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.  

UN Women work in Ukraine focuses on supporting the government and civil society in advancing gender equality and implementation of the national and international commitments on gender equality and women’s human rights. UN Women Ukraine implements interventions on the following four thematic priorities: Peace and Security, Humanitarian Action and Disaster Risk Reduction;   Ending Violence Against Women and Girls and Women; Women’s Economic Empowerment; Governance and Participation in Public Life. UN Women works closely with the UN Country Team in integration of women’s rights and gender equality in all spheres of UN work. The 2023 Strategic Note is aligned with the UN Transitional Framework covering the following areas: Humanitarian Response; Humanitarian- Development- Peace Nexus and Early Recovery.

UN Women works in integration of women’s rights and gender equality in governance, in particular within its project “Transformative Approaches to Achieving Gender Equality in Ukraine”, funded by Sweden. The project is implemented in partnership with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and engages the following key institutions: the government, the parliament, women’s organizations, media and the private sector. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) is one of the UN Women strategic partners within the project.

When the global HeForShe solidarity movement for gender equality was launched by UN Women in Ukraine, the MFA became the first ministry in Ukraine to commit to conducting a Gender Equality Audit (GEA) as part of the HeForShe commitment. In 2019-2020, the GEA was conducted by the MFA with expert and technical support of UN Women, with the aim to mainstream gender equality in the internal policies, processes and structures at the level of the ministry, work units and individuals. The Ministry demonstrated solid ownership for the GEA results, as evidenced by establishing a GEA Task Force to ensure participatory approach and represent different departments.

The key findings and recommendations of GEA informed development of the MFA Strategy and Action Plan on Equal Rights and Opportunities of Women and Men (hereinafter – Action Plan on EROW&M), including improvement of the normative framework, capacity building and awareness raising activities, improvement of the monitoring system, internal administrative and HR policies, advocacy and information campaigns. Importantly, the Ministry reaffirmed its commitments by establishing the Gender Equality Commission.

To strengthen these efforts, UN Women is now seeking a National Consultant to provide coordination and expert support to the MFA with facilitation and step-by-step implementation of the Action Plan on EROW&M developed for a period of 2023-2025.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the UN Women Representative in Ukraine and direct supervision by the Programme Specialist, the National Consultant will provide support to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) with expert, coordination and technical support on the implementation of the Action Plan on EROW&M for 2023-2025. The assignment will include but not be limited to the following tasks developed in coordination with the MFA and UN Women: 

1. Policy advice, coordination and technical support to the MFA with step-by-step implementation of the Action Plan on ERQW&M for 2023-2025 (including gender analysis of internal policies and documents, reviewing best practices of gender mainstreaming in the diplomatic service, analysis of sex-disaggregated data, improvement of monitoring and evaluation frameworks, and any other tasks, as requested by the MFA).
2. Coordination and technical support with preparatory works and implementation of the next MFA Gender Audit (in coordination with UN Women experts).
3. Coordination and technical support to strengthen capacity of the MFA and the diplomatic service staff on advancing GEWE (in coordination with UN Women experts).
4. Coordination and expert support to development of the MFA gender equality portfolio, including assistance in systematization, development and revision of internal information and communication documents, such as background and reference materials on gender equality.

Assignment /Deliverables  

*All reports should be submitted in English language and include the full set of supporting documents, such as results of analytical briefs, capacity development materials, handouts and lists of partners, concept notes, etc. The supporting documents can be submitted in Ukrainian. 

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. 

Performance evaluation: 

• Contractor’s performance will be evaluated against such criteria as: timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, efficiency, 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 receipt of the deliverables (as per the above  matrix) and their certification by UN Women Programme Specialist 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

Qualifications Education: 

Advanced (Masters) degree in Public Policy and Administration, Law, Economics, International Relations, Gender Studies, Social and Humanitarian Sciences, or related field.

Experience: 

• At least 3 years of relevant work experience (after Master’s degree) in the field of human rights and/or gender equality, governance and public administration, civil service or other related fields;  
• Proven experience of providing advisory/technical support to the government institutions on the issues of GEWE. Previous experience with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine will be considered an asset; 
• Proven understanding of human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment, and national and international GEWE commitments in Ukraine; 
• Experience with coordination and technical support of meetings and consultations with government authorities.

Languages and other skills:    

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

Evaluation of Applicants: 

Applications will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of their qualifications (including an interview) and financial proposal. A two-stage procedure is utilized in evaluating the proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposal (including an interview) 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 and interview - 70% of total evaluation (max 45 points for technical criteria and max 25 points for interview). Total max 70 points:   

• The total number of points allocated for the technical qualification component is 45. The technical qualification of the individual is evaluated based on desk review and following technical qualification evaluation criteria: 

 Financial/Price Proposal 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 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: S = Fmin / F * 30 (S - score received on financial evaluation; F min - the lowest financial offer out of all the submitted offers qualified over the technical evaluation round; F - financial offer under the consideration). 

Application and submission package: 

All applications must include as one attachment: 

1. Completed and signed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.unwomen.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2FHeadquarters%2FAttachments%2FSections%2FAbout%2520Us%2FEmployment%2FUN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK 

1. Financial proposal (sample is provided below) completed and signed: The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount with a breakdown of a daily professional rate per number of anticipated working days to include all costs (e.g. tele-communication, etc). 

Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment.  

Interested candidates are requested to apply no later than 23:59 EEST 1 August 2023.

Applications without P11 and financial proposal may be treated as incomplete and may not be considered for further assessment. 

Sample of Financial Proposal 

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

1. Cost Breakdown per Deliverables* 

*Basis for payment tranches 

UN Women applies fair and transparent selection process that would take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals.