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’s regional representation for East and Southern Africa (ESA) is comprised of 12 Country Offices (COs), one programme presence (Somalia), and support to 11 UN Country Teams (UNCTs) where UN Women is a non-physical presence agency (NRA). All are coordinated and supported by the Regional Office (RO) in Kenya. ESA is a complex and diverse region comprised of sub-regions ranging from countries with weak governance prone to crises that cross borders, while other sub-regions represent middle-income countries that are relatively stable for the moment. The region includes the poorest countries on the continent (Burundi and Somalia), but also five of the wealthiest (Seychelles, Mauritius, Botswana, South Africa and Eswatini). ESA region is home to over 700 million people, population growth continues at a high rate and nearly half of the population across the region is under the age of 18 years. The region hosts 67 percent of the continent’s refugees and has approximately 10 million Internally Displaced Persons reflecting a significant number of people on the move.

With the current global geo-political and financial situation placing severe stress on global ODA levels, particularly for the region covered by ESA, it is imperative to reinforce the capacities of the UN Women Country Offices in the region to identify and respond to opportunities to mobilize resources from non-traditional donor sources including the private sector, financial institutions, philanthropic foundations. For this reason, ESARO is looking to hire a partnership development consultant to support the region to onboard donors and partners including private sector actors, philanthropies, and financial institutions as strategic partners and co-investors.

The objective of the consultancy is to design and operationalize a private sector and innovative financing engagement model for UN Women ESARO that positions the organization as a strategic partner, convener, and catalyst for gender-responsive investment. The consultant will support the development of investment-ready programmatic offers, strategic partnerships, and financing pipelines that leverage private sector, philanthropic, financial institution, and public sector resources in support of gender equality and women's empowerment across East and Southern Africa.

Expected Outcomes:

• UN Women is positioned as a partner of choice and strategic convener for private sector engagement, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) integration, and gender-responsive investment in East and Southern Africa;
• A diversified pipeline of private sector, philanthropic, and innovative financing opportunities is established to support resource mobilization for gender equality and women's empowerment (GEWE);
• Investment pathways and strategic partnerships are developed to increase financing for women-led enterprises and gender-responsive value chains;
• Gender-responsive approaches are integrated into investment, financing, and partnership opportunities across priority sectors;
• Strategic partnerships with public sector donors, development finance institutions (DFIs), and other financing partners are strengthened to leverage additional resources and influence financial flows toward gender equality outcomes.

The consultant will report to the Regional Partnerships and Resource Mobilization Specialist and will work very closely with the Regional Director and the Deputy Regional Director and. The consultant will provide direct support to ESARO RM function and to the Country Offices (COs) in ESA Region.

of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

The main role of the assignment is to develop and implement Private Sector Engagement Model that will position UN Women to mobilize resources and influence financial flows from private sector companies including extractives, financial services, agribusiness, telecommunications, infrastructure, technology and other sectors with strong potential for advancing gender equality outcomes.

Systems-level Engagement Strategy:

• Develop private sector engagement strategy;
• Establish entry points that will embedding gender equality into ESG frameworks (via WEPs);
• Develop gender investment cases that improve investor readiness, strengthen engagement with financiers, and support increased capital flows to UN Women and GEWE in general;
• Identify and develop models that position UN Women as a strategic convener of private sector actors, and financiers around gender‑responsive investment opportunities.

Capital Mobilization Strategy:

• Build investment pipelines of bankable programmes to support UN Women ESAR in mobilizing private‑sector resources, including Multinational Corporations (MNCs), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding and commercial bank financing;
• Provide technical support to UN Women Regional and Country Office teams to structure blended finance vehicles, including concessional capital, guarantees, and catalytic instruments, to unlock private sector investment for gender equality and women empowerment;
• Facilitate co‑investment partnerships through stakeholder engagement, investment matchmaking, and coordination of blended capital structures to support scalable, gender‑impact investments.

Strategic Partnership Development:

• Identify and cultivate relationships with traditional and non-traditional partners, including foundations, multilateral institutions, and private sector companies;
• Contribute to ESAR partnership and relationship mapping to inform engagement strategies and support coordinated partner outreach.

Deliverables:

Private Sector Engagement Model:

UN Women is strategically positioned with private sector partners as a market maker, capital mobiliser, and ESG partner of choice:

• Private sector engagement and positioning strategy developed;
• Market segmentation analysis;
• Priority sectors analysis;
• Partner engagement framework;
• Country engagement recommendations.

Private Sector and Foundation Pipeline:

Increased mobilization of private capital to support gender equality and women’s economic empowerment (GEWE):

• Prospect database of private sector companies, corporates, institutional foundations, MNCs, impact investors;
• Opportunity pipeline for UN Women engagement;
• Donor intelligence briefs of targeted private sector companies, philanthropies and foundations.

Minimum 25 qualified prospects identified:

• Corporates
• Foundations
• Financial institutions
• Impact investors

Investment Ready Portfolio:

• Development of investment cases;
• Partnership propositions;
• Programme financing packages.

At least 5 investment-ready partnership propositions developed.

Strategic Partnership Development:

• Introductory meetings with prospective partners;
• Partnership engagements;
• Partners and stakeholders round table to position UN Women as a partner of choice.

Minimum 10 strategic partner engagements facilitated, including at least:

• 3 corporates
• 2 foundations
• 2 financial institutions
• 3 bilateral/multilateral actors

Innovative Finance Advisory:

• Blended finance opportunities;
• Financing models developed;
• Partnership structures developed.

At least 2 innovative financing or blended finance concepts developed.

Capacity Strengthening:

• Training Country Offices;
• Coaching support to Country and Regional office teams;
• Practical guidance note on gender-responsive market/investment approaches.

At least 3 regional capacity-building sessions conducted, and practical guidance materials developed.

Deliverable:

Deliverable
Expected completion time (due day)
Payment Schedule
Inception report, landscape assessment, partner mapping
25 September 2026
30%
Private Sector Engagement Strategy and Engagement Model
31 October 2026
Private Sector & Foundation Pipeline (minimum 25 prospects)
10 December 2026
20%
Investment-Ready Portfolio (minimum 5 propositions)
31 January 2027
20%
Strategic Partnership Engagements and Innovative Finance Concepts
28 February 2027
20%
Capacity Building, Guidance Note, Final Recommendations & Handover
20 March 2027
10%

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy with possibility of travel within the East and Southern Africa Region.

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:

• Proven track record in identifying, negotiating and funding support from various donor segments;
• Demonstrated strategic mindset in identifying opportunities, crafting strategies, and prioritizing action as well as getting significant financial results;
• Ability to provide leadership in engaging with funding partners, aid agencies and other contributors;
• Solid expertise in aid policy and demonstrated knowledge of development donors’ expectations and practice;
• Proven leadership abilities to engage partners internally and manage change, and to engage external partners;
• Excellent oral and written communications skills; a clear and persuasive communicator.

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in international relations, economics, business management, development finance or related social sciences 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 7 years of progressive responsible experience in resource mobilization/strategic partnerships development, and donor engagement with non-traditional donors including private sector, IFIs, MNCs, Philanthropic foundations is required;
• Proven track record in successful fund raising through innovative resource mobilization efforts is required;
• Extensive experience in managing international aid programmes is required;
• Experience in gender equality and women's empowerment is required;
• Experience working and building strategic partnerships with civil society organizations, international institutions and donors is required;
• Experience working in the UN system is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of any other UN official is an asset.

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