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 Women, Peace and Security (WPS). In partnership with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration (DPM), UN Women provides support to the Parliament (Parliament Interfaction Caucus on Equal Opportunities and Parliament Committees), the Government (Government Commissioner on Gender Equality Policy; Ministry of Social Policy, Ministry of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories (MRTOT) and the national security sector institutions) in implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and the subsequent resolutions on WPS.

UN Women supported the state institutions with the implementation of the Revised National Action Plan for Implementation of UNSCR 1325 on WPS for 2016-2020 (NAP 1325)[1], and the National Action Plan on the implementation of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Concluding Observations to the eighth periodic report of Ukraine on by 2021[2].

In 2020, UN Women supported the development of second NAP 1325 for 2021-2025. The NAP includes several areas of responsibility of the state institutions on mainstreaming gender into peace and security agenda, including:

• equal participation of women and men in decision-making on conflict prevention, conflict resolution, post-conflict recovery, with focus on security and defense sector;

• gender-sensitive system for identifying, preventing and responding to security threats;
• process of post-conflict recovery, and implementation of the transitional justice system according to the principles of equal rights and opportunities for women and men;
• protection against gender-based violence, sexual violence (conflict-related and during peacetime);

• development of institutional capacity for the effective implementation of the WPS agenda in accordance with international standards.

The respective action plans have incorporated targeted actions for the duty-bearers to ensure preventive and response measures to Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) as part of the WPS Agenda.

In November 2018 a Strategy for Prevention and Response to Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Ukraine (CRSV Strategy) was endorsed by the DPM, which was developed by UN Women and OHCHR upon the request of the Government. The endorsement of the strategy is a response measure to the recommendations, provided in the thematic report on conflict-related sexual violence in Ukraine, produced by the Human Rights Monitoring Mission of the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (HRMMU) in February 2017, highlighting the trends and patterns of sexual violence committed in the context of the conflict in the east.

As of 11 January 2019, the changes to Criminal Code of Ukraine came into force[3], which addressed some of the legal gaps in the definition of rape and sexual violence. However, the definition of the conflict-related sexual violence is still missing from the legislation. The recently endorsed CRSV strategy recommends amending existing national legislation in line with international law to ensure that cases of CRSV can be prosecuted without unrealistic expectations in terms of evidence and definition. The Parliament has initiated - through the Parliamentary Committee on Law Enforcement - the process of harmonization of national legislation with international criminal and humanitarian law, where, among others, CRSV has to be regulated. To align Ukraine’s legislation with international criminal normative framework, UN Women partnered with UN HR Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (OHCHR) to elaborate on the draft law for its second reading. Jointly elaborated comments were shared with Parliamentary committee on Human Rights, Deoccupation and Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories in Donetsk, Luhansk Regions and Autonomous Republic of Crimea, National Minorities and Interethnic Relations. Recommendations included to define conflict-related sexual violence in line with international standards; identify it as a war crime, crime against humanity, act of genocide in the national legislation; and ensure effective prevention of and response to conflict-related sexual violence by adopting and amending relevant legislation of Ukraine. The second reading of the draft law is expected in 2021.

Another area of interventions for advancing gender equality and empowerment of women is a transitional period framework. At the end of 2020, MRTOT finalized the draft law on transitional justice - "On State Policy of Transition". It includes the following provisions:

• unification of approaches to the temporarily occupied territories (TOT) in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and the Crimea;
• incorporation of other laws and harmonization of all Ukraine’s legislation, pertinent to TOT;
• introduction of elements of transitional justice;
• outlining the principles of recommencement of the judiciary in the occupied territories;
• resolving the issue of investigation of criminal offenses, committed in the temporarily occupied territories;
• formation of pool of civil servants and police officers to work in the occupied territories;
• establishment of temporary administrations prior to local elections;
• establishment of social benefits for residents of the temporarily occupied territories.

To support the Parliament and the Government in further developing the legal and policy framework for implementation of the WPS Agenda, focusing on gender-responsive transitional justice and prevention and response to the CRSV in Ukraine, UN Women is seeking for a national consultant. The national consultant – in cooperation with UN Women staff and international consultant on prevention and response to CRSV - will provide expert advice and technical support to the Parliament (relevant parliamentary committees and the Parliament Inter-faction Caucus on Equal Opportunities), the Ombudsperson and the Government (DPM Office; Government Commissioner on Gender Equality Policy; MRTOT; and other governmental authorities) on the required legal amendments and provisions for regulating gender-responsive transitional justice and prevention and response to the CRSV in national legislation in line with international normative framework, as well as on the respective policies related to the implementation of WPS commitments, including CRSV prevention and response.

[1] Approved by Decree No. 113-p of the Cabinet of Ministers, dated 24 February 2016, available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/637-2018-%D1%80

[2] Approved by Decree No. 634-p of the Cabinet of Ministers, dated 5 September 2018, available at https://www.kmu.gov.ua/ua/npas/pro-go-planu-dij-z-vikonannya-rekomo-zhinok-do-vosmoyi-periodichnoyi-dopovidi-ukrayini-pro-vikonannya-konvenciyi-pro-likvidaciyu-vsih-form-diskriminaciyi-shchodo-zhinok-na-period-do-2021-roku

[3] On Changes to Criminal Code of Ukraine with the aim of realization of provisions of Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, signed by the President of Ukraine on 6 December 2017, available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2227-19

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the UN Women Representative and direct supervision by the Programme Specialist/Project Manager, the National Consultant will provide technical support to the Parliament (relevant Parliamentary Committees and the Parliament Interfaction Caucus on Equal Opportunities (Parliament Caucus)), the Ombudsperson and the Government (Deputy Prime Minister on European and Euro Atlantic Integration (DPM), Government Commissioner on Gender Equality Policy (Government Commissioner), Ministry of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories (MRTOT) and other relevant ministries) through technical advice and expertise in improving the legislation and policy framework on transitional justice, and on prevention and response to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in Ukraine. The assignment will include but not be limited to the following tasks developed in coordination with the Parliament (relevant Parliamentary Committees and the Parliament Caucus), the Ombudsperson, the Government (DPM, Government Commissioner, MRTOT and other relevant ministries) and UN Women:

1. Assist the Parliament (relevant Parliamentary Committees and the Parliament Caucus), the Ombudsperson and the Government (DPM, Government Commissioner, MRTOT and other relevant ministries) through advisory legal and policy support, pertaining to the development of relevant legislation on transitional justice and CRSV;
2. Provide the Parliament (relevant Parliamentary Committees and the Parliament Caucus), the Ombudsperson, and the Government (DPM, Government Commissioner, MRTOT and other relevant ministries) with the recommendations on further development of draft Laws on Transitional Justice and other related legal acts for harmonization of national legislation with international criminal and humanitarian normative frameworks, ensuring gender responsiveness of these legal acts. This includes regular legal reviews and elaboration of recommendations, including in cooperation with international consultant on prevention and response to CRSV.
3. Under direct supervision of UN Women, in close partnership/collaboration with the Parliament (relevant Parliamentary Committees and the Parliament Caucus), the Ombudsperson and the Government (DPM, Government Commissioner, MRTOT) as, well as, in cooperation with other relevant line ministries and governmental bodies, international and non-governmental organizations, provide policy advice on the transitional justice, prevention of and response to the CRSV. This includes organizing and holding multi-stakeholders’ consultations for validation of developed recommendations (with participation of the CSOs), in coordination with international consultant on prevention and response to CRSV;
4. Support the Parliament (relevant Parliamentary Committees and the Parliament Caucus), the Ombudsperson and the Government (DPM, Government Commissioner, MRTOT and other relevant ministries) with technical advice on building mechanisms for coordination and M&E of implementation transitional justice and CRSV frameworks. This includes organizing and holding multi-stakeholders’ consultations for validation of developed recommendations (with participation of the CSOs).

Assignment Deliverables:

*All reports should be submitted in English language and include the full set of supporting documents, such as analytical briefs, meeting notes, concept notes and agendas, handouts and lists of participants.

The timeframe for the work of the National Consultant is tentatively planned from 12 February to 17 September 2021, with an estimated total volume of work not to exceed 50 working days, including multi-stakeholder consultations, coordinated in advance with the UN Women and the Parliament and the Government, upon contracting.

Note: The mentioned number of working days has been estimated as being sufficient/feasible for the envisaged volume of work to be completed successfully and is proposed as a guideline for the duration of assignment. It cannot and shall not be used as criteria for completion of work/assignment.

Inputs

• UN Women, the Parliament and the Government will provide the Consultant with background materials related to the assignment
• The consultant is expected to work remotely using her/his own computer.

Travel

All envisaged travel costs related to the mission within Ukraine must be included in the financial proposal.

In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and contractor, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Performance evaluation:

Contractor’s performance will be evaluated against such criteria as: timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, efficiency, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered. The evaluation of the deliverables will be carried out and cleared by the hiring manager, which will also be the basis for payment to the consultant.

Financial arrangements:  

Payments will be disbursed in four installments as per the above schedule of deliverables.

The payments will be processed upon approval of deliverables and 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/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced (Masters) university degree in human rights, international human rights/ humanitarian/criminal law, gender studies.

Experience:

• Minimum 3 years of relevant work experience in the field of human rights, gender-based violence, humanitarian law women, peace and security, transitional justice, and CRSV;
• Proven experience with conducting legal analysis of normative documents (laws/by-laws) and developing legal and policy gender-responsive recommendations on WPS, transitional justice, prevention and response to the CRSV;
• Previous experience of providing advisory/technical support to the parliaments and the governments dealing with transitional justice, CRSV;
• Experience with coordination of multiple stakeholders’ activities and liaison with governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, including OHCHR, UN Women;
• Proven knowledge of international humanitarian, human rights, gender equality, women’s empowerment and women, peace and security frameworks.

Language skills:

• Fluency in verbal and written English and Ukrainian is required.

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; F min - 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:

The candidate’s application should include:

1. UN Women Personal History (P-11) form with indication of relevant experience in line with the ToR requirements completed and signed. P-11 form 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  
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 29 January 2021 by submitting applications to the following e-mail address: hr.ukraine@unwomen.org with a subject “National Consultant on Transitional Justice and Prevention and Response to the Conflict-Related Sexual Violence”.

Applications without 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 tables is suggested for use as a guide in preparing the Financial Proposal

1. 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.