Purpose of consultancy:

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. The Fund operates globally since 1969 in more than 150 countries and territories. UNFPA focuses on women and young people, because these are the groups whose rights are often compromised. UNFPA has been active in Ukraine since 1997.

Since the start of the large-scale military invasion of Russia to Ukraine in February 2022, UNFPA implements a comprehensive nationwide Humanitarian Response Plan to provide life-saving GBV and SRH services to women and girls across Ukraine. Through its GBV Response and Prevention Programme, UNFPA contributes to improving safety and security of women and girls, and thus, their willingness to participate in community life, including in conflict-affected communities. Women’s engagement and empowerment in community dialogue, including in displacement, is essential for laying a strong foundation for recovery and sustainable peace and development.

Women’s economic empowerment is a factor of utmost significance in the process of breaking the cycle of violence and preventing the domestic violence in general. Since November 2020, GBV Prevention and Response Programme implements a strand on economic empowerment of GBV survivors. To enhance the work of online Hub, and assist vulnerable women who don’t have means to receive online support, UNFPA sets up 7 offline Women Career Hubs.

The initiative Women Career Hub (Vona Hub) https://vonahub.org.ua/ focuses on increasing women’s economic autonomy and resilience by offering employability support, business guidance, professional development and connecting survivors to employment and business opportunities. The following models of support are provided under the framework of Women Career Hub (WCH): 

• Career and business support from counsellors (consultations on professional skills acquiring, individual support in job search, opening/restarting own business).
• Mental support for GBV/DV survivors.
• Organization of professional courses for women seeking support in difficult life circumstances, including ones suffered from domestic violence, with aim to expand the employment or business opportunities.
• Provision of seed funding to launch/support social entrepreneurship initiatives for GBV survivors.
• Organization of training sessions for employment centres to build their capacity regarding GBV/DV knowledge, GBV/DV response and prevention for comprehensive employability support to GBV/DV survivors.
• Organization of training sessions for social services to build their capacity regarding effective employability and business support to GBV/DV survivors.
• Organization of tailored training sessions for business companies on Workplace GBV response and prevention mechanisms.

The overall purpose of the consultancy is to provide support to build economic security for GBV/DV survivors and women at risk.

Scope of work:

(Description of services, activities, or outputs)

The consultant will implement a set of tasks, including, but not limited to:

1. Provide tailored, individual, expert, confidential online or/and offline career and/or business counselling, and group training sessions, supporting WCH clients (women survivors or at risk of GBV/DV) in gaining and retaining employment or starting their own business that will facilitate re-building of their lives:

Developing and implementing Individual Economic Security Plans (IESP).

2. Build and maintain sustainable partnerships/relationships with social services, state employment services, GBV/DV specialized services, legal aids services, local authorities, CSOs in order to:

• Identify and engage new, eligible participants into the WCH project;
• Address survivors’ career needs in a more integrated and complex manner.

3. Support identification and engagement of women and girls into the WCH educational projects (IT, Entrepreneurship, vocational courses etc.):

• Conduct outreach activities to identify and engage eligible participants;
• Organize and conduct screening interviews;
• Provide the list of selected participants for course/training programme;
• Develop IESP, Support women during their studies,
• Provide career and/or business support for at least three months after course completion.
• Provide regular support to the users of the WCH platform https://vonahub.org.ua/, provide consultations, invite the eligible users to the career/business support program (to become WCH clients);

4. Build and maintain sustainable partnerships/relationships with employers to support the provision of employment opportunities for the participants of the WCH project:

• Market the WCH project to employers through cold calling via phone, e-mail and in-person to create job placement opportunities;
• Identify, develop and retain strong business partnerships with employers and community agencies.
• Organize mentorship programs with business partners for WCH clients.

5. Organize free sessions with WCH psychologists upon clients’ request.
6. Ensure visibility of the WCH project implementation through public relations, advocacy, working with the mass media and other communications activities.
7. Contribute to creation and sharing of knowledge by synthesizing and documenting findings and lessons learned, success stories and best practices, strategies and approaches, and drafting relevant materials for dissemination.
8. Coordinate project activities with local authorities and stakeholders, ensure access to available technical expertise, good practices and knowledge and contribute to the development and implementation of UNFPA projects related to economic empowerment of GBV/DV survivors and women at risk.
9. Coordinate organization of events such as conferences, trainings, events, operational updates, regarding economic empowerment of GBV/DV survivors and women at risk.
10. Elaborate guidance documents on aspects of career and business counselling support of WCH clients, produce high quality, reader-friendly materials for Women Career Hub site.
11. Conduct monitoring and evaluation of effectiveness of employability support to GBV/DV survivors and women at risk:

• Provide timely data collection using tools for evaluation of effectiveness of employability support to GBV/DV survivors provided by UNFPA CO;
• Conduct and supports frequent surveys for monitoring and evaluation activities;
• Ensure regular collection of confidential feedback from WCH clients regarding their experience using the form provided by UNFPA CO;
• Maintain statistical data and generate reports for GBV Project Coordinator;

12. Perform other job-related duties as assigned by UNFPA country office management.

Duration and working schedule:

Starting date: July 1, 2023 (tentatively);

Duration: till March 31, 2024.

Place where services are to be delivered:

Kryvyi Rih/Kharkiv/Chernihiv/Sumy

Delivery dates and how work will be delivered (e.g. electronic, hard copy etc.):

Work Plan of IC performances and deliverables based on scope of work will be agreed additionally on monthly basis and in line with agreed work plan of the consultant.

Reporting of deliverables (based on approved work plan)

1. Monthly time-sheets and brief progress reports about implemented activities and achieved results with attached monitoring documents submitted

Deadlines: Monthly, by 5th of the next month

2. Final report about the progress and achievements, lessons learnt and recommendations submitted

Deadline: By the end of the contract

Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadline:

Monitoring and progress control will be done by GBV Project Coordinator through regular communication and working meetings.

Supervisory arrangements:

This consultancy will be directly supervised by GBV Project Coordinator

Expected travel:

Travel to locations where consultant’s support will be needed

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements:

Education:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in economics, business administration, HR, social sciences or related fields;
• Minimum two years’ experience in talent management, business development, employability counselling, career coaching or related areas of professional development;
• Knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of business, employment legislations, labour market information and resources in Ukraine;
• Knowledge of Ukrainian and international best practices of women economic empowerment, employability support for GBV survivors will be a strong benefit;
• Excellent communication, negotiation, interpersonal and time management skills with great attention to detail;
• Excellent analytical and writing skills.

Language: Excellent command of written and spoken Ukrainian.

Knowledge of English will be an advantage

Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner (e.g support services, office space, equipment), if applicable:

Additional services could be provided upon UNFPA request and authorization.

The Consultant is expected to work using her/his own computer. UNFPA will provide the Consultant with background materials related to the assignment.

The consultant is responsible for his/her travel and accommodation arrangements during the missions and should include relevant costs to the fee.

Other relevant information or special conditions, if any:

Consultancy fees will be paid in Ukrainian Hryvnias through equal monthly instalments deposited in the consultant’s bank account, after acceptance by UNFPA of the progress and summary reports on the services delivered by the consultant.

Any remarks, proposals, complaints or claims to the consultant regarding services being provided in line with these terms of reference should be submitted to the consultant in writing within 10 days of submission of consultancy deliverables or reports by the consultant.

The scope of works to be performed by the consultant under these terms of reference, as well as other conditions of the consultancy, could be modified, if required, through a written agreement between the consultant and UNFPA.

Application Process

The consultant will be identified via open-call competitive selection process.

To be considered for the role, one needs to submit to ukraine.office@unfpa.org by 15 June 2023 an application comprised of the following documents:

• Professional CV;
• Motivation letter;
• Brief outline (up to 1 page) of the structure of the Individual Economic Security Plan (IESP) for women in difficult circumstances, including GBV/DV survivors, women with disabilities, etc.;

Only complete applications received by the deadline will be evaluated.

In the subject of the letter, please state: Application for Consultant to build economic security for GBV/DV survivors.