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.

One of the key areas of UN Women work in Ukraine is implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. UN Women supported Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine with development of the second National Action Plan for Implementation of UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security for 2021-2025 (NAP 1325), which was adopted in October 2020 and amended in December 2022, and committed to provide technical support with development of tools and capacity of the staff of the Ministry and selected Regional Administrations in monitoring of its implementation.

To support the consolidated efforts of the Parliament, Government, women’s groups, and civil society organizations (CSOs) to meet the state commitments on gender equality and women’s rights, including UNSCR 1325, CEDAW and SDGs, through governance reforms and peace and security processes, UN Women launched the project “Building democratic, peaceful and gender equal society in Ukraine – Phase II”, funded by Norway. The project’s goal is for women to meaningfully participate in and equally benefit from peace and security processes at all levels in Ukraine. This will be achieved via supporting meaningful participation of women and their organizations in conflict prevention, resolution, and recovery and by supporting government at all levels in implementing and monitoring WPS commitments in sustainable and inclusive ways.

In 2021, Deputy Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration (DPM) presented four Flagship Initiatives 1325 representing the key goals, which Office of the DPM commits to achieve by 2025. Notably:

1. Development of leadership potential, skills, communication, negotiation, mediation of women working in state bodies, local self-government bodies, as well as women in the security and defense sector;
2. Provide comprehensive assistance to survivors of gender-based violence and sexual violence in conflict, taking into account the needs of victims of armed conflict and in peacetime;
3. Conducting a public and political dialogue on post-conflict recovery, taking into account the needs of women and men affected by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine;
4. Ensuring the possibility of systematic acquisition of knowledge and skills necessary to fulfill the tasks of the Women, Peace and Security agenda in accordance with UN and NATO standards.

Along with the Flagship Initiatives, DPMO is the central government body responsible for coordination of gender policy at the national level, including the Women Peace and Security agenda. The Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 raised new challenges and needs in protecting women’s and girls’ rights and ensuring their equal and meaningful participation in peace processes. To support the DPMO efforts to meet its UNSCR 1325 commitments, UN Women project “Building democratic, peaceful and gender equal society in Ukraine – Phase II”, funded by the Government of Norway, supported the revision of the second National Action Plan for the implementation of Resolution 1325 through the holding of wide participatory consultations in June 2022 and the formulation of amendments to the NAP 1325 and will further provide technical and expert assistance via the work of the National Consultant on implementation of the WPS Agenda and the Flagship Initiatives in particular.  

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant will work under the overall guidance of the UN Women Representative, direct supervision by the WPS Programme Specialist and Programme Analyst, and guidance by the designated official from the DPMO for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.

The Consultant will be responsible for implementing of a set of tasks, including, but not limited to:

• In consultations with DPMO for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and UN Women, develop a work plan for the provision of advisory services, including tasks, indicators for measuring progress, and a timeline of deliverables;
• Provide technical support on issues of European and Euro-Atlantic integration in the implementation of national and international commitments under the WPS agenda, including measures on gender mainstreaming and integration of flagship initiatives into NAP 1325;
• Provide technical support to the DPMO in four areas of UNSCR 1325 - participation, prevention, protection, and recovery - with a focus on recovery, by supporting the development of gender-sensitive post-war recovery programs and policies;
• Provide support in ensuring coordination and communication of work processes with the Apparatus of the Commissioner for Gender Policy in the WPS agenda;
• Enhance and coordinate implementation of updated NAP 1325 together with the DPMO. Take part in working groups and meetings on WPS, including those organized by UN Women;
• Facilitate dialogue with CSOs, representatives of security and defense sector, and international organizations to support of implementation of the WPS agenda and DPMO Flagship initiatives in 2023;
• Supporting the work of the Sectorial Working Group “Gender Equality” within the Donor Coordination Architecture, co-led by the DPMO for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, to strengthen synergy among the Government and the development partners.

Assignment /Deliverables

*All reports should be submitted in English language and include the full set of supporting documents, such as analytical briefs, developed documents, elaborated propositions, organized events’ agendas, handouts and lists of participants. The supporting documents can be submitted in Ukrainian.

Inputs

• UN Women, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration will provide the National Consultant with background materials related to the assignment.
• Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration will provide the National Consultant with access to internal institutional documents.
• The National Consultant is expected to work using her/his own computer.

Performance evaluation:

• Consultant’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 to the consultant.

Financial arrangements:  

• Payment will be disbursed in twelve instalments upon receipt of the deliverables (as per above matrix) and their certification by UN Women that the services have been satisfactorily performed.

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/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 development studies, social science, gender studies, law, public administration or similar.

Experience:

• Minimum three years of relevant experience providing gender mainstreaming policy advice and technical support to the government, parliament, civil society, and/or international organizations on Women, Peace and Security agenda;
• Proven experience of drafting policy and briefing documents on gender equality, women’s empowerment or women, peace and security issues, as well as provision of capacity building for government officials and/or CSOs and other organizations;
• Proven knowledge of human rights, gender equality, women’s empowerment and women, peace and security frameworks;
• Understanding of national legislation and policy frameworks and governance systems, including Ukrainian legislative framework related to WPS agenda;
• Experience with organizing and participating in high-level dialogues, consultations and workshops, including with Members of Parliament, Government, CSOs and/or other organizations;
• Previous professional experience with development agencies and/or the United Nations would be considered an asset.

Languages skills:

• Fluent in Ukrainian  
• Working knowledge in English
• Computer literacy and ability to effectively use office technology equipment and IT tools.

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 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 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 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; Fmin - 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:

The candidate’s application should include:

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
2. 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).

       Interested candidates are requested to apply no later than 23:59 EST 15 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*

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.

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).