International Consultant, Consultancy on operationalizing the UN Women Social Norms Framework in Europe and Central Asia

The consultant will map existing social norms programming in the Europe and Central Asia region and develop a concise operational plan for applying the UN Women Social Norms Framework in regional and country programming. The plan will translate the corporate framework into practical, regionally contextualized actions supporting programme design, implementation, monitoring, and learning across thematic portfolios.

Responsibilities

• Map UN Women's existing social norms programming across Europe and Central Asia through desk review of regional and country office programmes.
• Analyze regional programming through the lens of the UN Women Social Norms Framework, including mapping interventions against the framework and assessing pathways for social norms change.
• Develop a concise operational plan translating the corporate Social Norms Framework into practical, regionally contextualized action points for UN Women country offices and programmes.
• Suggest practical actions for integrating the Framework across ongoing interventions including programme design, implementation, partnerships, monitoring and learning.
• Include practical tools or approaches to facilitate consistent application of the Framework across thematic portfolios.
• Articulate ECARO's regional technical offer and comparative advantage in supporting social norms programming, including assessment of capacities and recommendations for strengthening.
• Identify priority entry points for regional action on discriminatory social norms with roles for ECARO and country offices.
• Ensure the operational plan accounts for how discriminatory norms operate across intersecting inequalities and identifies programming gaps.
• Ensure complementarity and synergy with other regional strategies and frameworks and align with the Regional Strategic Note results framework and corporate results-based management processes.
• Present key findings and proposed Operational Plan to ECARO colleagues and incorporate feedback into the final product.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent) in gender studies, sociology, social or political sciences or relevant field to the requirements of the TOR.
• At least 5 year of progressively responsible professional experience in gender equality and women's empowerment programming, policy development, research or technical advisory services.
• Demonstrated experience in conducting analytical reviews, programme assessments or research and translating findings into operational guidance, methodologies or practical recommendations for gender equality programming, including on discriminatory social norms, gender stereotypes or related areas.
• Demonstrated knowledge of social norms theories and approaches, including their application to gender equality programming.
• Experience working with UN Women, other United Nations entities or international development organizations is required.
• Experience of work with gender equality and women’s empowerment issues in Eastern Europe and Central Asia is an asset.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and deliver high-quality outputs within agreed timelines.
• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of any other UN official language is an asset.

Skills

• Gender Equality Programming
• Women’s Empowerment
• Policy Development
• Research and Analysis
• Technical Advisory
• Social Norms Theories
• Programme Performance Assessment
• Operational Guidance
• Methodology Development
• Social Norms Programming
• UN Women Collaboration
• International Development Experience
• Regional Expertise Europe Central Asia
• Programme Design
• Programme Implementation
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Report Writing
• English Language Proficiency

Languages

English