UN Women National Consultant - Documentation And Research New Delhi India

1. 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 gender equality. UN Women supports Member States and partners in advancing women’s leadership and participation, ending violence against women, promoting women’s economic empowerment, and integrating gender equality into national planning, budgeting, and development processes.

In India, UN Women works with government institutions, civil society organisations, development partners, and other stakeholders to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment. A key area of its work is Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB), which seeks to ensure that policies, plans, public expenditure, and resource allocation respond effectively to the different needs, priorities, and realities of women and men. Through its GRB programme, UN Women India supports efforts to strengthen institutional capacities, improve gender analysis in planning and budgeting, promote evidence-based decision-making, and enhance accountability for gender equality commitments. This work includes engagement with relevant Union Ministries and State Governments, strengthening technical capacities and institutional mechanisms, and facilitating dialogue among stakeholders to promote the effective integration of gender perspectives into public financial management.

As part of these efforts, UN Women India facilitates multi-stakeholder engagement and advocacy to strengthen gender-responsive public financing, including through the Annual Feminist Pre-Budget Consultation. The consultation provides a platform for civil society organisations, feminist economists, researchers, practitioners, development partners, and other relevant stakeholders to deliberate on emerging budgetary priorities and fiscal policies from a gender equality perspective. It seeks to bring evidence, field-level experiences, and feminist perspectives into discussions on the Union Budget, identify gaps in resource allocation and implementation, and generate actionable recommendations for more equitable and inclusive public expenditure. The consultation also creates opportunities to consolidate stakeholder inputs, strengthen collective advocacy, and communicate key recommendations to relevant policymakers and other decision-makers in the budget process.

In this context, UN Women India envisages engaging a consultant to support the planning, coordination, and documentation of the Annual Feminist Pre-Budget Consultation. The consultancy will contribute to the effective organisation of the consultation, including the preparation of the concept note and agenda, stakeholder and speaker coordination, participant management, documentation of deliberations, consolidation of key recommendations, and development of communication materials. The assignment will help ensure that the consultation’s discussions and outcomes are systematically captured and disseminated to inform ongoing advocacy and engagement on gender-responsive budgeting and public financing for gender equality in India.

Within this context, UN Women Inda seeks the services of consultant to coordinate the organizing of a feminist pre-budget consultation. The Consultant will work under the guidance and supervision of the Coordinator, Gender Responsive Budgeting, UN Women India Office. 

2. Roles and Responsibilities 

Under the guidance of UN Women, India and in close coordination with relevant stakeholders, the Consultant will be responsible for supporting the planning, coordination, communication, and documentation of the Feminist Pre-Budget Consultation. The responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Stakeholder Coordination
• Organize and facilitate planning meetings with concerned stakeholders.
• Ensure timely communication, circulation of meeting materials, and follow-up on agreed action points.
• Participant Management
• Manage the registration process for all participants.
• Maintain updated participant records, including contact details, travel requirements, and confirmations.
• Agenda and Concept Note
• Draft the Concept Note and Agenda based on inputs from UN Women and key partners.
• Revise and finalize documents in consultation with stakeholders.
• Invitations and Speaker Engagement
• Prepare and issue invitations to speakers, panelists, and participants.
• Follow up on confirmations, bios, and session requirements.
• Session Documentation and Event Reporting
• Coordinate notetaking and documentation of all Consultation sessions.
• Compile and prepare the complete event report, including participant list and key recommendations.
• Communications & Social Media Outreach
• Develop a social media and communications outreach plan with relevant teams.
• Support at least 10 social media posts to amplify visibility of the Consultation.
• Knowledge Sharing
• Share the final list of recommendations and the event report with all participants and relevant stakeholders.

3.Deliverables

• Deliverable 1: Concept Note and Agenda for the Feminist Pre-Budget Consultation, finalized in consultation with UN Women and relevant stakeholders. 
  • Timeline: November 15
  • Payment: 20%
• Deliverable 2: Comprehensive Event Report, including session summaries, participant list, and consolidated key recommendations. 
  • Timeline: November 27
  • Payment: 40%
• Deliverable 3: At least 10 social media posts drafted and/or coordinated for posting to enhance the visibility of the Consultation. 
  • Timeline: November 28
  • Payment: 20%
• Deliverable 4: Complete set of documentation files, meeting notes, and consolidated records, including dissemination of the final recommendations and event report to relevant stakeholders. 
  • Timeline: December 2
  • Payment: 20%

Total payment: 100%

(Please note that payment will be processed upon completion of deliverables as per timeline and upon submission of requisite payment documents.)

4. Evaluation Criteria of submissions

• Understanding of the assignment and its objectives - 33%
• Coordination, organisational, and stakeholder management skills - 33%
• Communication skills, problem-solving ability, and capacity to deliver quality outputs within timelines - 34%
• Total - 100%

Please Note:

• Travel, if any will be reimbursed by UN Women with prior approval and submission of F-10 form with original ticket stubs, vouchers, etc. as per actuals.
• For an assignment requiring travel, consultants of 65 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work to engage in the consultancy.
• Due to large number of potential applicants, only competitively selected candidates will be contacted for remaining steps of the service procurement process.
• Contract will be issued initially for one year. It will be extended subject to availability of funds.
• This is a full-time assignment. The consultant is expected to disclose any outside activity and shall not be permitted to take up any outside work during the course of this assignment.

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity 
• Integrity 
• Professionalism 

Functional Competencies:

• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills
• Focuses on impact and result for the partners and responds positively to feedback.
• Sound understanding of development issues and gender
• Adheres to deadlines and follows up on time-bound issues
• Maintains diplomacy, tact and strict confidentiality with internal and external partners and clients.
• Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.
• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
• Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multiethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.
• Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behaviour towards others.
• Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.
• Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.
• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
• Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multiethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.
• Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behaviour towards others.
• Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.
• Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Education

• Master’s Degree or equivalent in Social Sciences/Economics/Social Work /Gender Studies/Public Administration/Policy or related fields.

Experience

• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience at the national/state level working with development projects preferably on Gender Responsive Governance, Gender Equality and Women Empowerment; with hands-on experience of design, implementation and monitoring/evaluation of projects.
• Some experience of working with national/ state governments on gender issues, preferable on gender responsive budgeting. 
• Experience of undertaking budgetary/ policy analysis and capacity building of government officials.
• Proficiency in the use of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.).

Language

Proficiency in English; good command over Hindi in reading and writing.