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 in Ukraine supports the government and civil society in advancing gender equality and the implementation of national and international gender equality and women’s rights commitments. The Country Strategy of UN Women Ukraine (2018-2022) covers the following thematic areas:

• Making gender equality priorities central to national reforms, governance, planning and budgeting
• Ending violence against women and girls; and
• Strengthening implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda.

The Ukrainian Constitution, policy and legal frameworks guarantee equality for men and women in Ukraine in all sectors. The country joined the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action of the 4th World Conference for Women (1995), it ratified the main international instruments on gender equality and women’s rights, including the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1981) and localized the Sustainable Development Goals (2017). To further strengthen its national commitments to women’s rights and gender equality, the country adopted a new National Strategy on Human Rights and the Action Plan (2016-2020) and a State Social Programme on Equal Opportunities (2018-2022), National Action Plan for Implementation of CEDAW Recommendations (2018-2021), Laws on Amending the Criminal Code of Ukraine and Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and the Law on Preventing and Combating Domestic Violence (2017). As a crisis response measure, the Government adopted the National Action Plan for Implementation of UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security for 2016-2020 (NAP 1325) (1) and the Strategy on Prevention and Combating Sexual Violence related to the Conflict in Ukraine (adopted in December 2018), the State Programme on Recovery and Peacebuilding in the Eastern Ukraine (2017-2020), Strategy for Integration of internally displaced persons (IDPs) until 2020 and Regional Development Strategy until 2020. Respective regional development strategies are also adopted for in conflict-affected Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts.

Despite the efforts of the Government, civil society and development partners, structural barriers to gender equality have not been addressed and gender-based discrimination remains widespread. Efforts to advance gender equality are consistently challenged by patriarchal attitudes and discriminatory stereotypes entrenched in society. The conflict and the profound security, social, economic and political crisis of the last four years has deepened the already existing gender inequalities and created new challenges for protection and realization of women’s rights in Ukraine. Women and girls are disproportionally affected by the on-going conflict and the enduing social and economic crisis in Ukraine. In the conflict-affected areas of eastern Ukraine the needs and priorities of women, especially vulnerable groups are largely neglected in the decisions made over local development strategies, programmes, budgets, and during planning or/and provision of services. The regional strategies, local programmes and budgets are developed without meaningful participation of women from vulnerable groups and without inclusion of their gender-specific priorities, among them security and safety concerts, increased vulnerability to violence, access to services, economic development, employment and others. Regional and local authorities have insufficient capacities  in conducting gender analysis, mainstreaming gender into the development strategies and programmes and applying the gender-responsive budgeting as a tool for strategic planning. As a result, the Regional and Local Development Strategies are gender neutral and are not aligned with the national policies on gender equality and advancement of women’s rights.

To strengthen the accountability framework for government-wide gender mainstreaming, and implementation of gender equality commitments on national, regional and local levels and to increase participation of women in the development, peacebuilding and recovery processes UN Women launched 3 projects in the Eastern Ukraine, supported by the Government of Norway, Denmark and the European Union (2). In the frame of these projects UN Women is working in partnership with the regional and local authorities of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions to foster approaches to identify different needs and priorities of women and men in local communities to be translated into new local policies, programmes and services. UN Women also supports local and regional authorities to allocate specific public resources to sustain the new gender-responsive local strategies, programmes and services.

With the aim to provide expert support in gender mainstreaming and integration of gender equality results and indicators in the updated and new Regional and Local Development Strategies in Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, UN Women is seeking to hire a National Consultant with extended knowledge and practical experience in gender mainstreaming of the policy and strategic documents. The Consultant will work in close cooperation with the team of the national Consultants on Socio-Economic Development planning hired by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and regional and local administrations who lead the strategic planning processes in target regions.

(1) Approved by Decree No. 113-p of the Cabinet of Ministers, dated 24 February 2016.

(2) Project “Decentralization and Law Enforcement Reforms: Transformative approaches to Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Ukraine" funded by the Government of Denmark; project “Building democratic, peaceful and gender-equal society in Ukraine” funded by the Government of Norway; Joint Programme of UN Women, UNDP, FAO and UNFPA “EU Support to the East of Ukraine – Recovery, Peacebuilding and Governance”, funded by the European Union.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the UN Women Representative, and direct supervision by UN Women Programme Specialist and UN Women Project Manager/Coordinator (Kramatorsk), the National Consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

1. Provide technical support to mainstream gender equality and human rights in the updated Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia Regional Development Strategies. The consultant’s work with the oblast strategies will be informed by the oblasts’ profiles data. To implement this task the Consultant is expected to:

• Conduct at least 12 field visits to different cities/rayons of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions to participate in meetings of the Working Groups on the strategy development headed by the Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administrations;
• Review the existing Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia Region Development Strategies till 2020 and Identify the entry points for gender mainstreaming in the updated Development Strategies;
• Provide technical support to Regional Administrations to undertake gender and social analysis to identify the inequalities that may prevent women and men from participating in or benefiting from a policy, program, project, or other type of initiative; to identify women’s and men’s needs and priorities;
• Provide expert support to the Regional Administrations to conduct the gender-responsive and human rights based strategic analysis of the key priorities for Socio-economic development of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions;
• Provide technical support to the Regional Administrations to include gender equality results (impact, outcomes, outputs) achieved for women and girls, concrete actions and indicators to measure progress in the updated Regional Strategies;
• Ensure that the key national policy documents on gender equality and advancement of women’s rights are integrated in the Regional Strategies, namely: a)The State Social Program for ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men for the period up to 2021; b)National Action Plan for the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Concluding Observations of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in the eighth periodic report of Ukraine on the implementation of the CEDAW until 2021; c)National Action Plan to implement the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 "Women, Peace and Security" for the period up to 2020 and others; d) Human Rights Strategy and Action Plan (2016-2020).
• Provide a set of recommendations and written inputs to be included in the updated Strategies ;
• Provide expert support in the development of the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework of the Development Strategies, including gender indicators;

2. Provide technical support in mainstreaming gender equality and human rights in the seven (1) Local Socio-economic Development Strategies of prospective planned amalgamated territorial communities (ATCs) of Luhansk and Donetsk regions and five ATCs (2) of Zaporizhzhia region. To implement this task the Consultant is expected to:

• Conduct at least 2 field visits in each target ATC to participate in local consultations and meetings of the Working Groups on the strategy development headed by the local administrations;
• Review the existing local strategies, programmes and plans on Socio-economic Development and identify the entry points for integrating human rights and mainstreaming gender in the new or updated Local Development Strategies;
• Provide expert support to the local Administrations to conduct the gender-responsive and human rights based strategic analysis, SWOT analysis of the key priorities for Socio-economic development of respective communities;
• Facilitate minimum one local consultation in each target community between the authorities and women’s groups, local women leaders and gender equality advocates to inform the authorities about the gender-specific needs and human rights concerns identified by the grassroots groups to be included in the strategic documents;
• Provide technical support to the Local Administrations to include gender equality results (impact, outcomes, outputs) achieved for women and girls, concrete actions and indicators to measure progress in the new/updated Local Strategies;
• Provide technical assistance to align the local strategies with key national policy documents on gender equality and women’s rights; and provide written inputs to be included in new/updated Local Strategies;
• Provide expert support in the development of the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework of the Local Development Strategies, including gender indicators;

3. Write the final report on the implemented tasks, including a list of recommendations provided to the regional and local authorities, the comparative analysis of the current and new/updated Regional and Local Development Strategies, highlighting specific parts, which have become gender-responsive as a result of implemented tasks, and submit written report to UN Women.

Assignment Deliverables:

• Monthly time-sheets and brief progress reports about implemented activities and achieved results with supporting documents (list of provided recommendations, other materials) submitted. (by 5th of each month, up to 95 working days)- by 5 December 2019.
• Final report about the progress and achievements, lessons learnt, and recommendations submitted (up to 5 working days)- by 15 December 2019.

All monthly reports and final report should be submitted in English language (the supporting documents, such as meeting minutes, analytical papers, workshop agendas etc. can be submitted in Ukrainian language).

The Consultant is expected to work from home and conduct at least 36 in-country travels to Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions. He/she may access the UN Women office (Severodoentsk,  Kramatorsk and Zaporizhzhia) for printing of relevant documents or should he/she be required to work on-site at any point during the assignment. The Consultant will be provided with project related necessary materials and strategic guidance by UN Women during the implementation of the assignment. 

I.                    Inputs

UN Women will provide the Consultant with the UN Women project documents, national strategic documents on gender equality, as well as other relevant materials with regards to implementation of the tasks under this TOR.

II.                  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 after receiving and accepting deliverables as per above schedule, which will also be the basis for payment to the consultant.

Financial arrangements:  

• Payments will be disbursed by instalments as per above schedule upon certification by the UN Women Programme Specialist that the services have been satisfactorily performed.

(1) Following communities will participate in the strategic planning Shyrokyi, Novoaidar, Hirske communities of Luhansk region and Toretsk, Ocheretyne, Volnovakha and Olhynka communities of Donetsk region.

(2) Bilenkivska, Komyshuvaska, Girsivska, Ostrykivska, Komysh-Zorianska communities of Zaporizhzhia region.

Competencies

Core Values

• Respect for Diversity;
• Integrity;
• Professionalism.

Core Competencies

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Human Rights based Approach and 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: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications Education:

• Master’s Degree or Equivalent in Social Science, Sociology, Law, Gender Studies, International Relations, Economics, Development Studies or related fields

Experience:

• Minimum 3 years of practical and relevant experience in providing technical support and capacity building for key stakeholders in projects/programmes on promoting gender equality and advancement of women’s rights;
• Practical experience in conducting the gender analysis and gender mainstreaming for programme/projects development, strategic planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation;
• Experience in applying the result-based reporting in strategic planning and programming;
• Experience with provision of expert support with development of Regional and Local Strategies and Programmes;
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies, regional state administrations, local self-governance bodies and civil society organizations, especially women’s groups;
• Previous cooperation/working experience within the United Nations or international organizations is an asset;

Languages and other skills: 

• Excellent command of Ukrainian/Russian languages; working level of English;
• Computer literacy and ability to effectively use office technology equipment, IT tools, ability to use Internet and email.

• 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 and interview, 70% of total evaluation – max 70 points for technical criteria. 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:

Criterion A – Relevant education – maximum obtainable points 5

Criterion B – Language skills – maximum obtainable points 5

Criterion C – Relevant Experience with total for all of the stated criteria– maximum obtainable points 60:

• Practical experience in conducting the gender analysis and gender mainstreaming for programme/projects development, strategic planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation (20 points);
• Experience in applying the result-based reporting in strategic planning and programming (15 points);
• Experience with provision of expert support with development of Regional and Local Strategies and Programmes (15 points);
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies, regional state administrations, local self-governance bodies and civil society organizations, especially women’s groups (10 points).

Total Obtainable Score for technical criteria – 70

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:

• A sample of report, or relevant publication demonstrating the candidate’s experience in the field of recruitment. Completed and signed UN Women Personal History (P-11) form, that can be downloaded from: http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment.
• 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 to include all costs (travel, accommodation, telephone etc.)

Interested candidates are requested to apply no later than 9 am EET 11 March 2019 by submitting 2 attachments: 1) technical (P-11 and a sample of report, guidelines/tools, expert papers, or relevant publication) as well as 2) financial proposals to the following e-mail address: hr.ukraine@unwomen.org with a subject “UN Women Ukraine – National Consultant – on gender mainstreaming in regional and local development strategies of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

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

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.

Sample of Financial Proposal

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

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.