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 centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world.

UN Women’s work in Ukraine focuses on supporting the government and civil society in advancing gender equality and in implementing the national and international commitments on gender equality and women’s human rights. One of the key programmatic areas of the UN Women Ukraine Country Office is the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda. In 2021, UN Women launched the second phase of the project ‘Building democratic, peaceful and gender-equal society in Ukraine’, funded by the Government of Norway, to support the consolidated efforts of the Parliament, Government, women’s groups and civil society organizations (CSOs). The project’s goal is to build directly on the partnerships and results achieved and support implementation of the WPS agenda in Ukraine across all dimensions (policy, institutions and grassroots) and levels (national, regional and local). One of the expected results is the institutionalization of the dialogue between duty bearers and the right holders and the inclusion of women to meaningfully participate in decisions related to the WPS agenda.

The lives of people across Ukraine have been profoundly impacted by the humanitarian crisis brought on by the invasion on 24 February 2022. As of 13 June, there have been 7.5 million refugee movements out of Ukraine across international borders.[1] Additionally, as of 23 May 2022, over 7.1 million individuals are estimated to be internally displaced within Ukraine.[2] Pre-existing key barriers to women’s participation in decision-making processes due to the eight years of conflict in the east of the country and the COVID-19 restrictions escalated significantly in the context of the ongoing armed conflict. In order to support the humanitarian response to the crisis in Ukraine, UN Women and CARE International carried out a progressive Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA)[3] to provide information about the different needs, risks, capacities, and coping strategies of women, girls, men, and boys of all gender identities and of all diversities in this crisis.

The RGA reveals that women are performing vital roles in the immediate humanitarian response in local communities. Women’s CSOs and women volunteers are mobilizing quickly to ensure that their communities and IDPs receive the support they need to access critical services and humanitarian aid. Women’s leadership and their role in decision-making has increased at the family level and partially at the community level, with women reporting that they participate on equal terms in family decisions in response to the crisis.

However, at the formal decision-making level, the centralization of power and increased role of the military has made it more difficult for women to exert influence in formal political and administrative decision-making processes, thus decreasing women’s overall participation. Issues of social development and gender equality tend to be sidelined, and the voices of women are not included meaningfully in planning and decision-making around the humanitarian response or wider peace processes. Decisions are often made quickly and do not adequately reflect the needs and priorities of different groups of women and men, including those most vulnerable and marginalized. A survey conducted by UN Women with Ukrainian women’s CSOs in March 2022 also reveals the lack of recognition and decision-making that is offered to women actors and women’s organizations in response to the war.[4]

As complementary to the data obtained in the course of Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) and in response to the question of how to ensure and measure women’s meaningful participation and inclusion in decision-making and peacebuilding processes in Ukraine, UN Women will conduct a research study to generate robust evidence on the barriers and opportunities for women’s meaningful participation through primary and secondary data review. More specifically, the study aims to:

• understand the barriers to women’s meaningful participation at all stages of decision-making and peace processes in Ukraine
• assess the challenges, progress and trends in gender-responsive provisions of peace agreements and implementation in Ukraine
• identify the good practices on women’s representation and meaningful participation in decision-making and peace processes in Ukraine;
• contribute to fill in the gaps in data and measuring women’s meaningful participation;
• explore how the UN, government, civil society and other relevant actors can best effectively advocate for women’s meaningful participation and consistently operationalize it.

Towards this end, UN Women is seeking the services of an international consultant to work alongside a national consultant to conduct a research study on women’s meaningful participation and contribution to peace process in Ukraine, which will build on the findings of the Rapid Gender Assessment (RGA).

[1] UNHCR. Operational Data Portal (Accessed on 14 June 2022). Available at: Link

[2] IOM (May 2022). Ukraine Internal Displacement Report. Available at: Link

[3] UN Women (May 2022). Rapid Gender Analysis of Ukraine. Available at: Link

[4] UN Women (March 2022). Rapid Assessment: Impact of the War in Ukraine on Women’s Civil Society Organizations. Available at: Link.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the UN Women Project Manager and direct supervision of Programme Analyst, the international consultant will:

• develop the methodological approach to conduct the research study;
• develop a results-based workplan for the provision of the services, including tasks, indicators for measuring progress and timeline;
• conduct the desk review of all relevant studies and data, policies, programmes and initiatives to inform the methodology for the primary data collection;
• conduct qualitative study via key informant interviews (government, civil society, experts from academia, development partners) to fill in the gaps identified through the desk review of policies, programmes, and initiatives available to the women in formal and informal peace processes;
• identify findings and good practices of women’s participation in dialogue initiatives for sustaining peace and security at all levels
•  develop recommendations on how to better connect formal and informal peace tracks and advance women’s meaningful participation in peace processes;
• prepare and submit a final report of the study in English;
• prepare communication materials showcasing the emerging findings and recommendations from the study;
• perform other duties as necessary in relation to the study (such as data collection, stakeholder validation, inquiries, responding to technical input from the advisory group etc.).

1. Deliverables

• All reports should be submitted in English language and include the full set of supporting documents, such as developed documents, elaborated propositions, organized events’ agendas and methodologies, handouts, lists of key informants, transcription of the interviews etc. The supporting documents can be submitted in Ukrainian.

Inputs

• UN Women will establish an advisory group to inform the development of the study report and to ensure engagement with technical and local experts in the process of developing the report. The advisory group will advise and guide the development of the report by providing inputs and suggestions on the issues concerning the research.
• UN Women will provide the consultant with background materials related to the assignment.
• The consultant is expected to work using her/his own computer.

Performance evaluation:

Contractor’s performance will be evaluated against such criteria as: timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered. The evaluation will be carried out and cleared by the hiring manager which will also be the basis for payment on a delivery basis to the consultant.

Financial Arrangements

• Payment will be disbursed in three installments upon the receipt of the deliverables (as per the above matrix: the first installment for deliverable 1 and 2; the second installment for deliverable 3; and the third instalment for deliverable 4) and the approval by UN Women Project Manager that the services have been satisfactorily performed.

Competencies

Core Values

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism
• Competencies

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/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf 

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Advanced (Masters) degree in Gender/Women’s Studies, Social Sciences, Conflict Studies, Development Studies, Human Rights, Sociology, or related field

          Experience:

• A minimum of five years of experience of gender research, assessments or evaluations;
• Proven experience conducting gender research in conflict contexts, preferably on peace processes;
• Sound knowledge and understanding of protracted conflicts, gender equality, and women’s political participation in Ukraine, would be a strong asset;
• Demonstrated previous work experience on  Women, Peace and Security Agenda;
• Solid experience in conducting desk reviews of policies, programmes, and initiatives and qualitative study informant interviews.

        Languages and other skills:

• Fluency in English.
• Knowledge of Ukrainian or Russian would be considered a strong asset.
• Computer literacy and ability to effectively use office technology equipment, IT tools, ability to use Internet and email

1. Submission of application

The candidate’s application should include:

1. P11 with the indication of relevant experience in line with the ToR requirements. Completed and signed UN Women Personal History (P-11) form can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc 
2. Financial proposal: The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount with a breakdown of a daily professional rate per number of anticipated working days, and other related costs (e.g. telecommunication). Applications without a financial proposal may be treated as incomplete and may not be considered for further assessment.

Sample of Financial Proposal

The format shown in the following table is suggested for use as a guide in preparing the Financial Proposal.

Cost Breakdown per Deliverables

*Basis for payment tranches

1. Evaluation of Applicants

Applications will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of their qualifications and financial proposal. A two-stage procedure is utilized in evaluating the proposals, with the evaluation of the technical proposal being completed prior to any price proposal being compared. The award of the contract should be made to the individuals whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable.
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical criteria -70% of the total evaluation. Total max 70 points:

• The total number of points allocated for the technical qualification component is 70.  The technical qualification of the individual is evaluated based  on  desk  review  and the following  technical  qualification evaluation criteria:

Financial Evaluation:

• Only the financial proposal of candidates who have attained a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation will be further considered and evaluated.
• The total number of points allocated for the financial/price component is 30.
• The maximum number of points will be a allotted to the lowest price proposal that  is opened/ evaluated and compared among those technical qualified candidates who have attained a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation. All other price proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.
• Evaluation of submitted financial offers will be done based on the following formula:

p = 30 (µ/z)

Using the following values:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

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.)