Consultant_ Gender and Inclusion Expert

1. PROJECT BACKGROUND

The Gender-Responsive and Inclusive Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the West Bank including East Jerusalem (GRIT) is a five-year project (2019-2024) funded by the Canadian Government and implemented by the Lutheran World Federation Jerusalem Program (LWF Jerusalem) in partnership with Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR).

 

LWF Jerusalem is a country program of the larger Lutheran World Federation based in Geneva, Switzerland. The LWF Jerusalem Program is a multi-faceted program of support and capacity building to the Palestinian people that includes the Augusta Victoria Hospital, Village Outreach Program, and the Vocational Training Program, which has been operational for over 70 years. CLWR has been a partner of LWF for more than 65 years and the two organizations currently work together on humanitarian and development projects in 7 countries.

The GRIT project will contribute to poverty reduction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank by supporting women, including women with disabilities (WWD) to engage in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) opportunities that are likely to lead to gainful employment or self-employment.

The primary objective of the project is to increase the gender-responsiveness and inclusivity of the Palestinian TVET system to improve learning and employment outcomes for women including women with disabilities (WWD). This objective will be achieved by improving women’s access to training opportunities, strengthening the functional and technical skills of trainees, and bolstering the gender-responsiveness and inclusivity of the broader Palestinian TVET system. The Project will be implemented through seven TVET institutes to provide wide geographic coverage.

2. CONSULTANCY ASSIGNMENT
   • – PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT:

The GRIT Project is uniquely designed to address the root causes of gender inequality to achieve improved and equitable learning and employment outcomes for women and girls, including WWD, in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Accordingly, institutional reform, resource development, training and awareness raising is necessary to increase the capacity of TVET institutes to meet the unique needs of women, including women with disabilities and encourage their participation in TVET.

 

The GRIT Project is seeking an experienced gender and disability inclusion expert to conduct participatory gender and inclusion audits of 3-4 vocational centers and schools and to develop practical, context-specific resources based on the audit findings.  The practical resources will be designed to advance gender and inclusion in the Palestinian TVET system, to be used by TVET institutions and other stakeholders.

This assignment builds on seven gender and inclusion audits that took place at partner TVET institutes in previous years of the project. These audits involved a thorough review and assessment of institute policies, documents, mechanisms, and organizational structure in addition to focus group discussions with management, staff, teachers, and students as well as key informant interviews. The Consultant is expected to use the same approach, methodology and tools to conduct the additional gender and inclusion audits described in this assignment.  Furthermore, the types of resources to be developed will be informed by the previous audit findings.

2.2 – FOCUS OF ASSIGNMENT:

The consultant will be expected to complete the following interventions:

 

1) Gender and Inclusion Audits: The consultant will conduct a comprehensive gender and inclusion audit of 3-4 partner TVET institutions, which will be used to inform the development of an institute-level action plan that will outline the policy changes that need to be made and the support measures that should be put in place to better meet the practical and strategic needs of women, including women with disabilities. The audit will assess the institutionalization of gender equality and inclusion through an assessment of policies, systems, programmes, staffing, budgets, services, structures, and physical environment.  The consultant is expected to adopt the same methodology used in the completion of previous gender and inclusion audits. All relevant files and resources will be shared with the Consultant prior to conducting the audits.

The Gender and Inclusion audit will assess the following areas at each institute:

1. Assess the existence and efficiency of gender-equality and inclusion policies;
2. Identify the adoption of any national or international policy and/or strategy related to gender-equality and inclusion;
3. Assess the existence and application of gender-responsive and inclusion monitoring and evaluation tools;
4. Assess the mainstreaming of gender equality and inclusion in programmes and budgeting;
5. Evaluate staff capacity and competence in gender equality and disability inclusion expert;
6. Assess the existence and efficiency of complaints response mechanisms;
7. Assess the code of conduct adopted by the institutions and whether it includes inclusion and gender-equality standards and principles (including sexual harassment policies)
8. Review and assess existing strategies to encourage female participation in TVET;
9. Review and assess existing communication materials (website, promotional materials, social media pages etc.);
10. Assess TVET institutes physical environment focusing on whether it is safe, inclusive, and accessible;
11. Identify coordination through partnerships and/or networks with women and PWD organizations (CBOs, CSOs, government bodies and centers); and
12. Identify key challenges in developing and implementing institutional gender and inclusion policies

Based on the findings of each audit, the Consultant will prepare an audit report for each audited institute, that describes the findings of the audit, offers recommendations as well as specific guidance for each institute’s to consider in the development of their action plans.

 

2) Develop two practical, context-specific resources on gender and inclusion in the Palestinian TVET system to be used by TVET institutions and other stakeholders: The types of resources to be developed will be based on the results of the gender and inclusion audits and contextualized to a TVET setting. For example, findings from the first-round of audits identified the need for a gender analysis tool to be used in TVET program/course design.  This resource development should be prioritized, along with other resource suggestions identified by the Consultant and approved by CLWR/LWF. Other potential resources to be developed include but are not limited to safeguarding resources, private sector engagement criteria and a course evaluation tool that considers gender and inclusion integration in the curricula.

 

3 – Key Deliverables:

The main deliverables for this assignment are the following:

1. Conduct participatory gender and inclusion audits of 4 TVET institutes using methodology and tools provided by GRIT. A comprehensive review of previous audit reports and findings is required.
2. Prepare an institute-specific audit report for each audited institute, outlining recommendations and support measures necessary to better meet the practical and strategic needs of women and women with disabilities. A prescribed report format will be provided to the Consultant by GRIT.  Prior to finalizing the audit report, a draft must be shared with GRIT staff and the institute for verification. Comments and feedback from this process must be reflected in the final version of the report.
3. Develop 2 practical, context-specific resources identified through audit findings. Specific resources to be developed include a gender analysis tool to be used in TVET program/course design and a second resource to be suggested by the Consultant and approved by CLWR/LWF.

 

Note that all deliverables must be produced in English and in Arabic. Copies of all research, data collection tools and raw data (including but not limited to research notes, data sets, survey responses, transcriptions, audio recordings, etc.) must be submitted as part of this assignment.  LWF Jerusalem reserves full ownership and claims intellectual property produced from this assignment.

 

4-MODALITIES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

 

4.1 -DURATION

This contract is a six-month contract and shall be renewable subject to project needs.

 

4.2. TARGET INSITUTES

The institutes to be audited under this assignment are based in Bethlehem, Qalqilya, Ramallah.

 

4.3 HUMAN RESOURCES

The Consultant must assign the required staff to achieve the required deliverables within the timeframe and budget allocated for the study provided under the overall financial Offer by the Consultant.

 

4.4 REPORTING

The Consultant will work closely with LWF team members; however, the Consultant will primarily coordinate and work closely with the LWF-GRIT Gender and Inclusion officer to ensure a proper flow of information and feedback from and to the Consultant. The Consultant is expected to coordinate all aspects of this assignment with GRIT staff and to submit all required deliverables through the Gender and Inclusion Officer for review and approval prior to proceeding with any of the activities.

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

• Education and Certification of the staff assigned to work on this assignment:
• Postgraduate Degree in gender studies, international relations, and/or development studies.
• Core Competencies:
• Expertise in gender responsive programming, particularly women’s economic empowerment and disability inclusive education evidenced by previous projects and/or consultancies carried out for education and/or governmental organizations
• Knowledge of Palestinian TVET sector is required
• Excellent analytical, research and presentation skills required
• All key deliverables must be produced in English and Arabic. Strong proficiency in the English language is required.
• Experience:
• Previous experience conducting institutional audits and promoting institutional reform;
• Previous experience using research and analysis to develop practical tools and resources;
• Strong research ethics demonstrated through previous work;
• Experience in disability inclusion programming, including previous experience/connections working with disabled persons organizations
• Proven experience of facilitating workshops and group discussions using participatory and innovative approaches
• Skilled in the use of primary and secondary research methodologies, data collection methodologies and data analysis;

6. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

The evaluation committee, appointed by LWF, will evaluate the proposals on the basis of their responsiveness to the Terms of Reference, applying the evaluation criteria or/and sub-criteria, according to the following pointing system:

• 70% for the technical evaluation.
• 30% Financial evaluation.

7. REMUNERATION AND PAYMENT MODALITY

The Consultant will be paid according to achieved deliverables based on the payment schedule that will be set in the agreement/contract.

This letter is not to be construed in any way as an offer of contract. Your proposal could, however, form the basis for a contract between you and the Lutheran World Federation. consultants are encouraged to acknowledge receipt of this letter by E-mail to Rawan Abu Ghazaleh at [email protected]

 

LWF reserve the right to request any additional information or seek clarifications from the consultant to ascertain responsiveness of proposals received.

 

The LWF reserve the right to award the contract to more than one responsive consultant.

 

The consultant shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of the proposal, and LWF will in no case be responsible or liable for those costs.

 

The proposal and all correspondences and documents to be submitted by the consultant shall be written in the English language.

 

The proposal will be verified and evaluated for their correctness while taking into consideration the qualification and requirements, price offer, and the proposed technical offer.

 

The LWF reserve the right not to accept any of the proposals, and is not bound to award the contract to the lowest proposal.

 

The LWF have the right to cancel the bidding procedure at any moment. In the event of such canceling the consultants are not entitled to any indemnification whatsoever.

 

Proposals shall remain valid for a period of two months after the date of proposals submission.

 

Proposals for this consultancy should be submitted to (LWF procurement unit Rawan Abu Ghazaleh at [email protected] and should include the following:

 

A technical proposal based on the requirements outlined in this ToR.

The technical proposal should include, the most recent CV of the applicant (highlighting relevant experience, knowledge and qualifications requested under this ToR).

Sample documentation relevant to this TOR and prepared by the applicant

A financial proposal and detailed cost breakdown per unit per each main deliverable including daily rate. The cost breakdown should consider the following:

Deliverable/s Breakdown

No. of working days

Unit Cost/day (NIS)

Total

Notes

Deliverable 1: Conduct participatory gender and inclusion audits of 4 TVET institutes using methodology and tools provided by GRIT.  A comprehensive review of previous audit reports and findings is required.

 

Deliverable 2: Prepare an institute-specific audit report for each audited institute, outlining recommendations and support measures necessary to better meet the practical and strategic needs of women and women with disabilities.  A prescribed report format will be provided to the Consultant by GRIT.  Prior to finalizing the audit report, a draft must be shared with GRIT staff and the institute for verification. Comments and feedback from this process must be reflected in the final version of the report.

 

Deliverable 3: Develop 2 practical, context-specific resources identified through audit findings. Specific resources to be developed include a gender analysis tool to be used in TVET program/course design and a second resource to be suggested by the Consultant and approved by CLWR/LWF.

 

A financial proposal including hourly rate/s expected.

The financial proposal should include: Complete cost estimate that includes both the fee as well as any ancillary costs to be incurred, such as transport, taxes, fees and costs of workshops in the scope of the evaluation etc.

The consultant should submit zero vat invoice and to submit a valid deduction at source if not available a 10% will be deducted from his compensation.

All prices must be VAT excluded.

Contact details (email and telephone number) of at least two referees.