UN Women, Consultant to develop a report on “International Models for Gender-Responsive Procurement (GRP) Implementation in Public Procurement”, Home-based, National/ International Consultant

Background:

UN Women

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the empowerment of Women (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. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. 

In Viet Nam, UN Women contributes to the development objectives of Viet Nam’s Socio-Economic Development Plan and the National Strategy for Gender Equality. Its Country Strategy Note for 2022-2026 is aligned to the upcoming UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (CF) 2022-2026 and is focused on supporting Viet Nam’s fulfilment of Gender Equality commitments under The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the promise of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda to “leave no one behind”. The key priorities of UN Women in the 2022-2026 period are,  

(i)    People in Viet Nam, especially those at risk of being left behind, will benefit from and contribute to safer and cleaner environment resulting from Viet Nam’s effective and gender responsive mitigation and adaptation to climate change, disaster risk reduction and resilience building, promotion of circular economy, the provision of clean and renewable energy, and the sustainable management of natural resources.  
(ii)    By 2026, people in Viet Nam, especially those at risk of being left behind, will contribute to and benefit equitably from more sustainable, inclusive and gender-responsive economic transformation based on innovation, entrepreneurship, enhanced productivity, competitiveness, and decent work.  
(iii)    By 2026, people in Viet Nam, especially those at risk of being left behind, will have benefited from and have contributed to a more just, safe and inclusive society based on improved governance, more responsive institutions, strengthened rule of law and the protection of and respect for human rights, gender equality, and freedom from all forms of violence and discrimination in line with international standards.  
 
UN Women programme: WE RISE Together  -  Creating equal market opportunities for women by advancing Consultant Diversity through Gender-Responsive Procurement in Thailand and Viet Nam (WRT)  

WE RISE Together (WRT), a three-year Mekong-Australia Partnership (MAP) project developed by UN Women, started in March 2022. The project responds to the prioritization of women’s economic empowerment by expanding market access for Women-owned Businesses (WOBs)   and Gender Responsive Enterprises (GREs)   through procurement opportunities.

WRT tackles the structural gender inequities that exist within the global procurement market in which WOBs secure only one per cent of both public and private spending worldwide.  By introducing and advancing increased market access through gender-responsive procurement (GRP), WRT operates with the overall objective to empower more women to equally access, lead, and benefit from expanded market opportunities in the Mekong subregion.

Gender-responsive procurement (GRP): GRP is a tool for advancing women’s economic empowerment and gender equality in global supply chains by making supply chains more gender inclusive, resilient and equitable. Gender-responsive procurement (GRP) is defined as the sustainable selection of services, goods, and works that considers the impact on gender equality that goes beyond cost management. GRP also involves leveraging purchasing and sourcing opportunities to promote gender equality and support social and economic progress through gender-responsive measures at all stages and tiers of procurement and the supply chain. GRP includes due diligence approaches to identify and mitigate risks to gender equality, including women’s rights and non-discrimination, as well as to identify opportunities to advance gender mainstreaming in the supply chain Defined as “the sustainable selection of services, goods, or civil works that takes into account the impact on gender equality and women’s empowerment,” GRP is founded on international standards, agreements and principles relevant to improving gender-responsive working conditions and upholding women’s basic rights in the supply chain. It promotes sourcing from WOBs as well as GREs to empower women as business owners, employees and supply chain stakeholders. 

Women-Owned Business (WOB): Many governments and companies in Asia and the Pacific lack a working definition of WOBs. A few governments have their own national definitions. According to UN Women’s implementation guidelines for the Gender-Responsive Procurement Model Policy Framework (GRP-MPF) for UN System Organisations, a WOB is commonly defined in the UN system as a legal entity in any field that is at least 51 percent owned, managed and controlled by one or more women and independent from non-women-owned businesses. WRT phase 1 has adopted the most commonly used definition across the public and private sectors which is from IFC and used for this project. “An enterprise qualifies as a woman-owned enterprise if it meets the following criteria: (i) ≥ 51% owned by woman/women; or (ii) ≥ 20% owned by woman/women; and (a) has ≥ 1 woman as chief executive officer/chief operating officer/president/vice president; and (b) has ≥ 30% of the board of directors composed of women, where a board exists.” 

Gender-Responsive Enterprise (GRE): GRE is defined in this document as one that meets criteria for integrating gender equality and women’s empowerment principles in its policies and practices, and that is aligned with international norms and standards, including the Women’s Empowerment Principles and International Labour Organization standards.

Supplier Diversity: is an approach that promotes procurement from businesses that are majority owned and operated by traditionally underrepresented or underserved individuals or groups. 

WRT 2.0 is the second phase of the program, which builds on the successes and lessons of Phase 1, with aims to deepen and scale up efforts of the WRT Phase 1. WRT 2.0 will further be understanding of GRP concepts with the aim of increasing women's economic participation and empowerment by expanding equitable market opportunities for WOBs and GREs through public and private procurement systems. The programme design for WRT 2.0 builds on key achievements in Phase 1, namely:

•    Policy Influence: Advanced gender-responsive policies in public procurement systems and generated political will 
•    Business Model Resiliency and Market Access: Enabled participating WOBs to strengthen their business capacity and as a result, secure new business opportunities. 
•    Awareness and Tools: Launched the #BuyEqualCampaign, garnering over a million impressions, and introduced GRP assessment tools for private sector adoption and further scale-up.

The project’s primary goals are captured in three key outcomes:
•    Outcome 1: Increased awareness and commitment to GRP, demonstrated through increased adoption of GRP practices by public and private institutions and strengthened gender-responsive data on procurement. 
•    Outcome 2: Strengthened national public policies and/or  practices related to GRP and/or WOBs/GREs promotion that are aligned with existing regional frameworks
•    Outcome 3: Increased market connections and opportunities for WOBs and GREs. 
 
Operational context and rationale   
The Law No. 90/2025/QH15 adopted 25 June 2025 Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Bidding No. 09/2023/L-CTN adopted 3 July 2023, has expanded the scope of public procurement beyond price-based considerations to encompass broader social and development objectives, including gender equality and support for enterprises who employ many female workers and other underrepresented businesses i.e “Article 10. Incentives in contractor and investor selection include contractors who employ many female workers, war veterans, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities”. 
The Decree No. 214/2025/ND-CP of the Government detailing a number of articles and implementation measures of the Law on Bidding regarding contractor selection was promulgated and took effect on August 4, 2025, “Article 8, 17: The investor shall decide whether or not to apply the provision that procurement packages with an estimated value of under VND 500 million, for procurement cost estimates, are restricted to participation only by bidders whose workforce comprises 50% or more persons with disabilities, war invalids, or ethnic minorities”. 
Resolution No. 198/2025/QH15 on a number of special mechanisms and policies for private economic development (May 17, 2025) “Article 11. Incentives in contractor selection: Construction and installation bidding packages, goods procurement, mixed bidding packages for goods supply and construction using the state budget with a package price not exceeding VND 20 billion are reserved for small and medium-sized enterprises, with priority given to enterprises owned by youth, women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities”.  
While these policy changes represent a significant policy advancement, it also introduces a more complex and layered implementation environment, in which procuring entities must interpret and apply new provisions alongside existing laws, decrees, circulars, and procedural guidance.

For public procurement officials, who are the primary implementers of these reforms, this evolving regulatory matrix presents practical challenges. In the absence of clear, operational “how-to” guidance, there is a risk that GRP remains unevenly applied across institutions or treated as an abstract policy principle rather than an integral part of routine procurement practice. Inconsistent interpretation not only undermines policy effectiveness but can also inadvertently increase transaction costs and uncertainty for businesses, particularly smaller and women-led businesses with limited capacity to navigate complex or ambiguously applied requirements.

These challenges are further amplified by Viet Nam’s growing integration into international procurement markets. Through Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that include government procurement commitments, Vietnamese enterprises, including WOBs, are increasingly encouraged to participate in public tenders beyond the domestic market. This outward orientation is reinforced by recent national policy directions, such as Resolution No. 57/2025, which promotes a “Go Global” strategy for Vietnamese businesses. As a result, public procurement systems are expected not only to be inclusive, but also transparent, predictable, and aligned with international good practices.

In particular, procuring entities have highlighted the absence of consolidated, operational guidance illustrating how GRP considerations can be embedded across the procurement cycle in a manner that is compliant with existing regulations and defensible in audit and oversight processes. At the same time, women-owned businesses and business support organizations have emphasized that fragmented and inconsistently applied requirements can create disproportionate compliance burdens for smaller suppliers, reinforcing information asymmetries rather than reducing them. These perspectives are reinforced by UN Women’s analytical work and lessons learned from WRT Phase 1, which point to the need for implementation-focused tools that translate policy intent into clear procedures and shared reference points across institutions.

There is a clear need for a practical, implementation-oriented reference that demonstrates how GRP is operationalized in day-to-day procurement processes within existing legal and regulatory boundaries in different country contexts, and how such practices may be adapted to Viet Nam’s legal and institutional environment. 
Accordingly, this assignment is conceived as a system-supporting intervention that responds to shared implementation challenges identified by multiple stakeholders. It aims to strengthen coherence, predictability, and practical understanding of GRP implementation across the public procurement ecosystem.

In this context, UN Women seeks a consultant to develop a “Report on International Models for Gender-Responsive Procurement (GRP) Implementation in public procurement”. The target users of the report are (i) Primary users: Procurement officials at ministries and provincial governments, as the direct implementers of public procurement and GRP-related provisions; (ii) Secondary users: Public procurement policy, oversight, and coordination bodies (including the Ministry of Finance and relevant units), and public procurement training institutions responsible for guidance, monitoring, and capacity building; (iii) Other stakeholders / indirect beneficiaries: Enterprises, WOBs and other market participants, who benefit from clearer, more predictable application of GRP practices and improved transparency regarding how GRP considerations are reflected in procurement processes; as well as business support organizations and agencies engaged in supplier readiness and advisory support.
.  This technical assistance responds to that need by translating GRP policy intent into concrete procedures, tools, and decision-making frameworks for procurement practitioners, while supporting a procurement system that is clearer and more accessible for all market participants.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Under the supervision and guidance of the Programme Manager of the WRT 2.0 Project in Viet Nam and in close coordination with relevant stakeholders, including the Public Procurement Agency (PPA) under the Ministry of Finance (MOF), the consultant shall develop the “Report on International Models for Gender-Responsive Procurement Implementation”. 

Brief description of the expected Report   

The Report  Objectives

• To provide practical and operational guidance reference for implementing GRP in Viet Nam’s public procurement system, in response to the legal mandate introduced by the revised Public Procurement Law and other related legislations.
• To analyze international GRP implementation models, focusing on how procurement officials in different countries operationalize GRP in daily work beyond policy commitments, emphasizing actual procedures and tools.
• To identify common implementation challenges and propose practical solutions to support consistent and effective GRP application in Viet Nam.
• To explore how international practices may be realistically adapted to Viet Nam’s legal and institutional context.
• Primary users: Procurement officials at ministries and provincial governments, as the direct implementers of public procurement and GRP-related provisions.
• Secondary users: Public procurement policy, oversight, and coordination bodies (including the Ministry of Finance and relevant units), and public procurement training institutions responsible for guidance, monitoring, and capacity building.

Targeted users

• Other stakeholders / indirect beneficiaries: Enterprises, WOBs and other market participants, who benefit from clearer, more predictable application of GRP practices and improved transparency regarding how GRP considerations are reflected in procurement processes; as well as business support organizations and agencies engaged in supplier readiness and advisory support.

Main contents of the Report 

• Part 1: Introduction and context
• Part 2: International models for GRP implementation, including:
  • Overview of selected international GRP models .
  • Operationalization of GRP in daily procurement procedures.
  • Practical tools, templates, checklists, and case examples as available.
  • Addressing implementation challenges (FAQ section).
• Part 3: Operational recommendations for Viet Nam with adaptation of international practices.
• Part 4: Conclusion.

In particular, the consultant is expected to undertake the following activities:

Activity 1: Develop the report  framework

The supplier will develop the report  framework in English including (objectives, targeted users, contents, format) based on but not limit to the mentioned brief introduction on the expected Report

The supplier will consult the draft report framework with related stakeholders including the Public Procurement Agency (PPA) under the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and UN Women to get the mutual agreement. 

Based on the approved framework, under desk review of the current reports and documents, the supplier shall prepare Draft 1 of the Report in English and Vietnamese, including all technical content and operational procedures. 

The consultant shall collect feedback on Draft 1 through a targeted technical consultation with selected stakeholders. The consultant shall circulate Draft 1 to selected stakeholders and compile responses from the selected stakeholders to inform report revision

The consultant shall prepare the Draft 2 of Report incorporating comments and inputs from selected stakeholders including the Public Procurement Agency (PPA) under the Ministry of Finance (MOF) (in English and Vietnamese).

The supplier shall consolidate feedback from Activity 3 and inputs from UN Women and produce the Final Report in English and Vietnamese. 

All drawings, photographs, plans, reports, recommendations, documents, and all other data compiled by or received by the consultant under the Contract shall be the property of UN Women, shall be made available for use or inspection by UN Women at reasonable times and in reasonable places, shall be treated as confidential, and shall be delivered only to UN Women authorized officials on completion of work under the Contract. 

The payment will be provided in four instalments upon submission of deliverables with an approval of the Programme Manager on Women’s Economic Empowerment UN Women Viet Nam as below: 

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

The consultancy is due to start on 1 Sep 2026 and end on 28 Feb 2027.

This is a home-based consultancy, with possibility to present at the UN Women Office in Viet Nam (VCO) for meetings and consultations (schedule to be agreed later with supervisor). The consultant is required to undertake regular update meetings with the Programme Manager and Country Representative. Broader meetings with the VCO programme team or others will be based on demand and time availability of the consultant. 

As part of this assignment, there might be missions to selected provinces and cities to undertake required activities.

Work related travel of UN Women’s consultants are considered as official mission and will be arranged by UN Women, in line with UN Women’s Consultant Contract Policy, UN Women Duty Travel Policy and UN-EU cost norm.

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:

• Good knowledge and understanding on international commitments on gender equality, including CEDAW, CSW, Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and SDGs.
• Good knowledge of the private sector context of Viet Nam.
• Strong analytical, writing and presentation skills with strong drive for results and capacity to work independently.
• Ability to provide advice, facilitation, and support.
• Strong planning and organizing skills.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• Master's degree or higher in Public Policy, Public Administration, Law, Economics, Procurement, Business, Development Studies, Gender Studies, or related field.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of professional experience in public procurement, public financial management, procurement policy, procurement reform, or related fields.
• Minimum 10 years of experience conducting policy research, legal analysis, comparative studies, or development of technical reports.
• Minimum 5 years of experience integrating gender equality, women's economic empowerment, supplier diversity, inclusive business, or social inclusion considerations into policy, programmes, or procurement systems.
• Demonstrated experience of researching, advising, or supporting implementation of GRP, supplier diversity, or inclusive procurement policies.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Vietnamese is required.

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.