UN Women exists to advance women’s rights, gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. As the lead United Nations entity on gender equality and secretariat of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, we shift laws, institutions, social norms and services to close the gender gap and build an equal world for all women and girls. Our partnerships with governments, women’s movements and the private sector, coupled with our coordination of the broader United Nations, deliver lasting changes. We make strides in four areas: leadership, economic empowerment, freedom from violence, and peace, security and humanitarian action. UN Women keeps the rights of women and girls at the Centre of global progress–always, everywhere. Because gender equality is not just what we do. It is who we are.
Across Asia and the Pacific, UN Women promotes gender equality and women’s empowerment. UN Women implements programs (including normative and advocacy) in 41 Member States in the region, including Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kiribati, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Viet Nam, through direct implementation as well as implementing partners, which include government entities, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, UN agencies, and non-UN intergovernmental organizations.
At the global level, UN Women became a full member of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) in October 2022, further strengthening the organization’s role in advancing Gender in Humanitarian Action across global, regional, and country-level humanitarian coordination architecture. In line with the Grand Bargain commitments, humanitarian reset and reform discussions, the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, there is continued recognition of the need for more localized, inclusive, accountable, and gender-responsive humanitarian action. These global commitments emphasize strengthening accountability to affected populations, advancing women’s leadership and participation in humanitarian decision-making, and increasing support to women-led organizations as key actors in preparedness, response, recovery, resilience-building, and disaster risk reduction efforts.
Across Asia and the Pacific, the increasing frequency and complexity of disasters, climate-related emergencies, displacement, and conflict-related shocks continue to reinforce the importance of strengthened gender-responsive humanitarian programming and coordination. In this context, UN Women supports Member States, humanitarian actors, women-led organizations, and partners in advancing localization commitments, strengthening gender-responsive humanitarian action and disaster risk reduction, and enhancing technical capacity, coordination, knowledge generation, and inter-agency collaboration across humanitarian settings in the region.
UN Women’s humanitarian programming in Asia and the Pacific is shaped by ongoing analysis of humanitarian needs, coordination gaps, institutional capacities, and emerging humanitarian priorities. Current initiatives are implemented at both regional and country levels, including support to Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Groups and coordination mechanisms, humanitarian preparedness and response efforts, localization initiatives, capacity-building, knowledge production, and engagement with regional humanitarian platforms and inter-agency processes.
UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) seeks to expand its existing pool of experts and engage consultants under an international retainer contract to provide technical support across humanitarian action, disaster risk reduction, localization, humanitarian coordination, monitoring and evaluation, capacity-building, and related humanitarian thematic areas. The consultants will serve as on-call technical resources to the Regional Office, Multi-Country Offices, and Country Offices, supporting humanitarian programming, coordination processes, analysis and knowledge generation, capacity strengthening, and implementation support across the region.
UN Women appreciates flexible and timely access to specialized expertise. The retainer modality enables UN Women to request technical support, as needed, through work orders that define specific assignments, deliverables, and timelines. The consultants will serve as a resource in advancing UN Women’s humanitarian action, disaster risk reduction, localization, and Gender in Humanitarian Action programming across the region. The retainer contract does not guarantee a minimum volume of work, and consultants may decline assignments depending on their availability and area of expertise.
Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work
Under the supervision and guidance of the team lead humanitarian, disaster risk reduction and climate change team, and/or regional humanitarian coordination specialist, humanitarian focal points and/or deputy representatives in multi-country offices (MCOs) and country offices, this retainer pool seeks expertise in humanitarian coordination, gender in humanitarian action, localization, disaster risk reduction, humanitarian preparedness and response, capacity-building, monitoring and evaluation, resilience-building, humanitarian policy and programming, and related humanitarian thematic areas. Consultants may provide technical, analytical, coordination, and programmatic support across one or more of the following areas, depending on organizational needs and the consultant’s expertise:
1. Humanitarian Programming and Technical Support
- Support the design, implementation, monitoring, and reporting of gender-responsive humanitarian action, disaster risk reduction (DRR), preparedness, response, recovery, resilience-building, localization, and anticipatory action initiatives across Asia and the Pacific.
- Contribute to the development of programme documents, concept notes, funding proposals, technical guidance, and operational tools related to humanitarian action, the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, and gender equality.
- Provide technical support to UN Women Regional Office, Multi-Country Offices, and Country Offices in responding to emerging humanitarian priorities, crisis response efforts, and surge support requirements.
- Support programme quality assurance, implementation oversight, and documentation of programme results and achievements.
2. Coordination, Partnerships, and Humanitarian Engagement
- Support UN Women’s engagement in regional humanitarian coordination platforms, UN system mechanisms, inter-agency processes, and Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Groups.
- Facilitate coordination and collaboration with governments, humanitarian actors, women-led organizations, women’s rights organizations, civil society organizations, and regional, national, and sub-national stakeholders.
- Support the organization and facilitation of regional consultations, technical meetings, workshops, learning exchanges, and coordination dialogues related to gender-responsive humanitarian action, localization, and resilience-building.
- Contribute technical inputs to partnership initiatives, inter-agency coordination processes, humanitarian policy discussions, advocacy efforts, and regional engagement on localization and gender equality commitments.
3. Research, Assessments, and Data Analytics
- Conduct humanitarian research, assessments, and analysis to identify gender-specific needs, vulnerabilities, capacities, and trends in humanitarian and disaster risk contexts.
- Support the design and implementation of Rapid Gender Analyses (RGAs), Post-Disaster Needs Assessments (PDNAs), gender profiles, multi-sectoral needs assessments, and other analytical exercises.
- Conduct data analysis and interpretation to strengthen evidence-based humanitarian programming, policy development, and decision-making.
- Develop methodologies, indicators, monitoring frameworks, and analytical products to support gender-responsive humanitarian action, disaster risk reduction, and anticipatory action initiatives.
- Contribute to reports, publications, briefing materials, and evidence products highlighting gender dimensions of humanitarian crises and disaster risks.
4. Capacity Development and Knowledge Management
- Develop training materials, learning resources, toolkits, and knowledge products related to Gender in Humanitarian Action, disaster risk reduction, localization, and anticipatory action.
- Facilitate capacity-building activities, technical workshops, simulations, trainings, and learning sessions for humanitarian actors, UN entities, governments, women-led organizations, and civil society partners.
- Support information management activities, including data collection, analysis, visualization, information products, dashboards, situation updates, and knowledge systems to strengthen evidence-based humanitarian coordination, decision-making, and reporting.
- Deliver training and learning initiatives on gender-responsive humanitarian programming, Gender and Age Marker (GAM), localization, women’s leadership, disaster risk reduction, and related thematic areas.
- Document lessons learned, good practices, implementation challenges, and emerging trends to support institutional learning and cross-country exchange.
Support knowledge-sharing initiatives and learning processes to strengthen gender-responsive humanitarian programming and coordination across the region.
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*Note: The service will be rendered on “on call” basis. UN Women does not warrant that the maximum of contract amount will be purchased during the term of the Agreement. While on retainer, there is no guarantee of work, and selected consultants retain the right to decline assignments based on their availability and expertise.
Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel
This is a home-based consultancy. As part of this assignment, there might be travel within the Asia-Pacific region as required. The travel will be arranged by UN Women following UN Women’s Travel Policy.
