Antecedentes

The military offensive launched by the Russian Federation against Ukraine on 24 February 2022 triggered one of the fastest-growing displacement and humanitarian crises on record.

As of August 2023, over 6.2 million refugees from Ukraine are recorded globally and 5.8 million in Europe. As 90% of refugees from Ukraine are women and children, the nature of the refugee crisis in neighbouring countries has led to distinct protection risks. Initial protection monitoring identified critical gaps in protection sensitive reception, transport, and accommodation, and in information provision, including on safe methods of onward transport as well as safe, suitable, and affordable accommodation. A defining feature of the emergency response has been the outpouring of volunteerism from local communities and civil society groups who provided key support, services and a clear demonstration of solidarity for refugees. However, a lack of vetting, registration and oversight of volunteers involved in the response carries with it inherent risks for persons on the move.

Accordingly, there is growing recognition that populations affected by conflict and natural disaster experience various forms of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) during crisis and displacement, and during and following return. In particular, intimate partner violence is increasingly recognized as a critical concern in crisis settings. Other forms of violence particular to adolescent girls have also emerged as well as GBV risks involving accessing accommodation and basic needs amid increasing vulnerabilities. In crisis settings, responding to sexual violence has been a priority.

Consequently, the prevention of and response to GBV, protection of children, prevention of trafficking, ensuring accountability to affected people, the early identification, referral, and assistance to persons with specific needs and supporting the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of affected populations have formed central pillars of the refugee response since the onset of the Ukraine crisis. Likewise, protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) has also been a priority from the beginning of the crisis. 

In Romania, over 95,000 refugees from Ukraine have been recorded as of August 2023 and over 139,000 refugees have applied for asylum, TP or similar protection schemes.

According to the 2023 Regional Gender Brief on livelihoods and access to work of refugees from Ukraine in neighbouring countries, 77% of Ukrainian refugees in Romania are women and children.  Additionally, according to the 2022 Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessment (MSNA) in Romania, 7% of the households have a pregnant or lactating woman and 12% of the households had at least one member with specific needs.  However, only 9% of the MSNA respondents reported being aware of available services for women and girls facing violence. It is also important to highlight that the majority of the households (88%) are female headed households [1]

Moreover, as highlighted in the 2022 Council of Europe’s GREVIO report on Romania, the country lacks an adequate geographical distribution of fully established rape crisis or sexual violence referral centers as well as systematic capacity building of professionals dealing with survivors.

Similarly, various consultations with national authorities, including the National Agency for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men (ANES,) and relevant national and international GBV actors identified the lack of technical capacity on GBV case management among first responders as one of the most significant gaps.

Likewise, the state response to GBV, including safe shelters, relies on insufficient financial resources and national systems have been stretched by the speed and scale of arrivals from Ukraine.

Therefore, urgent needs have been identified to strengthen local protection capacities and enable the rapid scale up of national protection structures, including in registration, identification, and referral of persons with specific needs, child protection and GBV assistance.

At national level, the Mandatory Minimum Standards in social services for victims of Domestic Violence set the framework for GBV case management in Romania. However, it is pertinent to note that the framework could be reinforced to be aligned with the Inter-agency Gender-based Violence Case Management Guidelines, the 16 interagency Minimum Standards for GBV in Emergencies Programming, and existing tools for GBV case management across relevant sectors.

The training of trainers (ToT) on GBV case management is in line with UNHCR’s objective to support a nationally led refugee response by strengthening national protection capacities.

At regional level, UN Women co-leads the Regional Gender Task Force providing technical and advocacy support to ensure gender mainstreaming in the inter-agency Regional Refugee Response, including Romania.

The ToT will target both local authorities and humanitarian practitioners from different regions across Romania. The trained trainers will then conduct cascade trainings to first line responders across the country to transfer knowledge, promote standardized approaches and enhance knowledge and practical skills that will be benefiting both the Romanian population and refugees residing in the country.

To ensure a long-lasting effect of this initiative, the Inter-Agency GBV sub-Working Group in Romania will be actively engaged to address gaps on GBV case management thereafter the training.

II. Objective and purpose

The main purpose of the consultancy is to provide technical expertise to UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office to design and implement a 5-day training of trainers (ToT) programme on Gender-based violence (GBV) case management in Romania, to equip professionals with the knowledge and skills to train social workers and other key first line responders in responding to cases GBV cases, including sexual violence and abuse, across the 42 counties in Romania.

In this context, UN Women ECARO seeks to engage the services of an international consultant to: 1. Review existing training materials, guidelines and tools on GBV case management and adapt training materials in line with international guidelines and national specificities; 2. Prepare and deliver the ToT in Romania in coordination with co-facilitators and national partners; 3. Follow-up actions including the review of GBV SOPs being developed.

[1] According to the ProGres data registered by UNHCR, 88% of households are female headed while 12% are male headed households. (data retrieved on 17 July, 2023)

Deberes y responsabilidades

Under the overall supervision of TBC, the consultant is expected to perform the below tasks: 

Duration of assignment

The time required for the consultancy is up to 19 working days from.18 September 2023 to 31 December 2023.

Payment Schedule

The consultant will be paid (as per the daily rate in the financial offer) upon submission of the daily timesheet, deliverables and final report approved by UN Women. The work plan, deliverable milestones, and instalment schedule may be modified in agreement with the consultant and UN Women supervisor.

Competencias

Core Value/Guiding Principles:

• Integrity
• Professionalism
• Respect for Diversity

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Functional Competencies:

• Sound knowledge of the current policies, standards, guidelines and practices in the field of GBV case management
• Technical experience in GBV programming and delivery of GBV and ToT trainings
• Excellent facilitation skills;
• Strong organizational and teamwork skills;
• Ability to work under pressure and within limited time frames
• Communicative, results-driven, ability to work in teams.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Application Procedure

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application:

• Personal CV/P11 including experience in similar assignments.
• Financial Proposal A lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of the daily fees plus the cost of travel from home location to Bucarest, Romania for the delivery of the ToT and from Bucarest to home location upon completion of services.

Evaluation of Applicants

Consultants will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of qualifications and financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

1. Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
2. Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.

Financial Evaluation (30%) – max. 30 points:

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion. A suggested formula is as follows:

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

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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.)