Women in Leadership Consultant

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 Kenya Country Programme contributes to the development objectives of Kenya’s blueprint Vision 2030 and contributes to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5 on gender equality. The Kenya Country Programme is also aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2022–2025) and the UN Women Global Strategic Plan. The Kenya Country Programme prioritizes four results: (i) increased women’s leadership and participation in governance; (ii) strengthened women’s empowerment (WEE); (iii) enhanced protection and access to justice for women and girls; and (iv) women’s leadership in peacebuilding and humanitarian response. UN Women adopts an integrated approach that recognizes how these thematic areas intersect and reinforce each other. 

In Kenya, the UN Women Country Programme contributes to the development objectives of Kenya’s blueprint, Vision 2030, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5 on gender equality. It is also aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2022-2025) and the UN Women Global Strategic Plan. In its new Strategic Note, the Kenya Country Programme aims to achieve the following results: (i) increased women’s leadership and participation in governance; (ii) strengthened women’s economic empowerment; (iii) increased protection of women against gender-based violence and access to justice for women; and (iv) strengthened women’s leadership in peacebuilding and humanitarian response.

Under our current SN, UN Women has invested in partnership with strategic partners to advance Women in Leadership and Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) portfolio. This therefore means that, UN Women Kenya supports initiatives that enhance the productivity of women in the food and natural resources value chains, including agricultural and marine value chains, increase access to markets and procurement opportunities, and promote gender-responsive care policies while placing women at the centre of leadership and decision making. UN Women Kenya recognizes that women’s economic empowerment and leadership are deeply interconnected, considering that sustainable transformation requires women’s full and equal participation in leadership and decision-making at all levels. As women gain economic independence, their influence in governance, community development, and institutional accountability equally expands. Guided by the goal of ensuring that women and girls inhabit an inclusive, enabling, and peaceful society where human rights are upheld, UN Women works to strengthen women’s capacities to participate in leadership roles and contribute meaningfully to decision-making processes at national and county levels, especially within the economic space. This focus aims to advance transformative governance systems that are gender-responsive, participatory, and grounded in the rule of law.

To guide and harmonize efforts toward women’s economic empowerment, the Government of Kenya, through the State Department for Gender Affairs and Affirmative Action (SDfGAAA), in collaboration with UN Women, has developed the National Policy on Women’s Economic Empowerment (NPWEE). This policy provides a comprehensive framework to address structural and systemic barriers to women’s full and equal participation in the economy, promote gender-transformative programming, and strengthen institutional mechanisms for advancing women’s economic participation and empowerment, as well as women’s participation in leadership roles and decision-making processes within the economic sectors. It aims to ensure that women and girls benefit from equitable access to economic opportunities, resources, and services, contributing to national productivity and sustainable development.

This is critical as a National Policy on Women’s Economic Empowerment (NPWEE) will serve as a catalyst for ensuring financial inclusivity and seamless integration of women within the broader, long-term economic development agenda. The policy is taking on board issues of Sustainable Development Goals, Vision 2030 and emerging development issues related to socio (traditional gender norms) and economic health (poverty, HIV, gender-based violence) and environmental challenges (climate change), that have implications on gender equality. This corresponds with the provisions of the Kenyan Constitution (2010), Kenya’s Vision 2030, the Medium-Term Plan IV, the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and international and regional commitments such as the African Union Agenda 2063, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). 

To this end, UN Women is supporting the Government of Kenya to operationalize the National Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Policy through capacity building, coordination, and multi-stakeholder engagement at both national and county levels. This includes strengthening the capacities of national and county governments to implement the policy, integrate WEE priorities into planning and budgeting processes, and foster accountability mechanisms for inclusive economic development. At the community level, UN Women is working with partners and the private sector to raise awareness of the WEE Policy and advocate for the inclusion of women’s economic empowerment and women in leadership initiatives within County Annual Development Plans and budgets, ensuring that policy commitments translate into tangible benefits for women and girls across Kenya.

While the National Policy on Women’s Economic Empowerment (NPWEE) primarily focuses on addressing barriers to women’s participation in economic opportunities, it also underscores the integral link between economic empowerment and women’s leadership. Meaningful and sustained economic transformation cannot be achieved without strengthening women’s voices, representation, and influence in decision-making spaces. Women’s participation in leadership and governance, whether in political institutions, private sector boards, cooperatives, or community organizations, creates the enabling environment necessary for gender-responsive economic systems to thrive. It ensures that women’s perspectives shape the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of economic policies and programmes, thus reinforcing accountability, inclusivity, and sustainability in development outcomes.

In light of this, UN Women Kenya seeks to engage a consultant to support the Women in Leadership component of the National Policy on Women’s Economic Empowerment (NPWEE). The Consultant will provide technical assistance to strengthen the leadership and governance dimensions of the policy’s implementation, with a focus on enhancing women’s participation in decision-making processes at national and county levels. Specifically, the role will support policy advocacy, institutional coordination, and capacity building for state and non-state actors to mainstream gender-responsive leadership within economic governance structures. The Consultant will also facilitate partnerships with key stakeholders, including government agencies, the private sector, academia, and civil society, to advance transformative leadership pathways for women and promote accountability mechanisms that sustain women’s influence in governance and economic decision-making.

Reporting to directly to the Deputy Country Representative with a matrix Women’s Economic Empowerment Team Lead, the Consultant will support the Programme and Operations Teams in advancing the Women in Leadership component of the National Policy on Women’s Economic Empowerment (NPWEE) and in democratic governance broadly. The Consultant will contribute to the design and implementation of initiatives that strengthen women’s participation and leadership in governance and economic decision-making processes at national and county levels. This includes providing technical support for policy advocacy, stakeholder coordination, research, and capacity building, as well as contributing to resource mobilization and ensuring effective programme delivery in line with UN Women’s mandate.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Consultant's Workplace and Official Travel

The Consultant will be based in the UN Women Nairobi Office on a part-time basis with flexible arrangements for outreach programmes.

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:

IV. Required Qualifications

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Gender Studies, Public Policy, Political Science, Development Studies, Economics, or a  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:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in the areas of women’s leadership, gender equality, governance, or women’s economic empowerment.
• Experience in designing and implementing programmes that advance women’s participation in governance or decision-making at national and county levels.
• Proven experience in policy analysis, advocacy, and institutional capacity development, preferably in collaboration with government institutions or intergovernmental mechanisms.
• Demonstrated track record in facilitating multi-stakeholder coordination and partnerships, including with government, private sector, and civil society.
• Experience with UN agencies or international organizations will be considered an asset.

Language:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Working knowledge of Kiswahili 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.