UN Women: International Consultant, International Trade and Gender Equality Expert, Home-based

Description Of Responsibilities / Scope Of Work

• Develop an inception workplan, methodology and analytical framework for the six-month assignment, including a consultation plan, list of agreements to be reviewed, priority countries and sectors, and quality assurance approach.
• Conduct a literature and policy review on gender-responsive trade approaches, including trade and gender provisions in FTAs, GSP schemes, trade and sustainable development chapters, labour provisions, SME chapters, public procurement, services, digital trade, investment, responsible business conduct and supply-chain due diligence.
• Map Asia-Pacific trade agreements, including intra-Asia agreements such as ASEAN-related agreements, India-related agreements and other regional frameworks, as well as trans-continental agreements and arrangements involving the EU, Canada and Australia. The mapping should identify gender provisions, labour and non-discrimination provisions, specific sectors mentioned, gender considerations in these sectors, institutional implementation mechanisms, and programmes that support implementation.
• Conduct key informant interviews and/or focus group discussions with relevant stakeholders engaged in FTAs/GSPs from multiple ASEAN / Asia Pacific Trade Partners to inform the development of UN Women’s Approach and value proposition as well as validating implementation proposals / programmes.
• Identify the strongest opportunities for gender-responsive implementation support, including where UN Women can add value through women-owned business readiness, gender-responsive procurement, business registers, buyer linkages, WEPs uptake, corporate action labs, gender-responsive sector strategies, sex-disaggregated data, and capacity support to governments, private sector and ecosystem actors.
• Map promising implementation practices by UN Women and other actors in Asia and the Pacific that can serve as practical examples, including WeEmpowerAsia, WEPs, WEPs Awards, Gender Action Lab, ASEAN Climate Tech Accelerator, care and climate entrepreneurship work, WE RISE Together, gender-responsive procurement, and business register/supplier diversity work in the Mekong region.
• Develop a comprehensive UN Women framework for gender-responsive implementation of GSPs and FTAs, with specific and actionable entry points, minimum and ambitious actions, roles of different actors, implementation sequencing, success indicators and monitoring approach relevant to Asia and the Pacific.
• Identify UN Women’s value proposition and complementary partners for implementation, including possible roles for governments, ASEAN bodies, labour institutions, trade ministries, chambers of commerce, business associations, women entrepreneur networks, development partners, ILO, ITC, ESCAP, ADB, IFC, private-sector partners and civil society/women’s rights organizations.
• Develop a donor-facing programme proposal to support gender-responsive implementation of trade agreements in Asia and the Pacific, building on UN Women’s unique value add and learning from relevant external programme models such as trade, labour and rights-at-work initiatives in Southeast Asia.