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.

The global normative framework on women’s rights and gender equality—anchored in Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and reinforced by the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action—places clear obligations on States to establish institutional mechanisms that promote, protect, and fulfil women’s rights. In line with these commitments, many countries have strengthened national gender machineries to ensure effective policy coordination, oversight, and accountability for gender equality outcomes.

In Sri Lanka, this commitment has been further institutionalized through the Women Empowerment Act No. 37 of 2024, which provides the legal framework for advancing women’s rights and gender equality. The Act establishes and mandates the National Commission on Women as the key national body responsible for promoting women’s empowerment, advising on policy, monitoring implementation, and addressing systemic barriers to gender equality. The Commission plays a central role in coordinating stakeholders, strengthening accountability mechanisms, and ensuring that national policies and programmes are aligned with both domestic priorities and international obligations.

Against this background, UN Women seeks to engage a national consultant to support the National Commission on Women in operationalizing its mandate under the Women Empowerment Act No. 37 of 2024. The consultant will provide dedicated administrative, coordination, and logistical support to ensure the effective day-to-day functioning of the Commission. This includes organizing and supporting meetings, consultations, and stakeholder engagements; managing documentation, correspondence, and information systems; and facilitating timely communication and follow-up with government institutions, civil society organizations, and development partners. The consultant will also support record-keeping, reporting, and administrative processes in line with established procedures. Through these functions, the role will contribute to strengthening internal coordination, information flow, and the overall operational efficiency of the Commission in advancing women’s empowerment in Sri Lanka.

of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Under the supervision and guidance of the UN Women Sri Lanka Head of Office, the Consultant – Coordination Support (NCW) is expected to support the National Commission on Women with the following:

The Consultant – Coordination Support (NCW) will remain accountable for the timely submission of the completed tasks as per the timeline given below. The consultant’s duties and responsibilities have been defined as follows:

1. Provide coordination and administrative support to the Commission

• Support the management of schedules, calendars, and official engagements of the Commission, ensuring effective coordination of meetings and appointments.
• Arrange and coordinate meetings, consultations, and official events, including preparation of agendas, invitations, and background materials.
• Liaise and coordinate with government institutions, civil society organizations, development partners, and other stakeholders as required.
• Respond to and/or direct inquiries to appropriate counterparts to ensure timely action and follow-up.
• Handle sensitive information with discretion and maintain confidentiality in all administrative processes.

2. Provide administrative and logistical support for meetings and stakeholder engagement

• Provide logistical and administrative support for meetings, consultations, workshops, and events organized by or in collaboration with the Commission.
• Support the preparation of documentation, including drafting correspondence, invitations, participant lists, and schedules.
• Organize and attend meetings, and prepare minutes, summaries, and briefs of discussions and key actions.
• Support follow-up on action points arising from meetings and stakeholder engagements.

3. Provide documentation, reporting, and information management support

• Draft, compile, and maintain documentation related to the Commission’s activities, including reports, correspondence, and records of meetings and consultations.
• Maintain tracking tools for activities, communications, and key actions to support timely follow-up and reporting.
• Maintain organized physical and digital filing systems, ensuring proper documentation, version control, and accessibility of records.

4. Provide operational and administrative support

• Support basic procurement and logistical processes related to operationalizing the Commission, in line with applicable procedures.
• Support travel and logistical arrangements for Commission-related engagements, as required.
• Assist with administrative processes, including coordination of service providers, consultants, and payments, as applicable.
• Maintain office supplies and support general administrative needs related to the Commission’s functioning.

5. Other

• Provide administrative and coordination support as identified by the Supervisor, and undertake any other responsibilities as assigned.

Expected Results

The National Consultant will remain accountable for the timely submission of the completed tasks as per the timeline given below. All tasks should be finalized in line with the feedback given by UN Women.

# Expected Results Expected completion time (due day)
01

Provide the necessary administrative and coordination assistance as specified under the tasks and responsibilities in the ToR.

Deliverable: 1-2-page report detailing the tasks undertaken for UN Women Sri Lanka Office per month.

15 July 2026

15 August 2026

15 September 2026

15 October 2026

15 November 2026

15 December 2026

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

The consultancy is expected to work full time starting from 15 June 2026 and continue until 15 December 2026. The consultant is primarily based at the office of the Executive Director of the National Commission on Women in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Consultant will undertake travel to field locations along with the Commission as required. The consultant is expected to visit the UN Women Sri Lanka Office located at 202-204 Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 07 when requested. As part of the official duty of this consultancy, if the consultant is expected to travel, this will be processed by UN Women, following the duty travel policy.

Payments

Payments for this consultancy will be based on the completion of each task and certification that each task has been satisfactorily completed. Payments will be made upon submission of tasks completion report with the approval of the Head of Office of UN Women Sri Lanka. Mobile and internet bills, printing, stationery and travel cost may be reimbursed based on prior approval from UN Women, and will be processed separately, following the relevant policy.

Intellectual Property

All information pertaining to this assignment (data, analysis, reports, documentary, digital, cyber, project documents, etc.) belonging to UN Women, which the consultant may come into contact within the performance of their duties under this assignment, shall remain the property of UN Women who shall have exclusive rights over their use. Except for purposes of this assignment, the information shall not be disclosed to the public nor used in whatever form, without the written permission of UN Women, in line with the national and International Copyright Laws applicable.

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:

• Ability to manage data/schedule, documents, correspondence, reports, and maintain protocol and information flow;
• Knowledge of administrative rules and regulations;
• Ability to perform work of confidential nature;
• Ability to create, edit, and present information in clear format, using appropriate IT functionality;
• Ability to administer administrative processes and transactions.
• Ability to coordinate and liaise with multiple stakeholders.
• Timely adherence to deadlines.
• Excellent communication skills in English and Sinhala and/or Tamil.
• Ability and willingness to travel to project locations.

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• Completion of secondary education is required.
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, public administration or related fields is an asset.
• Postgraduate / Professional qualification in relevant fields is an added advantage.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience with administrative, coordination, or programme experience (including HR, procurement, or logistics support services);
• Experience in the use of computer applications, software packages such as Microsoft Office, and web-based management systems is required;
• Previous experience engaging with government, UN agencies, civil society, and development stakeholders in Sri Lanka is preferred.
• Prior experience in government administrative, financial and procurement procedures is essential.

Languages:

• Proficiency in English and local languages (Sinhala and/or Tamil).

How to Apply

Interested candidates are encouraged to submit an electronic application through UN Women website and complete all questions with below required documents below to upload to the system.

• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)
• P11 form to be filled online.

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