National Consultant to develop a Gender-Transformative Climate Change Programming Strategy for a UN Women Project

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. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system’s 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 towards building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. 

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recognizes that climate change disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, particularly women, who often face greater risks and burdens due to their reliance on natural resources and unequal participation in decision-making. It emphasizes the importance of integrating a gender perspective into all climate action, ensuring women's full and equal participation in policymaking, and recognizing their crucial role in sustainable resource management and climate resilience. As a party to the Convention, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) acknowledges the importance of addressing climate change and has demonstrated its commitment through the ratification of the Paris Agreement in 2016. GoSL has also revised and submitted its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in July 2021 to the UNFCCC, as a required obligation being party to the Paris Agreement and developed the National Adaptation Plan (NAP), aiming to increase the resilience of economic sectors and natural systems against the emerging and projected impacts of climate change by adopting appropriate coping strategies and system improvements. 

Given Sri Lanka’s high vulnerability to extreme weather events, women, especially those in rural communities and those engaged in agriculture and fisheries, face disproportionate challenges. Yet, they remain largely excluded from decision-making processes that shape climate adaptation and economic policies. Globally, UN Women promotes women’s economic empowerment within the broader sustainable development agenda, with a focus on green economics and climate change. Against this background, UN Women Sri Lanka is in the process of planning the implementation of a five-year project focused on “THRIVE: Together for Her: Resilience-building, Inclusivity, and Voices for Equality in Sri Lanka” to strengthen the economic and social resilience of women who are marginalized by equipping them with the resources needed to navigate and recover from crises, insecurity, and the impacts of climate change. The project envisions three main outcomes: a) Women’s enterprises are resilient to climate impacts and crises, b) Shifts in community attitudes towards the perception of women, and c) Women’s participation in leadership and decision-making.

Accordingly, UN Women seeks to hire a National Consultant to develop a Gender-Transformative Climate Change Programming Strategy to inform the THRIVE project and ensure inclusive and effective programming. This five-year project is implemented by UN Women and Chrysalis and funded by the Government of Australia. THRIVE will operate across six districts: Badulla, Colombo, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Monaragala, and Nuwara Eliya, and is expected to engage women-led businesses, producers, MSMEs, as well as community members and leaders. The Gender-Transformative Climate Change Programming Strategy will be an evolving document, continuously updated and refined based on participant and stakeholder feedback as the project progresses.

The consultant will be reporting to the Head of Office of UN Women Sri Lanka, and will be supported by the Programme Analyst, who will be the point of contact on contract and payment issues. 

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

 

Under the supervision and guidance of the Head of Office of UN Women Sri Lanka, the National Consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks and will remain accountable for the timely submission of the deliverables as per the timeline given below. 

Deliverables

 

No. Deliverable Expected completion time (due day)  1

Methodology note outlining the approach to be taken for drafting and finalizing the Gender-Transformative Climate Change Programming Strategy. 

 

Note: The methodology should include a clear plan for data collection (both secondary and primary and data analysis, along with data collection tools (such as key informant interviews and/or consultation with key project stakeholders)