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.

In Ukraine, by 2029, UN Women aims to ensure that more women and girls, including those at the greatest risk of being left behind, lead, influence, and benefit from inclusive gender-responsive humanitarian action, governance, recovery, rights, and economic growth.

One of the priorities of UN Women’s work in Ukraine focuses on enhancing national and local capacities of government, women’s rights organizations (WROs), and women activists to drive gender-responsive governance, advance the EU accession process, and implement the Women, Peace and Security Agenda while safeguarding the rule of law, human rights and gender equality.

UN Women supported the governmental institutions with the development and update of the State Strategy on Equal Rights and Opportunities of Women and Men till 2030 and its respective Action Plans[1]. It’s a comprehensive strategic document which defines priority consolidated actions of the central executive bodies and local authorities, CSOs and other stakeholders for advancing gender equality in the Ukrainian society. 

The Commission for Coordination of Interaction of Executive Bodies on Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men, with UN Women’s support strengthened requirements for gender mainstreaming in legislation and strategies, advancement of GRB, development of the State Programme on Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence until 2030 aligned with EU standards, and approval of next-phase frameworks on Women, Peace and Security and CRSV.

The Government of Ukraine in cooperation with UN Women developed draft NAP 1325 for the next period and draft updated Law on Equal Right and Opportunities of Women and Men to address changes and new challenges related to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by russian federation, EU Integration and recovery processes. 

UN Women Country Office in Ukraine will contribute to support the Government of Ukraine with implementation of Ukraine’s national and international commitments on GEWE. As part of the National Women’s Machinery, the Government Commissioner on Gender Equality Policy (GCGEP) is a strategic partner of UN Women in advancing GEWE in Ukraine responsible for facilitating the implementation of a unified state gender equality policy, participation in coordinating the work of ministries and other central and local executive authorities on equal rights and opportunities of women and men as well as other tasks anticipated by the Cabinet of Ministers Decree #390 of 7 June 2017.

Therefore, UN Women is looking for a for National Gender Equality Consultant to the Apparatus of the Government Commissioner for Gender Equality Policy to provide expert and technical support with further implementation of the state gender equality policy, coordination and advocacy efforts.

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

The consultant will be reporting to Programme Management Specialist, and will be supported by Programme Analyst, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

The assignment will include but not be limited to the following tasks developed in coordination with the GCGEP Apparatus and UN Women: 

• Expert support in ensuring implementation of tasks defined in strategic gender equality policy documents, including the Operational Plan for implementation of the State Strategy on Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men (2025–2027), the National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325 until 2030 and others;
• Support with providing technical advice, organization and coordination of the gender audit at the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine with the aim of implementing state policy in the field of ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men, in accordance with the provisions of the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men”, the State Strategy for Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men until 2030 and its Operational Plan, serving as a Secretary of the Working Group on conducting such an audit;
• Providing expert advice and inputs to the reviews of draft normative legal acts developed by ministries and other central executive bodies to ensure compliance with the principle of equal rights and opportunities for women and men and EU Gender Equality Acquis, both during the drafting process and once submitted to the Government for consideration;     
• Expert support on monitoring the implementation of state gender equality policy, preparing analytical materials, briefs, presentations, speeches etc.;
• Expert and technical support with other tasks assigned by the Apparatus of Government Commissioner for Gender Equality Policy in coordination with UN Women related to policy advice, coordination and advocacy of implementation of national and international commitments of Ukraine on GEWE.

Outputs

*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, presentations etc. The supporting documents can be submitted in Ukrainian.

 Inputs 

• The Consultant is expected to work using her/his own computer. 
• The Consultant is expected to take mandatory UN Women trainings.

  Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy with visits to UN Women or Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on as needed basis. 

Travel is not anticipated by the assignment, in case the need to travel arises, all travel arrangements will be made based on UN Women’s rules and regulations. 

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

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 Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Good analytical skills. 
• Proficiency in coordinating activities among interagency groups, commissions, and working groups. 
• Strong interpersonal skills to build alliances, negotiate.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team, contributing constructively to shared objectives.
• Ability to adjust priorities and approaches as needed. 

Required Qualifications

 Education and Certification:

• Advanced (Master’s) degree or equivalent in public administration, law, economics, social science, international relations, human rights, gender studies or other related fields.

• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 2 years of relevant work experience (after Master’s degree) in the field of human rights and/or gender equality, governance and public administration, research and development, or other related fields;   
• Proven experience of planning and conducting gender assessments, gender analyses, gender-responsive evaluations, working with gender-sensitive data; 
• Previous experience of providing advisory/technical support to the government institutions on the issues of GEWE. 
• Experience with coordination and technical support of meetings and consultations with government authorities;
• Proven understanding of human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment, and national and international GEWE commitments in Ukraine. 

Languages:

• Fluency in Ukrainian, working level of English is required.

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

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.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.