Background

In Ukraine, the response to the COVID-19 pandemic triggered an unprecedented economic crisis as lockdown measures involved temporary closure of most businesses, particularly in the service sector, almost halting economic activity altogether apart from the country’s key sectors (such as transport, food production and sale, agriculture and pharmaceutical production and sale). The devastating disruption of global supply chains resulted in a sharp drop of business sales, household incomes and jobs. 

Into 2021, the pandemic is unfolding amidst entrenched impediments to inclusive development and socioeconomic recovery. Among the hardest hit by the pandemic are women, who “are bearing the brunt of the hardship”. Due to a larger share of women working in the industries most impacted by COVID-19, many were left without a job. Furthermore, the burden of unpaid care and domestic responsibilities has increased for many, as schools have been closed and many parents had to home-school their children for months. Often, women find themselves in informal employment, which excludes them from receiving social protection. The pandemic has forced even more women into informal working arrangements. Accordingly, the labour force participation of women has further decreased.

In order to stimulate sustainable recovery of living standards of the COVID-19 crisis-affected population in Ukraine, UNDP in cooperation with the International Labour Organization (ILO) launched a joint pilot initiative “Economic empowerment of women as a response to the COVID-19 crisis in Ukraine”.

The implementation of the project initiative will ensure capacity building of local authorities, create an enabling environment for women's entrepreneurship, by enhancing capacity of business start-ups through innovative digital solutions.

The project will be implemented during 2021 in two regions – Sumy and Rivne. In the course of the project implementation the following activities are planned:

• Establishing, conducting and deepening a policy dialogue on women’s economic empowerment, including women’s entrepreneurship development, with the participation of key governmental and non-governmental stakeholders;
• Training for local authorities to acquire knowledge and skills needed to empower women in the context of local development, in particular through the development and implementation of local programmes;
• Training for women-led MSMEs in order to gain knowledge and skills to advance their entrepreneurial skills, transition to sustainable business models, in particular through

the use of e-commerce.

To ensure the activities under the mentioned  joint pilot initiative “Economic empowerment of women as a response to the COVID-19 crisis in Ukraine” (hereinafter – the Project) are implemented effectively and efficiently, UNDP Ukraine seeks for a National Consultant to develop and implement a training programme with specific focus on economic empowerment of women “Leadership in economic development” for local authorities in Rivne and Sumy oblasts. The National Consultant is expected to perform the tasks described below.

Duties and Responsibilities

2. SCOPE OF WORK

The assignment under this TOR refers to the project objective outlined above: to provide training support to local authorities to acquire knowledge and skills needed to empower women in the context of local development, in particular through the development and implementation of local programmes.

The main objective of this assignment is to support development, testing and launching a tailored capacity building (training) program for local authorities “Leadership in economic development” with a specific focus on women economic empowerment. The training programme should be based on the best national and international experience of gender-responsive local/municipal development and consider the current local governance context and the decentralisation process. The programme shall be developed under overall guidance of Project Manager.

Specifically, the Contractor will perform the following tasks:

• Review the existing publicly available national and international resources, which contain relevant content, paying special attention to products (online courses, informational materials, including audio-visual materials, etc.) for the target group produced by or with support of UN agencies, programmes or projects;
• Develop a detailed structure curricula and content of the capacity building programme for local authorities “Leadership in economic development” with specific focus on economic empowerment of women. The expected scope of the capacity building programme is outlined below;
• Develop a programme of training sessions/interactions and training materials of the training programme for local authorities “Leadership in economic development” with specific focus on economic empowerment of women;
• Present the developed programme and respective package of training materials to the project team and partners, get their feedback and finalize the programme and supporting materials accordingly;
• Plan and deliver the capacity building (training) programme “Leadership in economic development” for at least 60 participants from the local authorities of Rivne and Sumy oblasts;
• Collect and analyse the feedback from the participants; formulate the recommendations on further improvement of the capacity building (training) programme for future replication and scaling up;
• Ensure active interaction on programme development with the regional centers for advanced training of civil servants and profile higher educational institutions in the regions to obtain training programme certification by the National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service.

Expected scope of the capacity building (training) programme:

The capacity building (training) programme for local authorities “Leadership in economic development” shall contribute to the achievement of the following objectives:

• Objective 1. At least 60 participants from the local authorities of Rivne and Sumy oblasts have improved their knowledge and practical skills of: planning the economic development of the territorial communities based on a gender-responsive approach, incorporating the economic incentives for women in the local communities; developing and implementation of gender-sensitive measures, local programmes and projects; engaging stakeholders and relevant partners;  collecting and managing the gender-disaggregated data for monitoring the progress toward improving the living standards of population and participation in economic activities, etc.
• Objective 2. Participants of the training programme should be able to apply the gender-responsive  approach to local economic development in their work for the benefits of local communities.

Also, the training programme for local authorities “Leadership in economic development” with specific focus on economic empowerment of women shall cover, in particular, the following topics:

• The importance of gender equality and women’s participation in economic activities for the sustainable economic growth at local and regional levels;
• Gender-sensitivity in planning and implementation of regional and local strategies and plans (gender-oriented budgeting, gender aspects to approach stimulation of the economic activities in quarantine and post-quarantine periods);
• Data and monitoring of women’s involvement in the local economic development.

The training course should consist of at least 6 trainings events (sessions) for at least 30 selected representatives of local authorities in each oblast – in total 60 participants trained in Rivne and Sumy oblasts. The participants of the training programme will be selected by the Project based on expression of interest and eligibility criteria. The training programme foresees the online/offline training modality, taking into consideration the risks imposed by COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictive measures. The developed programme should be adaptive and allow flexible change of training sessions modality depending on the situation.

The National Consultant can involve the third parties (qualified trainers) for the practical implementation of the training programme, though this should not influence neither the scope of works nor delivery timeframes. All trainers those involved additionally must be pre-agreed with the Project manager.

The information materials and presentations should address the needs of the target audience and include quality visualization, graphics, be clear and easy to perceive. All materials should contain proper visibility of UNDP and donors provided by UNDP.

The materials should be submitted in Ukrainian language. The training programme should be submitted in Ukrainian and English languages.

3. DELIVERABLES

It is expected that National Consultant’s services are required for five months period, between June and October 2021. Detail of the deliverables and schedule is given below:

4. PROPOSED PAYMENT SCHEDULE

UNDP will pay the negotiated amount in four tranches according to the following payment schedule:

-     the first payment (25% of the contract amount) upon successful completion of the Deliverable 1 and approval of the Interim Report #1);

-    the second payment (30% of the contract amount) upon successful completion of the Deliverable 2 and approval of the Interim Report #2);

-    the third payment (30% of the contract amount) upon successful completion of the Deliverable 3 and approval of the Interim Report #3);

-    the fourth payment (15% of the contract amount) upon successful completion of the Deliverable 4 and approval of the Final Report and indicated tasks.

The payments will be processed upon the full completion and acceptance of contractual obligations whereupon the National Consultant signs the certification of acceptance.

5. MONITORING/REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The Consultant will work under general leadership of UNDP Regional Development Programme Manager and direct supervision of the Project Manager (the Supervisor). He/she will receive necessary guidance, clarification, information/materials that may be needed for this task. He/she will duly inform the Supervisor of any problems, issues or delays arising in the course of implementation of assignment and take necessary steps to address them.

The Consultant will report to the Supervisor on the progress of the work performance according to the developed time schedule. 

All the materials and interim reports will be in Ukrainian language. The Final Report will be in English and Ukrainian and to be accepted by the Supervisor at the end of the assignment.

Competencies

• Excellent communication and organization skills;
•  Strong analytical skills;
• Excellent computer skills (including, MS Word);
• Ability to set priorities, meet specific objectives, use political judgment and knowledge;
• Good interpersonal skills, diligence, open mindedness, and dedication;
• Excellent team and networking skills;
• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

Required Skills and Experience

6. EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS REQUIREMENTS

Education

• At least Specialist/Master’s degree in the fields relevant for the given assignment - Social Sciences, Public Administration, Economics, Democratic Governance, Law or related fields;

Experience

• At least 3 years of relevant practical/professional experience in the area of regional/local development and/or strategic planning, programme and project development and implementation, partnership building, development of MSMEs, gender mainstreaming or related fields;
• Proven experience of developing capacity building (training) programmes in relevant areas – at least 2 cases;
• Proven experience of providing trainings for public servants – at least 2 cases.

Languages

• For this assignment full professional knowledge of Ukrainian language and professional working knowledge of English and Russian languages is essential.

7. DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS

Applicants shall submit the following documents:

8. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

? Lump sum contract

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in instalments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR.  In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount.

9. TRAVEL COST

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. Four trips in total (one overnight per one trip) are envisaged, - two trips to Rivne and two trips to Sumy. UNDP shall not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel in a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

10. EVALUATION CRITERIA

The following criteria will be rated as indicated below:

• Relevant education - 10 points max
  • Specialist/Master’s degree in Social Sciences, Public Administration, Economics, Democratic Governance, Law or related fields - 8 points;
  • PhD or higher in Social Sciences, Public Administration, Economics, Democratic Governance, Law or related fields - 10 points;

• Proven relevant experience in the area of regional/local development and/or strategic planning, programme and project development and implementation, development of MSMEs, gender mainstreaming or related fields - 20 points max
  • from 3 years till less than 5 years of relevant experience - 10 points
  • from 5 years till less than 7 years of relevant experience - 15 points
  • 7 and more years of relevant experience - 20 points

• Proven experience of developing capacity building (training) programmes in relevant areas - 15 points max
  • Examples of 2 cases provided – 5 points
  • Examples of 3 or 4 cases provided – 10 points 
  • Examples of 5 or more cases are provided – 15 points 

• Proven experience of providing trainings for public servants - 15 points max 
  • Examples of 2 cases provided – 5 points
  • Examples of 3 or 4 cases provided – 10 points 
  • Examples of 5 or more cases are provided – 15 points

• Language Skills - 10 points max
  • Fluency in Ukrainian language and professional working knowledge of English – 8 points
  • Fluency in Ukrainian language and professional working knowledge of English and Russian languages -10 points

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal and will equal to 30. All other price proposals will be evaluated and assigned points, as per below formula:

30 points [max points available for financial part] x [lowest of all evaluated offered prices among responsive offers] / [evaluated price].

11. EVALUATION METHOD

? Cumulative analysis

Contract award shall be made to the incumbent whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) having received the cumulative highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

• Technical Criteria weight: 70%
• Financial Criteria weight: 30%

Only candidates meeting the minimum requirements and obtaining a minimum 70% from the maximum available technical score (49 points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.