UN Women Programme Coordination, Home based, National 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.

Working for the empowerment and rights of women and girls globally, UN Women’s main roles are: 

• To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms.
• To help Member States implement these standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it, and to forge effective partnerships with civil society.
• To lead and coordinate the UN system’s work on gender equality, as well as promote accountability, including through regular monitoring of system-wide progress.

UN Women has been working in Sri Lanka since 2014, marking a decade of service dedicated to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in the country. In our collective efforts to uphold women’s rights, we work collaboratively with the Government of Sri Lanka and other partners to develop national policies, conduct research and advocacy, and deliver programming on women’s economic empowerment, women’s leadership in governance and decision-making, Women, Peace and Security, and preventing violence against women and girls. Our goal is to help every woman and girl achieve her full potential, and build a more inclusive, just and equal Sri Lanka.

In Sri Lanka, UN Women is implementing programmes – such as the five-year project titled “THRIVE: Together for Her: Resilience-building, Inclusivity, and Voices for Equality in Sri Lanka” – to strengthen the economic and social resilience of women who are marginalized by equipping them with the resources needed to navigate and recover from crises, insecurity, and the impacts of climate change. UN Women’s work encompasses three main outcomes: a) Women’s enterprises are resilient to climate impacts and crises, b) Shifts in community attitudes towards the perception of women and positive behaviour change to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment, and c) Women’s participation in leadership and decision-making.

UN Women in Sri Lanka also coordinates efforts within the wider UN system to advance gender equality. The office coordinates advocacy efforts, generate knowledge, build networks, and monitor system-wide action and progress to position gender equality as fundamental to the Sustainable Development Goals in Sri Lanka, and a more inclusive world.

UN Women seeks to hire a qualified and experienced individual as the National Consultant – Programme Coordination to support with administrative, coordination and logistical aspects for the Sri Lanka office and its projects. 

Reporting to the Head of Office, the Consultant works with and provides support to the Head of Office and members of the Programme Team with necessary operational, administrative and programmatic support in line with UN Women rules and regulations.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Under the supervision and guidance of the UN Women Sri Lanka Head of Office, the Consultant – Programme Coordination is expected to undertake the following tasks, in close coordination with team at UN Women Sri Lanka and related project partners/stakeholders. The Consultant - Programme Coordination will remain accountable for the timely submission of the completed tasks as per the timeline given below. The consultant’s duties and responsibilities have been defined as follows:

1. Provide coordination and administrative support to the Head of Office

• Support the management of the Head of Office’s calendar and schedule of appointments and meetings;
• Arrange meetings for the Head of Office as required;
• Organise travel and logistics for the Head of Office’s work engagements, including missions for duty travel;
• Liaise and coordinate with other UN agencies, government counterparts, project partners, consultants, vendors and beneficiaries, as instructed by the Head of Office.
• Provide administrative support for meetings, events, and workshops;
• Organize and attend meetings, prepare minutes and summaries;
• Respond to and/or direct inquiries to appropriate colleagues for timely action/response;

     2. Provide coordination and administrative support for project implementation, particularly the Collective Leadership Dialogues 

• Provide administrative support with organizing logistics for project activities, events, trainings, meetings.
• Liaise and coordinate with other UN agencies, government counterparts, project partners, consultants, vendors and beneficiaries in implementing project activities.
• Support programme colleagues on-location and online events, involving internal and external participants including administrative support prior to, during and after the meetings/events – drafting emails, invitations, schedule, list of participants, etc.
• Support preparation of documents necessary for travel of staff such as canvassing of travel fares hotel reservations, prepare travel authorizations, and other documents as required
• Support contract issuance and amendment for consultants and make payments, as needed, upon receipt of deliverables
• Provide general administrative support such as but not limited to maintaining stationery supplies, distribution of stationery for field missions and keeping a log of distribution, as required
• Coordination and admin support as identified by the Project Manager.
• Maintaining filing systems and online document depository relevant to office.
• Any other responsibilities as assigned by the Supervisor.

 Expected Results

The National Consultant will remain accountable for the timely submission of the completed tasks as per the timeline given below. All tasks should be finalized in line with the feedback given by UN Women.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

The consultancy is expected to work part-time (15 days per month) starting from 15 January 2026 and continue until 31 December 2027. The consultant is expected to visit the UN Women Sri Lanka Office located at 202-204, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7 when requested and undertake travel to project locations along with the project team as required. As part of the official duty of this consultancy, if the consultant is expected to travel, this will be processed by UN Women, following the duty travel policy. 

Payments

Payments for this consultancy will be based on the completion of each task and certification that each task has been satisfactorily completed. Payments will be made upon submission of tasks completion report with the approval of the Head of Office of UN Women Sri Lanka. Mobile and internet bills, printing, stationery and travel cost may be reimbursed based on prior approval from UN Women, and will be processed separately, following the relevant policy. 

Intellectual Property

All information pertaining to this assignment (data, analysis, reports, documentary, digital, cyber, project documents, etc.) belonging to UN Women, which the consultant may come into contact within the performance of their duties under this assignment, shall remain the property of UN Women who shall have exclusive rights over their use. Except for purposes of this assignment, the information shall not be disclosed to the public nor used in whatever form, without the written permission of UN Women, in line with the national and International Copyright Laws applicable.

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 manage data/schedule, documents, correspondence, reports, and maintain protocol and information flow;
• Knowledge of administrative rules and regulations;
• Ability to perform work of confidential nature;
• Ability to create, edit, and present information in clear format, using appropriate IT functionality;
• Ability to administer administrative processes and transactions.
• Ability to coordinate and liaise with multiple stakeholders.
• Timely adherence to deadlines.
• Excellent communication skills in English and Sinhala/Tamil.
• Ability and willingness to travel to project locations.

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• Completion of secondary education is required.
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, public administration or related fields is an asset.

Experience:

• At least 6 years of progressively responsible experience with administrative, secretarial, or programme experience (including HR, procurement, or logistics support services); 
• Experience in the use of computer applications, software packages such as Microsoft Office, and web-based management systems is required;
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable
• Previous experience engaging with UN agencies, donors and high-level government stakeholders in Sri Lanka is preferred.

Languages:

• Proficiency in English and local languages (Sinhala/Tamil).

How to Apply 

Interested candidates are encouraged to submit an electronic application through UN Women website and complete all questions with below required documents below to upload to the system.

• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)
• P11 form to be filled online.

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.