Women's Economic Empowerment Programme Development Support, National Consultant

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.

UN Women Iraq Country Office is seeking to deepen its support to national partners, in particular the NDIW, HCWD and other parts of the national women's machinery, including within the Prime Minister Office, to advance priorities related to women's economic empowerment. In this regard UN Women is undertaking a scoping exercise to identify areas where UN Women can collaborate most impactfully, ensuring alignment with other ongoing national employment initiatives, and those supported by the UN system, including ILO, ITC, IOM, and others.

To ensure the scoping exercise is fully grounded in the Iraqi context and aligned with government policy directions, UN Women is seeking to engage a national consultant who will work closely with the Iraqi women's machinery, and ensure structured engagement with line ministries and other relevant institutions. The consultant will support evidence gathering, policy and programme mapping, data analysis, and stakeholder identification, feeding directly into the design of the WEE programme of support for UN Women.  

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Representative, the consultant will be reporting to the Programme Specialist, and will be supported by the Executive Associate, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

The consultant will support the development of the Iraq WEE Programme by carrying out analytical, coordination, and stakeholder engagement tasks. Specifically, the consultant will:

Policy, Stakeholder and Institutional Mapping

• Conduct a comprehensive mapping of government strategies, plans, and sectoral priorities relevant to women's employment and economic empowerment (Labour, Planning, Social Protection, Agriculture, Industry, Youth, Education, etc.).
• Map ongoing government programmes that include women's economic empowerment, focus on sector specific priorities (tourism, green jobs, agriculture, construction etc) 
• Map donor-funded national initiatives relevant to WEE and identify entry points for collaboration.
• Map UN system support to employment programmes and identify ways to scale and complement these from the perspective of WEE, with emphasis on financial inclusion for women and young women, green jobs, care
• Map key stakeholders (UN, government, other) and financing partners
• Identify financing and partnership opportunities of bolster and scale impact of existing work

Coordination with NDIW, Line Ministries and UN

• Work closely with national women's machineries and governmental stakeholders, including line ministries such as Labour, Economy, Trade, Education, and Agriculture, to gather institutional priorities, review existing WEE-related documents, identify funding opportunities, and document potential areas for partnership that can feed into the development of the UN Women Iraq WEE programme
• Work with key UN agencies to identify complementarities (ILO, ITC, IOM and other relevant agencies)

Evidence Gathering and Data Analysis

• Compile and synthesize available statistics on women's labour force participation, unemployment, informal employment, care economy gaps, and relevant sectoral data.
• Summarize findings into clear analytical notes for UN Women including actionable recommendations.

Contribution to the WEE Programme Design (SWEI country chapter)

• Provide analytical inputs, evidence, and government priorities for the Women's Economic Empowerment Programme Document and Concept Note, aligned to regional SWEI country chapters.
• Recommend strategic entry points for innovation in WEE (green economy, digital work, agriculture value chains, care economy, private sector engagement, etc.).
• Ensure all recommendations are aligned with SWEI and the UNW Global WEE Strategy.

Stakeholder Engagement and Reporting

• Support the organization of consultation meetings with government, UN agencies, private sector, and civil society.
• Prepare meeting notes, summaries, and follow-up actions.
• Produce reports that synthesize findings, opportunities, and recommendations for the WEE programme.

Deliverables

• 
  
  Deliverables
  Expected completion time (due day) 
  
  Inception note summarizing methodology and workplan
  By 25 December 2025
  
  Develop comprehensive mapping of government, UN and other employment and WEE-related priorities, strategies, and programmes.
  By 20 January 2026
  
  Develop an analytical summary of donor-funded and government-funded WEE-relevant programmes, accompanied by a stakeholder engagement report (NDIW and line ministries) outlining identified priorities, funding  and financing opportunities, and partnership entry points
  By 30 January 2026
  
  Submit final consolidated country chapter summarizing all findings, recommendations, and alignment with SWEI
  By 20 February 2026
  
  

Consultant's Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy with no requirement for travel. 

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:

• Excellent analytical and research skills.
• Understanding of and commitment to gender equality and women's political empowerment and its policy implications.
• Excellent writing skills and organizational skills.
• Strong knowledge and use of computer office tools.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a team and in a cooperative and productive fashion both with internal and external colleagues.
• Proven writing skills in Arabic, conforming to required standards.

Required Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• Master's degree economics, public policy, development studies, gender studies, or a related field is required.
• First-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of relevant work experience, in economic analysis, project design, policy design, research on Women's Economic Empowerment is required.
• Computer skills, internet communication and command of MS Office is required.
• Experience working with government institutions in Iraq is desirable.
• Prior work on women's economic empowerment, gender-responsive programming, or donor-funded development programmes is desirable. 

Languages:

Proficient in written and oral Arabic and English 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.