National Consultant on the Issues of Implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention)

Consultant

Contract

This is a National Consultant contract. More about National Consultant contracts.

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.

Gender-based violence against women and girls is not only a violation of human rights; but devastates the lives of women and families across the country. In Ukraine, women constitute 86% of the survivors of rape, and 78% of the survivors of domestic violence[1]. Moreover, since the beginning of the full-scale russian military invasion, Ukraine is rapidly emerging as one of the world’s most complex emergencies. Women are disproportionally affected by the multi-sectoral and compounded impact of the crisis, including increased incidents of gender-based violence (GBV), particularly domestic violence and conflict-related sexual violence[2].

The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) is widely recognized as the most far-reaching international treaty addressing violence against women and domestic violence. Ukraine signed the Istanbul Convention in 2011. Ukraine’s EU candidate bid has bolstered earlier efforts by Ukrainian civil society to promote ratification of the Istanbul Convention. Following intense advocacy efforts of civil society and gender activists, the Parliament of Ukraine has ratified the Istanbul Convention on 20 June 2022. The ratification marks another step forward in Ukraine’s European integration and underlines Ukrainian determination to continue the country’s transformation despite the current challenges posed by the ongoing war.

UN Women Country Office in Ukraine will contribute to the implementation of the Istanbul Convention in Ukraine, in particular within its project “Transformative Approaches to Achieving Gender Equality in Ukraine”, funded by Sweden, aimed at employing 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 will partner with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration (DPMO), as a key national stakeholder, and engage the following key institutions at the same time: the government, the parliament, women’s organizations, media and the private sector.

Upon request from the DPMO and with support of UN Women, the legislation of Ukraine was analyzed in terms of its alignment with provisions of the Istanbul Convention, and elaborated recommendations were discussed at multistakeholder consultations, with engagement of government institutions, academia, civil society, and international development partners. Following the validation of proposed amendments to the legislation by a group of experts, the recommendations were prioritized and communicated with representatives of line ministries in the framework of the Commission on Coordination of Interaction between Executive Bodies on GE (November 2022). To ensure an effective implementation of the Istanbul Convention, there is a need in continuous expert support with legal analysis and monitoring of new legal initiatives, as well as coordination and advocacy efforts to strengthen the synergy between different stakeholders, including Members of Parliament, central executive bodies, academia and civil society.

As part of its work, UN Women is looking for a National Consultant to support the Office of Government Commissioner on Gender Equality Policy on the issues of implementation of the Istanbul Convention through policy advice, coordination and advocacy efforts.

[1] Official UN Ukraine Statement on Ratification of the Istanbul Convention | United Nations in Ukraine

[2] Rapid Gender Analysis of Ukraine | Publications | UN Women – Headquarters

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 legal advice, coordination and advocacy efforts on the implementation of the Istanbul Convention. 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. Development and implementation of a Roadmap on improvement of the legislation of Ukraine in line with provisions of the Istanbul Convention,

2. Contribution to the work on amendments to the present legislation of Ukraine stemming from the implementation of the Istanbul Convention,

3. Organization and facilitation of advocacy events on the draft laws, developed in line with provisions of the Istanbul Convention,

4. Monitoring of draft legal and normative acts, submitted to the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to implement the Istanbul Convention, in terms of gender equality considerations,
5. Contribution (according to the competencies) to cooperation with the Office of Deputy Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration on the coordination of activities of central executive bodies on formulating and implementing the state policy on combating gender-based violence, etc.

Assignment Deliverables:

#

Deliverables

Number of working days

Deadlines

1

Results-based progress report on policy advice, coordination and advocacy efforts provided to support the implementation of the Istanbul Convention.

20 days

By 24 March 2023

2

Results-based progress report on policy advice, coordination and advocacy efforts provided to support the implementation of the Istanbul Convention.

20 days

By 24 May 2023

3

Results-based progress report on policy advice, coordination and advocacy efforts provided to support the implementation of the Istanbul Convention.

20 days

By 17 July 2023

*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

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 5 years of relevant work experience (after Master’s degree) in the field of preventing and combating GBV;
• Proven experience with conducting legal analysis of normative documents (laws/by-laws), developing draft laws/by-laws and providing policy gender-responsive recommendations on GBV;
• Previous experience of providing advisory/technical support to the legislative and/or executive institutions, dealing with issues of GBV;
• Experience with support of coordination of multiple stakeholders’ activities and liaise 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 knowledge of international humanitarian law, human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) and GBV frameworks.

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 a 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:

  Technical Evaluation Criteria

Maximum obtainable Points

Criterion A – Relevant education

• Advanced (Masters) degree in Law, Public Policy and Administration, Social Sciences or related field (Masters – 4 pts, PhD – 5 pts)

5

Criterion B – Language skills

Fluency in verbal and written English and Ukrainian is required.

5

Criterion C – Relevant Experience with total for all of the following criteria

35 including:

• Minimum 5 years of relevant work experience (after Master’s degree) in the field of preventing and combating GBV;

10

• Proven experience with conducting legal analysis of normative documents (laws/by-laws), developing draft laws/by-laws and providing policy gender-responsive recommendations on GBV;

10

• Previous experience of providing advisory/technical support to the legislative and/or executive institutions, dealing with issues of GBV;

5

• Experience with support of coordination of multiple stakeholders’ activities and liaise 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;

5

• Proven knowledge of international humanitarian law, human rights, GEWE and GBV frameworks.

5

Maximum obtainable score for the interview

25

Total Obtainable Score

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; 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
2. 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.

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*

Deliverables

# of days and Percentage of Total Price (Weight for payment)

Price, UAH

(Lump Sum, All Inclusive)

1

2

3

4

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.

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).

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Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org