National Consultant Gender-Responsive Budgeting

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.

Job Description

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 supports the Government and civil society to uphold national and international commitments on gender equality and women’s rights, including CEDAW, the Beijing Platform for Action, the Women, Peace and Security agenda, and EU accession obligations.

Current programming responds to the gendered impacts of the war while strengthening institutions to deliver inclusive recovery and reconstruction. This work aligns with the UN Transitional Framework, UN Women’s Strategic Note 2024–2025 and contributes directly to the priorities of the UN Women Strategic Plan 2026–2029, particularly gender-responsive governance, public finance accountability, and financing for gender equality. UN Women’s portfolio focuses on: (i) Women, Peace and Security and prevention of gender-based violence;

(ii) gender-responsive governance and public finance, including gender-responsive budgeting (GRB); and (iii) gender-responsive recovery, humanitarian response, and European integration.

Across these areas, UN Women provides policy advice, technical assistance, and capacity development to national and local authorities, oversight institutions, and civil society to ensure that public resources equitably address the needs of women, men, girls, and boys. The Ministry of Finance (MoF) is a key partner leading the institutionalization of GRB within Ukraine’s public financial management (PFM) system. Since 2014, gender approaches have been progressively integrated into programme-based budgeting, with rollout to all ministries and Key Spending Units.

Foundational measures included incorporation of GRB into the PFM Reform Strategy, medium-term budget planning, and methodological guidance for gender analysis of budget programmes.

Despite wartime pressures, Ukraine continues advancing PFM reforms in 2025–2026. Key developments include implementation of the updated PFM Reform Strategy (2022–2025 and subsequent extension), strengthened medium-term budget planning and performance-based budgeting, amendments to the Budget Code to enhance fiscal transparency and accountability, digitalization of budget planning and reporting systems, and alignment with EU acquis requirements under the accession process. At the same time, significant public and donor resources are directed toward recovery and reconstruction, social protection, services for internally displaced persons, and human capital investments.

These reforms create critical entry points to embed gender analysis, sex-disaggregated indicators, and gender impact assessments into budget formulation, execution, and monitoring to ensure equitable and effective use of funds.

In 2023, UN Women conducted a national mapping of GRB implementation across state and local levels. While policy frameworks are in place, gaps remain in institutional capacity, consistent use of data, and tracking of gender equality results. Strengthening accountability and linking budget allocations to measurable gender outcomes are priority areas for government and partners.

Supporting gender-responsive public finance directly contributes to the UN Women Strategic Plan 2026–2029 by advancing financing for gender equality, stronger governance and oversight systems, and women’s leadership in recovery and peace building. Embedding GRB within Ukraine’s reconstruction architecture will help ensure that large-scale investments deliver inclusive, evidence-based, and sustainable results.

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