National Consultant Expert to Support the Coordination of CRSV-related Working Groups

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, UN Women is committed to delivering results across strategic priorities, exercising its triple mandate encompassing normative support, UN system coordination, and operational activities to mobilize urgent and sustained action to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. UN Women has long been actively supporting local priority areas in Ukraine from increased political participation to gender mainstreaming in public policy, and economic development.

Since the start of the Russian full-scale military invasion, Ukraine has rapidly emerged as one of the world’s most complex emergencies. Women, girls and LGBTIQ+ persons have been affected differently, have specific needs and different priorities for recovery. As of October 2023, 56% of the 3.7 million estimated IDPs are women, who make up 93% of the 4.6 million people returning to Ukraine.  Women face significantly increased safety and protection risks. Incidents of gender-based violence (GBV), particularly domestic violence and conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), including trafficking in persons for sexual purposes have drastically increased. As of 1 February 2024, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission (HRMMU) documented 220 cases of CRSV (137 men, 77 women, 4 girls, 2 boys), and the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine recorded 270 cases of CRSV (96 men, 161 women, 12 girls, and 1 boy).

Since the beginning of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, women, women-led civil society organizations and women human rights organizations are playing a crucial role responding to the humanitarian needs, often being the first responders to the needs and protection risks of the most affected by war women, men, girls and boys in the high risks areas. Many grass-roots women’s CSOs have been providing psychological support, protection counselling and free legal aid to survivors of CRSV and their families being the crucial resource of support at the local levels in particular in the locations where the GBV/CRSV survivors have been disrupted due to the war, referral pathways broken, women’s CSOs have stepped up mobilizing resources and providing the highly needed services to CRSV survivors at the community level. Furthermore, women’s CSOs have been instrumental in promoting social cohesion between displaced and host communities in Ukraine, and have played a vital role in international advocacy for peace, recovery and reconstruction, including through reparations to CRSV survivors and other victims of the war.

On 3 May, 2022, Ms. Pramila Patten, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, and Ms. Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, signed a Framework of Cooperation between the Government of Ukraine and the United Nations on the prevention and response to conflict-related sexual violence, that supports the design and delivery of priority interventions in the areas  of justice and accountability as a central pillar of deterrence and prevention. The agreement also addresses comprehensive service provision for survivors, including sexual and reproductive health services, medical and specialized mental health services, legal assistance, and livelihood support. To implement the Framework of Cooperation (FoC) in coordinated way, the Government has created a thematic Working Group on preventing and response to CRSV under the Commission on Coordination of Activities of Central Executive Bodies on Equal Rights and Opportunities of Women and Men.

UN Women has worked closely together with the government counterparts and the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) to support the development of an Implementation Plan for the Framework of Cooperation (FoC), which was adopted by the Government of Ukraine in September 2022, in 2023 the Implementation Plan was updated within the work of the Inter-Agency Working Group on CRSV to reflect the recent developments. Under this plan, UN Women has committed to closely collaborate with Ukrainian authorities along with other UN entities, women civil society organizations and other relevant partners to support national CRSV prevention and support efforts.

The Ukraine Joint Programme on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) has been developed with the aim of strengthening the prevention and response to CRSV in Ukraine by reinforcing national mechanisms through the deployment of cross-cutting policy experts bringing a range of expertise on addressing CRSV from monitoring and reporting to security sector reform. These experts will be deployed both within the UN Country Team (UNCT) and as part of various institutions of the Government of Ukraine in order to contribute to building the capacity of the stakeholders involved in this sector and improving the availability of services to survivors of CRSV.

A Joint Secretariat comprising representatives of the Apparatus of the Government Commissioner for Gender Equality Policy of Ukraine, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine and relevant UN entities will be established to support the Government’s Interdepartmental Working Group in developing and coordinating activities within the Implementation Plan. As a critical component of this project, the Government of Ukraine identified the need to be supported by six national experts on CRSV to be deployed in four government institutions, namely: the Deputy Prime Minister’s office for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, the Apparatus of the Government Commissioner for Gender Equality and Policy of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the National Social Service of Ukraine. Concurrently, a team of Women Protection Advisers, led by a Senior Women’s Protection Adviser (SWPA) in the Office of the Resident Coordinator, will be deployed to support the UN Country Team in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions, especially resolution 2467 (2019), in support of the Joint Secretariat that is responsible for coordinating the overall implementation of the FoC, as co-signatories of the agreement, and its Implementation Plan.  Activities to achieve the expected results under the various workstreams will be implemented on the ground, in collaboration with the WPA Unit and the national experts deployed in the various Government entities for this purpose.

The Coordination Expert will provide technical support to the Office of the Deputy Prime-Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration (DPMO) by contributing to the implementation of the Framework of Cooperation between the Government of Ukraine and the United Nations on the prevention and response to CRSV through coordination of activities of Inter-Agency working groups, commissions and working groups for realization of the Implementation Plan and developing implementation decisions to that end.

The consultant will be reporting to UN Women, and will be supported by UN Women, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

OHCHR, Situation of human rights in Ukraine: 1 August to 30 November 2023,

Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Statistics on CRSV cases.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the UN Women Representative, and direct supervision by the UN Women WPA (Women Protection Adviser), and under the technical guidance of the Head of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s office for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, the National Consultant will provide technical support to the Office of the Deputy Prime-Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration  by contributing to the implementation of the Framework of Cooperation between the Government of Ukraine and the United Nations on the prevention and response to CRSV through coordination of activities of Inter-Agency working  groups, commissions and working groups for realization of the Implementation Plan and developing implementation decisions to that end. 

The assignment will include but not be limited to the following tasks developed and agreed in coordination with the DPMO:

1. Support the DPMO through organizational and managerial advice on the relevant gender-responsive policy recommendations and how to implement decisions taken by the working groups and commissions.

2. Assist the DPMO with supporting coordination of the activities of the interagency groups, commissions and working groups for the implementation of the Framework of Cooperation on CRSV. This includes providing support to the thematic Working Group on preventing and response to CRSV under the Commission on Coordination of Activities of Central Executive Bodies on Equal Rights and Opportunities of Women and Men.

3. Guide coordination with national partners and other stakeholders. This includes coordinating relationships with national partners to support realization of the advancement on the Implementation Plan, raising potential problems and suggesting solutions; identifying capacity-building needs and support partners, as needed.

4. Coordinate the monitoring and reporting of the implementation activities. This includes gathering and compiling all information necessary for monitoring and reporting on the objectives and tasks; monitoring the implementation of activities and the expenditure of funds; drafting and providing inputs to annual and periodic reports.

5. Build partnerships and support, including developing resource mobilization strategies.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

• This is an office-based consultancy (a full-time presence).
• As part of this assignment, upon the prior UN Women approval, consultant might be requested to go on a working mission. If it is necessary for better performance of the assignment UN Women will arrange travel and these expenses will be covered separately to the consultant based on UN travel policy and applicable daily subsistence allowance rates.

Financial arrangements

• Payments will be disbursed on a monthly basis upon submission of the monthly narrative reports by the Consultant and their endorsement by UN Women.
• The level of remuneration will be established based on the UN salary scale.

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.

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: 

• In-depth understanding of CRSV issues, and international legal frameworks
• Proficiency in analyzing gender-responsive policies and providing strategic guidance
• Proficiency in coordinating activities among interagency groups, commissions, and working groups
• Analytical skills, report writing Strong negotiation skills to navigate complex policy environments and drive consensus among stakeholders
• Strong interpersonal skills to build alliances, negotiate partnerships, and drive collaborative advocacy efforts

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in public administration, law, human rights, gender equality, management, economy, social sciences or other related areas is required. 

Experience:

• Minimum 3 years of project management and/or coordination experience;
• Experience of working with state authorities will be an asset;
• Experience with support and facilitation of multiple stakeholders’ activities and liaison with governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, including development partners, and civil society organizations;
• Experience with UN agencies will be considered as an asset; 
• Proven knowledge of gender equality and women’s empowerment frameworks. 

Languages:

• Fluency in verbal and written English and Ukrainian is required