1.    Background 

HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation (Helvetas), Concern Worldwide (CWW) and the local government of the North Gondar Zone, have formed a strategic partnership bringing together complementary competencies to address the complex nature of poverty in the North Gondar zone. The overall aim of the Semien Gondor Resilience Project (SEGORP) project supported by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) is to strengthen household and community resilience to climate change through the development of absorptive, adaptive, and transformative capabilities in North Gondar Zone of the Amhara region.

This will be achieved through actions across the following 3 main outcomes.

• Communities build resilience for climate shocks through early warning, disaster preparedness, and sustainable natural resource management.
• Increased diversity and productivity of agriculture through climate smart and nutrition sensitive agricultural technologies and practises.
• Community organisations gained capacities for resilience and adaptation to climate change.

In Ethiopia, there is evidence of climate change starting back 50 years, with increasing temperatures and high variability in rainfall. Climate change exacerbates social, political, and economic inequalities and thus tensions. Extreme weather events such as droughts and floods have negatively affected agricultural growth and food security. In Ethiopia, agriculture is the primary employment sector for women. Women face multiple disadvantages, living under harsh conditions, undertaking burdensome duties outside the home, and carrying the responsibility for domestic work and caregiving. During periods of drought and erratic rainfall, women work harder to provide for their families, often leading to girls leaving school to assist their mothers. These hardships faced mixed with harmful social norms, make women and girls more vulnerable to gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, human trafficking, child marriage, and other forms of violence and violent practices, like Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). These inequalities and injustices, are deeply rooted in cultural traditions and attitudes that define women(girls) as subordinate, resulting in an unequal balance of power between men and women.

Additionally, women and girls spend significant time on unpaid care work including domestic duties, collecting firewood, and fetching water, which negatively impacts ownership over their time, health, and productive resources. Women have less access to natural resources despite depending on them more, even though they bear a disproportionate responsibility for securing food, water, and energy for cooking and heating. They are excluded from decision-making processes and lack the necessary opportunities to participate effectively in decisions related to land, water, food security and disaster risk management, among others. Disasters also disproportionately affect women, and other vulnerable groups such as youth, elderly, and people with disabilities. Gender inequality coupled with the climate crisis and related disasters, is a significant challenge that poses threats to the livelihoods, health, safety, and security of women and girls, youth, and other vulnerable groups in the target woredas.

Future climate change and its impacts in Ethiopia remain uncertain, but it is crucial to address gender and social inequalities and equip, especially women to be able to contribute to mitigation of and resilience to climate and other disasters. It is crucial to ensure a gender lens when designing and implementing resilience projects.  The targeted scope of the intervention area is focused on North Gonder Zone of Amhara Region. The zone has one of the highest poverty indices in Amhara, and Ethiopia. All six woredas are food insecure, of which two woredas have very high poverty indices and three have high poverty indices. A large percentage of households is chronically food insecure and are under the  Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP). The area is culturally very conservative and supports the reinforcement of a set of very traditional social norms that negatively affect women, youth and other left behind and more vulnerable groups.

The SEGORP I project undertook a Gender Analysis and baseline assessment during its first phase. This assessment aimed to critically evaluate the degree and reasons of discrimination and marginalization of women and youth, and how gender norms exacerbate this inequality. The findings of the assessment informed the SEGORP 1 intervention strategy, which placed a strong emphasis on working with, women self-help groups, youth groups and local institutions to address gender gaps. Among key findings, the assessment identified women’s limited engagement in decision-making processes at both the household and community levels as significant gender barriers rooted in gender discriminatory social structures and power relations. Furthermore, social analysis and participatory approaches conducted resulted in SEGORP I to integrate women’s social and saving groups which enabled these groups to prevent child marriages and other harmful practices in their community.

To address these and emerging risks and disparities more comprehensively and systemically, HELVETAS and Concern Worldwide are launching this call for a consultancy to conduct a more intersectional analysis, including, and going beyond gender, for the second phase of the newly designed SEGORP II project.

SEGORP II will address both practical gender and social needs and more strategic priorities, to rebalance care, decision, and power relations, for more inclusive and transformative social equity, equality, and security in the target woredas. 

2.    Purpose and objectives of the Consultancy

The main purpose of the consultancy is to design and carry out an intersectional gender analysis, based upon which relevant recommendations will support HELVETAS and Concern Worldwide to address more systemically gender ad social disparities, impacting especially women’s, youth and other vulnerable groups’ food and livelihood security, rights, and safety,  increasingly threatened by climate change and disasters, in Debark, Janamora, and Beyeda Woredas in North Gonder.

Some of the key factors in addition to gender that should be assessed in relation to intersectionality, include age, , disability, social and economic status, and other forms of identity.

Specific objectives include:

• Identify and assess gender and social attitudes, practices, norms, rules, and relationships in the households and at community level in the target woredas.
• Identify and assess power relationships, and if and how these perpetuate exclusion and inequality?
• Identify and assess if and how women’s participation is impacted by social norms, gendered attitudes, and power relations in the household and at the community level.
• Assess social inclusion and cohesion, (i.e. gender, ethnicity, age, disability, social and economic status), in associations, committees and community organisations and formal decision-making structures.
• Assess if and how gender and other intersectional factors (listed above) influence the decision-making power between women and men in the household level and at community level.
• Identify and assess if and how governance processes and systems  effect gender relations and equal opportunities for women, youth and otherwise left behind groups?
• Identify and assess if and what practical and strategic challenges are there for women and other vulnerable groups for more self-determination and security in  agricultural, and natural resource management.  E.g. women’s access and control over resources such as land and productive inputs, equipment and/or capital.
• Assess and understand how consumption patterns and agriculture-related choices may be affected by gender, age, social and economic status, disability and other identity and intersectional factors.
• Identify and assess if and which institutions, services, and emerging opportunities are available and responding to women’s, and other vulnerable group’s practical and strategic needs and priorities. E.g. farmers training centres, farmers unions and information related to, markets, finance, agriculture, and natural resource management/climate resilience.
• Assess if and how gender and social inequalities and gender-based violence are exacerbated during disaster and conflict .
• Identify and assess social, economic, and communal strategies for more inclusive and safer, climate and disaster resilience in the target communities.

3.    Tasks to be undertaken by the Consultant(s)

The consultant(s) will design and conduct an Intersectional Gender Analysis in the target communities of SEGORP II.

Furthermore, the consultant(s) will provide concrete, relevant and viable, short-, mid- and longer-term recommendations on where and how to address gender and other intersectional factors in the intervention strategy of the project, considering the priority sectors, of livelihood, nutrition sensitive and climate smart agriculture, natural resource governance, disaster risk reduction, and emergency response management in Debark, Janamora and Beyeda Woreda, North Gonder.

The recommendations will inform the approaches and adjustments to the planned activities to enhance gender, social, and economic, equality, equity, security and justice  for more positive systemic changes and impact of SEGORP II.

3.1 Specific Tasks

The consultant(s) will carry out below specific tasks, in close coordination, consultation and where indicated (pre)agreement with designated SEGOPR II partner representatives:

1. Conduct a desk review.
2. Develop and submit an inception report and participate in a kick-off/pre-briefing meeting.
3. Design and agree on the tools and methodologies of the intersectional gender analysis with SEGORP II partners.
4. Identify stakeholders and agree on interview approaches with SEGORP II partners.
5. Plan field work and surveys, according to agreed meetings, logistics and timing with SEGORP II partners.
6. Conduct agreed field work.
7. Develop and submit a draft report and participate in a post-briefing meeting.
8. Update and finalize the report, with annexes according to feedback and agreements from SEGORP II partners and donor.
9. Conduct an orientation on findings and recommendations for all SEGORP II partners’ staff and if  relevant, agreed other key implementing or system stakeholders.

4.    Deliverables

• Inception Report: The consultant is expected to submit an inception report in English, maximum 3 pages.  The report will be based on desk review, and highlight any observations, findings which may affect the focus, methods, timing and/or logistics of the assignment.  The inception report will also  include a draft plan which outlines the tools and methodology development, and detailed work plan until the end of the assignment, including contingency in case of forces majeures, such as a disaster, conflict, pandemic etc.
• Design of tools and approaches for conducting, reviewing, and synthesizing the gender intersectional analysis
• Draft Report: A draft final report in English including an executive summary presenting the key findings of the analysis as well as conclusions and recommendations.
• Debriefing: A PowerPoint presentation in English with the key elements of the draft report: methodology, preliminary findings, and recommendations of the assessment (audience and location to be determined) for discussion and agreement on adjustments for finalizing the report.
• The final report, incorporating feedback from the debriefing and draft report as well as a round to incorporating feedback from the donor should they not be present at the debriefing. The report will be in English, maximum 25 pages,  with annexes.
• A maximum 2-page executive summary in English, which synthesizes  the key findings, conclusions, and recommendations.  A digital copy of all reports will be required by SEGORP II at the end of the assignment.
• All excel hosted data in English and disaggregated by sex and, where appropriate, by age, disability, and other diversities.
• Orientation workshop will be facilitated for SEGORP II staff to create understanding and ownership (participants will be determined)

5.    Methodologies

The consultant is fully responsible to propose and design a suitable methodology and develop tools required for conducting the intersectional gender analysis, data collection, data analysis, interpreting and presenting the results and recommendations in a clear, coherent, systematic, and user-friendly way.

The methodology should include participatory, mixed-method approaches (quantitative and qualitative).

The research should include both a secondary data review and primary data collection (focus group discussions, key informant interviews and quantitative surveys and observations). Stakeholder interviews may be in person or remote, pending accessibility and viability.  Stakeholders must be pre-informed and provide written consent, for both written and any audio-visual materials produced with them.  In case of minors, a designated adult/guardian must consent.

Data should be analysed using appropriate software and methods, applying personal privacy and data security good practices and protocols.

Do No Harm is integrated into all aspects of the assignment, paying attention to gender and social inclusion, hierarchy and power dynamics, local custom, social and environmental responsibility, laws, and conflict sensitivity.

1.    Essential and Desirable Experience/Qualifications

In addition to having previous experience with this type of consultancy, an understanding of the nature of this consultancy, and availability at the preferred time of the indicated timeframe, the consultant(s), must demonstrate below essential experience and qualifications, while evidence of desirable experience and qualifications will be advantageous.

1.1 Essential:

• Post-graduate degree in development studies, gender studies, sociology, social work, social science, psychology, economics (or related field),
• 5-7 years proven experience in conducting gender analysis and assessments, designing, and reviewing projects that promote gender equality and social inclusion. including expertise in gender mainstreaming in various sectors, e.g. climate change, agriculture, natural resources management.
• At least 5 years’ consultancy experience in the field of research and data collection, analysis, and assessment reports
• Has a basic knowledge of Ethiopia.
• Has a basic knowledge of Ethiopia’s Gender legal framework, key policies, and strategies.
• Strong analytical skills
• Proven ability to report on quantitative, qualitative and provide relevant recommendations.
• Very good oral and fluent written English
• Technical and methodical skills for conducting such an assessment.
• Multi-stakeholder and interpersonal relationship management
• Conflict and cultural sensitivity, following a human-rights based and do no harm approach.
• Commitment to and capacity for participatory approaches  etc.

1.2 Desirable:

• Familiarity with GBV (gender-based violence) and women’s economic empowerment is desirable and having worked on these topics in fragile contexts is advantageous.
• Familiarity with North Gonder is a plus.
• Has language skills suited to the area in which the consultancy will take place e.g. spoken and written Amharic.

2.    Timeframe

The Consultancy service is expected to be rendered between February and March 2024, according to the below table.  Detailed work plan to be proposed by the consultants.

3.    Administration and logistics

Final payment is dependent on completion of agreed deliverables and timely submission of the agreed final report in English (as detailed in this TOR).

The consultant(s) will sign and be responsible for respecting a code of conduct, including safety and security protocols.

The consultant(s) will be responsible for arranging their logistics according to agreed budget and work plans with SEGORP II partner representatives.

SEGORP II partner representatives will provide relevant documents and materials for the desk review in due time.