UN Women: National Consultant on Gender-Responsive Policy, Research, and Institutional Capacity Strengthening, Home-based, Philippines

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.

Building on the EmPower Programme, UN Women and UNEP are advancing gender-responsive, human rights-based climate action in the Philippines by strengthening women’s leadership, resilience, and participation in climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and environmental governance. Through support to gender-responsive climate planning, financing, and policymaking, including local climate action plans, the People’s Survival Fund, and key national climate frameworks, the programme contributes to UN Women’s broader agenda of resilient communities and gender-transformative governance. By expanding women’s influence in decision-making, strengthening institutional responsiveness, and promoting equitable access to resources and opportunities, the programme seeks to accelerate a just, inclusive, and climate-resilient future.

Complementing this work, UN Women plays a central role in advancing the UN System-wide Gender Equality Acceleration Plan (GEAP), a flagship initiative launched in 2024 to strengthen accountability and institutional performance on gender equality across the UN system. Through the development of Country Gender Equality Profiles and Biennial Reviews, GEAP supports evidence-based analysis, identifies structural barriers to gender equality, and informs UN Country Team priorities, national development strategies, and Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks. Together, these efforts strengthen the integration of gender equality across climate, humanitarian, and development agendas while enhancing accountability, coherence, and impact.

Delivering these key work areas requires specialized technical expertise to generate evidence, conduct assessments, develop tools and policy guidance, and strengthen the capacities of government and key stakeholders. UN Women therefore seeks a national consultant to provide technical expertise in the review, alignment, adaptation, and contextualization of frameworks and approaches that advance gender-responsive policy and governance across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, supporting inclusive resilience-building and sustainable development outcomes consistent with UN Women’s global priorities and country-level commitments in the Philippines.

The consultant will be reporting to the Country Programme Coordinator, and will be supported by the Operations Associate, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

The National Consultant on Gender-Responsive Policy, Research, and Institutional Capacity Strengthening will perform and deliver on the following tasks:

1. Undertake technical desk reviews and produce evidence-based recommendations, complemented by training design and facilitation support, to strengthen gender mainstreaming in national policy processes, including on climate adaptation
2. Develop, refine and/or adapt gender-responsive toolkits, monitoring frameworks, analytical instruments and strategic approaches, including anticipatory action, humanitarian engagement and gender data mapping, paired with capacity building support to ensure effective institutional uptake and application
3. Provide guidance and deliver in depth analytical and advisory support across programmes, including conducting targeted capacity building interventions
4. Any other requests within their functional profile, as guided by the supervisor

Expected Deliverables (Payment will be processed upon approval of the following deliverables)

1. Undertake technical desk reviews and produce evidence-based recommendations, complemented by training design and facilitation support, to strengthen gender mainstreaming in national policy processes, including on climate adaptation

• 1.1 Technical desk review of the Enhanced LGU Guidebook on the Formulation of the Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (target date of completion on 13 November 2026)
  • Draft recommendation on mainstreaming gender in the LCCAP formulation process
  • Develop training design on the capacity building for the trained coaches on LCCAP formulation
• 1.2 Support the review of the developed Localization Roadmap on Gender Mainstreaming in National Adaptation Plan (target date of completion on 14 December 2026)
  • Provide substantive input on the draft toolkit on gender mainstreaming and NAP localization
  • Provide inputs on gender mainstreaming in the CDP process in the toolkit

2. Develop, refine and/or adapt gender-responsive toolkits, monitoring frameworks, analytical instruments and strategic approaches, including anticipatory action, humanitarian engagement and gender data mapping, paired with capacity building support to ensure effective institutional uptake and application

• 2.1 Develop the gender data mapping framework and preliminary analytical framework to support the drafting process of the Country Gender Equality Profile (CGEP) (target date of completion on 30 January 2027)
  • Conduct initial desk review and gender data mapping (October 2026) and draft preliminary analytical framework for GTG review and data collection (October-December 2026)
• 2.2 Support in the technical review and provide inputs on policies related to anticipatory action, and DRMM planning and policies (target date of completion on 31 March 2027)
  • Conduct desk review on the anticipatory action protocols and existing mechanisms
  • Provide inputs on the supplemental guidebook to be developed by UN Women with OCD
• 2.3 Support in the development of the Country’s Gender in Humanitarian Action Strategy (target date of completion on 28 May 2027)
  • Support in providing technical review and inputs on draft UN Women Country Gender and Humanitarian Strategy
  • Support in providing technical review and inputs on the draft stragegy note for Engaging Private Sector in Humanitarian Action
  • Support in the conduct of the capacity-building in integrating gender for private sectors in the humanitarian action
• 2.4 Support the drafting of the full draft and validation activities for the CGEP (target date of completion on 18 June 2027)
  • First full draft (January – February 2027) and final full draft of the CGEP (May-June 2027), and support consultations and validation activities (March/April 2027)

3. Provide guidance and deliver in depth analytical and advisory support across programmes, including conducting targeted capacity building interventions

• 3.1 Support research and capacity strengthening on Gender and Development (GAD) budgeting and programming of key government agencies and counterparts (target date of completion on 30 August 2027)
• 3.2 Facilitate institutional advisory sessions and/or training to strengthen gender mainstreaming practices across partners (target date of completion on 30 September 2027)
• 3.3 Final report and debrief (target date of completion on 29 October 2027)

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

UN Women will provide the National Consultant with substantive inputs to ensure the completion of deliverables in line with the objectives of the organizations. This is a home-based consultancy, with reporting to UN Women Philippines office as needed. The consultant may access the UN Women Philippines office for printing of relevant documents or when required to work on-site at any point during the assignment.

As part of this assignment, there may be at least 2 mission related to the scope of work, which will be arranged by UN Women in accordance with UN Women’s travel policy.

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 produce timely and high-quality outputs
• Ability to multi-task and work independently with little supervision
• Strong interpersonal, negotiation, presentation and communication skills, including ability to listen actively and respond effectively
• Strong resourcefulness, logical thinking
• Technical credibility in research and technical writing on gender equality and women’s empowerment
• Excellent analytical skills with strong drive for results and capacity to work independently
• Excellent English communication and writing skills (Samples of previous work may be required)

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Gender and Development, Public Administration, Sociology, International Law, Statistics 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 advantage

Experience:

• At least 2 years of professional experience on gender equality and the empowerment of women
• Experience working on gender equality and development issues in the Philippines
• Knowledge of the UN system and international frameworks on gender equality and the SDGs is highly desirable.
• Experience in drafting and production of research papers and reports, project development, results-based reporting and facilitating KIIs and consultations/workshops is required

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Filipino is required
• Knowledge of any other UN official language is an asset

Please include in your submission package:

• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page);
• Shortlisted candidates may be asked to provide other materials relevant to the pre-assessment of their language experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns, or other applicable documents.

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.