UN Women: Gender Responsive Planning and Budget Consultant, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Consultant Contract, International 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.

Gender inequality in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is severe, with the country ranked 169 out of 170 globally. Women and girls face high rates of gender-based violence (GBV) and low literacy levels. The DHS 2016-2018 indicates that 54% of women have experienced GBV in the past year, and nearly 23% of women aged 15-49 have no formal education. Structural barriers, cultural norms, and weak protection systems worsen the situation. Tribal conflicts, sorcery accusation-related violence (SARV), and small arms proliferation, especially in the Highlands, increase violence. Despite policies to reduce discrimination, comprehensive strategies are urgently needed to address these issues and achieve gender equality. Additionally, ongoing conflicts have displaced communities, further exacerbating GBV incidents. The persistence of these challenges highlights the critical need for targeted interventions to promote social stability and human rights and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly 05 on gender equality, 10 Reduce Inequality and 16 Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions.

Building on the gains of the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative to Eliminate Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in Papua New Guinea (PNG), UN Women, UNFPA and UNOPS (Agencies) have commenced implementation of a joint initiative entitled “Soim Wokabout: Gender-Based Violence Referral Pathways Programme”, financed under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI Global Europe). The joint programme aims to reduce the incidence of GBV in communities in target provinces, including in and out of schools (Eastern Highlands and the National Capital District). This will capitalize on existing programmes addressing specific forms of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHRs) while supporting prevention and protection efforts for GBV survivors, strengthening access to justice, and ending violence against women and girls at national, provincial, district, and community levels. It seeks to scale up effective integrated approaches to deliver quality coordinated services, strengthen referral pathways, mobilize communities and networks to address harmful gender and social norms fueling GBV and SARV and promote implementation of laws and policies to reduce GBV and SARV while mobilizing national, provincial and community leadership on the programme’s investments to enhance sustainability.

The joint programme’s specific objectives are: 1. To increase access of women, men, girls and boys in all their diversity, experiencing gender-based violence, to essential quality services, protection and justice. 2. To improve advocacy and agency of civil society organisations, women’s rights organisations, social movements and communities to end gender-based violence (GBV). 3. To make more effective the engagement of community leaders, male advocates and influential groups and actors in society in changing discriminatory social norms, gender stereotypes, GBV and harmful practices.

The introduction of the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence 2026–2035, the National Public Service Gender Equity and Social Inclusion Policy, and the Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (GEWE) Policy demonstrates the Government of PNG’s commitment to advancing gender responsive planning and budgeting (GRPB). These policy frameworks, among others, integrate gender considerations into government planning and budgeting to ensure that resources are allocated according to the specific needs of women, girls, boys, men and other marginalised groups. 

Assessments under the Spotlight Initiative also recommend the integration of gender perspectives into budgetary processes at both national and sub-national levels to enhance transparency and accountability in governance. Furthermore, the assessments highlighted the importance of creating opportunities for capacity building on GRPB for civil society, churches and other key stakeholders. Strengthening their capacity is critical to ensuring that public budgets reflect the diverse needs of women, girls, boys, the marginalised groups, while also enabling stakeholders to hold the government accountable.

UN Women has successfully delivered Phase I of its Gender Responsive Planning and Budgeting (GRPB) capacity-building initiative, targeting government officials and civil society in priority provinces. Anchored in Spotlight Initiative findings, this intervention aims at building gender perspectives into budgetary processes at both national and sub-national tiers, to advance transparency and accountability in public governance. Complementary assessments have identified strategic opportunities to extend GRPB capacity building to civil society, churches, and wider stakeholder networks. This expanded engagement is essential to ensuring public budgets equitably respond to the needs of women, girls, boys, and marginalized populations, while equipping non-state actors with the technical capacity to monitor and hold government accountable for gender-responsive resource allocation.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

This consultancy will be conducted under the overall leadership of the Country Representative and the direct supervision of the Deputy Country Representative, in close coordination with the EVAWG Programme Technical Coordinator. The consultant will strengthen the national government's GRPB mechanism by collaborating with the ODW (under the DfCDR) and the Department of Treasury to mainstream GRPB across government entities. Supported by a National Consultant, the lead consultant will also engage sub-national government representatives, civil society, and other key stakeholders. Throughout the assignment, the consultant will receive technical support and input from the UN Women team and collaborate with other implementing agencies, including UNFPA and UNOPS.

Gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) is a strategic approach to integrate gender equality priorities into planning, budgeting, expenditure tracking and accountability frameworks. It does not create separate budgets for women; rather, it ensures that public resources are allocated and spent in ways that respond to the different needs of women, men, girls and boys.

The Government of Papua New Guinea has demonstrated commitment to inclusive development and public sector reform. However, strengthened technical support is required to institutionalize GRB across central agencies and line ministries, improve budget processes, and enhance evidence-based decision-making. The GRPB intervention will support the Government in further advancing its national and international commitments including Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Medium-Term Development Plan IV 2023-2027 (MTDP IV) and Vision 2050.

To advance these commitments, UN Women seeks to recruit an International Specialist on Gender-Responsive Budgeting to provide expert technical and capacity development support to the Government of Papua New Guinea.

Objective of the assignment

To strengthen national systems, capacities and institutional mechanisms for integrating gender-responsive budgeting into government planning, budgeting, monitoring and accountability processes in Papua New Guinea. The Gender Responsive Planning and Budgeting Consultant will undertake the following tasks:

Task 1.  Technical advisory support
•    Provide expert advice to UN Women on the design and implementation of programme interventions that advance Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRPB) at the national and subnational levels.
•    Provide strategic and technical advice to the Government on GRB policy frameworks, tools, implementation approaches and its institutionalization across key national departments – Finance, Treasury, National Planning and Monitoring and, Community Development and Religion. This would be through use of the diagnostic/assessment findings into practical GRPB interventions such as development of gender budget statement and ensuring that recommendations are aligned with government planning cycles and reflect institutional realities and context. 
•    Support the integration of gender equality priorities into national and sector budgeting processes, ensuring that the interventions are aligned with development plans, SDG commitments, and responsive to the Papua New Guinea context.
•    Develop high-quality analytical reports, policy briefs, analytical reports and practical evidence-based recommendations to strengthen GRPB implementation. 
•    Develop practical manuals, guidelines, reporting templates and technical guidance notes for ministries and sectors in applying GRPB.

Task 2.  Diagnostic assessments and analysis
•    Develop checklists, indicators aligned with national policies and international standards (such as SDG 5, CEDAW) and customize tools to reflect local governance structures or sector-specific gender issues or existing public financial management systems. 
•    Undertake a systematic review of key government documents to identify gaps and opportunities for advancing gender-responsive planning and budgeting. This will include analyzing national and sector policies, strategic plans, annual work plans, and budget allocations and expenditures, and assessing whether gender commitments are clearly articulated, appropriately costed, and linked to measurable outputs and outcomes.
•    Conduct gender analysis as part of the diagnostic process to identify inequalities and structural barriers, using sex-disaggregated and qualitative data to assess disparities in service access, resource allocation, and institutional biases, if any, while highlighting key intersectional issues (disability, youth, rural women, others).
•    Review national and sector budgets to identify gender gaps, expenditure trends and potential entry points for gender-responsive reform such as through budget statements/circulars whilst aligning with government planning and budgeting cycles institutional capacity 
•    Monitoring budget implementation, to assess whether allocations for gender equality are executed as planned, identify any diversions or inconsistencies, and document key findings to strengthen accountability.

Task 3: Leverage UN Women’s Phase 1 interventions of GRPB to conduct capacity assessment to conduct capacity development
•    Assess capacity of government officials and their institutions to implement GRPB by evaluating staff knowledge and skills on gender and budgeting, availability of gender focal points, and internal coordination mechanisms, as well as reviewing existing guidelines, tools, procedures, and accountability systems.
•    Develop a GRPB training module and training materials as desired. Share them with UN Women team for review and inputs.
•    Building on UN Women’s phase 1 capacity building support, rollout refresher training programmes for government officials and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) at national and subnational levels, parliamentarians and relevant stakeholders on GRB concepts, tools and practical application.
•    Provide ongoing mentoring and technical support to designated focal points within key line ministries to strengthen the integration of GRPB into annual planning and budget submissions.
•    Conduct an institutional GRPB assessment of the GEWE Parliamentary and budget committees, identifying capacity, enablers, and constraints to strengthen legislative scrutiny and accountability for gender-related budget allocations

Task 4: Systems strengthening
•    Support the establishment and strengthening of GRPB coordination Unit within Government 
•    Support the development and institutionalization of gender-responsive budgeting tools, including budget statements, inputs to budget call circulars, and where feasible, budget tagging systems or expenditure tracking tools across key line ministries. 
•    Strengthen the use of sex-disaggregated data to inform evidence-based planning and budgeting decisions. 
•    Propose and support the establishment of institutional accountability mechanisms to monitor gender-related budget allocations, implementation, and results.

Task 5: Stakeholder coordination and partnerships
•    Support key GRPB institutions to facilitate dialogue and collaboration among government institutions, civil society organisations, academia and development partners to advance gender-responsive efforts. 
•    Represent UN Women in relevant meetings as desired.
•    Promote knowledge sharing and exchange of good practices by linking stakeholders with regional and global experiences in gender-responsive planning and budgeting. 
  
Task 6. Monitoring and reporting
•    Prepare inception, progress and final reports. 
•    Track milestones, risks and implementation progress. 
•    Document lessons learned and good practices. 
 

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel:
Primary duty station: Port Moresby. Travel to provinces within Papua New Guinea may be required. Any travel will be arranged in accordance with UN Women rules and procedures. The assignment requires full time presence in Papua New Guinea at the selected Government Coordination Entity and UN Women Office and therefore is an office-based consultancy. This assignment is based in Port Moresby with expected travel to the field and as part of this assignment.

The consultant will be required to travel to the field to facilitate meetings and workshops with key stakeholders such as the civil society, churches, youths and women’s networks as well as the government officials. The duration of these intermittent visits to the field will be a maximum of 30 days.

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:

• Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
• Strong capacity building, facilitation skills and editorial skills
• Knowledge and expertise on public finance management processes and policies
• Strong networking and coordination skills
• Strong knowledge of Results Based Management
• Strong analytical skills
• Good knowledge of UN grant management systems
• Knowledge of CSO role in working to prevent and respond to Gender based violence in a developing country context
• Ability to develop respectful relationships within a Melanesian context
• Strong inter-personal skills, communicate effectively with staff at all levels of the organization
• Ability to work in a highly pressured environment

State Required Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in public administration, social sciences, human rights, gender/women’s studies, international development 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
• A project/programme management certification (such as PMP®, PRINCE2®, or MSP®) would be an added advantag

Experience:

• Minimum 2 years relevant experience in working on central government finance policies and processes, including the medium-term development plan at national or sub-national level, budgeting methodologies and approaches.
• 5 years of relevant professional experience in gender responsive budgeting application either at the national or regional level.
• Previous experience in designing and delivering training and/or mentoring programmes on gender equality and gender mainstreaming in policy making and budgeting.
• Experience at the policy framework/advocacy and inter-ministerial coordination, of gender-related issues and engaging with the gender mainstreaming process in development plan, is considered an asset.
• Familiarity with country and regional context on gender equality is considered an asset.
• Experience working in the Pacific region, Papua New Guinea, or similar contexts
• Experience working in the UN System is an asset
• Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible experience in public finance management, budgeting or fiscal policy. 
• Demonstrated international experience in gender-responsive budgeting reforms. 
• Proven experience advising governments and ministries of finance. 
• Experience in the Pacific region or small island developing states is highly desirable. 
• Experience working with UN agencies or development partners is an asset. 

Competencies

• Strong analytical and policy drafting skills. 
• Excellent facilitation and training skills. 
• Strong stakeholder engagement and diplomacy skills. 
• Results-oriented with ability to work independently. 

  Performance Indicators

• GRPB roadmap endorsed or adopted. 
• Number of Ministries/Sectors applying GRPB tools. 
• Increased technical capacity of government officials. 
• Integration of gender priorities in budget submissions. 
• Practical mechanisms /systems established for monitoring gender allocations/expenditures.
• Improved GRPB coordination, reporting and accountability 
• Strengthened strategic partnerships for GRPB resource mobilization and implementation.

Languages:

Excellent verbal and written English. Proficiency in Pidgin (PNG) 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.