UN Women: Individual Consultant - National Evaluation Consultant, Home-Based [Fiji / Samoa / Solomon Islands / Vanuatu] – Final Evaluation of Markets for Change (M4C) Phase II

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 the United Nations (UN) entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women1. Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women 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. Per its triple mandate, it aims: (i) To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms; (ii) To help Member States implement these standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it, and to forge effective partnerships with civil society, and (iii) To lead and coordinate the UN system’s work on gender equality, as well as promote accountability, including through regular monitoring of system-wide progress. 

UN Women, through its Strategic Plan 2026-2029, delivers programmes across four thematic priority areas that contribute to gender equality and women’s empowerment: 

• Women’s Leadership and Decision-Making
• Women’s Economic Empowerment in Resilient Communities
• Women and Girls Free from Violence
• Women, Peace and Security, and Humanitarian Action

The UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office is based in Suva, Fiji and works alongside over 20 other UN agencies in the region and in 14 countries: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The Fiji MCO is undertaking several evaluations and requires national consultants to support the conduct of these evaluations. 

 

Rationale for Engagement of National Evaluation Consultants

Given the scope, complexity, and multi-country nature of the Final Evaluation of Markets for Change (M4C) Phase II, UN Women requires the engagement of external National Evaluation Consultants to support the conduct of the evaluation in Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. The evaluation covers four countries and will involve extensive document review, stakeholder consultations, field-based data collection, and analysis across multiple marketplaces and institutional contexts. It also requires the application of gender-responsive, human rights-based, and culturally appropriate evaluation approaches in line with UNEG norms and standards and UN Women evaluation guidance.

The engagement of National Evaluation Consultants is necessary to ensure that the evaluation benefits from strong contextual knowledge of the countries and market systems in which the programme operates, including familiarity with local governance structures, market vendor environments, and relevant social and cultural dynamics. National consultants will also support efficient coordination of in-country consultations, facilitate communication with local stakeholders where relevant, and strengthen the quality, relevance, and credibility of data collection and interpretation.

In addition, the engagement of external consultants supports the independence and impartiality of the evaluation process, consistent with UN Women evaluation standards. National consultants will complement the technical leadership of the International Evaluation Team Leader by providing country-level evaluation support, including stakeholder mapping, field coordination, data collection, preliminary analysis, and inputs to reporting. Their engagement is therefore required to ensure adequate country coverage, methodological rigour, timely implementation, and contextually grounded findings across all programme locations.

 

Markets for Change / M4C

The Markets for Change (M4C) programme is a regional initiative implemented by UN Women to advance gender equality and strengthen the economic empowerment of women market vendors across Pacific marketplaces. The programme was initiated in 2012, building on lessons and evidence generated through the Partners Improving Markets (PIM) initiative imple