International Consultant to develop UN Women China’s Strategic Country Portfolio (2026-2030)

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 United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) is dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women (GEWE). A global champion for women and girls, it was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.

UN Women China’s work is aligned with UN Women’s Global Strategic Plan and with the 2021-2025 United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for China. Active in China since 1998, UN Women works across a number of thematic impact areas, including governance and participation in public life, women’s economic empowerment, Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW), and supporting global partnerships that promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

As a co-chair of the UN Gender Theme Group (UNGTG) and an active member of all UN interagency working groups, UN Women leads technical and coordination support to ensure gender mainstreaming across all areas within the wider UN system to implement a gender responsive UNSDCF. UN Women works with partners on strategic, high-value, and innovative partnerships that increase investment in advancing GEWE and enhance our programmatic impact in China. The office also engages in robust communication and advocacy initiatives promoting GEWE.

Objective: UN Women China’s Strategic Country Portfolio Development

UN Women in each country is guided by a Strategic Country Portfolio (SCP) Document, commonly known as a Strategic Note, that outlines UN Women’s strategic direction, objectives and approaches to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. The SCP is in line with UN Women’s global Strategic Plan (SP) and with the UNSDCF for the country.

The SCP establishes priorities and intended results and articulates a compelling vision of what the office desires to achieve in 5 years, in the host country, in response to the most urgent and important national priorities and goals, the 2030 Agenda, and UN Women’s three-pillar mandate: Normative, Coordination, and Operations (Programming). 

The UN Women China Country Office (CCO) is initiating the process to develop its new SCP, covering the period of 2026-2030, which will be fully aligned with the UNSDCF programme cycle and contribute to UN Women’s Global Strategic Plan (2026-2030). The SCP 2026-2030 will define the development results framework (DRF) as well as key drivers and enablers for implementation of the DRF, ensuring Operational Efficiency and Effectiveness (OEE) in the next five years. 

The SCP will achieve the following:

• Include robust socio economic and political analyses of country development trends related to GEWE, including progress vis-à-vis the SDGs (especially SDG 5); examines regional and global trends as relevant to the Partnerships pillar of the UN’s work in China;
• Account for the national context and developments in China and aligns with national strategies and gender related development priorities (including the Women's Development in China (2021-2030) and the Beijing Platform for Action National Report, 2024, as well as other key documents);
• Align with the UNSDCF for China (2026-2030);
• Is based on current and emerging trends related to Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE); 
• Reflect UN Women’s mandate towards achieving goals and objectives of the SDGs and the 2030 development agenda gender equality commitments, CEDAW, and other relevant normative frameworks (as reflected in the UNW Regional and Global Strategic Plans/Notes); 
• Reflect/align with UN Women’s relevant Flagship Programme Initiatives.
• Present an overview of the work of other UN agencies and international partners in China in the GEWE area and key opportunities and gaps that could be addressed through strengthened coordination.
• Summarize key lessons learned from relevant evaluations and reviews of UN Women’s programmes in the country over the past few years to inform future programming.
• Provide a synthesis of areas of investment in our efforts to respond to the Leave No One Behind (LNOB) principle under the 2030 Agenda, in the context of efforts to advance GEWE;
• Includes an analysis of UN Women’s comparative advantage within the country and the need of our country presence including for south-south cooperation and international development cooperation.
• Provide comprehensive analysis on priority issue areas for the China CO for 2026-2030, including a problem analysis, theory of change, and results chain for each priority area.
• Develop a transition plan for the office for a scenario when China reaches a High Income Country Status during the new UNSDCF framework period (2026-2030)

Duties / Deliverables & Timeline 

To facilitate this process, the CCO is seeking the services of an International Consultant to develop the complete UN Women China SCP package, including coordinating all processes necessary for delivering a high quality SCP package, working in close collaboration with the CCO and under the direct supervision of the Head of Office. The International Consultant will be required to coordinate and deliver the following: 

SCP Package & Structure

The next UN Women CCO SCPwill be developed in line with corporate guidance on both process and contents of  UN Women’s “Strategic Note” package. To the extent possible, efforts will be made to ensure internal (with UN Women’s Headquarters, ROAP) and external consultations at the country level with diverse stakeholders, including host country, other UN Member States, civil society, other United Nations entities, the private sector and other relevant actors. Through this process we also hope to engage UN Country Teams in Global South countries to inform our strategic priorities under the Partnerships pillar of our work. 

The structure of the SCP will include the following (and will comply with UN Women Corporate Guidance, including use of required templates, as provided by the China CO): 

• Narrative section including Theory of Change, which will comprise of the following sections:

1. Programme Rationale 
2. Context Analysis 
3. Lessons Learned 
4. Comparative Advantages 
5. Programme and Partnerships 
6. Development Results 
7. Organizational Efficiency and Effectiveness 
8. Programme Sustainability 
9. Transition plan and scenario building 
10. Resourcing and Financing 
11. Monitoring and Evaluation

• Annexes & Supporting Documents (to be developed with input from China CCO and HQ and RO as relevant)

1. Results and Resource Framework
2. Required supporting documents to be attached to the SCP (Mandatory annexes) include:
   1. Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Plan (MERP)
   2. Risk Register
   3. Functional map and Human Resource Plan
   4. Knowledge Management Plan
   5. Resource Mobilization Action Plan
   6. Biennial Workplan
   7. Scenario building for office transition (if required) – internal document to UN Women management

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:

• Excellent analytical skills
• Strong knowledge of UN Women processes and systems
• Strong networking skills
• Strong inter-personal skills, communicate effectively with staff at all levels of the organization
• Ability to work in a highly pressured environment

Required Qualifications 

Education 

1. Master’s Degree (or equivalent) in social science, gender studies, law, international relations or other related fields.
2. A first-level university degree in combination with four additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree

Experience and skills 

1. At least 7 years of extensive professional working experience in strategic planning, developing strategic document, programme or project documents with international organisations or relevant international development agencies
2. At least 5 years of demonstrable work experience in gender equality and empowerment of women is required
3. Demonstrated experience collaborating with institutions, partners in development and civil society organizations in the Asia region, preferably in China; especially with those focused on promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment activities
4. Experience with the United Nations system, good knowledge of the UN Women mandate and its programmatic frameworks and rules and United Nations procedures would be an asset.
5. At least 3-5 years of experience in developing programme documents or proposals using UN Results-Based Management standards, is required
6. Experience working in China is desirable.

Language and report writing skills

1. Language proficiency in English is required.

Contract period and work location 

This consultancy is home-based till 30 August 2025, with a maximum of 1 trip to the field as necessary.

Payments

Payments for this consultancy will be deliverables-based (per the schedule above) and installments will be paid upon certification of satisfactory completion of the agreed upon deliverables.

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.