Background:
Background/Context
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 empowerment is one of the key strategic priorities stated in the UN Women's Global Strategic Plan (2022 -2025) and UN Women's Strategic Note for Asia and the Pacific (2023 -2025). This work includes thematic areas such as Transforming the Care Economy, Advancing Gender Equality in the World of Work (inclusive of advancing gender-responsive business conduct, Entrepreneurship, and Migration), and Climate Change.
About 96 percent of all jobs in the Asia-Pacific are in the private sector. This percentage represents a considerable potential to implement transformative actions in the world of work and social responsibility in favor of women, benefiting society. There is an increasing consciousness, interest, and commitment of private and public sector companies to the value and benefits of gender equality and women's economic empowerment and their role in achieving them.
Since 2019, UN Women Asia-Pacific has promoted commitment to and implementation of the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs), a set of 7 principles that provide companies a roadmap to become more gender-responsive throughout their value chain. The WEPs were launched in 2010 by UN Women and the UN Global Compact and are the only framework that encompasses gender equality at all organizational levels, beginning with leadership and providing guidance for the workplace, marketplace, and community, underpinned by a strong emphasis on accountability and transparent reporting of progress.
More than 9,700 companies have signed the WEPs globally; in Asia-Pacific, more than 2,600 have committed. Momentum has been growing rapidly in the Asia-Pacific, as in 2019, less than 600 companies committed to WEPs. A multi-stakeholder has driven this prosperous -country and – year program WeEmpowerAsia, which included strong programmatic elements such as the Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards, an initiative also supported by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to showcase the best practices for gender-responsive business conduct and mobilize further action.
Strong momentum and commitment to accelerated business action for gender equality have been clearly established across the region. Networks of stakeholders are in place, and a suite of evidence, data, tools, and assets have been created, including a series of government-endorsed policy advocacy briefs that provide a strategic entry point for deeper action at both levels—with businesses, governments, and business regulators. Despite this momentum, there is considerable evidence that while commitments towards gender equality in the private sector are increasing, implementation lags.
To drive action and transformative change in the private sector, UN Women, in partnership with the Government of Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), is launching the new initiative \"UN Women Gender Action Lab (GAL): Innovation and Impact for Gender Equality in Asia-Pacific, powered by the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs).\" With an initial four-year commitment, both partners are laying the foundation to build a unique Gender Action Lab (GAL) for Asia and the Pacific, aiming to foster private sector innovations and concrete actions that advance gender equality and women's empowerment and build more inclusive economies across the region. See the table WEPs below:
Table 1: Women’s Empowerment Principles and related policies
WEPs by principle Related policies and practices (non-exhaustive) Principle 1: Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality Corporate gender equality action plan Gender-sensitive corporate culture Principle 2: Treat all women and men fairly at work – respect and support human rights and non-discrimination Fair remuneration policy Equal pay policies Living wages (minimum wage floors) Non-discrimination and equal opportunity in recruitment, retention, promotion Flexible work arrangements Childcare and dependent care Paid parental leave Gender balance on non-executive boards, executives and senior management positions Gender balance in workforce Work-life balance initiatives Principle 3: Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers Safe working conditions Safety and protection from violence and harassment at work Zero tolerance for labour and sexual exploitation Domestic Violence for Employees Policy Support Programmes for domestic violence survivors Health care provisions for workers Health, safety and hygiene needs of women at work and while commuting to work Principle 4: Promote education, training and professional development for women Gender-responsive training, skills development programmes and continuous education Women’s training to facilitate their jobs in male-dominated departments/ sectors Networking, mentoring and sponsorship for womenPrinciple 5: Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women
Gender-responsive procurement Supplier diversity programme including with women SMEs Gender-sensitive solutions to credit and lending barriers Policy regarding unethical practices and respect of the dignity of women in all marketing and other company outreach materials Zero tolerance of human trafficking and labour and sexual exploitation in the supply chainPrinciple 6: Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy
Representation of community in consultation Promotion and engagement with women’s leadership and organizations in communities Gender equality in corporate social responsibility activities (philanthropy, partnership, grants) Products and services to serve and not discriminate against women and girls in local communities Principle 7: Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality Sex-disaggregated data and targets Monitoring and evaluation, including independent gender audit Public reporting Incentives and accountability mechanismsBased on the very strong foundation built through previous programmes, the UN Women’s Asia-Pacific Gender Action Lab (GAL) aims to further advance private sector and government action to accelerate gender-responsive business policies and practices in Asia-Pacific by strengthening, in particular, implementation efforts to contribute to closing the Private Sector and Government ‘Action Gap’ across the Asia and the Pacific, with a specific regional focus on ASEAN and especially in four priority countries, namely Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia and Cambodia. It will also have a regional component under the responsibility of UN Women Region Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP). For more details about GAL, see the Introductory Brief.
With an approach to leverage the innovation capability of the private sector to create innovation and change within the private sector, GAL aims to incorporate an inclusive and creative problem-solving methodology to enable multi-stakeholder and innovative thinking around specific thematic areas to ideate and prototype new multi-stakeholder solutions.
The key outcome is: More private sector companies in Asia - Pacific are implementing gender-responsive business practices and policies to enable more women to equitably lead and participate in the world of work.
The program will achieve this through 3 interrelated pillars:
Awareness, Commitments, and Capacity built on the WEPs and engagement of key stakeholders for the thematic lab Multistakeholder thematic Gender Innovation labs: piloting concrete solutions with innovators and policymakers (thematic areas may include employer-supported care, disability inclusion, transparency & reporting) Document Best Practices, generating and disseminating recommendations for action, and recognizing businesses through the Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards and WEPs ForumIn Cambodia, UN Women's engagement with the private sector is nascent, and awareness among the private sector of the Women's Empowerment Principles as a vehicle to drive action for gender equality is extremely limited. Currently, only 14 companies have committed to the WEPs. There is also a limitation of existing case studies and statistical information related to the private sector action for gender equality in the country, as well as a deeper understanding of the enabling environment and scope for advancing gender equality within specific sectors or in specific thematic areas aligned to the WEPs. Therefore, UN Women seeks a local consultant – a private sector GEWE – to support the project's operational activities to engage with the private sector to achieve the goals. This operational support includes building and maintaining partnerships, supporting project operations, ensuring effective communication, and contributing to strategic initiatives to leverage private sector expertise and resources for gender equality (aligned to the thematic areas of the WEPs), e.g., sustainable development, innovation, to assess the current status of private sector action, challenges/barriers to action, and opportunities and entry points for UN Women to engage successfully through GAL
The consultant will be reporting to Program Analyst-GAL, and will be supported by Country Programe Coordinator, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.
Description of Responsibilities/Scope of Work:
The Consultant will perform the following tasks:
1. Support to coordination and partnership building events:
Members of the CSO-IAG will:
Provide critical engage with the Gender Action Lab (GAL) Informal Advisory Group in the meeting for providing strategic advice to the program team. Work with the program team to identify relevant and potential participants from companies and chamber associations for GAL. Work with the communication team to produce documentation before and during events as required. Prepare logistical material for meetings, workshops, and events to engage companies that have demonstrated interest in promoting gender equality in business and the community. Work with the program team on following-up actions on organizing meetings, workshops, and events with the stakeholders, ensuring the events have been engaging and well-received by the relevant stakeholders and private sectors. Take note and contribute to developing event reports involving participant reflection. Create online registration and questionnaires to evaluate event results. Analyze the result and provide lessons learned or recommendations for future events. Work with the program team to set up the Gender Corporate Action Lab, including providing logistics support to identified companies/businesses. Work with the program team to establish the first cohort, including the logistics of bringing the cohort together and maintaining/managing communication. Work with the program team to mobilise and follow up on the consistent engagement of all first cohort members. Arrange the logistics and procurements in the capacity development for the first cohort. Engage with internal discussion and learning in applying human design thinking approaches.2. Administrative and Logistical Support
Arranging logistical support and procurement preparation for meetings, workshops, and events. This task includes working closely with the Operations Associate and programme team to identify service providers and comply with UN Women's policies. Maintain accurate records of private sector engagements and partnerships. This includes utilizing SharePoint to keep track of the progress and results of the activity and updating the shared database on private sector engagement. Ensure timely preparation and distribution of meeting agendas, minutes, and follow-ups.Expected Outputs
The Consultant will support strategic engagement with private sector stakeholders through well-coordinated meetings, events, and workshops, including the establishment of the Gender Corporate Action Lab. Key outputs include stakeholder engagement records, event documentation and evaluations, meeting notes, procurement and logistical support, and maintenance of updated databases tracking private sector partnerships and progress.
Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel
This is a mix of office and home-based consultancy. The National Consultant will work under the supervision of the Program Analyst-GAL and in close collaboration with international consultant and the UN Women programme team in Cambodia office.
The time required for the consultancy is estimated at a maximum of 45 working days within the period from 01 June 2025 until 01 April 2026. If the consultant is required to travel as part of the official duty of this consultancy, travel will be processed by UN Women, following the duty travel policy. The consultant will be engaged under a retainer contract, which facilitates direct engagement of the consultant depending on need and availability within the contract period for a pre-agreed fee.
UN Women will not be committed to purchasing any maximum quantity of the Services, and purchases will be made only if there is an actual requirement upon the issuance of a Purchase Order based on this retainer contract. UN Women shall not be liable for any cost in the event that no purchases are made under this retainer contract.
The expected number of workdays for each deliverable will be discussed between the consultant and UN Women on a case-by-case basis. Payment will be made upon satisfactory completion of a deliverable or as agreed between the consultant and UN Women.
With UN Women’s guidance, the consultant might also engage with government officials, multi and bi-lateral donors, civil society and the private sector and programmatic partners. A workstation will be provided to the consultant to ensure effective consultation and support. The Consultant will bring his/her own personal computer to conduct this assignment. With the facilitation of the programme team, the consultant will also be expected to engage with external stakeholders.
Schedule of Payments
Payment will be made monthly, 10 days after the submission of monthly claim. The amount paid will be based on the number of days within the month that the consultant has done the assignment.
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 analytical and writing skills Good in event organizing skills Some good knowledge of the companies and enterprises in Cambodia Good overall knowledge of gender equality and women’s economic empowerment Knowledge of the Women’s Empowerment Principles is an asset Ability to analyst trends and synthesize data to actionable recommendations to informRequired Qualifications
Education and Certification:
Master’s degree in business, social sciences, international relations, media, art, gender and other related disciplines related field is required; A first-level university degree in combination with 2 additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree completion of secondary education.Experience:
Must have worked minimum 1 year progressively responsible relevant experience, private sector engagement, gender equality or women’s economic empowerment. Experience of coordinating and mobilizing participants for events and or workshop Experience, understanding and knowledge of women human rights, gender issue, environment issue and community participation Experience using computers and standard software packages (such as Microsoft office) and experience in managing photography and/or documents in shared online programme such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Cloud etc.Languages:
Proficiency in English and Khmer (Both oral and written).EVALUATION
Applications will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis: Technical qualification (100 points)Technical qualification evaluation criteria:
The total number of points allocated for the technical qualification component is 100. The technical qualification of the individual is evaluated based on following technical qualification evaluation criteria: Technical Evaluation Criteria
Obtainable
Score
Education and certification
15 %
Experience 70 %
Language skills 15 %
Total Obtainable Score 100 %
Only the candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% of total points will be considered as technically qualified candidates who may be contacted for validation interview.
How to Apply :
A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) Additional materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns, or other materials/documents may be asked from the shortlisted candidates only.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.