Call for Expression of Interest (EOI): Women's Leadership Nepal Consultant



Call for Expression of Interest (EOI)

Terms of Reference (July 2024)

Project Activity: Consultancy Assignment for Building Women’s Leadership Capacity to Participate in Family Planning, Reproductive Health (FP/RH), Climate-Resilience and Gender Policy/Advocacy Dialogue

Duration: Up to maximum of 30 working days

Project Activity Background

Promoting Results and Outcomes through Policy and Economic Levers (PROPEL) Adapt is a five-year United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded project working within the humanitarian-development-peacebuilding nexus to strengthen policy, advocacy, financing, and governance systems for the provision of voluntary family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) services integrated with HIV/AIDS and Maternal and Child Health (MCH) in fragile settings and the context of shocks and stressors. Evidence suggests the lack of women’s participation in leadership and decision-making roles in promoting FP/RH policies and legal frameworks in fragile settings. Numerous studies also highlight the relationship between the gendered impact of climate change on women’s and girls’ access to FP/RH services. To help address these gaps, PROPEL Adapt aims to strengthen the capacity of women leaders that come from government, health, environment, and emergency preparedness and response (EPR) ministries and departments, civil society, and local women’s rights organizations by developing and contextualizing a global capacity-building training curriculum for women’s leadership in FP/RH, gender and climate resilience policies, and advocacy.

PROPEL Adapt is currently developing the global training curriculum with plans to validate it via a training workshop in Nepal. The training workshop and approach will enable women to actively engage in taking action-oriented steps to identify a policy gap and contribute to the advocacy and policy dialogue, development, and adaption of FP/RH, climate resilience, and emergency preparedness policies or legal frameworks at the national and sub-national levels using gender transformative approaches. Workshop participants will be mainly women leaders and their allies from women’s rights organizations, government health and environment departments, and civil society organizations (CSOs). 

Consultancy objective 

With the above-mentioned background, PROPEL Adapt is looking for an expert in the areas of FP/RH, climate change and EPR with strong gender equality integration experience. The objective of the consultancy assignment is for the expert to support the PROPEL Adapt team in:

• Contextualizing the global training curriculum to the Nepalese context through a rapid desk review by identifying policy and advocacy gaps and providing key examples to be used in the training approach. 
• Organizing and facilitating the training workshop in Nepal in collaboration with the PROPEL Adapt and Action Against Hunger (ACF) Nepal teams. 

As a project, PROPEL Adapt seeks to maintain an intersectional  lens throughout the design and implementation of this activity in order to prioritize the FP/RH service needs of the most marginalized groups of women. Methodological frameworks used for the rapid desk review to contextualize the curriculum and to conduct the workshop will need to employ an intersectional approach in the selection of participants and other activities of the workshop.

Consultancy Scope of Work

The Consultant will be expected to coordinate and complete the following key tasks in Nepal with guidance from the PROPEL Adapt and ACF Nepal team.

1. Contextualize the already developed global training curriculum/modules to the Nepalese context. This will be done through a rapid desk review of local FP/RH, EPR, national climate adaptation, and gender policies . Identify key policy gaps and contextual examples at the intersections of FP/RH, climate change and gender to be incorporated into the workshop approach/module.

2. Organize and co-facilitate the 5-day training workshop that will be held in Nepal in September 2024 in collaboration with the PROPEL Adapt team (who is based in Washington DC and will travel to Kathmandu) as well as the local ACF team in Nepal.

• The Consultant will support the ACF Nepal team with workshop pre-preparation which entails identifying, establishing rapport with, and sending out invitations 20- 25 women participants/leaders who will participate in the September validation workshop in collaboration with ACF Nepal. The participants will come from government departments (FP/RH, environment, climate change, EPR and other relevant departments), civil society, minority women’s rights, and disability rights organizations 
• The Consultant will facilitate the training workshop and train participants using the PROPEL Adapt pre-developed curriculum in collaboration with the PROPEL Adapt team. 
• The Consultant will take notes and summarize key lessons learned from the 5-day training workshop.
• The Consultant will ensure that pre- and post-workshop short online/paper-based survey questionnaires are filled out by participants for follow-up and evaluation purposes. 
• The Consultant will follow up and contact participants on the 2-month and 6-month post-training mark via email/telephone and help them complete the short online or paper-based survey form that will be sent out by the PROPEL Adapt team. (The survey questionnaires will be prepared by the PROPEL Adapt team)
• The Consultant will ensure that participants are invited and attend the post-workshop virtual (zoom) 1–2-hour follow-up meeting after 2 months to discuss progress on action plans designed during the training workshop.

Expected Deliverables

• Rapid desk review and summary report of findings, key policy gaps at the intersection of FP/RH, climate change, and gender, and key examples of advocacy gaps that can be incorporated into the existing global women’s leadership capacity-building training approach for Nepal.
• Inviting up to 25 (20-25) key women leaders/participants from different government sectors and CSOs. 
• Organize and conduct the 5-day workshop in September with the support of the PROPEL Adapt and ACF Nepal team.
• Summary report of lessons learned from the workshop (5-10 pages).
• Follow up, support and ensure timely and proper submission of pre-, and post-workshop follow-up surveys (online or paper-based) to the PROPEL Adapt team as well as the 2-month and 6-month mark follow-up surveys)
• Coordinate the facilitation, invitation, and participation of women leaders at the two-month follow-up virtual 1–2-hour following meeting via Zoom. 

Timeline for Tasks and Deliverables  

The consultancy assignment will take place between July 15, 2024, and March 31, 2025, for a total of 30 days spread across this timeline (Please note that the majority of the work will occur before November 30, 2024 with the final1-3 days of work to be spent in March 2025 to support training participants to fill out and submit online follow-up survey to be completed at the 6-month post-training mark). The following table shows the list of tasks, deliverables, and deadlines.

Reporting Arrangements

The consultant will directly work with and technically report to PROPEL Adapt’s Gender, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) Technical Advisor. The GEDI Technical Advisor will approve and oversee any deliverables for this consultancy assignment. Regular communication shall be conducted using email exchanges and once-a-week calls through Microsoft Teams or another platform.

Skills and Experience Required 

The consultant should have the following skills and experience:

• MA, MPH, MSc or above in gender studies, public health, social sciences, environmental studies and similar educational background relevant to the themes of the consultancy.
• At least 6-10 years of work experience in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, family planning, and climate change spheres with strong gender integration and leadership capacity-strengthening skills. (Gender equity integration knowledge and work experience are required)
• Strong training and workshop facilitation skills in adult learning using participant-centered approaches for participants coming from diverse backgrounds. 
• Strong research and report writing skills (experience conducting rapid and systematic reviews of policies and other documents to synthesize information into concise and clear summary reports). 
• Strong network and relationships across the FP/RH, environment, EPR and women’s rights organizations and spheres, including relevant government, multi-lateral, and NGO sectors, policy and decision-makers, and locally led organizations focused on gender equity and social inclusion.
• Strong communication skills (written and oral).
• Fluency in English and Nepalese languages, spoken and written.
• Good computer skills e.g., MS Word, MS Excel, email, Teams or Zoom, WhatsApp.

Travel Requirements 

No travel is required for the consultancy. 

APPLICATION PROCESS

The application should include a cover letter, brief technical and financial proposals (daily rate), CV and previous work sample. 

Applications will be evaluated on the basis of whether the submitted materials capture an understanding of the deliverables in the ToR and the overall capacity of the consultant to carry out the work (i.e. reference to previous work, etc.). 

Interested consulting firms/team or individual should apply to procurement@np-actionagainsthunger.org with the subject as “Application for PROPEL Adapt EOI Activity II” by 19 July 2024, 17:00 hours Nepal Standard Time. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. 

We would appreciate the necessary documents being submitted as separate attachments (proposal, daily rate, CVs, and at least 1 work sample). Please include your contact details in your CV. Please indicate in your email application on which platform you saw this announcement. 

ACF Nepal reserves the right to reject any or all applications. Telephonic inquiries will not be entertained. 

Action Against Hunger | Action Contre la Faim (ACF) is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from women, people with disabilities and members from disadvantaged/underrepresented ethnic groups.