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), as well as National Action Plan for Implementation of CEDAW Recommendations (2018-2021).

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. The gender-specific aspects of particular concern at present include, but are not limited to: patriarchal culture, entrenched gender stereotypes further deepened as a result of the armed conflict placing disproportionately high austerity burden on women and physical risk on men; mounting instances of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among combatants and ex-combatants, limited participation of women in decision making at all levels, including with regards to community security, recovery, reconciliation and peacebuilding, as well as rising level of discrimination against internally displaced women, girls, men and boys. Based on the last official data, in Eastern Ukraine there are more than 1,604,059 internally displaced persons (539,547 in Donetsk, 213,758 in Luhansk and 99,300 in Zaporizhzhia), out of which 63% are women and children. (1)

The high concentration of military and armed groups – coupled with a proliferation of weapons, weak law enforcement and impunity – has increased the risk of gender-based violence (GBV) for people living along the ‘contact line’, particularly women, adolescent girls and young men. The conflict has also led to heightened levels of domestic violence (2) due to increased tolerance of violence in society, easier access to weapons and PTSD among former combatants. Since the very inception of the conflict, allegations of conflict related sexual violence have regularly surfaced in media reports often presenting unverified facts, contributing to deepening the mistrust, divide and animosity among local communities. The majority of CRSV cases documented (3) by OHCHR in Ukraine occurred in the context of the deprivation of liberty on both sides of the contact line. In these cases, both men and women detained on conflict-related charges (4) were subjected to sexual violence to extract confession or information.

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) (5) and the Strategy on Prevention and Combating Sexual Violence related to the Conflict in Ukraine (adopted in December 2018). The NAP on UNSCR 1325, which passed mid-term review in in September 2018, (6) covers five major areas of action: 1) Research, coordination and staff training; 2) Women’s participation in peacebuilding; 3) Security, Prevention of conflict and violence; 4) Protection of women and girls affected by conflicts (including provision of assistance and rehabilitation of people affected by conflicts) 5) Monitoring of the National Action Plan for implementation of the UNCSR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security until 2020.

However, despite the progress, the process of implementation of the NAP on UNSCR 1325 has been slow and challenged by specific weaknesses, such as lack of monitoring mechanisms in place, limited resources allocated for the NAP on UNSCR 1325, adequate inclusion of women groups in the development of the Plan and the reflection of needs and rights of specific target groups, such as widows, mothers and families of those killed or missing in action, women IDPs, women that survived captivity and torture and women combatants and veterans. (7)

The pace of localization of the NAP on UNSCR 1325 has been uneven among different Oblasts, cities and rayons. While in some Oblasts, such as Luhansk  and Chernihivska, specific action plans have been developed,  in other Oblasts,  such as Donetsk, specific provisions and goals of NAP UNSCR 1325 have been integrated in other strategies and programmes dealing with equal opportunities or family support. (8) In overall, the understanding of the relevance of the Resolution on Women, Peace and Security and the capacities of regional/local officials to localize them in a manner pertinent to the local context have been very low. (9)

To support the process of localization of the National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolutions on Women Peace and Security in three oblasts of Eastern Ukraine (Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia), UN Women has established partnership with a Responsible party (RP), a national civil society organization. The CSO organization is expected to cooperate and support the regional administrations to conduct a participatory process of UNSCR NAP localization and integrate WPS priorities in the existing regional development strategies or develop separate action plans in line with global indicators and develop methodology for costing.

With the aim to provide expert support and technical guidance on the participatory process of NAP localization, UN Women is seeking to hire an international consultant with extended knowledge and practical experience in supporting WPS localization.

(1) Source: Ministry of labor and social policy

(2) During 2014 prevalence survey, 19 percent of women between 15-49 have reported to have been subjected to some form of physical violence.[2] According to existing data, 1,85 million Ukrainian women suffer from GBV every year[2] and 120,000 cases of domestic violence have been reported in 2016. The prevalence of violence against women and girls,  https://ukraine.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/GBV%20prevalence%20survey%20%20EN.pdf.

(3) For other cases documented in HRMMU, which were not reflected in the thematic report see quarterly reports by OHCHR on the human rights situation in Ukraine, which are available here: http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/UA/ReportCRSV_EN.pdf

(4) The parties to the conflict most often detained the members of armed forces of the other side or those who were perceived to be otherwise affiliated to the other party of the conflict.

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

(6) The NAP in UNSCR 1325 (2016-2020) of Ukraine passed mid-term evaluation and the Amendments were approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on September 5, 2018, Order No. 637-p.

(7) Mapping of Peacebuilding Initiatives in Ukraine, 2016, Global Network of Women Peacebuilders and Democracy Development Center,  Ella Lamakh, Maria Dmytriyeva, 2017, CEDAW Concluding Observations to the eight periodic report of Ukraine, accessible at http://www.un.org.ua/en/information-centre/news/4078-cedaw-concluding-observations-of-the-un-committee-on-the-elimination-of-discrimination-against-women-launched-in-kyiv.

(8) The Comprehensive Social Programme “Youth and Family of Donetsk Region 2016-2020” of Donetsk Region included actions to implement the WPS agenda and prevent GBV in  Leaving No One Behind – Analysis of Vulnerabilities of women and men in the context of Decentralization in the conflict affected areas of Ukraine, Summary, September 2017, UNDP/UN Women Joint Programme “Restoration of Governance and Reconciliation in Crisis-Affected Communities of Ukraine” funded by the European Union http://eca.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2017/12/analysis-of-vulnerabilities-of-women-and-men-decentralization-in-the-conflict-affected-areas-ukraine; and Mapping of Peacebuilding Initiatives in Ukraine, 2016, Global Network of Women Peacebuilders and Democracy Development Center,  Ella Lamakh, Maria Dmytriyeva, 2017.

(9) Mapping of Peacebuilding Initiatives in Ukraine, 2016, Global Network of Women Peacebuilders and Democracy Development Center, Ella Lamakh, Maria Dmytriyeva, 2017;

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the UN Women Representative, and direct supervision by UN Women Programme Specialist, the International Consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Carry out desk review of the existing national strategic documents relating to Women, Peace and Security Agenda (National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325, Mid-term review report, Sectoral Action Plans on UNSCR 1325 of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, National Police and Border Guard, Strategy on Prevention and Combating Sexual Violence related to the Conflict in Ukraine) as well as the draft Mapping report on existing WPS commitments in the three oblasts produced by UN Women RP; develop brief methodology and workplan for the process of WPS localization.  
• Lead and facilitate three-day Localization Workshop for each oblast for regional and local authorities,  civil society and women’s organizations, including members of the UNSCR 1325 coalitions established in 5 oblasts in Ukraine (10) and develop - in cooperation with UN Women RP - the workshop module; Support the UN Women RP in designing the workshop Agenda and delivering the training sessions which should cover Human rights and gender equality, Conflict Analysis, UNSCR Resolutions on WPS and its 4 pillars (prevention, protection, participation, relief and recovery), national legislation and NAP on UNSCR 1325; 
• Provide technical support and guidance to RP on monthly basis (minimum 2 days in a month through remote guidance and Skype calls during the period of this assignment), including sharing relevant information, success stories from other countries, providing feedback on the tools, training materials, provide response to the technical questions raised by team members, convene the Skype calls and discussions as needed;
• Provide expert support and guidance to the UN Women RP to prepare for the “Writeshops" (11) participatory workshops for developing/amending the regional actions plans on UNSCR 1325 or integrating the WPS provisions into the local Socio-economic Development Strategies or relevant programmes;
• Facilitate the “Writeshops” and provide expert support in the development of the Logframe and indicators aligned with the global WPS indicators;
• Provide technical support in establishing the regional accountability mechanism responsible for a) implementation and b) monitoring of the action plans;
• Lead and facilitate a training on AP Costing and Budgeting and provide expert support to UN Women RP in developing Guidelines for Ukraine on UNSCR NAP 1325 costing, by adjusting the Guidelines of Global Women Peacebuilding Network;
• Provide technical support and guidance to UN Women responsible party to raise awareness on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), develop training module on CRSV for law enforcement officials and conduct the trainings with the aim to build skills of the security and law enforcement actors on its prevention and response;
• Provide technical advice and guidance to UN Women RP and representatives from UNSCR 1325 coalitions on one joint communication strategy around WPS implementation (such as for example including joint messaging, key aspects of negotiations with regional/national authorities on prioritization of WPS implementation) and participation of women and women CSOs in the development of the new NAP UNSCR 1325;
• Write the final report on the conducted activities and submit in written to UN Women.  

Assignment Deliverables:

• Deliverable 1- Submitted work plan and proposed methodology for the assignment – based on desk review of Mapping - including time lines and agendas for the proposed workshops to be delivered to national RP– (4 working days) by March 15th 2019;
• Deliverable 2- Conducted in-country visit, including delivery of three-day Workshop on WPS localization per each oblast (15 working days)-by 30 June 2019.
• Deliverable 3 –Facilitation and delivery of “Writeshops” for NAP Localization in three oblasts, including drafting of the strategic documents, developing the draft Logframe and advising on setting the accountability mechanisms responsible for monitoring; (20 working days) by 30 September 2019; 
• Deliverable 4 – Delivery of trainings for Costing and Budgeting of UNSCR 1325 (10 working days) by 30 November 2019;
• Deliverable 5 – Expert guidance and peer review on the Guidelines for costing of NAP UNSCR 1325 for Ukraine (15 working days) by 30 March 2020;
• Deliverable 6 – Inputs provided to Module and training on Conflict Related Sexual Violence delivered to security and law enforcement officials (13 working days) by 30 June 2020;
• Deliverable 7 – Written inputs/guidance on communication strategy (6 working days) – throughout the assignment and latest by July 10, 2020;
• Deliverable 8 - Submitted final report on the conducted activities and advices for the follow up work of RPs and submit in written to UN Women – (2 working day) by July 15, 2020.

The Consultant is expected to work from home and conduct at least 5 missions to Ukraine including in-country travels to Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. The consultant will be provided with project related necessary materials and technical assistance by UN Women during the implementation of the assignment. 

Inputs

UN Women will provide the consultant with the UN Women project documents, national strategic document pertinent to WPS Agenda, as well as other relevant information and will organize calls/video-conferences if necessary and meetings when consultant will travel to Ukraine.

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.

(10) UNSCR 1325 coalitions have been established in Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya, Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnytsya, and Khmelnytsky oblasts, with the support of the CSO Ukrainian Women’s Fund.

(11) “Writeshop” is an approximately 2-day participatory workshop where local authorities, women CSOs, coalitions, women’s community leaders are involved with the aim to review existing local/regional policies, analyze how WPS can be integrated and draft the regional/local Action Plan or other regional/local policy to implement UNSCR 1325 at regional/local level.

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:

• Advanced university degree in Social Science, Sociology, Law, Gender Studies, International Relations, Economics, Development Studies or related fields

Experience:

• At least 5 years of related professional experience in in the field of international development; human rights, gender equality, women’s and human rights;
• Proven expertise in Women, Peace and Security Agenda through implementation of WPS related projects, or development of guidelines/tools, expert papers, and/or publications;
• Experience with provision of expert support with WPS localization;
• Experience of providing methodological trainings, workshops and technical assistance to Authorities and/or Civil Society Organizations in Advancing Women, Peace and Security Agenda through localization and implementation of NAP on UNSCR 1325;
• Previous cooperation/working experience within the United Nations or international organizations; Working experience in and knowledge of the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia is desirable;
• Strong organizational skills, ability to meet deadlines and to manage multiple tasks effectively.

Languages and other skills: 

• Excellent command of English; knowledge of Russian/Ukrainian will be considered as asset.
• 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:

• Proven expertise in Women, Peace and Security Agenda through implementation of WPS related projects, or development of guidelines/tools, expert papers, and/or publications (20 points);
• Experience of providing methodological trainings, workshops and technical assistance to Authorities and/or Civil Society Organizations in Advancing Women, Peace and Security Agenda through localization and implementation of NAP on UNSCR 1325 (20 points);
• Experience with provision of expert support with WPS localization (20 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 20 February 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 – International Consultant – to support localization and implementation of Women, Peace and Security Agenda of NAP on UNSCR 1325 ”.

Applications without financial proposal will be treated as incomplete and will 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

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.