Job Title: Gender Impact Assessment Consultancy
Hiring Organization: International
Rescue Committee
Location – Locality: Nairobi
Location – Region: Kenya
Industry: NGO
Job Type: Full
Time
Salary: KES
Date Posted: 07/19/2024
The recent floods (April-May 2024) in Kenya have been unprecedented in scale and impact, resulting in extensive livelihood losses and significant population displacement. In Tana River, Mandera, Garissa, and Turkana counties, more 78,992 people have been affected, with over 106,000 individuals displaced from their homes in these 3 counties according to the Kenya National Disaster Operation Centre, MAM impact data as of mid-May 2024. Floodwaters have inundated agricultural land, destroyed infrastructure, and disrupted access to essential services such as health care, education, and water. The frequency and severity of these floods have exacerbated pre-existing vulnerabilities, particularly among women and girls, who face increased risks of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and other protection issues.
In these 3 counties, the floods have severely
impacted the safety and well-being of women and girls. Health facilities have
been damaged or rendered inaccessible, leading to disruptions in essential
services. The displacement and loss of livelihoods have further heightened
these vulnerabilities, as traditional support networks are disrupted, and
resources become scarce.
Women and girls are at increased risk of GBV,
including domestic violence, sexual exploitation, and abuse, as they struggle
to access safe shelters, adequate sanitation facilities, and other basic needs.
The IRC’s presence in these areas is crucial to
address the urgent protection needs exacerbated by the floods. The organization
aims to assess the gendered impacts of floods with a specific focus on GBV,
ensuring that the emergency response is well-informed and effectively meets the
needs of the most vulnerable populations.
The gender impact assessment will provide crucial
insights into the differential impacts of the floods on men, women, boys, and
girls, highlighting how gender roles and responsibilities have been affected.
It will examine how women and girls are coping with the crisis, the barriers
they face in accessing services and resources, and the support systems
available to them. The assessment will also explore the intersectionality of
gender with other factors such as age, disability, ethnicity, and socio-economic
status to provide a holistic understanding of the vulnerabilities and needs of
different groups.
By addressing these issues, the IRC aims to
strengthen its emergency protection response, ensuring that it is
gender-sensitive and inclusive. The findings from the gender impact assessment
will inform the design and implementation of GBV prevention and response
programs, enhance coordination with other humanitarian actors, and advocate for
increased resources and support for affected communities. This approach will
help build resilience and promote the safety and well-being of women and girls
in the face of future disasters.
IRC Presence and Programmes
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a
non-governmental organization that provides emergency aid and ongoing support
to refugees and people displaced by conflict, persecution, or natural
disasters. The IRC supports local host communities and refugees in becoming
self-sufficient, focusing on protection, health, education, economic
well-being, power, and safety.
The IRC implements Health, Nutrition, Protection and
Rule of Law, GBV, Education and Livelihood programs in Garissa and Turkana
counties. The organization has a presence in other parts of Kenya, including
Nairobi, West Pokot, Tana River, and Kajiado, either directly or through
partners. The IRC has a tradition of evidence-based programming through robust
monitoring and evaluation systems and receives funding and technical support
from UNFPA for SRH and GBV interventions in its field sites.
Rationale
IRC and its partners need current, pertinent
information about the gendered impact of floods, protection needs, prevalent
types of GBV, the needs of survivors, the gaps in responding to these needs,
and the factors influencing girls’ and women’s vulnerability to and resilience
against GBV. A Gender Impact Assessment will assist in advocacy within the
humanitarian system for funding and action throughout humanitarian aid for
lifesaving GBV response and the design and implementation of effective GBV
prevention and response programs.
Overview
Together with partners, IRC has been implementing
integrated emergency flood response activities. Considering the worsening
situation, the IRC aims to conduct a detailed Gender Impact Assessment to
understand the basic facts about the GBV situation and the gendered impacts of
the floods. This assessment will inform IRC and its partners in planning to
improve emergency protection responses, aiming to meet the needs of survivors
and diverse clients and reduce the vulnerability of women and girls to GBV in
Garissa, Tana River, and Mandera counties.
Project Objectives
The objective of the consultancy is to:
Objective 1: Identify the scope and gendered impact
of the floods, including direct and indirect effects on GBV, Protection, and
how women, men, boys, and girls can access various services, resources and
information.
Objective 2: Determine the various coping mechanisms,
constraints, capabilities, and unique needs of women and men, including those
with disabilities, to respond to the crisis across the range of protection and
SRH needs, considering intersectionality.
Objective 3: Identify measures that enhance
protection, GBV care, and support services, and prevent GBV through
collaboration with clusters/sectors, the government, and other responsibility
bearers.
Scope of Work
In liaison with the Women Protection and Empowerment
(WPE) Program Team, SRH Program Team, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability
and Learning (MEAL) team, guidance from UNFPA, and input from partners, the
consultant will be required to:
- Undertake a desk review of the gender situation
in Garissa, Tana River, and Mandera.
- Conduct consultations with relevant stakeholders
and use the recommendations to enrich the assessment.
- Conduct a validation exercise with stakeholders,
including IRC.
- Submit the approved assessment to IRC.
- Using a feminist, diversity and inclusion
approach, the gender impact assessment will gather information on the
various needs, abilities, and coping mechanisms of men, women, boys, and
girls. The following primary areas of inquiry will be the focus of data
collection, with the consultant expected to develop data collection tools
that capture sufficient information:
- Time use and Space: Analyzing how changes in
time use and spatial dynamics, such as displacement and relocation, have
affected gender roles and responsibilities during and after the floods.
- Decision-making and power dynamics in
households: Investigating power dynamics within households and
communities, and how these dynamics influence decision-making processes
related to recovery and rebuilding efforts post-floods.
- Access to and control of resources and assets:
Investigating how access to resources, services, and decision-making
opportunities has been affected by the floods for women, men, girls and
boys.
- Knowledge, Beliefs, and Perception: Examining
how knowledge, beliefs, and perceptions about gender roles, disaster
preparedness, and response have influenced individuals’ and communities’
ability to cope with and recover from the floods.
- Practices and Participation: Assessing how
gendered practices and levels of participation in decision-making at
household and community levels have been impacted by the floods.
- Legal Rights and Status: Evaluating the extent
to which legal rights and social status, particularly concerning land
ownership, inheritance, and protection from Gender-Based Violence (GBV),
have been upheld or compromised due to the floods. The assessment should
take into account how these intersecting identity variables affect women’s
access to their rights and assess how violations of those rights relate to
other forms of discrimination. The assessment should be conducted
rigorously and robustly using appropriate statistical and qualitative
analysis techniques.
Deliverables / Outputs
- An inception report defining the study approach,
methodology, sampling criteria, and tools used for qualitative and
quantitative data collection. The sampling plan should be inclusive of all
demographic groups and take gender equality into account.
- A thorough and well-structured final gender
impact assessment report not longer than 20 pages per county.
- Supplementary files, including photographs,
original and cleaned datasets, and statistical output files.
- Presentations using PowerPoint and a fact sheet,
abstract, or both to share results with stakeholders.
- Present the report to relevant parties, such as
the protection and GBV, working groups, who will be asked to validate the
findings and contribute.
- An executive summary of findings in Word and
PowerPoint presentation format.
Date and Duration of Consultancy
The consultancy period shall be for 20 days. The
complete report must be submitted to IRC within 5 days after the validation
exercise.
The ideal consultant should have:
- A post-graduate degree in Gender and
Development, social sciences, or another relevant field.
- Over 5 years of experience conducting gender
studies with evidence of publications or field reports on gender issues,
with experience in women and adolescents programming.
- Demonstrated experience in conducting a gender
impact assessment or a similar related assignment.
- Experience working collaboratively with
government and other development partners.
- Experience working with diverse and special
groups.
- Ability to communicate in English and Kiswahili;
proficiency in local languages spoken in Garissa, Mandera, and Tana River
is an added advantage.
The successful candidate will be required to:
- Follow protection guidelines when engaging with
all participants in the assessment.
- Adhere to the organization policy of different
partners involved in the assessment.
- Adhere to human rights, Protection Principles,
socio-ecological, systems strengthening, and MHPSS approaches.
- Be guided by the spirit of collaboration,
cooperation, partnerships, balance of power, and meaningful engagement of
marginalized voices, including women, girls, young people, and persons
living with disabilities, among others.
Consultants who meet the qualifications above must
submit the following documents:
- A statement including a CV with experience
details.
- Technical proposal summarizing understanding of
ToR, methodology, and tools to be used.
- Work plan.
- Financial proposal providing cost estimates.
- Contact details of three organizations/previous
clients.
- All required legal documents including VAT
registration certificate.
