Programme Consultant, Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE)

Programme Consultant, Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) vacancy at United Nations Development Programme

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. 

Women’s economic participation and paid and unpaid work contribute enormously to sustainable development and are key for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. Women make major contributions to the economy, directly and indirectly contributing to economic growth and development. The most direct route is via workforce participation, which boosts production – and thus income, savings, and tax contributions at the household, community, and national levels. And while the world has advanced significantly in ensuring equality in women’s and men’s legal rights to work, rights at work and access to economic resources, structural barriers continue to constrain women and girls from enjoying their full rights. Discriminatory laws, policies and social norms persist in impeding women’s full and equal participation in the economy. Additionally, shifts in the global economy and demographics, technological advancements, and protracted crises are driving a changing world of work, which presents both challenges and opportunities for women’s economic empowerment. Addressing the barriers to economic empowerment and unlocking opportunities requires work at multiple scales: from the attitudes, beliefs and practices of individuals and communities to institutions including workplaces, community organizations and public services, to economic markets and laws, policies, norms and regulations at national and international levels. It also requires engagement with and action from diverse stakeholders, each of which has a role to play in women’s movements, civil society organizations and workers representatives; to private sector employers and organizations, including commercial banks; to multilateral organizations including international financial institutions; to public sector policymakers and decision-makers, including the Central Bank.

Ethiopia’s Gender Development Index score of 0.14 signals a substantial gap in economic opportunities. Women face high unemployment, wage disparities, concentration in informal sectors, and limited access to credit and business licenses. The burden of unpaid care work is disproportionately borne by women and girls, and customary practices undermine legal rights to land and property despite legislative protections.

UN Women Ethiopia’s Strategic Note 2026-2030 is fully aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF 2025 - 2030) with 2 common outcome areas including one on women’s economic empowerment “All people in Ethiopia, more specifically the people who are left behind, benefit from inclusive, resilient, and sustainable economic development that prioritizes decent job opportunities and access to nutritious food and affordable green energy. (UNSDCF Outcome #2] ‘’. Linked with the advancing of gender equality normative framework and comprehensive empowerment and protection of women’s rights, the Outcome #2  will be implemented through programmes that focus on removing structural barriers to women's economic participation, such as investing in changing social norms and practices and promoting positive masculinity; skills training; and access to productive resources and finance for green and decent jobs including innovative financing solutions centered around private sector and public regulatory authorities . 

As part of setting up the adequate framework to reach the Women’s Economic Empowerment ambition, UN Women supported the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs (MoWSA) to develop a National Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy (2026-2030) focusing on the following 8 Strategic Objectives (SOs): 

SO1: Create an enabling policy environment for WEE 

SO2: Institutional capacity strengthening to drive the implementation of the national WEE Strategy 

SO3: Strengthening women’s access to key social services and infrastructure including ICT for digital financial services and 

        ICT driven efficiency 

SO4:  Sustainable and economically viable opportunities to enhance income and livelihoods for women

SO5: Provision of targeted integrated business development services for women entrepreneurs

SO6: Women’s participation in economic decision making and resource control 

SO7: Alleviate Women’s unpaid Care work burden along 5 Rs 

SO8: Partnership between Government institutions, Private Sector, CSOs and Development Partners to expand women’s economic opportunities and solutions.

To kick start the implementation of the Strategic Note 2026-2030 particularly on the WEE outcome, UN Women would like to hire a national WEE Programme Consultant to operationalize the above country level strategic objectives on WEE in a cohesive and coordinated manner. 

Reporting to Deputy Country Representative with the overall strategic guidance of the Country Representative, the National Programme Consultant contributes to the effective management of UN Women programmes in Ethiopia by providing substantive inputs to programme design, formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.  The National Programme Consultant guides and facilitates the delivery of UN Women programmes by monitoring results achieved during implementation and ensuring appropriate application of systems and procedures and develops enhancements if necessary.  The National Programme Consultant works in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, UN Women Regional Office WEE team, UN Women’s Liaison Office to African Union and UNECA, Government officials, private sector, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful UN Women programme implementation under portfolio

Contribute technically to the development of programme strategies in the area of Women’s Economic Empowerment 

• Provide substantive inputs to the design and formulation of programme/ project proposals and initiatives.
• Identify areas for support and intervention related to the programme.

Provide substantive technical support to the implementation and management of the WEE programme 

• Provide technical inputs to the annual workplan and budget; 
• Lead the implementation of WEE programme activities and priorities including the Care Economy dialogues led by UN Women Country Office as well as the Liaison Office to African Union and UNECA; 
• Lead the coordination of the call/request for proposals, including the organization of technical review committees, and capacity assessment of partners;
• Review, coordinate and monitor the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports;
• Train partners on Results Based Management and monitor implementation.

Provide technical assistance and capacity development to project/programme partners

• Coordinate and provide technical support in the implementation of programme activities; 
• Develop technical knowledge products
• Maintain relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of WEE programme;
• Identify opportunities for capacity building of partners and facilitate technical/ programming support and trainings to partners, as needed.

Provide technical inputs to the monitoring and reporting of the programme/ project

• Monitor progress of implementation of activities and finances using results based management tools;
• Draft reports on monitoring missions, programme results, outputs and outcomes; 
• Provide substantive inputs to the preparation of donor and UN Women reports.

Provide substantive technical inputs to the management of people and finances of the WEE programme

• Monitor budget implementation and make budget re-alignments/ revisions, as necessary;
• Provide substantive inputs to financial reports;
• The National Programme Consultant may be requested to supervise Programme Associate or other WEE support staff 

Provide substantive inputs to building partnerships and resource mobilization strategies

• Provide substantive inputs to resource mobilization strategies; analyze and maintain information and databases;
• Prepare relevant documentation such as project summaries, conference papers, briefing notes, speeches, and donor profiles;
• Participate in donor meetings and public information events, as delegated.

Provide technical support to inter-agency coordination on WEE to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes with other partners in the country

• Provide substantive technical support to the Representative and Deputy Representative on inter-agency coordination related activities by drafting background reports and briefs especially on UNSDCF Results Group 2 on Inclusive and Sustainable Growth 
• Serve as technical lead on WEE programmatic areas Inter-agency Joint programmes and initiatives 

Provide substantive inputs to advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts

• Develop background documents, briefs and presentations related to WEE programmatic area. 
• Coordinate and organize advocacy campaigns, events, trainings, workshops and knowledge products;
• Coordinate the development of knowledge management methodologies, and products on WEE.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: 

The incumbent will supervisor 1 Programme Associate under matrix management basis as well as possible WEE Support staff and assigned by the  Manager 

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 programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
• Good knowledge of Results Based Management
• Ability to gather and interpret data, reach logical conclusions and present findings and recommendations
• Good analytical skills
• Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising
• Good understanding of gender in macroeconomic policy including but not limited to fiscal policies, Social Protection including Care economy  , public procurement and other sectoral economically productive areas 
• Familiarity  with Private Sector engagement and entrepreneurship acceleration and business growth for women
• Prior experience with Women’s Economic Empowerment is required including in areas such as women’s entrepreneurship , women’s and climate change adaptation and resilience building and care economy . 

Education and Certification

• Master’s degree or equivalent in economics, agriculture economics, 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 would be an added advantage.

Experience 

• At least 2 years of progressively responsible work experience in development programme/project implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting and capacity building is required.
• Prior experience Women’s Economic Empowerment is required including in areas such as women’s entrepreneurship, climate resilience or care economy, 
• Experience in innovative financing constitutes added advantage.
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is desirable.
• Experience in leading teams is required.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required.
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.
• Previous experience with UN Agencies is desirable 

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable
• Fluency in Amharic 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.