National Consultant on Technical Support to the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade on Gender-Responsive Official Development Assistance

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) and its Optional Protocol.

UN Women in partnership with the Office of the Deputy-Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration (DPM) launched the project “Enhancing accountability for gender equality and women’s empowerment in national reforms, peace and security” (referred to as Reforms Project hereafter) with the goal to support the Government in achieving transformative results 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 efforts on increasing aid effectiveness have made clear that reform of aid management systems should translate into enhanced performance and results for development and gender equality. The Paris Declaration for Aid Effectiveness (2005), Accra Agenda for Action (2008), and Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (2011), as well as subsequent meetings and actions have clearly articulated the need for gender responsive ODA and acceleration and deepening of the implementation of the national priorities through gender responsive budgeting. 

In 2012-2013, UN Women with support from European Commission, conducted a baseline study Gender Analysis of Official Development Assistance to Ukraine. The baseline contributed to enriching the knowledge and subsequent efforts related to gender-responsive ODA in Ukraine and regular mapping of gender equality commitments in the Official Development Assistance and creating an online Gender Equality Dashboard in Ukraine. The Government has demonstrated the commitment to gender-responsive ODA through the Gender Donor Coordination Group, led by Deputy-Prime Minister for EU and Euro-Atlantic Integration.

Aimed at contributing to the increased volume and effective use of aid to implement national commitments to gender equality and women's empowerment, UN Women Reforms Project is working with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade on introducing systems for tracking the allocations for gender equality in the ODA. UN Women will provide policy advice and technical support to the Government on establishing international standards of data generation; establish systems for evidence generation on gender financing gaps; thereby, establish systems to ensure the quality, volume and sustainability of the ODA that corresponds to the gender equality commitments related to national priorities in compliance with the Addis Ababa Action Plan. The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade will also be supported in using Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) - Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Gender Equality Policy Marker for a systematic approach to track the gender-responsiveness of ODA. Given the importance of DAC gender equality policy marker as a key monitoring and accountability tool in the context of 2030 Agenda, the gender equality tracking system will also enable the Government of Ukraine to strengthen the monitoring of progress on SDG Agenda 2030.

As outlined above, UN Women seeks to hire a National Consultant in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MoEDT) to support National Consultant to conduct gender analysis of the ODA and introduce OECD-DAC Gender Equality Policy Marker for ODA tracking. The National Consultant is expected to work in collaboration with an international consultant to be recruited by UN Women, and work closely with the MoEDT focal point during the entire assignment.

Duties and Responsibilities

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

1. Provide support to the International Consultant to finetune the methodology, and workplan for the assignment (2 days) – by 30 April 2019;

2. Provide support and necessary documents to the International Consultant to prepare a report based on the desk-review/ gender analysis of ODA in Ukraine in relation to Ukraine’s national gender equality commitments (using the donor dashboard), which will be aimed at assessing the following (20 days) – by 18 June 2019:

• The volume of aid to implement national commitments to gender equality and women’s empowerment;
• Extent to which the national gender specific priorities of Ukraine are addressed through donor financing
• Extent to which gender is integrated and prioritised in donors' development assistance frameworks;
• Extent to which gender indicators are included in performance assessments/joint reviews carried out by donors (including assessment of implementation of gender national action plans);
• Extent to which gender is included in Joint reviews, TORs/reports and Performance Assessment Framework (PAFs) during the implementation of the programme;
• Extent to which gender responsive aid is prioritized in ODA budget support, including the level of participation and decision-making entrusted to the gender equality experts in donor conferences on financing;
• Extent to which gender expertise is utilized by bilateral and multilateral donors for the design or review of CSPs, PAFs, joint needs assessments, evaluations and joint reviews (incorporated after the first mission of the International Consultant to Ukraine).

3. Provide support to UN Women and the MoEDT to organize the first mission of the International Consultant including consultations and meetings with the key stakeholders. Provide support to International Consultant during the mission to Ukraine and to hold consultations and interviews with the key stakeholders (Parliament, Government (DPM Office, MoEDT, Ministry of Social Policy), donors, international development partners and CSOs) to assess the extend to which gender expertise is utilized by bilateral and multilateral donors for the design or review of CSPs, PAFs, joint needs assessments, evaluations and joint reviews and to identify needs and entry points for establishing a monitoring system for gender-responsive finance tracking and reporting (8 days) – by 12 July 2019;

4. Provide support to the International Consultant to develop a locally adapted methodology, guidance and monitoring system for gender-responsive finance tracking and reporting on ODA using OECD-DAC gender markers (in coordination with the DPM Office and the MoEDT, and in consultations and peer review of the draft methodology by the OECD-DAC experts on the gender marker) (10 days) – by 9 August 2019;

5. Provide support to UN Women to organize the second mission of the International Consultant including consultations and meetings with the key stakeholders. Provide support to International Consultant during the mission to present and discuss the draft findings and recommendations at a multi-stakeholder workshop (8 days) – by 20 September 2019;

6. Provide support to the International Consultant and facilitate the design of a roadmap and training manual to conduct training with the selected ministries’ staff on gender sensitive finance tracking of the ODA (12 days) – by 25 October 2019;

7. Provide support to UN Women and the MoEDT to organize the third mission of the International Consultant including preparation and conducting of the training. Facilitate the training during the field mission of an International Consultant. Prepare report on the training (10 days) – by 25 November 2019.

TOTAL - 70 days

• The reports and all supporting documents should be submitted in English 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. 

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, which will also be the basis for payment on a delivery-by-delivery basis to the consultant.

Financial arrangements

Payment will be disbursed in four instalments as per below schedule as certified by the UN Women Programme Specialist that the services have been satisfactorily performed.

First installment - upon submission of Deliverables 1 (methodology and workplan) and 2 (report) – 22 days;

Second installment - upon submission of Deliverables 3 (first field mission of the International Consultant and consultations) and 4 (locally adapted methodology) – 18 days;

Third installment - upon completion of Deliverables 5 (second field mission of the International Consultant and consultation), and 6 (development of training manual) – 20 days;

Fourth installment - upon completion of Deliverables 7 (third field mission of the International Consultant, conduct training and prepare training report) – 10 days

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

Required Skills and Experience

University Degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Gender Studies, Development Studies, International Law, International Relations, Public Policy and Administration, and other related fields.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of professional experience in gender and organizational development, gender studies, and other related fields;
• Sound knowledge and understanding of international and national best practices, tools and methodologies on gender analysis and mainstreaming, gender-responsive tracking of ODA and gender markers;
• Proven track record of developing methodologies and tools for a gender analysis and mainstreaming and leading trainings and workshops with national governmental institutions;
• Proven experience with conducting a gender analysis and preparing reports for national governmental institutions;
• Advanced understanding of gender equality and women’s human rights;

Languages and other skills:

• Fluent in English and Ukrainian;
• 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, and the interview. 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 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 a desk review and the following technical qualification evaluation criteria:

Technical Criteria

Criterion A – Relevant education:

•  University Degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) University Degree in Gender Studies, Development Studies, International Law, International Relations, Public Policy and Administration, and other related fields) (5 points)

Criterion B – Language skills:

• Fluent in English and Ukrainian (5 points)

Criterion C – Relevant Experience with total for all of the following criterion (35 points) including:

• At least 5 years of professional experience in gender and organizational development, gender studies, and other related fields (7 points);
• Sound knowledge and understanding of international and national best practices, tools and methodologies on gender analysis and mainstreaming, gender-responsive tracking of ODA and gender markers (8 points);
• Proven track record of developing methodologies and tools for a gender analysis and mainstreaming and leading trainings and workshops with national governmental institutions (8 points);
• Proven experience with conducting a gender analysis and preparing reports for national governmental institutions (7 points);
• Advanced understanding of gender equality and women’s human rights (5 points);

Total Obtainable Score for technical criteria – 45 points

Maximum Obtainable Score for the interview – 25 points

Total Obtainable Score for technical criteria and interview – 70 points

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).

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, which 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.). 
• Please include a sample of your previous work relevant to the assignment.

Interested candidates are requested to apply no later than 14 April 2019, 23:59 EEST  by submitting 2 attachments: 1) technical (a Letter of Interest and P-11) and 2) financial proposal to the following e-mail address: hr.ukraine@unwomen.org with a subject “National Consultant on Technical Support to the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade on Gender-Responsive Official Development Assistance”.

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

A.                  Cost Breakdown per Deliverables*

	Deliverables	# of days and Percentage of Total Price (Weight for payment)	Price, UAH (Lump Sum, All Inclusive)
1
2
	Total	max. # of working days (100%)	UAH ……

*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