Thematic Area Experts

TERMS OF REFERENCE  (to be completed by Hiring Office)

Hiring Office:

Kyiv, Ukraine

Thematic Area Expert on Development of Community Systems of GBV Prevention and Response (Coordination and Policy; Multisectoral response to GBV; Costing and financing of municipal/ community GBV prevention and response systems; Specialized GBV service provision)

Purpose of consultancy:

Consultant will support development and sustaining an effective, survivor-centred, integrated and cost-effective system of GBV prevention and response where survivors seek, get access to and receive essential services, and perpetrators are brought to justice at community and municipal levels.

Expert on Development Community Systems of GBV Prevention and Response will be engaged by UNFPA as an independent consultant to perform the tasks in accordance with these terms of reference and in line with the conditions stipulated in the respective Individual Consultant Contract with UNFPA.

Scope of work:

(Description of services, activities, or outputs)

In accordance with the organizational mandate and national development priorities of Ukraine, the United Nations Population Fund implements a country programme of technical assistance to Ukraine for 2018-2022. The programme focuses on the needs of adolescent girls, young people with disabilities and those who have suffered from armed conflict, as well as key populations for HIV prevention. The programme is aimed at contributing to strengthening the national and subnational partnership frameworks for reducing gender inequalities in social, economic and political spheres of life, as well as strengthening national gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response mechanisms, including in humanitarian settings.

Alongside this development work, UNFPA is implementing its GBV Prevention and Response Programme, which strengthen the national GBV prevention and response system, develop functional intersectoral coordination and accountability mechanisms and enhance institutional capacities at the national and regional levels to ensure that majority of gender-based violence survivors seek and have access to good quality survivor-centred services, and Ukrainian society has zero tolerance to GBV.

Within the framework of GBV Programme, UNFPA Ukraine is implementing the EMBRACE project (Enhancing National and Regional Mechanisms to Build Responsive, Accountable & Cost-Effective System of GBV Response and Prevention) with financial support of the Government of UK Embassy in Ukraine and AMBER Project (Achieving Municipalities Breakthrough in Effective Response to SGBV) with financial support of Canadian Embassy in Ukraine in coordination with Ministry of Social Policy and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Following the results of the previous cycle of UNFPA GBV Response Programme, the projects, inter alia, focuses on development of comprehensive GBV Prevention and Response systems on the communities of Ukraine. It will be achieved by making up to 50 municipalities supportive and safe for women and girls through the development of effective SGBV prevention and response systems, resilient and responsive to the needs of survivors, including during and following COVID-19 outbreak. Both above mentioned projects support the UNFPA GBV Programme stream “Cities & Communities Free From Domestic Violence” (CCFDV Project).

In 2021-2022, CCFDV Project will aim to support selected 30 municipalities/communities across the country in developing a comprehensive localized GBV Prevention and Response systems in accordance with the national legislation and policies and to meet the requirements of the Essential Services Package for women and girls subject of violence. Various forms of technical assistance, including innovation and knowledge transfer, and sharing of good practices from neighboring countries will be extended to target municipalities/communities. It is expected that each municipality will establish local inter-sectoral working groups, conduct needs analysis and develop costed actions plans for the establishment of a set of specialized services for GBV survivors such as shelter and /or day care crisis centers, mobile team(s) and referral systems to appropriate and functional health, police and legal assistance support services. Experiences will be documented and presented as guidance tools for dissemination and further replication by municipalities/communities across the country.

Aiming to develop effective GBV response and prevention systems, the project contributes to improving safety 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 sustainable peace and development.

Under the supervision of the Field Coordinator, the consultant will implement a set of tasks, including, but not limited to:

• Provide continuous thematic area (Coordination and Policy; Multisectoral response to GBV; Costing and financing of municipal/ community GBV prevention and response systems; Specialized GBV service provision) expert support to UNFPA GBV Programme, in particular the CCFDV Project activities implementation in 30 selected (targeted) municipalities and communities;
• Identify information sources required for the consultancy (national and local policy documents, laws and other regulatory acts, reports and analytical papers of reports of the National Police etc.);
• Develop quality knowledge products needed for smooth and timely implementation of CCFDV Project and supporting communities /municipalities in achieving sustainable results: guidelines, practical recommendations, templates of the thematic documents, local SOPs and algorithms of interaction of municipal duty bearers, referral cards and maps, drafts of budget programmes and costing tools, needs assessment and monitoring tools etc.
• Ensure continuous knowledge sharing through on-line consultation (webinars, online thematic meetings), facilitation of expert and practitioners communication through online-instruments (web-platform);
• Support capacity development activities in expert thematic area, which include development/revision and adaptation of training/workshops concept notes, curriculums and materials. Conduct or participate in capacity development activities, if needed.
• Provide expert support to UNFPA CO and local authorities with conducting assessments, needs overviews, mappings of GBV service providers as well as capacity needs assessment to identify the gaps in staff understanding of key issues of preventing and response to GBV/DV at local level, develop and provide technical recommendation to municipalities based on needs identified.
• Ensure continuous monitoring of progress in development of GBV response and prevention systems at municipal/community level. Develop analytical papers to document achieved results, risks and challenges in thematic area. Identify opportunities for further interventions.
• Provide UNFPA CO with appropriate information, including monthly, quarterly and annual reports, inputs to the GBV programme Newsletter, UNFPA and CCFDV Project websites;
• Contribute to creation and sharing of knowledge by synthesizing and documenting findings and lessons learned, success stories and best practices, strategies and approaches of the CO, and drafting relevant materials for dissemination;
• Contribute to implementation of case management/case review process in accordance with ESP requirements on municipal/community levels;
• Ensure adequate communication, flow of information and provision of technical expertise between the relevant local and international partners;
• Carry out any other duties as may be required by UNFPA country office management.

Duration and working schedule:

Total assignment duration: May 2021 – March 2022 with possible further extension based on consultant’s performance 

Place where services are to be delivered:

Kyiv city

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 events’ supporting documents (agendas, lists of participants and reports) 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

All reports should be submitted in Ukrainian language, and should contain supporting documents, such as meeting minutes, analytical papers, workshop agendas etc. .

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

Final report to be submitted by the end of assignment.

Supervisory arrangements:

The consultant will directly report and work under overall guidance from the UNFPA Field Coordinator

Expected travel:

Travel to locations where consultant support will be needed

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements:

Education:         

• Minimum Master’s Degree in the field of social studies, international relationships, public administration, social studies or other relevant studies for UNFPA’s mandate.

Experience:       

• At least 5 years of the relevant professional experience. Experience at municipal/community levels would be an asset;
• Working experience in programmes/projects funded by international donors is desirable;
• Sound experience and skills in development of knowledge products, publications, informational materials and guidelines, policy documents in GBV thematic area;
• Experience in conducting trainings, workshops, webinars for GBV duty bearers or experts be an asset;
• Excellent working knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point), Internet, e-mail applications, etc.

Language:          

• Fluency in Ukrainian and Russian languages. Fluency in English would be an asset.

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

The Consultant is expected to work using her/his own computer, but may access the UNFPA office for printing of relevant documents or should he/she be required to work on-site at any point during the assignment.

UNFPA will provide the Consultant with background materials related to the assignment.

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.

Intellectual property 

All information pertaining to this project (documentary, pictures, digital, cyber, project documents, etc) belonging to UNFPA, which the consultant may come into contact with in the performance of his/her duties under the assignment shall remain the property of UNFPA which shall have exclusive rights over their use. Except for purposes of this assignment, information shall not be disclosed to the public nor used in whatever without the written permission of UNFPA in line with the national and international Copyright Laws applicable. All intellectual products developed in fulfillment of this assignment will become property of UNFPA.

The applications with subject line Application for Thematic Area Expert on Development of Community Systems of GBV Prevention and Response should be submitted to ukraine.office@unfpa.org by May 5, 2021.