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.
In Moldova, promoting gender equality is a national priority aligned with the UN Women Strategic Note (2023–2027) and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework.
Gender-responsive public procurement (GRP) is a key tool to advance women's economic empowerment, increase participation of women-led enterprises in public tenders, and integrate gender equality into supply chains and public spending.
Gender-responsive procurement (GRP) as part of the women’s empowerment principles, is a powerful tool to boost women's economic empowerment, promote gender equality, and build more equitable societies. It contributes to the implementation of the Women Empowerment Principle nr. 5 “Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women” aiming to facilitate the participation of women-led small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in public procurement, infusing gender equality throughout the supply chain, diversifying male-dominated sectors, and supporting supply chain diversification, among other initiatives. Gender-responsive procurement should be understood not only as supporting women-led businesses to get public procurement contracts, but also as supporting gender-responsive enterprises regardless of ownership, thereby potentially allowing all women and men to benefit from decent business and employment opportunities.
GRP involves promoting women's participation in procurement processes, reducing the wage gap, creating decent business and fair employment opportunities for women, supporting women-led businesses, promoting diversity and inclusion, training and education programming, mentoring provision and support for women, and gender impact assessment and reporting. These measures are aimed at ensuring a fair approach to gender in the world of work and facilitating equal access to employment opportunities.
Rationale
GRP is a relatively new concept for Moldova. Some of the international corporations in Moldova implement it as part of their CSR commitments at regional and international level. However, the level of public procurement in Moldova GRP is not directly considered. The need to integrate gender-responsive measures in public procurement was identified and agreed upon by the members of the Economic Council under the Prime Minister and, as a result, included in the Road Map on Women Economic Empowerment of the Economic Council.
By incorporating gender equality measures into the public procurement process, GRP supports the socio-economic benefits of gender equality. Positively impacting the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and promoting economic growth, implementing gender equality measures in procurement enhances the economy's productivity, resulting in improved quality and pricing of goods and services.
Promoting gender-sensitive public procurement is a crucial element in advancing gender equality and implementing principles of women's empowerment in the Republic of Moldova. By ensuring that public procurement processes consider gender perspectives, Moldova can fulfill its international commitments to gender equality and contribute to creating a more inclusive and just society. The Republic of Moldova has a legal framework for public procurement, such as Law 131/2015 on public procurement, based on international standards, specifically Directive 2014/24/EU regarding public procurement. At the same time, there are other normative acts and policy documents indispensable to the regulation, implementation, and promotion of GRP, such as Law No. 74 of 21-05-2020 regarding procurement in energy sectors, water, transport, and postal services; Law No. 125 of 02-06-2016 on the accession of the Republic Moldova to the Agreement on public procurement and to the Agreement regarding public procurement modified by Protocol; Government Decision no. 1419 of 28.12.2016 for approval Regulation on contract planning of public procurements, etc.
In consideration of the factors highlighted above, UN Women seeks to develop a series of measures aiming to promote and advance to new level the GRP. The core of this effort lies in enhancing the capacities of crucial institutions such as the Ministry of Finance and other relevant bodies by actively fostering a transformative approach. This multifaceted endeavor encompasses skill development, policy and legal framework refinement, and the establishment of robust frameworks to ensure sustained progress in gender-responsive procurement practices. The goal is to instigate a positive and lasting change beyond surface-level promotion, creating a meaningful impact in the landscape of GRP.
The expert will work under direct supervision of the UN Women responsible staff and in coordination with national experts. The expert is expected to provide highly qualified industry experts for this assignment, with appropriate skills and expertise. The consultant will be reporting to Gender Specialist-Women Economic Empowerment and Resilience, and will be supported by Programme Associate, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues. .
of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work
The primary objective of this assignment is to enhance the capacity of the Ministry of Finance and other relevant public entities in the Republic of Moldova to integrate gender considerations into their procurement regulations and practices, ensuring fairness and equal opportunities for women:
1.Support in reviewing public procurement legislation to integrate gender equality inclusion criteria:
The consultant will provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Finance in operationalizing the provisions of the legal and policy framework related to gender-responsive inclusive public procurement.
2. Develop practical implementation tools for contracting authorities
The consultant will develop practical implementation tools to facilitate the consistent application of gender-responsive procurement provisions by contracting authorities.
The consultant will prepare:
3. Support stakeholder consultations and validation of the proposed methodology
The consultant will facilitate consultations with public authorities, contracting authorities, civil society organizations, business associations and other relevant stakeholders to validate the proposed provisions and implementation tools.
The consultant will:
4. Strengthen institutional capacities for implementation of gender-responsive procurement
The consultant will support the Ministry of Finance and the Public Procurement Agency in strengthening the capacities of contracting authorities to effectively apply the new legal provisions.
The consultant will:
5. Develop monitoring and implementation support tools
The consultant will support the Ministry of Finance in developing practical mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of gender-responsive and socially inclusive procurement.
The consultant will:
6. Promote awareness and market readiness
The consultant will support activities aimed at increasing awareness among economic operators and encouraging the participation of women-owned businesses and socially responsible enterprises in public procurement.
The consultant will prepare:
Deliverable Expected completion time (due day)
1.Support in reviewing public procurement legislation to integrate gender equality criteria
August – September 2026
2. Develop practical implementation tools for contracting authorities
August -October 2026
3. Support stakeholder consultations and validation of the proposed methodology
November – December 2026
4. Strengthen institutional capacities for implementation of gender-responsive procurement
November 2026 – February 2027
5 Develop monitoring and implementation support tools
Monitoring framework:
March -April 2027
All the deliverables should be agreed with UN Women and be provided in English in electronic formats.
Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel
This is a home-based consultancy.
As part of this assignment, no travel is envisaged. In the case of unforeseeable travel the related costs will be covered separately by the UN Women Moldova.
Financial Arrangements
Payments shall be made following certification by UN Women that the services related to each deliverable, as described above, have been satisfactorily completed and the deliverables have been achieved by or before the specified due dates. Payment shall be made in one installment.
Performance evaluation
The consultant’s performance will be evaluated against performance criteria such as timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.
Competencies :
Core Values:
Core Competencies:
Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework:
Functional Competencies:
Required Qualifications
Education and Certification:
Experience:
Languages:
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
UN Women is the United Nations agency for women's rights, gender equality and women's empowerment. A global champion ForAllWomenAndGirls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.
UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to implement these standards. It stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on five priority areas: increasing women’s leadership and participation; ending violence against women; engaging women in all aspects of peace and security processes; enhancing women’s economic empowerment; and making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting. UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality.
