme Analyst for Women’s Economic Empowerment. With support and guidance from the Deputy Country Representative, the Programme Management Specialist, programme and operations teams, the consultant will be reporting to the WEE Focal Point  who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

Duties and Responsibilities

 

Provide substantive inputs to research and thought leadership efforts

• Provide substantive inputs to the formulation and review of background documents, policy briefs, research reports and presentations related to Women’s Economic Empowerment.
• Support the engagement and monitoring of partners contributing to the knowledge management activities under the Women’s Economic Empowerment portfolio
• Provide support in the preparation and implementation of knowledge management methodologies, advocacy initiatives, events, trainings and workshops that foster research and thought leadership on women’s economic empowerment

 

Contribute technically to the development and management of projects in the area of Women’s Economic Empowerment

• Provide substantive inputs to the planning and budgeting of Women’s Economic Empowerment programme/project activities
•  Provide back-stopping support to Women’s Economic Empowerment Team members   when needed. Identify areas of intervention and support in drafting concept notes and ToRs as required.
• Contribute to the implementation of project or programme activities including identification and engagement of programme participants

 

Provide technical inputs to the monitoring and reporting of programme/project activities, outputs and outcomes

• Monitor progress on implementation of activities and finances using results-based management tools.
• Visit the programme/project sites for onsite technical support as needed
• Constantly monitor and analyse the operating environment and support timely readjustment of the operations, advise on legal considerations and risk assessment in the implementation of Women’ Economic Empowerment initiatives.
• Draft reports on monitoring missions, programme results, outputs and outcomes.
• Provide substantive inputs to the preparation of donor and UN Women reports.

 

Deliverables

Consistent with the above duties and responsibilities, the WEE Analyst is expected to deliver the following:

Deliverable	No of days/duration	% Allocation and amount
Timey support to implementation of WEE projects	From  September 2024 to September 2025	25% of value of contract
Quarterly  progress reports (with supporting documents) on WEE programme activities including those directly implemented by the Country Office and those implemented through UN Women Partners.	Every Quarter from September 2024 to September 2025	70% of value of contract
Final report of delivered activities under the assignment, including, lessons learnt and key recommendations	September  2025	5% of value of contract

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a full-time office-based consultancy. As part of this assignment, the Consultant will be needed to work from the Harare Duty Station and go for field missions in different provinces of Zimbabwe as may be required as will be stipulated in the mission plans. 

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:  Technical credibility in research, Ability to perform economic analysis and business analysis   Technical credibility in market analysis and value chain analysis Credibility in business development and value chain growth Strong inter-personal skills, communicate effectively with staff at all levels of the organization; Commitment to continuous improvement

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification: Master’s degree or equivalent in Economics or Development studies or Gender studies  or other related social sciences is required. Experience: At least 3 years of progressively responsible work experience at the national level in different aspects of development work including design, monitoring and evaluation of projects as well as research and thought leadership aligned to economic development Demonstrated ability to develop and review reports, policy briefs and presentations Demonstrated ability to analyse and visualize socio-economic data using tools such as R, Stata, SPSS and E-Views Demonstrated ability to build relationships with diverse stakeholders is an asset Experience in setting priorities, budgets, work plans, participating in programme development and programme writing is an asset. Experience in gender analysis is an asset Experience in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) development, finance, and market studies and feasibility studies is an asset. Experience working in the UN System is an asset.   Languages: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of at least one local language is required.

V. How to Apply

Personal CV or P11 (P11 can be downloaded from: ) A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) One journal paper or policy brief or paper that demonstrates the applicant’s economic analysis skills Please note that the Country Office may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of the applicant’s experience, such as reports, presentations or publications.   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, colour, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided based on 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)