Millennium Water Alliance Request for Proposal – Consultancy Services to Conduct Gender Audit under Kenya RAPID+ Program Jobs in Kenya
Background
The Resilient Arid Lands Partnership for Integrated Development Plus (RAPID+) program is a five-year program running from November 2021 – September 2026 convened and led by MWA. The program has primary funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Corporation (SDC) and contributions and investment funds from private sector actors, four facilitating partners including CARE Kenya, the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Food for the Hungry (FH) and World Vision (WV) and the five hosting county governments of Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir. RAPID+ aims to improve access to water and rangeland services for 200,000 people in the five program counties. RAPID+ activities are anchored on four strategic pillars namely gender equality, market systems development, peace building and knowledge management. Through gender transformative approach (GTA), the program believes will achieve social inclusion, community empowerment and sustainability.
Project Goal and Objectives.
The program goal is to improve access to safe and sustainably managed water and rangelands across the five counties to contribute to resilient livelihoods for communities in a peaceful environment. This goal is pursued by the following two outcomes.
Purpose of the Gender Audit
Gender equality and mainstreaming is a key pillar to achieve inclusivity and empowerment in the RAPID+ program. The gender audits will assist the departments of gender, culture, and youth affairs, water and livestock and related institutions in the 5 counties of Garissa, Turkana, Isiolo, Marsabit and Wajir to identify and understand pertinent gaps in gender mainstreaming. The audit will examine gender patterns within the composition, structures, processes, organizational culture, and management of human resources, and in the design and delivery of policies and services. It will also help assess the performance and management impacts on gender equality in the five counties. The Gender audits will establish a baseline against which progress on gender mainstreaming can be measured over time, identifying critical gender gaps and challenges, and making recommendations to improvements and innovations.
Review Questions/Objectives
To produce knowledge and information on the extent to which gender mainstreaming is institutionalized within the departments and the dispensation of policies, programs, projects, and services (institutionalized gender mainstreaming).
Assess the level of resources allocated to and spent on gender mainstreaming and gender empowerment activities i.e., gender-responsive budgeting at department level (resource allocations).
Provide information on the extent to which gender is mainstreamed in human resources policies including succession management, governance structure and whether there is a gender balance in staffing at different levels of the departments (gender equality and social inclusion).
Provide information on the extent to which gender is mainstreamed in governance systems, structures and institutions within the gender, water and livestock departments (including water utilities, community Water Management Committees (WMCs), Water Resources User Associations (WRUAs) and Rangelands Management Committees (RMCs) supported under RAPID+)
Assess the extent of gender mainstreaming in terms of the development and delivery of gender-sensitive products and services (gender sensitivity).
Set up an initial baseline of performance on gender mainstreaming in the respective departments and related institutions supported by RAPID+ to be used as a benchmark to measure progress on gender equality across time, departments and related institutions, and with other sectors (setting benchmarks).
Measure progress on gender mainstreaming plans/strategies and recommend revisions, if necessary (feedback evaluations).
Identify mechanisms that have contributed to mainstreaming gender within the respective departments and related institutions and document good practices for sharing within and outside the department/s and RAPID+ program counties (building on successes).
Provide recommendations to improve the performance of the respective gender departments in ensuring gender mainstreaming (reflective recommendations).
Suggest capacity/training needs, as well as checklists for programming, communications, and advocacy to help ensure gender mainstreaming in activities and support systems (standardize trainings).
Identify tools, critical technical capacity gaps and challenges in gender mainstreaming and recommend ways of addressing these gaps and challenges towards making gender equity more consistent throughout the gender, water and livestock departments (Standard tools and recommendations).
Roles and Responsibilities
The roles of the consultant(s) shall include the following:
Holding one or more meetings with the respective departments (Gender, Water & Livestock) to introduce the participatory Gender Audit methodology, objectives, and process to obtain their consent while ensuring the highest level of commitment towards achieving gender equality in their departments.
Develop an inception report, detailing the agreed upon study design, methodologies for data collection and analysis, indicators, data-gathering tools, work plan schedule and budget to conduct the assignment, in consultation with MWA and RAPID+ gender focal person and Program staff.
Undertake desk reviews of the following documents: gender policies, strategic plans, HR policies and regulations, administrative and financial rules and regulations, RAPID+ Program documents, assessment tools and RAPID+ Gender Analysis, and all related literature including departmental strategies, research papers, assessments, programs, services, reports, practices, personnel, etc.
Develop or refine quantitative and qualitative data-gathering tools in consultation with MWA and RAPID+ gender focal person and Program staff.
Train data team, plan and coordinate quantitative and qualitative data collection.
Work with the Program Hub and RAPID+ Implementing partners in the gender audit planning and develop audit framework.
Conducting interviews/focus group discussions with staff from county gender, water and livestock departments and other stakeholders.
Assist the county gender, water and livestock departments in creating their Gender Action Plan/s based on identified gender gaps.
Presenting the results of the gender audit (including a section on gender-responsive budgeting) and main recommendations/proposed amendments to the departments, for discussion and review separately and jointly to identify synergies and opportunities for working together.
Prepare for and facilitate a launching event for the results of the gender audit and
recommendations, upon the approval from MWA and in close coordination with RAPID+ gender focal person.
Qualification and Skills Needed
Below are the preferred qualifications for the consultants applying for the consultancy:
Master’s degree (with at least 6 years’ relevant experience) in socio-economic studies, gender studies, social sciences, development studies or any related development fields.
10 years of experience in working on women’s development and gender issues.
Demonstrated understanding of gender perspectives in human rights, humanitarian action, and development projects in the Kenyan ASALs.
Significant experience in conducting gender audits for civil society organizations; public institutions or development partners of at least 2 assignments of similar scope and complexity in the least 6 years.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
Experience with quantitative and qualitative analysis and data collection.
Excellent report writing, analytical, and communication skills are essential. (the consultant shall provide samples of at least 2 reports from previous assignments)
Technical Qualification
Technical and education experience of the team
Understanding of the scope and/or assignment
Proposed methodology and approach.
Demonstrated experience in conducting and coordinating similar studies.
Experience in conducting similar studies in the ASALs.
Excellent report writing, analytical, and communication skills are essential. (demonstrated by providing samples of at least 2 reports from similar assignments)
Consultants with a minimum score of 70% will be considered technically qualified, their applications will proceed to the financial evaluation stage, and they will be invited for an oral interview.
Financial Proposal
Only the financial proposal of the technically qualified consultants will be evaluated.
The maximum number of points will be allotted to the lowest price proposal. All other financial proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.
How to Apply
All applications should be submitted electronically to the following email address: [email protected]
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