National Consultant to Provide Expert Support to the Government Office for Coordination on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration on gender mainstreaming in European 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.

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 identified by UN Women Ukraine Strategic Note 2024 to support and complement Ukraine’s response to the ongoing war and its devastating impact on women and girls. It aligns with the UN Transitional Framework (2024) and UN Women’s Global Strategic Plan 2022-2025.

UN Women’s activities in Ukraine are focused on three key thematic areas: Women, peace, security, and gender-based violence, as well as gender-responsive governance, including gender-sensitive recovery and European integration and humanitarian assistance. UN Women in Ukraine provides technical support for developing and implementing sectoral policies, advocacy, social mobilization, and capacity-building activities to government authorities at all levels, human rights institutions, women’s initiative groups, civil society organizations, and the private sector.

Ukraine has made a range of efforts for European integration, starting from an Association Agreement which was negotiated in 2007-2011 and initiated in 2012. The EU and Ukraine signed the Association Agreement in 2014. Provisional application of important parts of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement began on 1 November 2014: on the respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and rule of law; political dialogue and reform; justice, freedom and security; economic and financial cooperation. In 2019 Ukraine incorporated European and Euro-Atlantic integration into its Constitution as a strategic course.

On 23 June 2022, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for the immediate granting of candidate status for EU membership to Ukraine. On the same day, the European Council granted Ukraine the status of a candidate for accession to the EU. On 8 November 2023, the European Commission recommended opening accession negotiations with Ukraine. On 14 December 2023, European Council made historical decision to open negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. The ensuing process of opening of the first clusters of EU Chapters requires enhanced adherence to EU requirements, which includes approximation of EU gender equality law and policy, and the consistent application of gender mainstreaming across all sectors, policy areas, and levels of government. Accession negotiations are complex and require technical administrative expertise and resources for absorbing the EU Gender Equality acquis. Capacities, processes and procedures for consistent gender mainstreaming are to be put in place across sectors and levels of governance, posing a challenge to absorbing the EU Gender Equality acquis.

The Government Office for Coordination on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration (GOCEEI) is responsible for insurance of organizational, expert, analytical, and information support for the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in the field of European and Euro-Atlantic integration. It is one of the UN Women strategic partners to ensure gender mainstreaming to the EU accession process and Gender Equality EU acquis implementation.

To strengthen these efforts, UN Women is now seeking a National Consultant to provide expert support to the GOCEEI in gender mainstreaming in European integration.

‘Gender Equality acquis’ refers collectively to the body of EU laws, rules, resolutions, declarations, regulations, directives and treaties, which explicitly refer to gender equality and make up a subset within the ‘acquis communautaire’. The EU explicitly expects candidate countries and potential candidates, “to progressively align with [the] EU gender equality acquis and have the institutional framework to enforce it”. See: EU Gender Action Plan 2021-2025 (GAP III).

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the UN Women Representative in Ukraine and direct supervision by the Programme Specialist, the National Consultant will provide support to the Government Office for Coordination on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration (GOCEEI) with expert and technical support on gender mainstreaming in EU integration.

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

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.

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

• Developing a roadmap on making gender analysis of the Ukrainian legal framework.
• Supporting with Enlargement Package Reports.
• Developing propositions on how to bring Ukrainian legislation, including sectoral legislation, in line with the EU acquis.
• Providing policy advice on gender mainstreaming to the EU integration processes, including screening process of the Ukrainian legislation to be in line with EU acquis in all chapters of the negotiation process.
• Preparing the presentations and analytical materials on the proposed amendments to the national legislation.
• Facilitating public discussions and dialogues, as well as multistakeholder consultations on gender issues including government, parliament, CSOs, in particular those representing different women groups.  
• Providing expert support to the international consultant to be hired by UN Women to provide expert advice to Ukraine in its EU accession.
• Supporting and organizing training activities to develop the capacity of all relevant stakeholders at the national and local levels on the gender equality EU acquis and EU integration.
• Providing other support within the self-screening exercise and EU accession process as agreed in coordination with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and the Government Office for Coordination on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and UN Women.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a Kyiv based consultancy. This is a partial office-based consultancy.

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:  

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES: 

• partnership building
• negotiation 
• commitment to continuous improvement
• business planning
• reporting

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Advanced (Masters) degree in Law, Public Policy and Administration, Economics, International Relations, Gender Studies, Social and Humanitarian Sciences, or related field is required.

Experience:

• At least 1 year of relevant work experience (after Master’s degree) in the field of human rights and/or gender equality, governance and public administration, civil service or other related fields;  
• Proven experience of providing advisory/technical support to the government institutions on the issues of GEWE.
• Previous experience with the EU institutions and accession process will be considered an asset; 
• Experience with UN Women and other UN agencies will be considered as an asset;
• Proven understanding of human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment, and national and international GEWE commitments in Ukraine; 
• Proven knowledge of EU acquis, human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment frameworks.
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• Experience with coordination and technical support of meetings and consultations with government authorities.

Languages:

• Fluency in verbal and written English and Ukrainian is required. 
• Knowledge of any other UN official language is an asset.

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).