1. Background:
The Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, guided by its core principles, has long championed gender equality and women’s empowerment worldwide, recognizing their vital role in community leadership for resilience and development. Despite their contributions, women face barriers hindering their leadership potential. To address these challenges the Austrian Red Cross through the Skybird II programme, aims to develop a comprehensive Community Women’s Leadership Approach in collaboration with Ethiopia Red Cross, Rwanda Red Cross and Uganda Red Cross.
This initiative seeks to strengthen women’s leadership within communities, fostering participation, development, and advocacy. Aligned with the Movement’s commitment, this Strategy enhances women’s capacity, promotes inclusivity, and fosters social cohesion. By collaborating and leveraging resources, the initiative aims to create an enabling environment where women emerge as leaders and catalysts for positive change. Through inclusive processes, the aim is to create a sustainable approach that resonates with women leaders’ diverse needs and realities.
The development of the Community Women’s Leadership Approach signifies an opportunity to build upon existing endeavours and best practices, drawing upon the collective wisdom and experiences of stakeholders within and beyond the Movement. Through a participatory and inclusive process, the aim is to co-create a robust and sustainable approach that resonates with the diverse needs, aspirations, and realities of women leaders across varied contexts.
About Skybird II programme:
The Skybird II programme, implemented in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Rwanda, is the second phase of an initiative supported by the Austrian Red Cross Society, with funding from the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).
It aims to promote gender equality within the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) sectors in these countries. Through gender-transformative and women empowerment approaches at community and institutional levels, the program seeks to enhance gender equality. Over its five-year duration, it is projected to directly benefit 80,000-100,000 individuals, with at least 70% being women and girls, while indirectly impacting the lives of 600,500 people.
2. Scope of Work:
The consultant will undertake the following tasks:
- Review relevant literature, reports, and resources on community women leadership approaches and tools, gender equality, and women’s empowerment in humanitarian and development contexts
- Coordinate with AutRC teams at HQ, in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda.
- Conduct consultations and interviews with relevant stakeholders working in the field, including women’s rights organisations and organizations of persons with disabilities to gather insights and perspectives on community women leadership challenges, opportunities, and best practices.
- Develop a detailed outline and framework for the Community Women Leadership Approach, including key components, methodologies, and implementation strategies. For a holistic approach, the approach also needs to outline the engagement of community leaders, authorities, men and boys in this transformative process.
- Draft a comprehensive report documenting the findings, recommendations, and proposed Approach, incorporating feedback and inputs from stakeholders.
- Present the draft Community Women Leadership Approach to key stakeholders for validation and feedback.
- Finalize the Community Women Leadership Approach based on stakeholder feedback and submit the final report to the Austrian Red Cross.
3. Deliverables:
The consultant will deliver the following outputs:
- Inception report outlining the proposed methodology, work plan, and timeline.
- Draft Community Women Leadership Approach, including guiding principles, methodologies, and tools.
- Consultation report summarizing stakeholder engagements, insights, and recommendations.
- Final report consolidating all deliverables, including a validated and finalized Community Women Leadership Approach
Reference Documents:
- Minimum standards for the DAC Gender Equality Policy Marker
- Skybird II Proposal Documents
- Relevant Strategy Documents and policies from IFRC, AutRC, ERCS, RRC and URCS
- Case Study of Elimination of FGM in Ethiopia
4. Timeline:
The consultancy is expected to be completed within 40 days over 3 months from the commencement date, with specific milestones and deliverable deadlines as outlined in the work plan.
- Case Study of Elimination of FGM in Ethiopia
- Proposed starting date: 1st October 2024
- Inception Report: 9th October 2024
- Expected travels: 28th October to 8th November 2024
- Draft Community Women Leadership Approach: 22nd November 2024
- Consultation Report: 29th November 2024 o Final Report: 13th December 2024
5. Reporting and Communication:
The consultant will report and submit the deliverables mentioned above to the AutRC Skybird II Programme Manager and AutRC Regional PGI Advisor.
6. Qualifications and Expertise:
The consultant should possess the following qualifications and expertise:
- Advanced degree in gender studies, women’s studies, social sciences, international development, or related field.
- Demonstrated expertise in gender equality, women’s empowerment, and community development, with a focus on women’s leadership.
- Proven experience in conducting research, literature reviews, developing tools and stakeholder consultations in multicultural settings.
- Strong analytical and writing skills, with the ability to synthesize complex information into clear and actionable recommendations.
- Familiarity with the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement and humanitarian principles is desirable.
- Fluency in English is required, and proficiency in other languages, particularly, French is an asset.
7. Evaluation Criteria:
Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Demonstrated understanding of the consultancy objectives and scope of work.
- Relevance of the proposed methodology and approach to the context and needs of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement.
- Qualifications, expertise, and experience of the consultant and/or consulting team.
- Clarity, coherence, and feasibility of the proposed work plan and timeline.
- Cost-effectiveness and value for money of the proposed budget.
8. Submission of Proposals:
Austria Red Cross invites qualified service providers to submit a bid to provide the services described in these terms of reference. The submission should include:
1. Technical Proposal
The technical proposal must include:
- A project plan including the deliverables outlined in these terms of refence, timeline as laid out in this ToR, and staffing
- CV (or CVs if a team), showing relevant experience from similar assignments
- A work portfolio, including examples of similar work the consultant / applying entity has previously produced, including at least 2 professional referees that can attest to the candidate’s relevant work.
2. Financial Proposal
A separate financial offer, quoted in EUR. This should include all aspects of the project, including consultancy fees and any associated expenses.
How to apply
The applications will be assessed based on both the technical and financial content and value for money. Applications should be addressed to: Lillian Matemu at lillian.matemu@roteskreuz.at
