Expert Trainer to Design and Deliver “Communicating for Gender Equality” Training Package, National or International Consultant, Home-based

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 overall aim of the ECALearn Initiative is to construct a regional approach to learning which harnesses the skills and expertise of personnel across the region, while enhancing the capacity to deliver on gender equality results for women and girls. The Initiative will run from July 2024 until the end of December 2025.

The objectives of the Initiative are to:

Develop the skills of ECA personnel to deliver on UN Women’s mandate for women and girls

Increase the capacity of ECA personnel on key areas of expertise, including delivering training to colleagues and stakeholders, thus reducing the next for external expertise

Nurture talent within the region through the provision of career development opportunities, thus increasing retention and attracting the best candidates in the future

Build a feminist learning culture, where space and time are created for personnel to reflect on learning, increasing the ability to deliver on UN Women’s mandate

In July 2024, a comprehensive learning needs assessment was conducted, including a personnel learning survey and a review of all learning plans. The key findings of the learning needs assessment form the basis of the structure and approach of ECALearn, as set out in this implementation plan. Building on the findings of the learning needs assessment, the ECALearn Initiative is made up of four components: Skills Development; In-house Capacity; Talent Development; and Learning Culture.

Taken together, these components form a coherent, holistic approach to learning across UN Women Europe and Central Asia. While different activities and types of learning take place under each component, they are guided by an Initiative-wide monitoring and evaluation process. The ECALearn Initiative is ground in a feminist pedagogical approach to adult education. This is based on four key principles, as elaborated in the UN Women Training Centre Working Paper Feminist Pedagogies in Training for Gender Equality (2019): Participatory learning; Validation of personal experience; Encouragement of social justice, activism and accountability; and Development of critical thinking and open-mindedness.

These principles form the basis of quality criteria for all learning activities conducted during the ECALearn Initiative.

The consultant will be reporting to HR Business Partner, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues. The consultant will also work in close collaboration with the ECALearn Team and the Regional Office Communications Team. There will also be close collaboration with the Communications Department of UN Women Headquarters in order to ensure consistency of messaging and approach.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Deliverables

Design and develop a Learning Package for UN Women Europe and Central Asia personnel on “Communicating for Gender Equality.” The package will be delivered virtually, using the latest innovative methods and tools in online training. The course should be developed specifically for UN Women ECA, and the copyright will remain the property of UN Women.

A total of four courses will be developed:

• Course 1: Introduction to Communicating for Gender Equality, 1 day (available for all personnel regardless of function, approximately 30 participants per cohort)
• Course 2: Gender-responsive Internal Communications, 1.5 days (for Operation personnel, maximum 18 participants per cohort)
• Course 3: Communicating for Gender Equality Results, 1.5 days (for Programmatic and Communications personnel, maximum 18 participants per cohort)
• Course 4: Communicating Gender Equality for Senior Management (1 day, for senior management and Communications personnel, maximum 18 participants per cohort)

The exact content of the courses will be defined in collaboration with the ECALearn team. However, we expect the course to cover at least the following aspects:

• Understanding AI and algorithms
• Constructing strategic political messaging
• Dealing with gender misinformation, disinformation, and the anti-rights backlash
• Maximising social media platforms for gender equality communications
• Understanding intergenerational approaches to communications
• Identifying appropriate stories for communications
• Developing clear messaging for maximum impact

The assignment will be broken down into the following stages:

• Development (approximately 20 working days)
• Design and develop 4 virtual courses
• Preparatory meetings with ECALearn team
• Revisions to training materials and training plan

Delivery (approximately 30 working days)

• Deliver 5 cohorts of Course 1
• Deliver 2 cohorts of Course 2
• Deliver 2 cohorts of Course 3
• Deliver 1 cohort of Course 4

Follow-up, evaluation and reporting (approximately 10 working days)

• Deliver 90-minute follow-up session for each course
• Ongoing evaluation, revisions and reporting
• Delivery of training report and final training materials

Expected outcomes:

• 150 personnel successfully completed Course 1
• 35 personnel successfully completed Course 2
• 35 personnel successfully completed Course 3
• 18 personnel successfully completed Course 4

Expected outputs:

• Final training materials for each course
• Participant booklet for each course
• Final training report including individual and overall evaluations

The estimated time commitment for this assignment is approximately 60 days total.

Deliverable

Expected completion time (due day)

Payment Schedule (optional)

First draft training materials

12/5/2025

Payment 1 (10% of total)

Final approved training materials

Virtual delivery of courses 1-4

30/5/2025

30/9/2025

Payment 2 (20% of total)

Virtual delivery of 90-minute follow-up session for each course

31/10/2025

Payment 3 (50% of total)

Full training materials and participant booklet for each module; final training report

31/11/2025

Payment 4 (20% of total)

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy. Please note that the consultant should be available during working hours for Europe and Central Asia.

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:

• Knowledge of and commitment to feminist, participatory and critical pedagogical principles
• Experience of designing and delivering virtual training to the highest standard
• Commitment to innovation in adult learning
• Understanding of feminist evaluation principles and practices to measure the impact of learning

Education and Certification:

• Masters or PhD in communications, ideally with a specific focus on gender equality

Experience:

• At least 10 years of progressively responsible work experience in communications for gender equality
• At least 10 years of experience in designing and delivering high quality training
• At least 5 years of experience in designing and delivering virtual training which meets feminist pedagogical principles
• Ability to produce engaging, high quality learning materials (samples may be requested)

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.

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.

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