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 work in Ukraine focuses on supporting the government and civil society in advancing gender equality and implementation of the national and international commitments on gender equality and women’s human rights. UN Women Ukraine implements interventions towards the realization of following strategic goals: elimination of violence against women and girls; implementation of women, peace and security agenda and gender responsive governance. UN Women works closely with the UN Country Team in integration of women’s rights and gender equality in all spheres of UN work.

UN Women continues supporting women’s organizations and women human rights defenders to enhance their critical role in monitoring, advocacy and decision-making at all levels. Women’s and women-led civil society organizations (CSOs) have become the first responders on the frontlines of the war, providing fundamental services to vulnerable groups. A rapid assessment of the impact of the war on women’s CSOs shows that the majority of organizations have been providing services and interventions that they had not worked on before (66% of those surveyed), have been providing remote support to beneficiaries (57%) and re-allocating funds to new/different priorities[1]. Women’s organizations are not only frontline responders but also are well placed to influence and inform decision making of response across the humanitarian-development spectrum.

UN Women Country Office in Ukraine facilitates the dialogue between the government and women’ civil society organizations and platforms for women’s CSOs to ensure that women’s voice and agency is strengthened in the design and implementation of policies to consider the diverse needs of women and men and exacerbated gender inequalities. In particular, within its project “Transformative Approaches to Achieving Gender Equality in Ukraine”, funded by Sweden, UN Women Country Office in Ukraine aims to employ transformative approaches to the advancement of gender equality and women’s empowerment through removing the root causes, structural barriers, and restrictive social norms, that underpin the persistence of gender inequalities in various areas of life. The project partners with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration (DPMO), as a key national stakeholder, and engages the following key institutions at the same time: the government, the parliament, women’s organizations, media and the private sector.

To advance meaningful participation of CSOs working on gender equality and women’s empowerment in decision-making and monitoring of government commitments, the Government Commissioner on Gender Equality Policy in Ukraine initiated establishment of the platform “Equal Rights and Opportunities”. The platform aims to enable a mechanism for considering the expertise of CSOs in gender equality policy development and implementation, to consolidate the efforts of civil society and the government, to ensure gender considerations are incorporated into national policies and programs, to amplify the role of CSOs during decision-making and monitoring of government commitments as well as to highlight women’s rights and gender equality as the priorities of the government policy.  

As part of its work, UN Women is looking for a National Consultant to support the Office of Government Commissioner on Gender Equality Policy with civil society engagement and administration of the platform “Equal Rights and Opportunities”.  

[1] UN Women Rapid Assessment: Impact of the War in Ukraine on Women’s Civil Society Organizations

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 support to the Office of Government Commissioner on Gender Equality Policy with civil society engagement and administration of the platform “Equal Rights and Opportunities”. The assignment will include but not be limited to the following tasks developed in coordination with the Office of Government Commissioner on Gender Equality Policy and UN Women:

1. Contribution (according to the competencies) to coordination of the work on engaging civil society organizations to formulating and implementing the state policy on gender equality at the national, regional and local levels,
2. Organization and facilitation of events on advancing gender equality and combatting gender-based violence, involving international and civil society organizations,

1. Administration of the platform “Equal Rights and Opportunities”,
2. Development and dissemination of materials about activities of the Government Commissioner on Gender Equality Policy and the Office through the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine website, Facebook page and the platform “Equal Rights and Opportunities”.

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, etc. The supporting documents can be submitted in Ukrainian.

Inputs

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

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 will be carried out and cleared by the hiring manager which will also be the basis for payment on a delivery by delivery basis to the consultant.

Financial arrangements:  

• Payment will be disbursed in three installments upon receipt of the deliverables (as per above matrix) and their certification by UN Women Programme Specialist that the services have been satisfactorily performed.

Competencies

Core Values

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism
• Competencies

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/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications Education:

• Advanced (Masters) degree in Law, Public Policy and Administration, Social Sciences or related field.

Experience:

• Minimum 3 years of experience of working (after Advanced/Master’s Degree) with CSOs in the field of gender equality or women’s empowerment;
• Proven knowledge of human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) framework;
• Experience with support of coordination of multiple stakeholders’ activities and liaison with governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, including development partners, and civil society; experience with UN Women and other UN agencies will be considered as an asset;
• Proven experience with organizing, conducting and facilitating/moderating events.

Languages and other 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 (including an interview) and financial proposal. A two-stage procedure is utilized in evaluating the proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposal (including an interview) 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 45 points for technical criteria and max 25 points for interview). Total max 70 points:

• The total number of points allocated for the technical qualification component is 45. 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:

All applications must include as one attachment:

1. Completed and signed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.unwomen.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2FHeadquarters%2FAttachments%2FSections%2FAbout%2520Us%2FEmployment%2FUN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK

1. 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).

Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment.

Interested candidates are requested to apply no later than 23:59 EEST 22 November 2023.

Applications without P11 and 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 table 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.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need. 

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).