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.

In Ukraine, UN Women is committed to delivering results across strategic priorities, exercising its triple mandate encompassing normative support, UN system coordination, and operational activities to mobilize urgent and sustained action to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. UN Women has long been actively supporting local priority areas in Ukraine from increased political participation to gender mainstreaming in public policy, and economic development.

Since the start of the Russian full-scale military invasion, Ukraine has rapidly emerged as one of the world’s most complex emergencies. Women, girls and LGBTIQ+ persons have been affected differently, have specific needs and different priorities for recovery. As of October 2023, 56% of the 3.7 million estimated IDPs are women, who make up 93% of the 4.6 million people returning to Ukraine.  Women face significantly increased safety and protection risks. Incidents of gender-based violence (GBV), particularly domestic violence and conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), including trafficking in persons for sexual purposes have drastically increased. As of 1 February 2024, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission (HRMMU) documented 220 cases of CRSV (137 men, 77 women, 4 girls, 2 boys)[1], and the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine recorded 270 cases of CRSV (96 men, 161 women, 12 girls, and 1 boy)[2].

Since the beginning of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, women, women-led civil society organizations and women human rights organizations are playing a crucial role responding to the humanitarian needs, often being the first responders to the needs and protection risks of the most affected by war women, men, girls and boys in the high risks areas. Many grass-roots women’s CSOs have been providing psychological support, protection counselling and free legal aid to survivors of CRSV and their families being the crucial resource of support at the local levels in particular in the locations where the GBV/CRSV survivors have been disrupted due to the war, referral pathways broken, women’s CSOs have stepped up mobilizing resources and providing the highly needed services to CRSV survivors at the community level. Furthermore, women’s CSOs have been instrumental in promoting social cohesion between displaced and host communities in Ukraine, and have played a vital role in international advocacy for peace, recovery and reconstruction, including through reparations to CRSV survivors and other victims of the war.

On 3 May, 2022, Ms. Pramila Patten, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, and Ms. Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, signed a Framework of Cooperation between the Government of Ukraine and the United Nations on the prevention and response to conflict-related sexual violence, that supports the design and delivery of priority interventions in the areas  of justice and accountability as a central pillar of deterrence and prevention. The agreement also addresses comprehensive service provision for survivors, including sexual and reproductive health services, medical and specialized mental health services, legal assistance, and livelihood support. To implement the Framework of Cooperation (FoC) in coordinated way, the Government has created a thematic Working Group on preventing and response to CRSV under the Commission on Coordination of Activities of Central Executive Bodies on Equal Rights and Opportunities of Women and Men.

UN Women has worked closely together with the government counterparts and the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) to support the development of an Implementation Plan for the Framework of Cooperation (FoC), which was adopted by the Government of Ukraine in September 2022, in 2023 the Implementation Plan was updated within the work of the Inter-Agency Working Group on CRSV to reflect the recent developments. Under this plan, UN Women has committed to closely collaborate with Ukrainian authorities along with other UN entities, women civil society organizations and other relevant partners to support national CRSV prevention and support efforts.

The Ukraine Joint Programme on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) has been developed with the aim of strengthening the prevention and response to CRSV in Ukraine by reinforcing national mechanisms through the deployment of cross-cutting policy experts bringing a range of expertise on addressing CRSV from monitoring and reporting to security sector reform. These experts will be deployed both within the UN Country Team (UNCT) and as part of various institutions of the Government of Ukraine in order to contribute to building the capacity of the stakeholders involved in this sector and improving the availability of services to survivors of CRSV.

The Apparatus of Government Commissioner for Gender Equality Policy, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine and members of the Interdepartmental Working Group on combating sexual violence are supporting an Implementation Plan with a focus on five critical areas: (i) trafficking in persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation, (ii) provision of comprehensive assistance to survivors of CRSV, (iii) access to justice and accountability, (iv) strengthening the capacity of the security and defence sector to prevent and address CRSV, and (v) reparations and compensation. The Office of the SRSG-SVC co-chairs each of the inter-agency working groups dedicated to these themes together with UN Agencies in Ukraine and national counterparts. 

A Joint Secretariat comprising representatives of the Apparatus of the Government Commissioner for Gender policy of Ukraine, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine and relevant UN entities will be established to support the Government’s Interdepartmental Working Group in developing and coordinating activities within the Implementation Plan. As a critical component of this project, the Government of Ukraine identified the need to be supported by six national experts on CRSV to be deployed in four government institutions, namely: the Deputy Prime Minister’s office for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, the Apparatus of the Government Commissioner for Gender policy of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the National Social Service of Ukraine. Concurrently, a team of Women Protection Advisers, led by a Senior Women’s Protection Adviser (SWPA) in the Office of the Resident Coordinator, will be deployed to support the UN Country Team in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions, especially resolution 2467 (2019), in support of the Joint Secretariat that is responsible for coordinating the overall implementation of the FoC, as co-signatories of the agreement, and its Implementation Plan.  Activities to achieve the expected results under the various workstreams will be implemented on the ground, in collaboration with the WPA Unit and the national experts deployed in the various Government entities for this purpose.

The Security and Defense Sector Expert will focus on providing the subject-matter expertise, legal and policy advice, and analysis to the implementors of the relevant provisions of the Framework of Cooperation and, as such, will be tasked with strengthening the capacity of the security and defense sector to respond to CRSV.

[1] OHCHR, Situation of human rights in Ukraine: 1 August to 30 November 2023, Link

[2] Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Statistics on CRSV cases. Link

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the UN Women Representative, the incumbent will work under the daily supervision of the Apparatus of the Government Commissioner for Gender Equality Policy, reporting to and working in close collaboration with the UN Women WPA (Women Protection Adviser), and under the technical guidance of the Apparatus of the Government Commissioner for Gender policy the National consultant will provide technical support to the Apparatus of the Government Commissioner for Gender policy by contributing to the implementation of the Framework of Cooperation between the Government of Ukraine and the United Nations on the prevention and response to CRSV through coordination of activities of Inter-Agency working  groups, commissions and working groups for realization of the Implementation Plan and developing implementation decisions to that end. 

The Security and Defence Sector Expert will deliver the subject-matter expertise to relevant stakeholders of the Inter-Agency Working Group on CRSV and provide services to survivors to implement the Framework of Cooperation and the Implementation Plan to it (Pillar 4), and as such, will be tasked with strengthening the capacity of the security and defence sector to respond to CRSV.

The assignment will include but not be limited to the following tasks developed and agreed in coordination with the Apparatus of the Government Commissioner for Gender policy:

1. Establish and maintain effective collaboration with the co-chairs of the Inter-Agency Working Group Sub-Group “Strengthening capacity of the security and defense sector to prevent and address CRSV” and contribute to the organization of regular meetings of the sub-group, preparation of materials, monitoring of the delivery and progress reporting on the Implementation Plan.
2. Liaise with experts and representatives of the security and defense sector actors involved in advancing of the Implementation Plan to the Framework of Cooperation to ensure the collection and analysis of information on achieving the Implementation Plan’s outcomes, prepare analytical briefs, and document good practice (Pillar 4).
3. Assist the institutions and agencies of Ukraine's security and defense sector in developing amendments to the legal and regulatory framework related to the CRSV prevention and response, including through a survivor-centered approach, for instance, to draft ministerial orders, governmental regulations, codes of conduct, standard procedures and resolutions.
4. Conduct analysis of the ministerial/departmental plans of the security and defense sector institutions on the implementation of the updated National Action Plan 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and alignment with the Implementation Plan to the Framework of Cooperation to support respective actors’ internal coordination in the fulfilling commitments related to CRSV prevention and response under both documents.
5. Hold internal and external consultations, fact-checking missions, and desk research of issues related to the activities of the security and defense sector subjects on the prevention of sexual violence within the context of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and assistance to the survivors, upon request by the Apparatus of the Government Commissioner for Gender equality policy and UN Women in the framework of the project UN Joint Programme  on conflict-related sexual violence.
6. Prepare monthly reports to the Apparatus of the Government Commissioner for Gender Policy and UN Women on the implementation of tasks and the results achieved.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

• This is an office-based consultancy (a full-time presence).
• As part of this assignment, upon the prior UN Women approval, consultant might be requested to go on a working mission. If it is necessary for better performance of the assignment UN Women will arrange travel and these expenses will be covered separately to the consultant based on UN travel policy and applicable daily subsistence allowance rates.

Financial arrangements

• Payments will be disbursed on a monthly basis upon submission of the monthly narrative reports by the Consultant and their endorsement by UN Women.
• The level of remuneration will be established based on the UN salary scale.

Inputs

• UN Women will provide the Consultant with background materials related to the assignment.
• The consultant is expected to work using her/his own computer.

Competencies

Core Values: 

• Respect for Diversity 
• Integrity 
• Professionalism 

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 Core Values and Competencies:  

https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values 

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES: 

• Good knowledge of technical area of Women, Peace and Security Agenda and CRSV with the focus on Security and Defense Sector
• Good analytical skills and report writing
• Ability to gather and interpret data, reach logical conclusions and present findings and recommendations
• Proficiency in coordinating activities among interagency groups, commissions, and working groups.
• Strong interpersonal skills to build alliances, negotiate partnerships, and drive collaborative advocacy efforts

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Advanced University Degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in public administration, law, social science, security and defense, international relations, international human rights, gender studies/or related fields.

Experience:

• A minimum of 2 years of professional experience in human rights and gender equality, security, and defense, including Women, Peace and Security agenda, CRSV, and/or GBV response or related fields, is required.
• Demonstrated experience in successfully undertaking similar assignments is required, including developing legal and regulatory acts, guidelines, policy papers, and recommendations.
• Knowledge of managing and supporting multi-stakeholder initiatives and multi-lateral processing is required.
• Experience with inter-agency coordination in the UN or comparable international organizations is desired.
• Knowledge and experience in project development and management; knowledge and experience in managing internal and external communications; experience in facilitating cooperation between governmental, multilateral, and non-governmental organizations and/or UN agencies.

Languages:

• Fluency in verbal and written English and Ukrainian is required.

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).