Save the Children International Latest Job Vacancy in Zambia: Consultant

Terms of Reference for Conducting a Gender Analysis to Strengthen Gender Equality Mainstreaming in the “Sungeni Bwino Abana” project

1. Background

Save the Children is the world’s leading independent organization for children. Our vision is a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation. Save the Children has worked in Zambia to promote the fulfillment of children’s rights since 1987. Save the Children works across five thematic areas namely education, health & nutrition, child rights governance, child poverty and child protection. The organization strives to ensure all children learn from a quality basic education, that no child dies from preventable causes before their fifth birthday and that violence against children is no longer tolerated.

Save the Children believes that addressing gender discrimination and promoting gender equality is crucial to ensure that no harm comes to children. This will advance our vision for a world where every child can realize their full set of human rights. At Save the Children, we expect all our programmes and projects to be gender sensitive as a minimum standard and we strive for our work to be gender transformative whenever possible. Mainstreaming gender equality means addressing gender inequalities across all Save the Children areas of work, and promoting gender equality to improve everyone’s lives at the individual, family, and community levels.

With support from Save the Children Finland, Save the Children Zambia has partnered with Luapula Foundation (a local NGO) to implement a 4-year child protection project titled “Sungeni Bwino Abana” (“Protect and Care for Children in Zambia”) in Ndola District of the Copper belt Province. The project aims to strengthen the community child protection system to prevent and respond to abuse, violence, exploitation and neglect of girls and boys in 3 wards in the Ndola District by 2021. The expected project’s outputs are: increased capacity of girls and boys to protect themselves from violence and abuse; improved provision of child and gender-sensitive prevention and response child protection services to girls and boys in target areas; communities actively prevent and respond to abuse, violence, exploitation, neglect of girls and boys; at risk families are able to provide appropriate care to girls and boys and improved linkages and access by targeted communities to livelihoods and social protection programmes.

The project planning took place in 2017 and implementation started in January 2018. It was not possible to carry out a gender analysis prior to the planning of the project proposal although efforts were made to try to ensure gender equality integration in the proposal. As the project implementation is still at early stages, a gender analysis is carried out to improve gender equality mainstreaming and if necessary, to help to revise the planned activities for the remaining project duration to ensure that all interventions are gender sensitive.

2. Objectives and key questions

The purpose of the gender analysis is to provide information on specific realities and barrier and opportunities of girls, boys, women, and men in the “Sungeni Bwino Abana” – project target areas in relation to caring and raising of children. The analysis should look at roles and responsibilities, norms and rule, access to resources and services as well as decision-making and power and control between girls, boys, women and men. The gender analysis will provide greater clarity on existing stereotypical attitudes and practices, including existing positive practices, among different stakeholders at the household and community levels. The gender analysis will also recommend how the project implementers could improve gender equality mainstreaming in project implementation.

The main research questions are:

1. Who are the people that matter in raising a child and what are their different roles and responsibilities? (exploring gender roles and other social dynamics)

• What are the roles and responsibilities of mothers and other female caregivers in raising children?
• What are the roles and responsibilities of fathers and other male caregivers in raising children?
• How do these responsibilities change when caring for girls and boys of different ages?
• Which people influence mothers, fathers and other caregivers parenting practices? And how?
• To what extent do male and female caregivers work together to make decisions about their child/ children?
• To what extent do girls and boys of different ages have a say in decisions affecting them?
• How does this change as girls and boys get older?
• What knowledge is available in existing documents concerning local understandings of parenting (and gender roles), childhoods, discipline and education of children in the home?

2. What are parents and caregiver’s main hopes and worries for their sons and daughters?

• What are parents and caregiver’s main hopes for their sons and daughters?
• What are parents and caregiver’s main worries for their sons and daughters?
• What differences are there based on gender, age, or other factors?
• What things make it easier to be a parent/caregiver in their community?
• What things make it harder to be a parent/caregiver in their community?

3. What are adults and children’s views and experiences on different methods for disciplining and educating children in the home?

• What are the main methods for disciplining and educating girls and boys in the home?
• Which discipline methods do fathers, mothers and other caregivers find most effective to educate children in the home? And why?
• Which discipline methods do fathers, mothers and other caregivers find least effective to educate children in the home? And why?
• What are the girls’ and boys’ positive and negative experiences relating to the ways they are raised and educated by their parents/ caregivers in the home?
• Are there differences in the way children are disciplined and educated in the home based on gender, age, or other factors?

4. What makes it difficult for children, parents/caregivers and the community to report child abuse cases?

5. What should the project do to address the identified gender inequalities and gender-based barriers and gaps in order to achieve the planned outcomes and outputs?

6. Methodology

The gender assessment should include, but not necessarily limit to the following methods and approaches:

• Desk review of relevant documents (national reports on gender issues, relevant data related to child protection and appropriate care of children, evaluations, etc.)
• Key informant interviews (with selected influential community members, district government offices of Gender, Community Development/Social Welfare, Health, Education)
• Focus Group Discussions (with beneficiaries of the project including girls and boys of 10-13 and 14-17-year-olds and with selected community groups)
• Observations
• Girls and boys need to be consulted using child-friendly methodologies
• All data needs to be disaggregated by sex and age (clearly indicate where disaggregated data is not available)
• Actively involve women and men and girls and boys from diverse social groups in the analysis (e.g. children in school versus children out of school; mothers and fathers and female and male caregivers with infants and children under the age of 5 years versus mother and fathers and female and male caregivers with children of different ages)
• If the consultant is not fluent in the local language, high-quality interpretation will be required.
• The consultant will work closely with the Save the Children Country Office team and with the partner organization.

7. Deliverables

• Provide inception report, outlining the key scope of the work and intended work plan of the analysis, and evaluation questions, the proposed gender analysis tools shall be submitted after 5 days of commencing the consultancy.
• Develop data collection tools
• Collect and analyze data
• Present a preliminary report to SC for review.
• Finalize and present an evaluation report
• Submit final report x 3 hard copies and soft copy
• Produce a research brief/Summary
• Present the evaluation findings at a learning event
• Share raw data in soft copy with save the children

NOTE: The Final Report: This will be submitted within 5 days after receiving comments from SC. The content and structure of the final analytical report with findings, recommendations and lessons learnt covering the scope of the evaluation should meet the requirements of SC quality evaluation criteria and should include the following:- Executive summary (1-2 pages) -Introduction (1 page) -Description of the evaluation methodology (6 pages) – Situational analysis with regard to the outcome, outputs, and partnership strategy (6-7 pages) – Analysis of opportunities to provide guidance for future programming (3-4 pages) – Key findings, including best practices and lessons learned (4-5 pages) -Conclusions and recommendations (4-5 pages) – Appendices: Charts, terms of reference, field visits, people interviewed, documents reviewed.

• Save the Children and the implementing partner will disseminate the findings and lessons learnt, which means the consultant shall not have exclusive copyright of the report.

8. Work plan and timetable

The consultancy is estimated to take in total 10 working days starting from 17th to 28th September 2018. The draft report will be submitted and presented to Save the Children 10th of October 2018 and the final report must be submitted by 15th October 2018.

9. Administrative information

The consultancy fee will be paid in two instalments: 50% upon signing the contract and 50% when the final report is approved. Save the Children will provide the vehicle for data collection to project sites (field movement) but will not cover the costs of accommodation, per diem and flight tickets between Lusaka and Ndola. The consultant shall be responsible for covering her/his insurance and all taxes arising from fees paid under the Agreement.

10. Desired Qualifications

Consultants interested in conducting the study should at least possess the following qualifications:

• Post-graduate degree in social sciences or another relevant field
• Minimum of 5-10 years proven experience of designing and conducting gender analysis and producing quality studies
• Training in the field of Gender Equality in the context of international development;
• Experience with a right-based approach
• Ability to demonstrate understanding in promoting commitment to children’s rights
• Experience in conducting research with children by using child-friendly participatory methodologies;
• Ability to work in a team
• Excellent communication and analytical skills.

11. Procedures of application and documentation

Expressions of interest must include a CV of the applicant and CVs of Team, summary of relevant experience to the assignment, three referees with clear contact details (e-mail and cell phone), Concept paper (maximum 6 pages) with methodology, description of tools, method of analysis, work plan and budget in relation to the assignment. Applications should be delivered not later than 11th September 2018  to the address below. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Please note that applications should be submitted in hard copies, clearly marked on the envelope ‘Sungeni Bwino Abana Project’.

The Human Resources & Administration Manager, Save the Children, Plot No. 16794, Diplomatic Centre, Mass Media, Post net 487, P/Bag E891, Lusaka, Zambia