Gender and Political Context Specialist, Women’s Political Participation & Leadership Mapping Activity, Liberia (Liberian Candidates Only)

 GENDER AND POLITICAL CONTEXT SPECIALIST, WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION & LEADERSHIP MAPPING ACTIVITY, LIBERIA (Liberian candidates only)

Social Impact (SI) is a global development management consulting firm. We provide monitoring, evaluation, strategic planning, and capacity building services to advance development effectiveness. We work across all development sectors including democracy and governance, health and education, the environment, and economic growth. Since 1997 we have worked in over 100 countries for clients such as US government agencies, bilateral donors, multilateral development banks, foundations, and nonprofits.

In Liberia, SI supports IBI to implement the USAID-funded Liberia Data, Evaluation, Learning and Technical Assistance (DELTA) with the goal to provide an innovative degree of analytical and advisory services to USAID/Liberia’s Office of Program and Project Development (PPD) and Development Objective (DO) teams in support of the Mission’s project design, performance monitoring and evaluation, and operational learning and adapting.

Background

Liberia’s nascent democratic institutions, peace, and prospects for prosperity are intrinsically linked to its electoral processes. Electoral processes have been relatively peaceful, and institutional capacities for free and fair elections continue to improve. The 2017 general election led to a historic, peaceful power transfer from President Ellen Sirleaf Johnson’s party to the opposition. The 2023 presidential election is expected to be a close contest, and the most significant number of seats will be contested at once since 2011 - the presidency, fifteen of thirty Senate seats, and all 73 seats in the House will be up for election.   

Although Liberia was the first African nation to elect a female president, and while Liberia currently has a female Vice President, all three branches of government remain male-dominated. Globally, Liberia is ranked 156^th out of 162 countries on the Gender Inequality Index and 160^th out of 183 placements on the list of women in national parliaments. Whereas the average percentage of women in national parliaments is 26% for sub-Saharan Africa and 17.4% in West Africa, In Liberia, women make up less than 11% of the 103 seats in the National Legislature. 

The low representation of women at all levels and across branches of Government – especially in the National Legislature – does not bode well for Liberia’s nascent democracy. Liberia has adopted many institutional and legal frameworks to advance women’s political participation and representation. Regarding international obligations, Liberia has ratified the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and its Optional Protocol. Liberia also adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and has ratified The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (The Maputo Protocol). As a member of the African Union, Liberia should also implement the AU’s gender parity principle, meaning that the State should “expand and promote” the AU 50/50 principle at national and local levels, in collaboration with political parties and national assemblies. At the same time, federal policies have been adopted to address women’s political participation and representation. The National Gender Policy (2018-2022) includes a section on women’s participation and decision-making in governance and promotes affirmative action for women, as does the National Government’s Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD) (2018-2023). Pillar One: Power to the People seeks to increase women’s political participation at the national and local levels to reach a target of 30% by 2023.

Project Objective:

USAID/Liberia has requested that DELTA complete a mapping exercise to understand the current environment for women as it relates to political interest and participation.

The purpose of the Women’s Political Participation and Leadership Mapping exercise are to: 

• Provide contextual analysis in comparing barriers to women’s participation in different counties, districts, and regions;
• Map key political players per county and provide specific information to gauge women’s interest in public office at the local, county, and federal levels; 
• Map potential allies for women’s political leaders and explore the differences between communities

The activity will seek to map key state and non-state actors related to women’s political participation in the elections cycle in the run-up to the 2023 general elections. It will also analyze the significant concerns of women who want to play an active role in politics and government.

Data collected will inform and USAID programming in the run up to the 2023 general elections, allowing it to better address local concerns and inform the National Elections Commission (NEC) and the CSO community of priority areas that require immediate action. Information from the political mapping activity will also provide important results for future elections and support capacity building for the NEC, helping improve their outreach to traditional community leaders. 

Position Description:

SociaI Impact is seeking a GENDER AND POLITICAL CONTEXT SPECIALIST, to support this mapping activity. This is a consulting position with an estimated start date of March 1, 2022. The estimated level of effort (LOE) for the Specialist will be 50 days (both in and outside of Monrovia). The Specialist will report to the Team Lead and to the DELTA Deputy Chief of Party and Senior M&E Advisor and work under the supervision of the Assessment and Evaluation Specialist, both based in Monrovia.

Responsibilities:

The Gender and Political Context Specialist is responsible to provide gender and political contextual background and understanding for the mapping activity team and contributing to all aspects of the activity. Namely, the Specialist’s areas of gender and political expertise will be sought after to provide the contextual analysis of barriers to women’s political participation, and identify key players and allies for women’s political participation across multiple counties. They will also provide expertise on the role of gender in the elections cycle. They will support the development of the mapping activity methodology, workplan and design report, collect data using focus group discussions and interviews in Monrovia and in neighboring counties in Liberia, and contribute to writing the draft and final reports. Should the team utilize a survey methodology to capture information on women’s political participation, the Specialist will be responsible to collaborate with the select data collection firm, train enumerators and communicate clear standards and guidelines for data collection and analysis. Throughout data collection, the Specialist will work alongside the TL and communicate weekly with the DELTA management team, as well as USAID where requested. All team members will contribute to the following deliverables:

•         Initial design report and workplan
•         Two powerpoint presentations for USAID Liberia
•         Final report of 25-30 pages
•         2 page infographic brief
•         Participation in any requested dissemination activities

Qualifications:

•         Masters degree and minimum of 8 years of significant experience in democratic governance (DG), gender and public policy including at least 5 years participating in or conducting gender mapping and assessments
•         Proven expertise in conducting operational research (both quantitative and qualitative), monitoring and evaluation and/or implementation research, data analysis and presentation.
•         Significant experience with advanced analysis methods for qualitative and quantitative data
•         Experience with the Liberian political, electoral and economic system and processes is required
•         Familiarity with GIS is a plus
•         Ability to liaise with multiple agencies/clients and exceptional organizational and communications skills,
•         A commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive work and learning environment.
•         Willingness to travel to multiple areas within Liberia
•         Fluency in English is required
•         Proficiency in Liberian English required

Come join our energetic and innovative team! We offer you the opportunity to play a leading role in the growth of our company, work as part of a creative and committed team, and make a difference in the well-being of our world.

To learn more about Social Impact, please visit our website: http://www.socialimpact.com.

SI is an EEO/AA/ADA Veterans Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

Only selected candidates will be contacted for an interview. Please, no phone calls