UN Women: Consultant on Institutional Support to the development of Viet Nam’s National Action Plan on Gender Equality in Digital Transformation and the Fourth Industry for 2027–2030, Home-based, National Consultant

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. 

Viet Nam is accelerating its transition towards a digital, innovation-driven economy, with science, technology, innovation and digital transformation increasingly shaping public administration, education, employment, entrepreneurship and access to essential services. Government action programmes implementing Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW have reinforced this national priority. At the same time, Viet Nam has an established legal and policy framework on gender equality and international gender equality commitments such as the CEDAW[1], the UN Pact for the Future[2] that include also the Global Digital Compact[3], and the Hanoi Convention on Cybercrime[4] that should inform the design and implementation of sectoral policies and programmes.

While this transition offers significant opportunities for inclusive and sustainable development, women and girls may face persistent and emerging barriers in accessing digital skills, participating in STEM education and technology-related employment, leading innovation, securing research and investment resources, benefiting from commercialization, and influencing decisions on the design and use of technology. Digitalization, artificial intelligence and automation may also create differentiated risks, including occupational displacement, algorithmic bias, exclusion from digital services, misuse of personal data and technology-facilitated violence.

The Government of Viet Nam has established important national frameworks for advancing gender equality and accelerating science, technology, innovation and digital transformation. In this context, the development of the first National Action Plan on Gender Equality in Digital Transformation and the Fourth Industry for 2027–2030 (NAP) provides an opportunity to translate these commitments into coordinated, measurable and adequately resourced actions. The proposed Action Plan is expected to promote the systematic integration of gender equality into policy design, public resource allocation, technology development and application, institutional accountability, data systems and monitoring arrangements. It will also seek to strengthen women’s capabilities, participation, leadership, ownership and economic benefits across the technology ecosystem, while addressing the adverse and unequal impacts of technological change.

The draft Action Plan envisages a whole-of-government approach covering STEM education and careers; research and innovation; artificial intelligence, data, automation, semiconductors and emerging technologies; digital government; the digital economy; and the digital society. Its substantive areas include gender-responsive governance and financing; sex-disaggregated data and gender tagging; women’s STEM skills and technology leadership; research commercialization and intellectual property; workforce transition and digital entrepreneurship; inclusive digital public services; responsible AI and online safety; and meaningful participation by women and underrepresented groups. The draft also emphasizes measurable results, clearly assigned institutional responsibilities, verified sources of financing, protection of personal data, and the use of existing national programmes and institutional mechanisms wherever feasible.

The Ministry of Home Affairs is expected to serve as the central coordinating body for the Action Plan, including providing guidance on gender equality, managing the results framework, coordinating implementation, consolidating progress reports and addressing cross-sectoral issues. The Ministry of Science and Technology and other relevant ministries, provincial authorities, research and education institutions, enterprises, civil society organizations and development partners are expected to contribute within their respective mandates. The draft further identifies UN Women and development partners as providers of technical assistance, while policy approval, public financing decisions and technical appraisal remain the responsibility of the competent Vietnamese authorities.

Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Home Affairs has requested UN Women’s technical support for the preparation of the Action Plan. Given the cross-sectoral nature of the assignment and the proposed completion timeline, specialized national expertise is required to support the responsible drafting team in reviewing relevant policies and evidence, identifying gender gaps and strategic entry points, strengthening the results and monitoring framework, consolidating stakeholder inputs, and translating agreed policy priorities into coherent, measurable and implementable provisions.

To support the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) in developing the National Programme on Gender Equality in Digital Transformation and Industry 4.0, UN Women will mobilize a complementary team of two (02) experts working under its technical guidance and in close coordination with MOHA’s Research and Drafting Team. A national gender equality and legal expert will provide targeted legal and policy analysis to strengthen alignment with Viet Nam’s gender equality framework and international commitments. A national institutional support and drafting expert will provide continuous support to the drafting process, facilitate input from relevant ministries and agencies, and consolidate technical recommendations and consultation findings into successive drafts, with clear objectives, measurable indicators, institutional responsibilities and feasible implementation arrangements.

UN Women will facilitate consultations with non-state actors and relevant UN entities, bringing relevant international experience and expertise and ensuring that the perspectives of women and groups facing intersecting barriers to digital inclusion meaningfully inform the Programme. Together, the two assignments are expected to support an inclusive, evidence-informed, legally coherent and implementable Programme, while MOHA retains leadership of the drafting process and the competent Vietnamese authorities retain responsibility for policy decisions and approval.

UN Women will therefore engage a national consultant (Institutional Support and Drafting) to lead analytical, consultation and drafting support to the Ministry of Home Affairs in developing and finalizing the proposed Action Plan, while working together with a Gender Equality and Legal Consultant, to provide robust gender analysis and international best practice to inform strategy and targets for gender equality outcomes in Vietnam’s digital transformation and 4^th industry. 

The consultant will work under the overall guidance of the UN Women National Management Specialist and direct supervision of the WPS Programme Analyst.  A Programme Associate will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues. UN Women will facilitate access to relevant internal materials and, where feasible, introductions to priority stakeholders.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Objective: The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical support to strengthen and finalize the draft National Action Plan (NAP), including: (i) conducting a technical review of the draft NAP and providing actionable recommendations for its improvement; (ii) supporting the facilitation of national inter-ministerial consultations and the systematic consolidation of consultation inputs; and (iii) supporting the revision of the draft NAP and conducting a final technical review to enhance its coherence, feasibility and readiness for consideration by relevant authorities.

In close coordination with the MOHA drafting committee, the consultant will serve as the principal technical focal point and coordinate with the Gender Equality and Legal Consultant to provide technical support to strengthen and finalize the draft National Action Plan. S/He will be responsible for draft consolidation and for strengthening the technical quality, coherence to Vietnam’s international commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment, and practicality of the draft NAP through a structured process of technical review of available national and international tools and frameworks, synthesis of inputs from inter-ministerial consultations, and finalization. Specifically, the consultant will provide technical recommendations on the draft NAP; support the facilitation of national inter-ministerial consultations and consolidation of stakeholder inputs; strengthen the results framework, institutional responsibilities, coordination, financing and monitoring arrangements and support the preparation of a revised draft reflecting relevant consultation feedback; and undertake a final technical review to support its readiness for consideration by the relevant authorities.

The proposed tools available at UN Women and the UN system include global guidelines on, gender analysis such as the UN Women Handbook for Gender Mainstreaming for Gender Equality Results [1], a legal/policy alignment matrix[2], gender-responsive budgeting principles[3], results-based management[4] and SMART indicator criteria, and a consultation comment-response matrix. These will help translate Viet Nam’s gender equality commitments into specific actions, measurable results, clear institutional responsibilities and feasible financing and monitoring arrangements.

UN Women’s added value is to help MOHA ensure that the NAP addresses substantive gender gaps in digital transformation, incorporates the perspectives of women facing exclusion, and establish accountability for results. The institutional consultant will review and consolidate these technical inputs, working with MOHA’s drafting team to advance the NAP through their appropriate incorporation.

The consultant will also work to support Gender Equality and Legal Consultant by sharing working drafts, institutional constraints and consultation findings, seeking targeted advice and integrating agreed legal/policy recommendations. The division of tasks between the two consultants is below:

Specific responsibilities of the Institutional Support and Drafting Consultant :

• Provide technical inputs to the overall architecture and results framework of the NAP, ensuring clear linkages between identified gender gaps, objectives, priority interventions, expected results, indicators, institutional responsibilities and means of verification;
• Review successive drafts of the NAP and provide substantive gender-responsive recommendations, including on institutional accountability, sex-disaggregated data, measurable indicators, monitoring arrangements and financing considerations;
• Apply a results-based and SMART approach to proposed actions and indicators, identifying provisions that are unclear, unmeasurable, institutionally unrealistic or insufficiently linked to the identified gender gaps;
• Support technical consultations with relevant Government institutions and other stakeholders, including preparation of focused consultation questions/materials and participation in selected technical discussions;
• Consolidate and analyse stakeholder inputs through a structured comment matrix, documenting key recommendations, their proposed treatment in the NAP and outstanding technical or policy issues requiring MOHA’s consideration;
• Provide hands-on drafting and final technical quality assurance to the consolidated NAP, strengthening coherence across objectives, actions, indicators, institutional responsibilities, monitoring and implementation arrangements, while leaving final policy decisions and formal approval to MOHA and competent Government authorities.

Deliverables

The consultant is expected to complete the following deliverables:

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

The consultancy is primarily home/office-based in Ha Noi. The consultant may be required to attend meetings; technical consultations or the results launch in person.

Limited domestic travel may be required. Any domestic travel outside Ha Noi must be approved in advance and will be arranged or reimbursed in accordance with applicable UN Women travel rules. Travel days, if any, will be counted within the agreed level of effort unless otherwise specified.
[1]Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women New York, 18 December 1979 | OHCHR 

[2]Home | Pact for the future

[3]https://www.un.org/global-digital-compact/sites/default/files/2024-09/Global%20Digital%20Compact%20-%20English_0.pdf

[4] Homepage - The United Nations Convention 

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

• 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: 

• Strong knowledge of Viet Nam’s gender equality policy, legal and institutional framework, including the application of gender mainstreaming in sectoral policies and programmes.
• Strong understanding of Government policy development and consultation processes in Viet Nam, with proven ability to work effectively with Government institutions and technical experts.
• Strong skills in stakeholder consultation, coordination and synthesis of technical inputs, including preparation of consultation materials and comment matrices.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and results-oriented working skills.
• Excellent analytical and drafting skills in Vietnamese.
• Ability to work independently, efficiently and under tight deadlines.

Education and Certification:

• An advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in public policy, public administration, development studies or another relevant field is required.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible professional experience in public policy, public administration, social policy, development or another relevant field
• Demonstrated experience in drafting national policies, strategies, action plans, programmes for government.
• Demonstrated experience in gender analysis and mainstreaming gender equality into policies, programmes, results frameworks or monitoring systems.
• Demonstrated experience in developing or reviewing results frameworks, indicators and/or monitoring arrangements.
• Knowledge or practical experience related to digital transformation, science, technology, innovation or emerging technology issues from a gender perspective is an asset.
• Previous experience with UN Women or another UN entity is an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in Vietnamese, with strong Vietnamese writing skills, is required.
• Working knowledge of English is an asset.

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.

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