National Consultant on Gender Equality Legislation and Reforms for the Office of the Vice Prime Minister on EU and Euro-Atlantic Integration

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.

The Ukrainian Constitution, policy and legal frameworks guarantee equality for men and women in Ukraine in all sectors. The country adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), joined the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action (BPfA) of the 4th World Conference for Women (1995) and ratified the main international instruments on gender equality and women’s rights, including the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Nevertheless, implementation and efficient mechanisms for enforcement, accountability, monitoring and evaluation are not fully in place. Gender equality and women’s rights have not yet become a priority under the Government’s comprehensive reform agenda that, while covering eighteen sectors, does not integrate gender equality perspectives at any level.

The adoption by the Government of the National Action Plan for Implementation of the UN Security Council’s Resolution 1325 (NAP 1325)[1] is a commendable step towards the integration of the women, peace and security agenda in the reform, recovery and peacebuilding processes. However, its actual implementation still requires strengthening cross-sectoral coordination, monitoring and oversight mechanisms, and the strengthening of capacities of line ministries and local authorities. It also requires better alignment of NAP 1325 with on-going reforms.

The new State Programme on Equal Opportunities for the period 2017 - 2020 (under finalization) looks at strengthening the institutional mechanism for gender equality and an integrated approach to addressing the institutional barriers faced by the state response to gender inequalities and discrimination. Further challenges will be presented by: integration of national priorities into the on-going reforms; the weak capacities of government institutions at the national and local levels to effectively enforce and implement the legislation; and unclear leadership in advancing gender equality in the government itself.

The decision of the Prime Minister to establish the position of Commissioner on Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men under the Vice-Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration is a very promising measure aimed at strengthening the national institutional mechanism and stepping up accountability, oversight and coordination, which requires coordinated support by all stakeholders[2].

To further support the consolidated efforts of the government, parliament, women’s groups and civil society organisations (CSOs) to meet state commitments on gender equality and women’s rights, including CEDAW, UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (UNSCR 1325) and SDGs through reforms and peace and security processes, UN Women in partnership with the Office of the Vice-Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration launched the project “Enhancing accountability for gender equality and women’s empowerment in national reforms, peace and security”, funded by the Government of Sweden.

The project goal is to achieve transformative results for gender equality and women’s empowerment in Ukraine by integrating gender equality and women’s human rights commitments into the national reforms and the peace and security processes, and by putting mechanisms in place for adequate financing, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

The project aims to: consolidate the efforts of government, parliament and civil society to remove structural barriers to gender equality and women’s human rights; ensure accountability of national governance, reforms, planning and budgeting for commitments and priorities in the areas of gender equality and women, peace and security; strengthen cross-sectoral coordination and oversight for gender and women’s rights commitments; strengthen coalitions between government, parliament, media and civil society for evidence-based advocacy in Ukraine; strengthen the capacity of gender advocates and women’s groups to effectively demand gender equality in reforms and peacebuilding.

Therefore, UN Women seeks to hire the National Consultant (lawyer) to provide day-to-day support to the Office of the Vice-Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine in conducting a gender analysis and providing legal advice to ensure Ukrainian legislation is in accordance with the rights of women under the Constitution and the state commitments (including CEDAW, UNSCR 1325 and SDGs) and to enable coherent government-wide mainstreaming of gender equality in policies, plans and budgets in full compliance with the international and national commitments on gender equality and women’s rights (150 days).

[1] National Action Plan on implementation of UN Security Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security adopted by Decree ? 113 of the Cabinet of Ministries of Ukraine dated 24 February, 2016

[2] Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine about Government Commissioner for Gender Equality Policy, #390 on 07.07.2017, http://zakon2.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/390-2017-%D0%BF

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the UN Women Country Programme Manager, technical guidance by the Programme Analyst on Gender-Responsive Reforms and day-to-day supervision of the Vice-Prime Minister on EU and Euro-Atlantic Integration, the consultant will implement a set of tasks, including, but not limited to: 

Legal support to the Office of the Vice-Prime Minister on EU and Euro-Atlantic Integration and key national gender institutions to ensure Ukrainian legislation is in accordance with the rights of women under the Constitution and the state commitments (including CEDAW, UNSCR 1325 and SDGs) and to enable coherent government-wide mainstreaming of gender equality in policies, plans and budgets:

• Ensure day-to-day legal support and legal advice to the Office of the Vice-Prime Minister on EU and Euro-Atlantic Integration in gender-related activities to ensure gender-responsive reforms;

• Conduct a gender analysis of legislation, with a specific focus on anti-discrimination legislation and legislative and policy areas of the on-going reforms to ensure Ukrainian legislation is in accordance with the rights of women under the Constitution and the state commitments (including CEDAW, UNSCR 1325 and SDGs) and to enable coherent government-wide mainstreaming of gender equality in policies, plans and budgets. The exact laws for review will be identified together with the Vice Prime Minister on EU and Euro-Atlantic Integration, gender focal points of the line ministries, the Ombudsperson and Parliamentary Caucus on Equal Opportunities and other Commissions; gender neutral laws included in the national reforms that fail to protect or promote the rights of women may be of special interest;

• Conduct a desk review of best international legislative practices in the area of equal rights and nondiscrimination in the context of on-going reforms in the country;

• Participate in multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral and inter-ministerial meetings, consultations and interviews with the institutions of the national mechanism on gender equality, such as Office of the Vice-Prime Minister on EU and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Ministry of Social Policy, other line ministries, Ombudsperson and Parliamentary Caucus on Equal Opportunities and Commissions, with sectoral/legal experts and gender focal points, as well as oblast and local authorities, development agencies and civil society organizations in order to jointly analyze gaps and collect information on needed changes in the legal framework to ensure gender-responsive reforms;

• Provide a series of recommendations for legislative and policy reform and harmonization, including explicit provisions for gender equality and/or to remove previously existing discriminatory provisions to ensure Ukrainian legislation is in accordance with the rights of women under the Constitution and the state commitments (including CEDAW, UNSCR 1325 and SDGs) and to enable coherent government-wide mainstreaming of gender equality in policies, plans and budgets.

Assignment /Deliverables

• All reports should be submitted according to the provided format in English language (the supporting documents, such as summary review of the legal documents and recommendations should be submitted in Ukrainian language).

• The Consultant is expected to work remotely and upon request in the Office of the Vice-Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration 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.

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 monthly reports which will also be the basis for payment on a monthly basis to the consultant.

Financial arrangements:  

• Payments will be disbursed by monthly instalments based on brief monthly progress reports and summary of review of legal documents and recommendations submitted certified by the Vice-Prime Minister on EU and Euro-Atlantic Integration. Payment for deliverable 2 will be disbursed upon submission of the final report certificated by the Vice-Prime Minister on EU and Euro-Atlantic Integration and certification of the UN Women Programme Analyst on Gender-Responsive Reforms that the services have been satisfactorily performed.

Competencies

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications Education:

• Advanced (Masters) degree in law. PhD degree would be considered an asset.

  Experience:

• At least 5 years of relevant experience on gender analysis of national legislation and policy documents;

• Proven knowledge of international practices and instruments on the protection of human rights/women’s rights;

• Experience with participation in high-level dialogues, consultations, including with the members of parliament, government etc.;

• Previous professional experience with development agencies and the United Nations would be considered an asset.

  Languages and other skills: 

• Fluent in Ukrainian and working knowledge of English, knowledge of Russian will be 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 utilised 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 45 points for technical criteria and max 25 points for interview. Total max 70 points:

1. 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; 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 brief Letter of Interest containing the statement on 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 (telephone etc.)
  • Interested candidates are requested to apply no later than 9 am 20 September 2017 by submitting 2 attachments: 1) technical (P-11 and a Letter of Interest) as well as 2) financial proposals to the following e-mail address: procurement.ukraine@unwomen.org with a subject “UN Women Ukraine – National Consultant on Gender Equality Legislation and Reforms”.
  • Applications without financial proposal will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

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.

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: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf