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.

The year 2020 is a historic year for the women’s rights and gender equality as the world marks the 25-year review and appraisal of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 20-year anniversary of the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security; and the 5-year since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. UN Women will leverage this year to galvanize attention and action on key issues including to support the following six priorities, as outlined in the Secretary-General’s report on women, peace and security to the Security Council, i.e. to make leadership accountable for women, peace and security, monitor and support progress through targeted data collection, joined-up analysis, strategic planning and raised visibility; Enable, facilitate and ensure women’s meaningful participation in peace processes, the implementation of peace agreements, and across all peace and security decision-making processes; Publicly condemn human rights violations and discrimination and prevent all forms of gender-based violence, including against women human rights defenders; Increase the number and influence of women in uniformed services in peacekeeping missions and national security services; Guarantee women’s economic security and access to resources; and mobilise to finance the women, peace and security agenda and invest in women peacebuilders.

The Ukrainian Constitution, policy and legal frameworks guarantee equality for men and women in Ukraine in all sectors. The country adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), joined the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action (BPfA) of the 4th World Conference for Women (1995) and ratified the main international instruments on gender equality and women’s rights, including the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Nevertheless, implementation and efficient mechanisms for enforcement, accountability, monitoring and evaluation are not fully in place.

On 1 March 2017, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine assigned the Deputy Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration with the functions and responsibilities for coordination of the state gender equality policy (Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine #296, on 18 April 2016). The position of Commissioner on Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men under the Deputy Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration is a promising measure aimed at strengthening the national institutional mechanism (Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine about Government Commissioner for Gender Equality Policy, #390 on 07.07.2017).

The State Social Programme on Equal Opportunities for the period up till 2021 looks at strengthening the institutional mechanism for gender equality and an integrated approach to addressing the institutional barriers faced by the state response to gender inequalities and discrimination. Further challenges will be presented by: integration of national priorities into the on-going reforms; and the weak capacities of government institutions at the national and local levels to effectively enforce and implement the legislation.

To further support the consolidated efforts of the government, parliament, women’s groups and civil society organisations (CSOs) to meet state commitments on gender equality and women’s rights, including CEDAW, UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (UNSCR 1325) and SDGs through reforms and peace and security processes, UN Women in partnership with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, launched the project “Enhancing accountability for gender equality and women’s empowerment in national reforms, peace and security”, funded by the Government of Sweden.

The project goal is to achieve transformative results for gender equality and women’s empowerment in Ukraine by integrating gender equality and women’s human rights commitments into the national reforms and the peace and security processes, and by putting mechanisms in place for adequate financing, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

The project aims to: consolidate the efforts of government, parliament and civil society to remove structural barriers to gender equality and women’s human rights; ensure accountability of national governance, reforms, planning and budgeting for commitments and priorities in the areas of gender equality and women, peace and security; strengthen cross-sectoral coordination and oversight for gender and women’s rights commitments; strengthen coalitions between government, parliament, media and civil society for evidence-based advocacy in Ukraine; strengthen the capacity of gender advocates and women’s groups to effectively demand gender equality in reforms and peacebuilding.

Therefore, UN Women seeks to hire the National Consultant to provide day-to-day support in coordination and institutional building to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine to strengthen the existing structures and create a coordination mechanism between the Parliament, Government, civil society organizations and international development partners to ensure coherent government-wide mainstreaming of gender equality in policies, plans and budgets.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the Representative of UN Women in Ukraine, technical guidance by the Programme Specialist/ Programme Coordinator and day-to-day supervision of the Deputy Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, the consultant will implement a set of tasks, including, but not limited to: 

Technical support to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on EU and Euro-Atlantic Integration and key national institutions to establish and maintain sustainable coordination mechanisms between the Parliament, Government, civil society organizations and international development partners:

-          Ensure day-to-day coordination, management and oversight support to the work of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on EU and Euro-Atlantic Integration in gender-related work;

-          Establish cooperation and build synergies between the key Government institutions on mainstreaming gender to the policies and reforms;

-          Coordinate cooperation and build synergies between the Government, regional and local authorities in advancement of gender equality and women’s human rights;

-          Organize the engagement with the civil society and women’s groups and support the functioning of the expert council on gender equality under the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration;

-          Organize regular multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral expert groups with diverse women’s group and inter-ministerial consultations;

-          Provide day-to-day management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation support to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on EU and Euro-Atlantic Integration on collaboration with the Parliament, women’s groups and CSOs for strengthening the national institutional mechanism on gender equality.

Assignment Deliverables:

§  All reports should be submitted according to the provided format in English language (the supporting documents, such as meeting minutes, agenda, etc. can be submitted in Ukrainian language).

§  The Consultant is expected to work in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration using her/his own computer, but may access the UN Women office for printing of relevant documents or should he/she be required to work on-site at any point during the assignment.

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 monthly reports which will also be the basis for payment on a monthly basis to the consultant.

Financial arrangements:  

• Payments will be disbursed by monthly instalments based on time-sheets and brief monthly progress reports certified by the Deputy Prime Minister on EU and Euro-Atlantic Integration. Payment for deliverable 2 will be disbursed upon submission of the final report certified by the Deputy Prime Minister on EU and Euro-Atlantic Integration and certification of the UN Women Programme Specialist that the services have been satisfactorily performed.

Competencies

Core Values

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies

• Excellent co-ordinational and managerial skills
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Creative Problem Solving
• Accountability
• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues

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:

• Advanced (Masters) degree in Civil Service Administration and Management, Political or Social Studies or related field.

Experience:

• At least 3 years of relevant work experience in state institutions, civil service, management, or another relevant field;
• Proven excellent organizational and managerial skills, ability to perform multifunctional tasks,
• Proven excellent skills of working with diverse teams and building partnerships with diverse stakeholders;
• Experience with the organization of high-level, multi-stakeholders and inter-ministerial meetings and consultations, including with the members of Parliament, Government, and civil society organizations;
• Previous professional experience with development agencies and the United Nations would be considered an asset

Languages and other skills: 

• Fluent Ukrainian and 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 utilised 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 – max 70 points for technical criteria.

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:

• A brief Letter of Interest containing the statement on candidate’s experience in the field of recruitment. Completed and signed UN Women Personal History (P-11) form, that can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-p11-personal-history-form.doc?la=en&vs=558.
• 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 (telephone etc.).

Interested candidates are requested to apply no later than 9.00 am EET 20 November 2019 by submitting 2 attachments: 1) technical (P-11 and a Letter of Interest) 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 Coordination and Institutional Building.”

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

A.   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.