UN Women: Women Entrepreneurship Consultant: Knowledge Gateway for Women?s Economic Empowerment

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women is working 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 centre of all its efforts, UN Women is leading and coordinating United Nations System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It is providing strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. Advancing women’s economic empowerment is a core UN Women priority. UN Women, in collaboration with CIDA, is now developing an online portal, the Knowledge Gateway for Women’s Economic Empowerment. The Knowledge Gateway seeks to respond to the demand for a multilingual and multi-dimensional one-stop platform that offers information and knowledge sharing solutions for evidence-based cutting-edge research, data, technical resources and good practices that are replicable and scalable. It will also provide mentoring and networking opportunities for women entrepreneurs and gender equality advocates practitioners and policy makers and programme managers from around the world. The incumbent will join the Knowledge Gateway team, to develop a strategy on engagement with women entrepreneurs with the aim of leveraging resources, building capacity and generating innovative initiatives that will support the economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs.

Duties and Responsibilities

The objective of this consultancy is to support the development of a strategy for women entrepreneurs on the Knowledge Gateway. The consultant will, in consultation with the Knowledge Gateway Regional Coordinators, Regional Economic Advisors or the Regional Deputy Directors (depending on the region): Conduct a desktop research of existing training material, matching tools (investors/entrepreneurs), learning tools, how-to-guides and webinars. Inputs would be sought from the Knowledge Gateway Ad Hoc Working Group on Women Entrepreneurship, and the consultative group in Washington D.C; Develop a Women Entrepreneurship Strategy and Implementation Plan for the Knowledge Gateway; Develop five to ten ‘how-to-guides’ (1-5 pages each) on key issues currently not available (as informed by the desktop research). Focus and number of guides will be decided upon recruitment; Set up a small working group of women entrepreneurs (with regional and sectoral balance) that would serve to provide inputs and feedback on the new ‘how-to-guides’ developed as well as the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy and Implementation Plan. Feedback should also be sought from the Ad Hoc Working Group and the consultative group in Washington D.C; Develop a database of women entrepreneurs’ networks for outreach and communication on the Knowledge in Washington D.C; Identify a set of short- and medium-term opportunities for engagement with women entrepreneurs on the Knowledge Gateway. Duration of the assignment: The assignment will be undertaken during the period 17 June to 31 August 2013. Location of assignment: The consultancy is home based. Remuneration: The applicant will be paid on the basis of a daily rate.

Competencies

Core Values/Guiding Principles Integrity: Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct. Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity: Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff; Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity. Core Competencies Professionalism: Sound knowledge of women entrepreneurship and understanding of their online capacity and potential online engagement. Communication: Excellent communications skills; strong interpersonal skills; ability to work in an online environment. Teamwork: Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations, both within the UN system and externally; ability to work in a multicultural and multi-ethnic environment with respect for diversity. Ethics and Values: Demonstrating / Safeguarding Ethics and Integrity. Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment. Self-management and Emotional intelligence: Creating synergies through self-control. Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning: Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others. Functional Competencies Proven understanding of the world of women’s entrepreneurship and their network; Knowledge of the UN system and its agencies; Experience in creating and developing databases; Excellent research skills; Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback; Capacity to plan, prioritize and deliver tasks on time; Ability to work under pressure.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Advanced university degree in social sciences or related fields. Experience:  A minimum of 5 years of professional experience working with women entrepreneurs.  A good understanding of the United Nation’s system’s normative and operational work. Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required. Working ability in French and Spanish is an asset. Note: 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. All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded fromhttp://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment. Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.