UN Women National Consultant (Evaluation) – Link Women Phase II End-Line Assessment - Home Based, India

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 India Country Office is implementing Link Women Phase II as part of its broader mandate to advance women’s economic empowerment (WEE) by enhancing women’s access to skills, employment opportunities, and agency in decision-making. The programme is aligned with UN Women’s strategic priorities on expanding women’s economic opportunities, strengthening gender-responsive skills and employability pathways, and addressing structural barriers that limit women’s participation in the labour market. Link Women Phase II aims to support young women from marginalised backgrounds to transition successfully from education into employment, entrepreneurship, or higher education pathways. The programme focuses on strengthening employability and work-readiness skills, life skills and confidence, and gender awareness and agency, recognising that technical skills alone are insufficient for sustained labour market engagement. Key programme interventions include structured training modules on employability and life skills, career guidance and exposure opportunities, placement support, and a Fellowship component designed to provide deeper engagement, mentorship, and leadership development for a selected group of participants.

The primary beneficiaries of the programme are young women enrolled in higher education institutions, particularly those with limited access to skills training, labour market information, and support networks. In addition, the programme engages a wider set of stakeholders, including faculty and institutional partners, who play a critical role in programme delivery; the implementing partner responsible for on-ground coordination and training; and employers and industry actors who support exposure and placement pathways. The programme is implemented across two states (Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh) and four districts (Mumbai, Pune, Bhopal, Indore). 

UN Women is now undertaking the endline assessment of Link Women Phase II, which will be led and managed in-house by the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) function of the UN Women India Country Office. A substantial body of evidence has already been generated over the course of the programme, including the Link Women baseline and endline surveys, partner-submitted training and activity reports, participation, placement and transition records, Fellowship documentation, and routine monitoring data received from the field.

Against this background, the present assignment is a short-term, consultancy. The consultant will conduct the primary qualitative study with stakeholders, consolidate, analyse and synthesise these multiple data streams and prepare a comprehensive endline report. The expected outcome is a well-evidenced and analytically sound endline report that documents programme results against baseline, explains what has worked and what has not across different cohorts of participants, and generates lessons to inform the design, adaptation and scale-up of future women’s economic empowerment initiatives.

The consultant will work under the direct supervision and day-to-day guidance of the M&E Lead, UN Women India Country Office, and in close coordination with the Programme Analyst, WEE. The Programme Associate will serve as the contact person for contract and payment matters.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

The key responsibilities will include:

1. Desk Review and Familiarisation

• Review all relevant programme documentation, including the programme design and implementation plans, results and monitoring framework, partner training and activity reports, and UN Women’s Strategic Note 2023–27.
• Participate in orientation discussions with the M&E Lead and the WEE programme team to understand the scope of the endline, the key areas of enquiry, and the expected structure of the endline report.
• Review and map the available Link Women data sources, including baseline and endline survey tools and datasets and field-level monitoring data, and identify key data gaps and quality issues to inform the endline analysis.

2. Analysis of available programme data 

• Conduct analysis of available programme data including, training pre and post-test data, placement and mentorship data participants feedback forms and any other programme data available. .
• Identify data gaps, inconsistencies or quality issues and work with the M&E Lead, programme team and implementing partner to address them.

• 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: 

• Quantitative Data Management and Survey data Analysis
• Qualitative Data Synthesis, Coding and Thematic Analysis
• Secondary Research and Evidence Synthesis
• Analytical Report Writing and Data Visualisation
• Accuracy, Attention to Detail and Timeliness
• Ability to Work Collaboratively and Responsively under Supervision

•    Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, statistics, economics, development studies, gender studies, public policy, education, or a related field 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.

• At least 7 years of relevant professional experience in monitoring and evaluation, social research or data analysis, including experience supporting evaluations, assessments, baseline or endline studies.
• Demonstrated experience in cleaning, managing and analysing quantitative survey data using statistical software (SPSS, Stata, R, SAS or advanced MS Excel) is required.
• Demonstrated experience in qualitative data synthesis, including coding and thematic analysis of interview and report-based material, is required.
• Experience in conducting interviews in person and remotely/online with diverse respondents is required.
• Proven experience in drafting analytical research or evaluation reports in English; samples of previous written work will be required.
• Experience in gender equality, women’s economic empowerment, skilling and employability, or education-to-work transition programmes is desirable.
• Prior experience of working with the United Nations or other international development organisations is an asset.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple data sources, work to tight deadlines, and deliver accurate outputs with limited supervision.

• Fluency in English and Hindi is required. Working knowledge of Marathi and/or other relevant local languages will be an advantage.

Criteria for shortlisting of CVs will be based on the following assessment:

• Required Qualification (5 points);
• Minimum Experience relevant to the assignment (5 points);
• Experience in Monitoring and Evaluation (5 points).

The evaluation process for selection of the candidate will be based on the following assessment:

• Writing Samples Assessment (30%)
• Interview (70%)

• For an assignment requiring travel, consultants of 65 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work to engage in the consultancy.
• Consultants are required to submit doctor's certificate to state fitness to work and travel for this assignment.
• Due to large number of potential applicants, only competitively selected candidates will be contacted for remaining steps of the service procurement process.
• The consultant is expected to use their own computer equipment. The office will not provide any computer equipment for this assignment.
• This is a full-time assignment. The consultant is expected to disclose any outside activity and shall not be permitted to take up any outside work during this assignment.

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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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.