International Consultant – Gender Rapporteur, International Migration Review Forum (IMRF)

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.

Economic empowerment is one of the priority areas of UN Women. UN Women works with governments and partners to promote women’s economic empowerment and increase their access to economic opportunities and outcomes, especially for those who are most excluded, including women migrant workers. In 2018, the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was adopted by UN Member States. And as the blueprint for the governance and coordination of international migration, it is critical that gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls are central in its implementation. UN Women works to help ensure that migrant women’s human and labour rights are effectively promoted and protected at all stages of migration, and that the Global Compact for Migration is human rights-based and gender-responsive. Since 2019, UN Women has been implementing the Germany-funded Making Migration Safe for Women programme, which aims to strengthen gender-responsive migration laws and policies, advance international norms protecting migrant women’s rights, and promotes the collection and use of sex-disaggregated data to inform evidence-based policymaking. Through this work, UN Women supports Member States and partners to uphold the gender-responsive guiding principle of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) and help ensure that migration governance promotes women’s leadership, agency and rights and advances gender equality. 

The next International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) will convene during the first half of 2026 and will serve as the primary global platform for Member States and stakeholders to assess progress on GCM implementation. In order to ensure that gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls remain central to the IMRF, UN Women—in its capacity as a member of the Executive Committee of the UN Network on Migration – together with other members of the Round Table 4 (RT 4) workstream of the Network is seeking to hire a consultant to serve as an IMRF Gender Rapporteur. This role will support the Network’s Executive Committee to ensure a strong, intersectional gender perspective is embedded throughout the IMRF preparations and proceedings, help identify practices that can be shared and submitted to the UN Network on Migration repository of practices, amplify the agency and leadership of women and girls, and support governments in advancing ambitious, gender-responsive language in the IMRF Political Declaration, as well as national pledges of action.

The consultant will be reporting to the Policy Specialist on Gender and Migration, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues. The consultant will work in close coordination with members of the UN Network on Migration Round Table 4 Workstream. 

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

The consultant will:

• Convene members of RT 4 workstream to identify key activities to help strengthen gender considerations across the IMRF process, including by developing a strategy of engagement for the Network to ensure gender equality and women’s leadership and agency are centred throughout the IMRF process.
• Collaborate with RT4 “Gender Rapporteur” activity co-leads to craft key advocacy messages and “asks” for Member States.
• Track how gender is included in national GCM reports.
• Embed a strong gender focus into Network activities, as part of IMRF preparations, including in GCM Talks, and/or integrate gender equality considerations into relevant discussions in the leadup to the IMRF.
• Support the Network in tracking all relevant consultations toward the IMRF Political Declaration, highlighting gaps and identifying opportunities for partnerships to strengthen gender considerations in the Progress Declaration. 
• Attend the IMRF and follow and capture discussions related to gender equality and women’s empowerment, in coordination with the members of RT 4 workstream.
• Draft a press release capturing key gender insights emerging from the IMRF.
• Produce a final concise report analyzing how gender was integrated across the IMRF and offering recommendations for strengthening the Network’s work on advancing the gender-responsive principle going forward.

Deliverables

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based, part-time consultancy. 

As part of this assignment, there will be a maximum of 1 trip to New York City, USA to attend the IMRF. 

Core 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 Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrated knowledge on international norms and standards on gender and migration, including the GCM and IMRF.
• Proven track record working in high-level policy engagement and advocacy on gender and migration.

Required Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Gender Studies, Migration, International Development, or related field 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:

• Minimum seven years’ experience working on gender and migration, including substantive UN system experience. 
• Experience working for civil society organizations promoting the rights of migrants an asset. 
• Experience working with intergovernmental processes and multi-stakeholder initiatives; government policy experience, an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of French or Spanish or any other UN official language is an asset.

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.