International Consultant Programme Quality Assurance and Oversight; Retainer), Ho

Responsibilities

The Retainer Technical Consultant for Programme Quality Assurance and Oversight will provide on‑demand technical services across the functional areas detailed below. Specific assignments, timelines, and outputs will be agreed upon prior to each engagement.

• Programme Quality Assurance and Appraisal Support – Provide technical support to assess and strengthen regional and country‑level programme quality assurance and oversight mechanisms, with a focus on appraisal processes for RPAC and LPAC, ensuring compliance with UN Women corporate standards and policies.
• Deliver structured quality assurance feedback and recommendations to improve the quality, coherence, and compliance of submissions.
• Support the strengthening and standardisation of appraisal processes, including compliance with corporate tools, templates and tracking systems.
• Develop an oversight strategy with clear activities, responsibilities and tools to detect delays, gaps in Partner monitoring, including pending actions in Partner and Grants Agreements Management System (PGAMS).
• Quality Assurance of Field Documentation and Reviews – Contribute to systematic sample‑based quality assurance reviews of field‑level documentation and Partner monitoring processes (e.g., LPAC packages, partner documentation, Risk‑based Capacity Assessments, feedback provided by Project Managers) to identify recurring issues, compliance gaps and areas for improvement, and propose corrective actions.
• Collaborate closely with regional programme teams, COs/MCOs/NPPs to ensure coordinated support and alignment between programme implementation and corporate quality assurance requirements.
• Capacity Assessment for increasing DoA to field offices – Support implementation and monitoring of the capacity assessment plan; conduct capacity assessment for COs/MCOs/NPPs and formulate evidence‑based recommendations to support decision‑making on increasing DoA; apply corporate frameworks and provide assessment reports with findings and recommendations.
• Capacity Building and Technical Advisory Support – Design and deliver targeted capacity‑building initiatives, including training, guidance materials and on‑the‑job advisory support to enhance programme quality assurance and appraisal capacities; provide hands‑on advisory support to programme and operations teams to improve readiness and quality of submissions.

• Quality‑assured appraisal reviews, including written technical feedback on Concept Notes, Pro Docs, budgets, revisions, and LPAC/RPAC submissions.
• QA assessment notes and reports on field documentation and review processes, identifying gaps, risks and recommendations for improvement.
• Capacity assessment reports for COs/MCOs/NPPs related to Delegation of Authority (DoA), including analysis, findings and actionable recommendations.
• Capacity‑building outputs such as training sessions, presentations and advisory support documentation (e.g., training materials, summary notes or follow‑up recommendations).
• Analytical briefs and knowledge products highlighting trends, recurring issues and lessons learned in programme quality, compliance and oversight.
• Ad hoc technical advisory outputs, including written inputs, reviews or recommendations provided in response to emerging programme quality assurance needs.
• Oversight strategy with clear activities, responsibilities and tools to detect delays, gaps in Partner monitoring.
• Synthesis of best practices and lessons learned for adaptive oversight and quality assurance.

• Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity.
• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues, Accountability, Creative Problem Solving, Effective Communication, Inclusive Collaboration, Stakeholder Engagement, Leading by Example.
• Ability to lead strategic planning, results‑based management and reporting.
• Ability to build strong relationships with clients; focus on impact on results for the clients and respond positively to feedback.
• Ability to manage complexities.

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Business Administration, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political/Development Studies or other relevant…