Gender and Social Inclusion Consultant

CTG overview:

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Background information (our client):

• Our client is an operational arm of the United Nations (UN), supporting the successful implementation of their partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian & development projects around the world. Their mission is to help people build better lives & countries achieve sustainable development.
• Our clients areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management & human resources.

Background information (Yemen):

• The ongoing conflict in Yemen has caused significant disruptions to the supply chain & to the overall availability of services. In light of the reduced or even absent provision of public services, communities have adopted various coping strategies, including using alternate water & energy sources, relying on alternate service providers & community based service delivery initiatives to address the shortfall. Physical damage to infrastructure & the lack of functionality in one sector often spills over into other sectors with significant consequences on both the access to & quality of services, which are often interrelated.
• Given the above continued needs, our client is therefore undertaking a project with the following scope of upgrading & remodelling of the Aden intra urban roads The project for the upgrading & remodelling of the Aden intra urban roads is financed by the government of Japan & implemented by our client with the objective of providing modern, well designed, innovative & sustainable transport solutions to the people of Yemen, specifically to the urban population in Aden. Among other things, the project aims to upgrade & remodel the two road sections under consideration for this assignment as described in this document. The implementation of the project will have to be done in close consultation & collaboration with the government authorities such as the Ministry of Public Works & Highways (MoPWH) Aden office & other relevant local government authorities. Our client will advise on the stakeholders to be contacted & their contact details at the start of this assignment.

Project overall objective:

The project aims to restore road access to critical infrastructure & vulnerable urban communities including the IDPs in the governorate of Aden in support of humanitarian & reconstruction efforts in Yemen, considering climate resilient & gender responsive design approaches. The objective of this project is in line with the following strategies because roads are priority “enablers”:

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) goal 11 (sustainable cities & communities) - Make cities & human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient & sustainable.
• United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks 2022-2024 outcome 3 - By 2024, people in Yemen, especially women, adolescents, girls & those at risk of being left behind, become more resilient to economic shocks by increasing their income security & access to decent work.
• Humanitarian response plan for Yemen (2023) - The project comes as enabler to 2023 Yemen humanitarian response plan strategic objectives which indicate that “strategic objective 2 is to improve the resilience of crisis affected vulnerable people of all ages, women, girls, men & boys, through increased safe, dignified & adequate access to multi sectoral response & durable solutions.”

Outcome:

• The expected outcome of the project is to enhance access to public social services buildings & commercial facilities by providing climate resilient road access to vulnerable people of Yemen, especially women, adolescents, girls, persons with disabilities & others at risk of being left behind.

Outputs:

• Total 2.24 km selected intra urban city roads are rehabilitated to be accessible for users & facilitate people’s access to critical services such as schools, hospitals & other public utilities.
• Access to 450 public social services buildings & commercial facilities is enhanced.
• Approximately 20 - 33.3% (0.2 - 5.8 minutes) of time for travel is reduced. Against the background in the foregoing sections, our client is now seeking to engage a reputable consultant, to carry out a social need assessment of the Aden intra urban roads project.

The objective of this consultancy is to conduct a gender & social inclusion needs assessment of the communities targeted by Aden intra urban roads project in Aden, Yemen (in pre selected locations), including through gender & age sensitive community assessment that includes IDPs, vulnerable & marginalised groups that can reasonably be ascribed to the project. A gender & social inclusion needs assessment report shall be prepared, including the following components:

• A description of the current social & gender related situation with regard to access to roads & public services, including a description of the situation before the intervention & the potential change. A brief description of the relevant intervention activities, participant characteristics & the implementation environment.
• How to include meaningful social & gender considerations in the (rehabilitation) implementation of Aden intra urban roads, ensuring that it meets the needs of women, men, girls & boys as well as vulnerable & marginalised groups & communities.
• Other gender & social considerations & / or recommendations to be taken into account in the overall implementation of the project, to avoid worsening existing gender & social inequalities & promote equal access to services for all & equal ownership of assets.
• An overall conclusion as to whether the project activities can be considered a success, an improvement or the best option in terms of bringing about positive social & gender related changes in access to the public services using the urban roads.

The consultant will need to:

• Conduct a gender & social inclusion analysis providing quantitative & qualitative information & analysis of the gender related & social situation in the areas targeted by the projects.
• Provide clear & tangible suggestions for the meaningful inclusion of gender & social considerations in the project, including for gender responsive (rehabilitation) design of roads within the scope of the project.
• Identify any potential risks of Gender Based Violence (GBV) & Sexual Exploitation, Abuse & Harassment (SEAH) during the implementation of the project & suggest mitigation measures to be put in place in this regard.

Community engagement:

• The consultant shall consider implementing community engagement activities to foster strong relationships & collaboration among project stakeholders. These activities should ensure active community participation throughout all stages of road rehabilitation, aligning with project outputs & results. The engagement strategy should specifically focus on identifying & addressing the community's road rehabilitation & utilization needs.

Requested outputs:

• The final output will be an analytical & operative report, based on documentary review as well as gender sensitive quantitative & qualitative data collection (survey & consultations) among stakeholders & targeted communities, including vulnerable & marginalised groups in the pre selected areas.
• The quantitative data collection should include a household survey targeting a household sample of a certain number of households (final numbers to be mutually agreed between our client & the consultant), based on the final number & size of targeted locations. The qualitative data collection should include as a minimum number of gender sensitive community consultations (FGDs (Focussed Group Discussions), KIIs (Key Informant Interviews) etc.) with a total of participants (male & female) across all selected target communities.

The analysis should as a minimum contain the following sections:

• Methodological note: The methodology will be explained concisely. All the instruments used such as interview guides, focus group guides, list of documents & institutions / persons involved in the analysis, agenda of meetings (if applicable) will be placed in the annex. This section should also contain a brief outline of the challenges / limitations of the assessment.
• Current situation: This concise part will provide an overview on the current situation in the road maintenance / rehabilitation sector in the targeted areas from a gender & social inclusion perspective, illustrated as appropriate with references.
• Project specific & relevant findings: This section will outline the main findings of the analysis relevant to the project, including an SEAH risk assessment for the project.
• Evaluation conclusions & recommendations: Conclusions & recommendations of the assessment should include clear & tangible suggestions for the meaningful inclusion of gender & social inclusion considerations in the project, including for gender responsive rehabilitation design of the selected roads, within the scope of the project. It should also include recommendations for effective prevention & mitigating measures for GBV / SEA (Sexual Exploitation, Abuse) as per the identified risks.

The research methodology will include as a minimum:

• Compilation of a list of reference documents as extensive & detailed as possible & needed.
• Desk review of a number of selected documents from the list above, that may provide the information necessary for the core sections of the gender & social inclusion needs assessment & SEAH risk assessment.
• Design of quantitative and qualitative data collection tools.
• Implementation of a household survey among a minimum number of households to understand the broader gender based & social inclusion needs in relation to the design & rehabilitation of roads, within the scope of the project as well as potential SEAH risks linked to the implementation of the project. This shall include a description of how the participants will be selected & sampling strategy.
• Gender sensitive consultations with community members of both sexes, in order to assess any specific gender based & social needs in relation to the design & rehabilitation.
• Consultations with other relevant stakeholders as relevant.
• The consultant shall ensure the utilization of ethical considerations including data protection & informed consent.
• The consultant shall prepare the data collection tools (survey, FGD & KII questionnaires etc.) & submit to our client for approval before commencement of the assessment, to ensure their correct understanding of the scope & content of the assignment. The consultant shall ensure ethical considerations including data protection & informed consent.

Project reporting:

• The consultant will provide regular updates to our clients team, with weekly meetings on progress & challenges faced.
• The consultant will report to the Project Manager & Diversity & Social Inclusion Officer.
• Our client should be consulted on the design of the data collection tools to ensure their appropriateness to the project context.

Required qualification & skills:

• Postgraduate university degree or equivalent with relevant work experience in development studies, social sciences, gender studies or equivalent.
• Strong writing & communication skills.
• Computer literacy (minimum Word, Excel while Google Suite proficiency is an added advantage).
• Fluency is both Arabic & English is required.

Required professional experience:

• A minimum of five years’ experience in social development & / or gender analysis.
• A minimum of three / five years’ experience with field level gender sensitive data collection.
• Specific experience & expertise on gender & / or social analysis & impact assessment / evaluation, gender & social inclusion mainstreaming, intersectionality & / or women’s participation.
• Knowledge & understanding as well as experience of working in the Yemeni context is essential.
• Demonstrated experience in the use of quantitative (surveys) & qualitative research methods (FGDs, KIIs, outcome harvesting, most significant change, interviews etc.).
• Ability to travel & develop the work on the project site.

Desirable professional experience:

• Experience in projects, programs or research / impact assessment related to infrastructure development & / or road maintenance.

Team management:

• This role has no team management responsibility.

The expert consultant will be engaged to lead the assignment. The consultant must be a local expert with demonstrated experience & presence in Aden, Yemen. Upon appointment, s / he will have to prepare & submit a proposal including budget for hiring a team to implement the impact assessment study, including through field level data collection. The proposal should include:

• Implementation proposal: A detailed proposal outlining the consultant's approach to implementing the assignment, as described in these Terms of Reference (TOR).
• Financial proposal: A detailed breakdown of costs, aligned with the activities outlined in the implementation proposal.
• Team member information: Titles, names & CVs of all proposed team members who will contribute to the implementation of the assignment.

After appointment, the lead consultant will have 4 weeks to draft & submit the proposal & mobilise the team. The expected duration of the entire assignment, including proposal submission & team mobilisation shall be 9 weeks over 2 months maximum.

Deliverables & reporting:

• An inception meeting virtually will be held within the first days of the assignment, covering details of the assignment for the project. A longer induction / orientation session on our clients work modality, Gender Equality & Social Inclusion (GESI) & Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse & harassment (PSEAH) commitments etc. will be conducted within the first week of the assignment to give the consultant a better understanding of our clients GESI & PSEAH approaches & methodologies that might be relevant to the assignment.
• An assessment implementation proposal including financial proposal & team composition to be submitted after 10 days from the start of the assignment, outlining the consultant's understanding of the TOR. The proposal should include a work plan & timeline for the implementation of the assignment. Our client shall approve the implementation proposal & budget before the consultant can proceed with the assessment. Once approved, the consultant should proceed with the mobilisation of the assessment team (Data Collectors etc.).
• Following data collection & analysis, a draft final report of maximum 25 pages (excluding annexes) in the format provided above to be submitted for comments from our client two weeks before final submission. The final report (as well as previous deliverables) must be of very high quality, including language. The findings, analysis, conclusions & recommendations should be thorough & the link between them should be clear. The recommendations should be concrete & realistic & presented in a logical structure following on their importance & level of details.

Other relevant information:

• Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply for this role.
• Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to apply ASAP. CVs will be reviewed on a rolling basis.