Background

In April 2018, UN Women CO in Ukraine in cooperation with the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine (hereinafter, the MCTD) has started the implementation of project “Advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment through decentralization reform of Ukraine”, generously funded by the Government of Canada. The main goal of the project is to support the Government of Ukraine in achieving transformative results for gender equality and women’s empowerment through the decentralization reform. The project contributes towards the implementation of the country’s commitments on gender equality[1] and creates an enabling institutional environment for improving regional and local governance through the application of a human rights-based approach and gender mainstreaming.

Within output 1.1 the Project supports strengthening the Ombudsperson’s Office (OO) in monitoring human rights situation, including implementation of the gender equality commitments at national, oblast and local levels.

The Government of Ukraine proclaimed decentralization as one of the flagship reforms. Following the adoption of the State Strategy of Regional Development in 2014[2], the Concept of Reforming Local Self-Government and Territorial Structure of Power and the Action Plan[3], the reform was launched. The major package of legislation that was adopted has provided the legislative framework of the reform[4].

However, the decentralisation reform and the respective legal framework have not yet been aligned with the international gender equality and women’s rights commitments, as well as with the state gender equality goals and targets outlined in the national policy documents and legislation. Decentralisation-related laws have not undergone gender analysis/expertise, and key policy documents include neither gender equality priorities, targets and indicators, nor any measures to address discrimination. The Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women expressed concern in the Concluding Observations on the Eighth Periodic Report of Ukraine that the ongoing reform on decentralisation had no reference to gender equality. 

According to many analyses, conducted by UN Women and other UN and non-UN Agencies, decentralisation reform, in its policy-making, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, has not yet been prioritized to address the situation of the most marginalized, discriminated and excluded groups, and do not consider any measures to empower them as active agents of development. Individual women, men, girls, and boys, as well as the groups in vulnerable situations  they represent, remain at risk of being left behind due to both their vulnerable situations and their distinct entitlements and needs, which are not visible, recognized or prioritized by their communities It may result in marginalization and social exclusion of such groups.

The human rights-based approach (HRBA) principles, including universality and inalienability, equality and non-discrimination, transparency, participation and inclusion, accountability and rule of law, are not fully applied in the decentralization reform in Ukraine. As a result, while the number of consultative processes, including meetings, workshops, and surveys, over various aspects of the reforms have increased during the last two years, there is little evidence of special, tailor-made measures being taken to reach the most excluded groups of women and men in vulnerable situations. These affects both supply and demand sides of accountability as regards international commitments, national policy, and legal frameworks on gender equality and women’s rights.

One of the goals of the Ombusperson Office regional network (OO’s representatives in regions) is ensuring parliamentary control over the observance and protection of human rights on the territory of Ukraine, including providing a rapid response to human rights challenges and monitoring information from the field on compliance with GE intrenational and national normative commitemnts, including within decentralization reform.

The human rights situation in Ukraine remains challenging due to numerous interlinked reasons. In 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic increased human rights challenges in the country. The current situation with COVID-19 pandemic and a heightened risk of exposure to it facing by women, especially from vulnerable groups, determines additional gender and human rights challenges, especially at the regional and local levels. According to Rapid Gender Analysis of COVID-19 implications in Ukraine conducted by UN Women, the outbreak provides a disproportional impact on women, especially from vulnerable groups. Women represent the majority of healthcare and social service personnel who are frontline professionals providing response to COVID-19 outbreak and taking respective risks of being infected. Women perform a disproportional share of unpaid domestic work and provision of care to family and community members. Women from vulnerable groups are at risk of suffering devastating losses due to factors such as their lack of access to effective surveillance and early-warning system and basic services, especially at local level. Women living in small towns and villages face more severe economic challenges during the outbreak which is a serious threat to their social and economic resilience.  The lockdown measures introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic did not properly consider the existing gender and human rights aspects and seriously affected economic and social rights. These measures were imposed without any assessment of proportionality and prior identification of consequences. The Ukrainian authorities appeared not to have been ready to address a national-level emergency. As a result, the lockdown restrictions exacerbated all existing inequalities and made the challenges to human rights, tolerance, and non-discrimination even more visible.

In such circumstances the OO faces the need for strengthening its capacity on effective monitoring and oversight of government’s compliance with human rights norms and standards in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Reflective of the above, UN Women project “Advancing Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment through Decentralization Reform of Ukraine”, is seeking to recruit a National Consultant to the Omudsperson’s Office of Ukraine to provide expert support to the OO in monitoring of the implementation of state policy in ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men, prevention and combating to domestic and gender-based violence, discrimination in various spheres of public relations at the national, regional and local levels.

[1] Laws on Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men (2005), the Principles of Prevention and Combating Discrimination in Ukraine (2012), the State Programme on Equal Rights and Opportunities of Women and Men, the NAP on implementation of CEDAW Committee Concluding Observations to the Eighth Periodic Report and the NAP on implementation of UN Security Council Resolution on WPS 1325;

[2] Ukraine, Ukraine State Strategy of Regional Development for the period until 2020 approved by Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 385 of 6 August 2014. Available at http://surdp.eu/uploads/files/SSRD_2020_approved_final_EN.pdf

[3] Ukraine, Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers # 688-p of 22 September 2016. Available at http://zakon2.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/688-2016-%D1%80/paran82#n82

[4] Ukraine, Law of Ukraine # 2621-VIII of 22 November 2018 “On Amendments to the Budget Code of Ukraine”. Available at https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2621-19 ; Ukraine, Law of Ukraine # 157-VIII of 01 January 2019 “On Voluntary Amalgamation of Territorial Communities”. Available at https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/157-19 ; Ukraine, Law of Ukraine # 1508-VII of 17 June 2014 “On Cooperation of Territorial Communities”. Available at https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1508-18 ; Ukraine, Law of Ukraine # 156-VIII of 05 February 2015 “On Fundamental Principles of the State Regional Policy”. Available at https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/156-19 ; Ukraine, Law of Ukraine # 320-VIII, 09 April 2015 “On Amendments to Some Legislative Acts of Ukraine regarding the Decentralization of Powers in the Area of Architectural and Construction Supervision and Improvement of Town-Planning Legislation”.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the UN Women Representative in Ukraine, a direct day-to-day supervision of the UN Women Project manager and in coordination with the project team  the National Consultant will implement a set of tasks, including, but not limited to:

1. Provide policy advice on integration of the gender mainstreaming approach and the SDG principle of “Leaving-No-One-Behind” to the methodology on monitoring human rights at a local level.
2. Provide policy advice and technical support to the Ombudsperson Office in preparation of reports on the implementation of GE legal commitments on women’s human rights under CEDAW and CRPD. Provide expert support in monitoring of implementation of CEDAW and CRPD Concluding Observations.
3. Provide policy advice and technical support to the Ombudsperson Office on the development of the Strategy of Ombudsperson Office with a strong focus on monitoring the rights of women facing multiple forms of discrimination and establishing a partnership mechanism with women human rights defenders.
4. Provide expert support and assistance in effective advocacy and promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment, the development of knowledge products pertaining to women’s human rights based on data and evidence.
5. Facilitation of elaboration and implementation of capacity development programs for the OO’s staff and regional representatives on integration of gender equality and protection of rights of women facing multiple forms of discrimination into human rights monitoring (minimum two trainings on gender analysis of legislation and gender-responsive monitoring of human righst) .
6. Provide recomendations to the policy documents, laws and regulations in the area of ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men, preventing and combating domestic and gender-based violence, discrimination in various areas of public life in terms of their compliance with international normative standards in the field of gender equality and rights of women facing multiple forms of discrimination.

Assignment Deliverables:

• All progress reports and final report should be submitted in Ukrainian language with unofficial translation into English (the supporting documents, such as meeting minutes, analytical papers, workshop agendas etc. can be submitted in Ukrainian language).
• The Consultant is expected to work remotely 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.
• The Consultant is expected to undertake travels to the project pilot regions of Ukraine. The cost of travel will be covered separately, in line with UN Women Duty Travel policy.

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:

• The 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:  

• Payment will be disbursed upon receipt of the deliverables (as per above matrix) and their certification by UN Women Project 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/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications Education:

• Advanced (Masters) degree in law, social sciences, public policy/administration, gender studies or similar

Experience:

• At least 3 years of relevant experience in human rights, gender equality or other related fields.
• At least 2 years of experience in gender analysis of legislation and policy documents.
• At least 2 years of professional experience in capacity building of the state institutions on gender mainsteaming and human rights.
• Experience of working with relevant stakeholders from the governmental and non- governmental institutions involved into human rights issues at the national and sub-national levels, including participation in high-level dialogues, consultations with the members of parliament, government etc.

Languages and other skills: 

• Proficient Ukrainian, working knowledge of English is an 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 - 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 50 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://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-p11-personal-history-form.doc?la=en&vs=558

1. Financial proposal (sample is provided below): The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount with a breakdown of a daily professional rate per number of anticipated working days, travel costs (daily subsistence allowance and other in-country travel costs) and other related costs (e.g. tele-communication).

Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment.

Interested candidates are requested to apply no later than 23:55  22 June 2021 by submitting applications to the following e-mail address: hr.ukraine@unwomen.org with a subject “National Consultant on expert support to the Ombudsperson’s Office of Ukraine”.

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 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.