National Consultant for Women Leadership Capacity Building Workshop

UN Women National Consultant - She Leads: Uttar Pradesh Workshop - Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

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 One Hundred and Sixth Amendment to the Indian Constitution (2023) mandates one-third reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies and marks a historic step towards enhanced women's participation in governance. To realize the full potential of this landmark legislation, there is a recognized need to build a robust pipeline of women leaders equipped with the technical skills and policy awareness required for effective legislative and administrative participation.

She Leads, UN Women India’s flagship programme to strengthen women’s public and political leadership, is designed as a strategic intervention to build capacities and nurture a dynamic network of women leaders across the country. The programme facilitates meaningful dialogue, enables the exchange of lived experiences, and creates opportunities for engagement with experts, thereby equipping women leaders with the knowledge, skills, and networks needed to lead effectively and drive inclusive governance. Building on the success of three national-level She Leads workshops, UN Women is now contextualizing this capacity-building initiative at the state level. The programme provides non-partisan, skills-based training to women in public life, equipping them with the technical knowledge, governance skills, and leadership capacities needed to participate effectively in decentralized administration and decision-making.

Uttar Pradesh presents a highly strategic opportunity for this localized intervention due to its vast demographic scale and its extensive network of women already active at the grassroots level. With state legislative assembly elections anticipated in 2027, there is a critical window to focus on governance, leadership, and resilience building among these women. By enhancing their capacities now, our programme She Leads aims to support the development of a strong, self-reliant cohort of women leaders in Uttar Pradesh, ready to contribute to gender-responsive governance and sustainable public administration at scale. This cohort will be selected through a competitive application process anchored by UN Women under the She Leads Uttar Pradesh initiative. It will comprise a diverse group of women leaders from across the state, including grassroots change-makers, elected representatives, administrators, and other emerging leaders. The selection will aim to ensure representation across geographies, bringing together women who demonstrate leadership potential, a commitment to gender equality, and the ability to drive transformative change within their communities.

Objective of the Assignment

In this context, UN Women is seeking the services of a Consultant to lead the delivery of the “She Leads: Uttar Pradesh” initiative, a state-level capacity-building workshop for women aspiring to take on greater roles in public life and local administration. This pioneering programme in Uttar Pradesh aims to equip a cohort of credible, capable, and confident women with the technical skills required for effective governance and leadership. By doing so, it directly supports the national momentum toward increasing the meaningful representation and participation of women in decision-making at both state and sub-national levels.

The Consultant will serve as the primary focal point for the “She Leads: Uttar Pradesh” workshop, providing end-to-end coordination and support across planning, execution, and post-workshop follow-up. The role encompasses strategic programme coordination, multi-stakeholder engagement, supporting the development of a gender-responsive governance curriculum, logistics management, and comprehensive documentation.

1. Event Coordination and Planning (Apr- May ’26)

 Participant Recruitment and Selection

• Mobilize participants, coordinate digital and offline outreach through social media, WhatsApp networks, professional platforms, and grassroots organizations.
• Facilitate backend identification and profiling of 100 potential women aspirants through social media using outreach, WhatsApp networks and broadcast groups, professional platforms and grassroots organizations, and through party outreach across parties.  
• Oversee multi-level shortlisting process using defined criteria, including political engagement, leadership potential, communication skills, and diversity balancing across districts, parties, and communities.
• Coordinate and lead structured interviews for shortlisted candidates in collaboration with UN Women team
• Finalize the list of 50 participants.
• Support with information on travel requirements, logistical preferences, and dietary information from confirmed participants.
• Prepare brief participant profiles including constituency, political affiliation, leadership history, and aspirations.

Research and Documentation (Curriculum Development, Coordination with the Speakers) May- June 2026)

• Develop Legislative Assembly Factsheets for the participants dossiers for elections to be held in Uttar Pradesh 2027.
• Draft first outline of workshop curriculum including session themes, structure, and learning objectives and identify required resource materials, case studies
  1. Support finalization of the full workshop agenda and curriculum, including plenary sessions featuring senior political leaders; thematic and training sessions
• Coordinate with proposed speakers and mentors and finalize the agenda
• Lead the end-to-end delivery of the two-day workshop, ensuring smooth implementation of all sessions in the agenda, including plenary and thematic segments on the workshop days.

2. Post-Event Activities (June 2026)

Documentation and Follow-up

• Compile and analyze participant feedback forms and data.
• Prepare comprehensive workshop documentation report including:
  • Attendance records
  • Participant profiles and key learnings
  • Speaker feedback and session evaluations
  • Develop a press release for distribution through local print outlets
  • Media coverage summary
  • Photographic and videography documentation
• Ensure dissemination of workshop fact sheets and advocacy reports to stakeholders.

Compile all workshop documentation for UN Women records and future reference.

Deliverable based payment terms in percentage of the total contract value will be divided as indicated below:

1. Complete the final selection of 50 participants for the She Leads Uttar Pradesh edition, ensuring all eligibility and screening criteria are met.  (20%)
2. Develop Legislative Assembly factsheets, one for each constituency, to be included in participant dossiers. (10%)
3. Lead and execute the full end-to-end delivery of a two-day workshop, ensuring 100% implementation of all planned sessions, including plenary discussions and thematic segments, with seamless coordination across all agenda components. (50%)
4. Compile full workshop documentation and ensure dissemination of all key workshop outputs to stakeholders. (20%)

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:

• Strong commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women, with demonstrated experience of researching or working on gender issues.
• Strong research and writing skills, with strong analytical skills and creative thinking.
• Ability to think and work logically and work precisely with attention to detail.
• Initiative, sound judgment and demonstrated ability to work harmoniously with staff members of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Education:

• Masters in Gender Studies, Social Sciences; or equivalent degrees from premier institutions.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of professional work experience with research, data and policy analysis, to advance the global normative framework on gender equality and women’s rights 
• Substantial knowledge and expertise in gender data and research.
• Demonstrated experience in gender equality, women's empowerment, or women's political participation initiatives.
• Strong knowledge of Uttar Pradesh's political landscape, party structures, and state-level governance

Language Requirements:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, Hindi, and any other Indian language with the ability to communicate research findings to a variety of audiences.

Interested applicants should apply to this announcement through UN Women jobs site: 

Careers at UN Women | UN Women – Headquarters

UN Women will only be able to respond to those applications in which there is further interest.

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/about-us/jobs.

• Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
• Applications received after the close date will not be accepted.
• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.                                                        

Evaluation and Selection Criteria:

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 working on urban centric projects with cities and states, state/central programs (5 points).

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

• Interview (80 points)
• Presentation (20 points)

Please Note:

• 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.

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.

Experience Level

Senior Level