UN Women: National Consultant on CSO Engagement (retainer), home-based, Vietnam Country Office.

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. 
Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

In Viet Nam, UN Women contributes to the development objectives of Viet Nam’s Socio-Economic Development Plan and the National Strategy for Gender Equality. Its Country Strategy Note for 2022-2026 is aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (CF) 2022-2026 and upcoming CF 2027-2031 and is focused on supporting Viet Nam’s fulfilment of Gender Equality commitments under The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the promise of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda to “leave no one behind”.

The consultancy is due to start on 1 November 2026 and end on 31 October 2029.

This is a home-based consultancy with minimal requirement to present in person at the UN Women Office in Viet Nam (VCO) for meetings (schedule to be agreed later with supervisor) and international travel. The consultant is required to undertake regular update meetings with the Programme Management Specialist and Coordination Officer. 

Work related travel of UN Women’s consultants are considered as official mission and will be arranged by UN Women, in line with UN Women’s Consultant Contract Policy, UN Women Duty Travel Policy and UN-EU cost norm.

The total number of working days allocated under this retainer contract shall not exceed 300 working days during the three-year contract period. UN Women does not guarantee that the full 300 working days will be utilized. Services will be requested and purchased as needed during the term of the Agreement. 

The consultant will be engaged under a retainer contract, which facilitates direct engagement depending on organizational needs and consultant availability during the contract period. Services will be requested on an as-needed basis and paid at the pre-agreed daily rate.

The expected number of working days for each assignment/deliverable will be agreed between UN Women and the consultant on a case-by-case basis.

UN Women will not be committed to purchasing any minimum quantity of services, and purchases will only be made where there is an actual requirement and upon issuance of a Purchase Order under this contract. UN Women shall not be liable for any cost in the event that no purchases are made under this retainer contract.

Payment will be made upon satisfactory completion of a deliverable or as agreed between the consultant and UN Women. 

Reports and other documents and materials that reflect high quality, result- based standard and format established by UN Women

This is an as-needed retainer, not a continuous full-time assignment. For each request, UN Women and the consultant will agree in writing on tasks, outputs, format and language, deadlines, estimated working days, travel and applicable purchase order before work begins. 

UN Women does not guarantee any minimum number of days or purchase of services. Payment at the agreed daily rate will follow acceptance of satisfactory outputs under the relevant purchase order.

Illustrative deliverables, commissioned individually or in combination, may include:

• CSO stakeholder mapping, network coordination plan, consultation methodology, meeting synthesis and follow-up action tracker.
• Capacity needs assessment, training or peer learning package, facilitation, workshop report, practical checklist and synthesis of organizational action plans.
• Joint advocacy strategy, position paper, policy submission, briefing note, campaign messages, communication package or public dialogue documentation.

• 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 gender equality, women’s rights and the role of civil society in policy development, implementation and accountability, including relevant national and international frameworks.
• Demonstrated ability to support coordination and collaboration within and across CSO networks while ensuring inclusive participation and respecting organizations’ independence.
• Ability to design and facilitate participatory capacity-building, consultations and experience-sharing activities for diverse CSOs.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to turn evidence and community perspectives into practical advocacy messages, policy recommendations and communication materials.
• Excellent drafting, editing, presentation and facilitation skills in Vietnamese and English.
• Strong planning, coordination and stakeholder-engagement skills, with the ability to work independently and deliver high-quality outputs within agreed deadlines.

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.

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.