Women In Leadership Consultant Opportunity

Job Description

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 Kenya Country Programme contributes to the development objectives of Kenya’s blueprint Vision 2030 and contributes to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5 on gender equality. The Kenya Country Programme is also aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2022–2025) and the UN Women Global Strategic Plan. The Kenya Country Programme prioritizes four results: (i) increased women’s leadership and participation in governance; (ii) strengthened women’s empowerment (WEE); (iii) enhanced protection and access to justice for women and girls; and (iv) women’s leadership in peacebuilding and humanitarian response. UN Women adopts an integrated approach that recognizes how these thematic areas intersect and reinforce each other.

In Kenya, the UN Women Country Programme contributes to the development objectives of Kenya’s blueprint, Vision 2030, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5 on gender equality. It is also aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2022-2025) and the UN Women Global Strategic Plan. In its new Strategic Note, the Kenya Country Programme aims to achieve the following results: (i) increased women’s leadership and participation in governance; (ii) strengthened women’s economic empowerment; (iii) increased protection of women against gender-based violence and access to justice for women; and (iv) strengthened women’s leadership in peacebuilding and humanitarian response.

Under our current SN, UN Women has invested in partnership with strategic partners to advance Women in Leadership and Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) portfolio. This therefore means that, UN Women Kenya supports initiatives that enhance the productivity of women in the food and natural resources value chains, including agricultural and marine value chains, increase access to markets and procurement opportunities, and promote gender-responsive care policies while placing women at the centre of leadership and decision making. UN Women Kenya recognizes that women’s economic empowerment and leadership are deeply interconnected, considering that sustainable transformation requires women’s full and equal participation in leadership and decision-making at all levels. As women gain economic independence, their influence in governance, community development, and institutional accountability equally expands. Guided by the goal of ensuring that women and girls inhabit an inclusive, enabling, and peaceful society where human rights are upheld, UN Women works to strengthen women’s capacities to participate in leadership roles and contribute meaningfully to decision-making processes at national and county levels, especially within the economic space. This focus aims to advance transformative governance systems that are gender-responsive, participatory, and grounded in the rule of law.

To guide and harmonize efforts toward women’s economic empowerment, the Government of Kenya, through the State Department for Gender Affairs and Affirmative Action (SDfGAAA), in collaboration with UN Women, has developed the National Policy on Women’s Economic Empowerment (NPWEE). This policy provides a comprehensive framework to address structural and systemic barriers to women’s full and equal participation in the economy, promote gender-transformative programming, and strengthen institutional mechanisms for advancing women’s economic participation and empowerment, as well as women’s participation in leadership roles and decision-making processes within the economic sectors. It aims to ensure that women and girls benefit from equitable access to economic opportunities, resources, and services, contributing to national productivity and sustainable development.

This is critical as a National Policy on Women’s Economic Empowerment (NPWEE) will serve as a catalyst for ensuring financial inclusivity and seamless integration of women within the broader, long-term economic development agenda. The policy is taking on board issues of Sustainable Development Goals, Vision 2030 and emerging development issues related to socio (traditional gender norms) and economic health (poverty, HIV, gender-based violence) and environmental challenges (climate change), that have implications on gender equality. This corresponds with the provisions of the Kenyan Constitution (2010), Kenya’s Vision 2030, the Medium-Term Plan IV, the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and international and regional commitments such as the African Union Agenda 2063, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

To this end, UN Women is supporting the Government of Kenya to operationalize the National Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Policy through capacity building, coordination, and multi-stakeholder engagement at both national and county levels. This includes strengthening the capacities of national and county governments to implement the policy, integrate WEE priorities into planning and budgeting processes, and foster accountability mechanisms for inclusive economic development. At the community level, UN Women is working with partners and the private sector to raise awareness of the WEE Policy and advocate for the inclusion of women’s economic empowerment and women in leadership initiatives within County Annual Development Plans and budgets, ensuring that policy commitments translate into tangible benefits for women and girls across Kenya.

While the National Policy on Women’s Economic Empowerment (NPWEE) primarily focuses on addressing barriers to women’s participation in economic opportunities, it also underscores the integral link between economic empowerment and women’s leadership. Meaningful and sustained economic transformation cannot be achieved without strengthening women’s voices, representation, and influence in decision-making spaces. Women’s participation in leadership and governance, whether in political institutions, private sector boards, cooperatives, or community organizations, creates the enabling environment necessary for gender-responsive economic systems to thrive. It ensures that women’s perspectives shape the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of economic policies and programmes, thus reinforcing accountability, inclusivity, and sustainability in development outcomes.

In light of this, UN Women Kenya seeks to engage a consultant to support the Women in Leadership component of the National Policy on Women’s Economic Empowerment (NPWEE). The Consultant will provide technical assistance to strengthen the leadership and governance dimensions of the policy’s implementation, with a focus on enhancing women’s participation in decision-making processes at national and county levels. Specifically, the role will support policy advocacy, institutional coordination, and capacity building for state and non-state actors to mainstream gender-responsive leadership within economic governance structures. The Consultant will also facilitate partnerships with key stakeholders, including government agencies, the private sector, academia, and civil society, to advance transformative leadership pathways for women and promote accountability mechanisms that sustain women’s influence in governance and economic decision-making.

Reporting to directly to the Deputy Country Representative with a matrix Women’s Economic Empowerment Team Lead, the Consultant will support the Programme and Operations Teams in advancing the Women in Leadership component of the National Policy on Women’s Economic Empowerment (NPWEE) and in democratic governance broadly. The Consultant will contribute to the design and implementation of initiatives that strengthen women’s participation and leadership in governance and economic decision-making processes at national and county levels. This includes providing technical support for policy advocacy, stakeholder coordination, research, and capacity building, as well as contributing to resource mobilization and ensuring effective programme delivery in line with UN Women’s mandate.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

1. Programme Implementation, Monitoring, and Reporting

• Re-align and update the NPWEE project costed workplan to enable accelerated implementation and delivery of planned outputs.
• Support monitoring and reporting on the progress of NPWEE implementation across counties and stakeholder groups, consolidating data for quarterly, donor, and UNINFO reporting.
• Support donor visibility and reporting efforts by documenting outcomes from high-level dialogues, trainings, and county engagements to demonstrate return on investment and partnership impact.
• Support and manage initiatives that promote women's political participation, with a focus on gender-responsive electoral support and women's leadership in public and private governance.

2. Capacity Building and Technical Support

• Support the sensitization of 16 County Gender Sector Working Groups on Women Economic Empowerment Policy – WIL component.
• Train women leaders in the private sector to advocate for implementation of the NPWEE.
• Support dialogues on mentorship, training, and participation of women in leadership and decision-making, especially in the economics and business, law, and health sectors.
• Workshops/trainings to increase the capacity of women leaders in the economic sector on the provisions of the NPWEE and to monitor and track the implementation of the NPWEE
• Workshops/training to increase the capacity of women leadership in the national and county assembly and county executive level to support the implementation of the NPWEE.
• Coordinate the development and implementation of a strategy on capacity development for different target groups engaged in elections and women’s political participation
• Representation in meetings with elections stakeholders as needed

3. Policy Advocacy and Strategic Influence

• High-level dialogues with Permanent Secretaries, Cabinet Secretaries, and relevant Parliamentary committees, Council of Governors, and G7 held to discuss and drive awareness for the implementation of the policy document and promote inter-ministerial coordination.
• Hold a breakfast meeting with the Parliamentary Committee on Social Protection and members of KEWOPA to rally support for the implementation of the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Policy and seek support for developing the sessional paper.
• Hold a breakfast meeting with the Council of Governors Gender Committee and the G7 on the NPWEE to support domestication at the county level.
• Support strategic advocacy and media engagements with counties and national actors to ensure NPWEE is mainstreamed into local development and budgeting processes.
• Provide strategic advisory services and technical support to UN Women and its partners on women’s political participation and UN electoral assistance programming, monitoring, and reporting
• Coordinate technical assistance and targeted advocacy to national electoral stakeholders to promote women’s equal representation in decision making

4. Research, Knowledge Management, and Communication

• Develop a multiyear programme strategy on WPP including key areas on gender-responsive electoral support and women’s political participation beyond elections
• Mapping of women in leadership positions in the economic sector-related MDAs at the national level to guide WEE-related interventions.
• Conduct media engagements to create awareness and support local support for NPWEE with local radio stations in 16 counties.
• Document and disseminate lessons learned and best practices from the county sensitizations, training, and advocacy initiatives.

5. Resource Mobilization and Partnership Development

• Identify and engage partners to support NPWEE–WIL implementation through co-financing, joint advocacy, or technical assistance.
• Develop investment briefs and concept notes demonstrating the value of supporting NPWEE implementation, women’s leadership, and gender-responsive governance.

Consultant's Workplace and Official Travel

The Consultant will be based in the UN Women Nairobi Office on a part-time basis with flexible arrangements for outreach programmes.

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 knowledge of programme management.
• Ability to administer and execute administrative processes and transactions.
• Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats.
• Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow.
• Good people and communications skills
• Strong coordination and partnership management skills
• Strong understanding of Kenya’s gender equality policy frameworks, governance structures, and decentralization context.
• Excellent analytical, facilitation, and report writing skills.

IV. Required Qualifications

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Gender Studies, Public Policy, Political Science, Development Studies, Economics, 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.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in the areas of women’s leadership, gender equality, governance, or women’s economic empowerment.
• Experience in designing and implementing programmes that advance women’s participation in governance or decision-making at national and county levels.
• Proven experience in policy analysis, advocacy, and institutional capacity development, preferably in collaboration with government institutions or intergovernmental mechanisms.
• Demonstrated track record in facilitating multi-stakeholder coordination and partnerships, including with government, private sector, and civil society.
• Experience with UN agencies or international organizations will be considered an asset.

Language:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Working knowledge of Kiswahili is an asset.

Skills Required:

• Economics / Statistics
• Political / Science / Ir