United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Tender for the consultancy of mapping and auditing IR gender and GBV related programmes, April 2019

Islamic Relief Worldwide

Islamic Relief is an international aid and development charity, which aims to alleviate the suffering of the world's poorest people. It is an independent Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) founded in the UK in 1984.

With an active presence in over 40 countries across the globe, we strive to make the world a better and fairer place for the three billion people still living in poverty. As well as responding to disasters and emergencies, Islamic Relief promotes sustainable economic and social development by working with local communities - regardless of race, religion or gender.

Our vision:

Inspired by our Islamic faith and guided by our values, we envisage a caring world where communities are empowered, social obligations are fulfilled and people respond as one to the suffering of others.

Our mission:

Exemplifying our Islamic values, we will mobilise resources, build partnerships, and develop local capacity, as we work to:

· Enable communities to mitigate the effect of disasters, prepare for their occurrence and respond by providing relief, protection and recovery.

· Promote integrated development and environmental custodianship with a focus on sustainable livelihoods.

· Support the marginalised and vulnerable to voice their needs and address root causes of poverty.

At the international level, Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) has consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council, and is a signatory to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Code of Conduct. IRW is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) through raising awareness of the issues that affect poor communities and through its work on the ground. Islamic Relief are one of only 13 charities that have fulfilled the criteria and have become members of the Disasters Emergency Committee (www.dec.org.uk), and is certified by CHS

IRW endeavours to work closely with local communities, focussing on capacity-building and empowerment to help them achieve development without dependency.

Please see our website for more information http://www.islamic-relief.org/

Background

At a global level Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) is committed to SDG 5 “Empowerment of Women and Gender Equality”, within its global strategy framework, underpinned by its commitment to the “Leave no one behind” agenda and the Core Humanitarian Standards. IRW is also a signatory to the World Humanitarian Summit “Call to Action for GBV in Emergencies”.

Internally, in 2015 IRW released its Gender Justice (GJ) Policy[1] that requires mainstreaming gender programming as a cross-cutting issue into all of its humanitarian and development work. It also requires policies and procedures for gender sensitive programming and sufficient institutional arrangement to support its agenda. It has also established Gender Based Violence (GBV) polices on early and forced marriage, domestic violence and Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), and is currently leading on a global consultation on the Islamic Gender Justice Declaration.

Objectives

IRW is seeking a consultant/consultancy company with a proven background in “gender programming” and/or “GBV protection and response” to carry out mapping of Islamic Relief’s gender related activities and programmes by using IR’s Gender justice policy as a primary framework, and IR’s Gender Justice Declaration and SDG 5 as a secondary and tertiary frameworks. The resulting report will inform programmes, policy, and advocacy development throughout the organisation, at a HQ and country level. It will also support IRW’s global commitments to GJ and internal policies advancements. Overall the consultancy assignment has the following objectives:

· Map out and identify IRW’s programmes over the last 4 years (2015 – 2019) that has gender and GBV elements, in response to IRW’s GJ policy;

· Compare and contrast gender related standalone programmes and gender related mainstreamed component into programmes, by specifically highlighting IRW’s approach to both and the overlapping sectors;

· Identify the intersection within IR’s programmes between gender, age and disability along with other excluded factors;

· Collect and document best practices, and learning derived from IRW’s work and identify opportunities and/or locations for future programmes with established gender justice and/or GBV components;

· Evaluate IR’s institutional arrangements to support gender justice in terms of internal capacities, procedures, policies and incentives;

· Re-visit IRW’s gender justice policy and recommend relevant, up to date adaptation for policy advancement that informs IRW’s programmes, policy, and key advocacy messaging and planning towards achieving its strategic objectives. The policy should also include a general framework for GJ and an organisational definition for women empowerment as well as defining participatory approaches.

Scope

The scope of this assignment is to review IR’s implementation in response to its GJ policy through mapping its gender and GBV related programmes, reviewing its institutional arrangements and recommend adaptation for IRW’s GJ policy. The overall aim is to provide detailed account of IRW’s current and recent activities around Gender and GBV interventions, in order to identify outcomes achieved, any indicative impact, best practice, and provide a baseline and capture learning that will be used to further the strategic direction for gender justice within the organisation.

Implementation framework

Under the guidance of and in collaboration with the Gender Inclusion and Protection Advisor, the Consultant shall work with IRW’s International programmes division, programmes quality, global operations and global advocacy at HQ and country office levels. The assignment will be based on desk review and will involve document reviews, emails, face to face, virtual- and tele-meetings, distributing and analysing results of questionnaires, and other means of eliciting data concerning IRW’s gender related programmes.

The consultant will also collaborate with relevant IRW staff which includes, but not limited to: Child protection advisor, Age and disability advisor, Head of Global advocacy, Head of international programmes, Heads of regions and Regional desks coordinators. Consultation will also include IRW’s Partner offices (UK, USA, Canada, Sweden, Germany, etc.) and country offices – sample programmes and/countries might be selected based on the scale of initial findings.

The successful candidate is expected to do the following:

· Work closely with Islamic relief’s international programs division, programs quality department, IR partners and country offices to discuss strategic commitments to gender justice;

· Explore Islamic Relief’s existing work on gender and GBV programs between 2015 and 2019 in all its country offices programs and sectors;

· Document programs, case studies and lessons learnt from IR’s experience in implementing its gender justice policy

· Evaluate country office’s capacity and effectiveness of gender and GBV mainstreaming and/ or standalone programs along with recommendations

· Recommend strategic direction for main areas of focus for gender programs in co-relation global strategy, gender justice policy and related SDGs

· Inform IR Gender Justice Policy with the findings of the mapping and suggest policy revisions (specific amendments and general recommendations)

· Review IRW global operations processes and procedures and suggest an internal framework to mainstream and evaluate implementation of gender sensitive programming.

Please refer to annex 1 for the specific scope of assignment highlighting key questions this desk review seeks to answer and suggested final report outline.

Project requirements

The successful consultant is expected to have:

· Understanding and experience in gender and GBV programming especially in humanitarian and/or development organisation, with a lens on women’s rights issues.

· Knowledge of a range of qualitative and quantitative research techniques.

· Ability to work independently and to manage large amounts of information; to work systematically and to produce to deadlines.

· Sensitivity towards and interest in cross-cultural issues including faith and human rights issues.

· Advanced level of English, understanding of Arabic or French would be an asset.

It is preferred for the successful candidate to have:

· An understanding of the importance of women’s rights in the humanitarian and development context.

· Experience of working cross- culturally.

· Strong interpersonal, representational and advocacy skills.

· Degree in social sciences or related subject

Project output

· A written report of the findings along with recommendations (on programming and advocacy positioning on gender) for action between 20 and 50 pages including appendices.

· A summary of the key findings and recommendations in power point presentation.

· A small workshops to discuss key findings with programme staff in IRW HQ

Timescales

It is proposed that the consultant will be recruited for a period of 50 working days (open to discussion) based on the following timescale:

Action

By when

Who

Tender live date

30^th of April 2019

IRW

Final date for submission of bid proposal

20^th of May 2019 (1pm)

Consultant

Proposals considered, short-listing and follow up enquiries completed

28^th of May 2019

IRW

Consultant interview and final selection

30^th of May 2019

IRW

Meeting with the consultant and agree on methodology, plan of action, working schedule

6^th of June 2019

Consultant/IRW

Desk Review, interviews and collection of data

10 June – 26 July 2019

Consultant

Submission of the first draft to IRW for comments

26^th of July 2019

Consultant

IRW responses to draft report

2^nd of Aug

IRW

Final report submitted to IRW

9^th of August 2019

Consultant

Presentation of the report to IRW management

2.5 hours (date TBC)

Consultant

Contract duration: Duration to be specified by the consultant and IRW based on completion of the assignment

Direct report: Head of Program Quality

Location: UK, Birmingham

Job Title: Consultant; Gender mapping and audit

Proposal to tender and costing:

Consultants (single or teams) interested in carrying out this work must:

a) Submit a proposal/bid, including the following;

i. Detailed cover letter/proposal outlining a methodology and approach briefing note

ii. CV or outline of relevant skills and experience possessed by the consultant who will be carrying out the tasks and any other personnel who will work on the project

iii. Example(s) of relevant work

iv. The consultancy daily rate

v. Expenses policy of the tendering consultant. Incurred expenses will not be included but will be agreed in advance of any contract signed

vi. Be able to complete the project within the timeframe stated above

vii. Be able to demonstrate experience of outcome reviews, mapping and impact assessment/evaluation approaches for similar work

Terms and conditions

Payment will be made in accordance with the deliverables and deadlines as follows:

· 25% of the total amount – submission of the inception report

· 25% of the total amount – submission of the first draft of the evaluation report

· 50% of the total amount – submission of the final report including all outputs and attachments mentioned above

We can be flexible with payment terms, invoices are normally paid on net payment terms of 28 days.

Additional information and conditions of contract

a) The ToR document is between the consultant and Islamic Relief Worldwide

b) Islamic Relief Worldwide is a legally registered charity under the laws of the United Kingdom charity registration number 328158

c) This document covers the research project identified and described in this document and related correspondence and may not be expended for any other purposes without the prior written approval of Islamic Relief Worldwide, Programme Quality Unit.

d) The project will be carried out under the auspices of the Islamic Relief Worldwide, Programme Quality. The lead researcher will be working in the capacity of a freelance consultant.

e) Collected data, information, reports and reference documents should be submitted, along with any audio files and transcripts collected.

f) Intellectual Property Rights to all research, and data, conducted and collected and the final report belongs solely to Islamic Relief Worldwide.

g) In case of contraventions or breach of any of the terms of the agreement, any outstanding payments to the Lead Researcher will be withheld.

During the consultancy period,

IRW will only cover:

· Consultancy fees

· Any travel costs to visit IRW or any of our country offices if required

IRW will not cover:

· Tax obligations as required by the country in which he/she will file income tax

· Any pre/post assignment medical costs. These should be covered by the consultant

· Medical and travel insurance arrangements and costs. These should be covered by the consultant

[1] All published polices can be found on this link: https://www.islamic-relief.org/gender-justice

For further information or to download the tender documents please follow the link beneath;

https://www.islamic-relief.org/tenders/category/open-tenders/

Consultancy contract

This will be for an initial period that is to be specified by the consultant commencing from June 2019 (exact date to be mutually agreed). The selected candidate is expected to work from their home/office and be reporting into the Head of Programme Quality of IRW.

The terms upon which the consultant will be engaged are as per the consultancy agreement. The invoice is to be submitted at the end of the assignment and will be paid on net payment terms 28 days though we can be flexible.

All potential applicants must fill in the table beneath in Appendix 2 to help collate key data pertaining to this tender. The applicant must be clear about other expenses being claimed in relation to this consultancy and these must be specified clearly.

For this consultancy all applicants are required to submit a covering letter and CV’s of all potential consultants including the project lead.

A proposal including, planned activities, methodology, deliverables, timeline, and cost proposal (including expenses) are expected.

Other relevant supporting documents should be included as the consultants sees fit.

All applicants must have a valid visa or a permit to work in the UK (if travel is required to the UK). A valid visa/work permit is also required for those areas required to be visited as part of this consultancy.

GDPR and personal information

All applicants are advised to provide us with a CV that contains information which is only necessary for us to examine, assess and process the application, personal data beneath is not a requirement.

· Full personal residential address (supply country of residence only)

· DOB (date of birth)

· Hobbies and interests

· Age

· Gender

· Phone numbers

· Marital status

· Other personal information

If however, personal data has been submitted your application will be processed and will not be disregarded.

The information beneath will be an essential requirement for us to process your application.

a) Name

b) Profile

c) Country of residence

d) Employment and work experience history

e) Education

f) Achievements and accomplishments

g) Responsibilities, memberships, representative and voluntary roles

h) Training received and delivered

i) Written papers, journals, research, books and publications

j) Essential educational and training certificates

k) Languages spoken and proficiency

l) Skills competency

m) Referees

Tender dates and contact details

All proposals are required to be submitted by Monday 20^th of May 2019 at 1.00pm UK time pursuant to the attached guidelines for submitting a quotation and these be returned to tendering@irworldwide.org

For any issues relating to the tender or its contents please email directly to tendering@irworldwide.org

Following submission, IRW may engage in further discussion with applicants concerning tenders in order to ensure mutual understanding and an optimal agreement.

Quotations must include the following information for assessment purposes.

1. Timescales

2. Full break down of costs including taxes, expenses and any VAT

3. References (two are preferred)

4. Technical competency for this role

5. Demonstrable experience of developing similar training courses

Note: The criteria are subject to change.

Appendix 1

Annex 1

Overview:

IRW programmes are organised in a sectorial manner, where cross-cutting issues are not always visible. It is important that the contracted consultant spend extensive amount of time to read through proposals and reports, as well as extract information from staff members who worked/is working on specific programmes to understand the nature of implementation and expected impact.

The consultant is expected to provide numerical data as well as analysis report addressing the following questions:

· What is the total number of ongoing and closed gender and GBV related programmes across IRW between the periods of 1st January 2015 to 30th April 2019? What is the total budget value? What is the average duration?

· What is the general understanding amongst IRW staff (HQ and Country offices) around gender justice and women empowerment programmes? how can IRW develop an internal checklist for criteria to be included in programmes to support GJ and women empowerment?

· Which country offices has strong gender sensitive programmes/ elements mainstreamed into other programmes? What is the nature of those programmes? If mainstreamed, into which sectors?

· Which country offices provides GBV services as standalone and/or mainstreamed into other programmes? What kind of services do they provide? If mainstreamed, into which sectors?

· Which country offices has GBV advocacy/campaigning element into programmes? What is the nature of those programmes?

· Which programmes and/or country offices has strong intersectional approach to gender including age, disability and other excluding factors? How is that intersectional approach used and understood?

· How many programmes with strong gender component had baseline assessment, and end line evaluation? What was the impact? How was the impact measured? What are the actual reported results?

· What are some of the best practices? Innovative features? Faith based interventions used? How effective were those approaches?

· What are the internal policies and systems in place that supports gender justice strategy? How can they be improved?

· What is IR’s capacity at HQ and country offices level to support GJ? And how can it be improved?

· Four years down the line of the GJ policy, how much has been implemented? What can be improved? What is missing in the policy? What are the recommendations for aligning IRW’s internal policies with global frameworks (SDG 5, Call to action, CHS, IASC)?

Suggested Report Layout (Consultants are invited to suggest more coherent layout):

Executive Summary: (this should be publishable externally – so should contain summarised key findings and recommendations)

Methodology of the Desk Review/Study and any challenges or limitations:

Introduction: Overview of number and type of projects across different geographic locations; duration and budget values and commentary about the range of projects including relevant charts, tables and graphs to summarise and illustrate key data succinctly.

Mapping of programmes: Data and narrative, supported with appropriate graphs, charts and tables to reflect the mapping of projects and analysis. Where there are chart or tables created to support analysis but not included in the main report, please share as an annex or separate file in MS Word or Excel.

Analysis of similarities and differences in planned outcomes and impacts between projects in different countries and regions.

Comparison with external best practice, institutional donor gender and GBV programme objectives – gaps and opportunities for IR going forward.

Other key features of programmes: Stand-out features of particular projects; innovations, use of faith based approaches that highlight impact on women and children or older persons, persons with disability etc; To what degree have these elements been value-adding to realising project outcomes, impact and sustainability objectives? Discussion of similarities and differences, key impacts and comparison to wider sector best practice and donor priorities. What models do they use, are there any innovations within these or other of the selected. Could/should these projects or the models and approaches underpinning them be replicated, scaled up in the country, region or wider – what kind of adjustments or further verification may be required prior to such scale up?

Institutional arrangements and processes that supports GJ: Discussions around the current processes in place to support female staff members advance in their careers. Systems available at a country level, and suggestions to improve the current institutional arrangement to support more females in leadership roles. Recommend updates to IRW’s GJ policy to cover up to date debates and discussion around GJ.

Further field study needed: Identify 4 projects which have been or are potentially of the most significant impact and which warrant further detailed field-based impact assessments or evaluations. Suggest what components or dimensions of these projects should be more specifically assessed during a field impact study/assessment. Consultant should provide an outline of the possible impact assessment methodology that could be used given availability or lack data for these projects and provide an outline of the broad terms of reference for such an impact assessment.

Conclusions and recommendations – max 3 pages:

• Summarise overall experience and capacity of IR in gender programming

• Provide an assessment of the outcome measure, impact and sustainability

• Highlight best practice and innovations and stand-out features

• Highlight core weakness, limitations of IR gender programmes, key learning and recommendations

• Recommend way forward for IR global gender programming to align with best practice, donor priorities, contribution to SDGs 5

• Include recommendations on outcome measurement and impact assessment methodologies to incorporated within projects to allow for better outcome and impact measurement of new projects and programmes

Full report –32 – 50 pages max including executive summary.

Appendix 2

Please fill in the table below. It is essential all sections be completed and where relevant additional expenses be specified in detail. In case of questions about how to complete the table below, please contact tendering@irworldwide.org

Cost evaluation of consultancy for mapping and auditing IR gender and GBV related programs, April 2019

Applicants/lead consultants name

Full company trading name

No of proposed hours per week

No. of proposed days

Preferred days

Earliest available start date

Expected project finish date

Non preferred days

Day rate

£

Total cost for consultancy in GBP (less taxes and expenses

£

Expenses (flights)

£

Expenses (accommodation)

£

Expenses (transfers)

£

Expenses (in country travel)

£

Expenses (visa)

£

Expenses (security)

£

Expenses (food)

£

Expenses (print/stationary)

£

Expenses other (please specify)

£

Total expenses

£

Total VAT or taxes

£

Total cost for consultancy in GBP (inclusive of taxes and expenses)

£

Note

The applicant is expected to take responsibility for paying full taxes and social charges in his/her country of residence.