Background
As part of Mercy Corps’ wider commitment to gender equality, diversity and inclusion, as prioritised in our recent Gender Equality, Diversity and Social Inclusion Strategy (GEDSI) (2020-2023), in 2021 the Gaza Sky Geeks (GSG) program will undertake a gender audit, through our partnership with Sweden.
Founded in 2008, the GSG program provides opportunities for young Palestinian women and men to engage in rewarding technology-based careers. Our program supports young women and men to build practical skills as coders; to develop their skills to work as freelance consultants in a variety of technical areas; and to launch their own sustainable technology-based start-ups. To create a vibrant and welcoming community that fosters innovation, camaraderie, and the exchange of ideas, we host two co-working spaces open to GSG community members as well as anyone interested in technology.
A fundamental part of GSG’s approach is to proactively work to reduce barriers and facilitate opportunities for young women to engage in technology-based careers. To this end, at least 50% of our participants are women; in addition, we support initiatives for and by women participants, including the BanatGeeks boot camp for young women interested in pursuing higher education in STEM; courses specifically tailored to the interests and priorities of women participants; and day care services for parents participating in program activities, and in particular mothers.
The GSG team is made up of 50 staff members based in Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Jerusalem. In addition, we are supported by over 30 Mercy Corps Palestine (MCP) operations (finance, procurement, human resources, etc.) team members in Jerusalem. While currently hosted within Mercy Corps, GSG’s vision is to become a self-sustaining technology hub within Gaza and the West Bank. With this in mind, GSG is exploring potential models for expansion and sustainable growth over the coming five-year period.
The outcomes of the Gender and Inclusion Audit will be key to shaping the vision for the future of GSG as it evolves in the coming years. The Audit is a critical opportunity for the GSG team to better understand and build our capacity to address inequalities and exclusion. It will enable us to identify the critical gender and exclusion issues in our work and within our operations, and to develop action plans to address the identified issues.
Purpose of the Consultancy
Mercy Corps seeks a Consultant program to conduct a Gender and Inclusion Audit. The purpose of the Audit is:
● To conduct a review, reflection, and learning process with regards to gender equality, diversity, and inclusion across the GSG program, both of organizational and programmatic
● To identify the strengths and challenges of GSG’s operations and programmatic work with regards to gender equality, diversity, and inclusion to determine concrete steps for improvement.
Scope of Work and Methodology
The process of a Gender and Inclusion Audit is highly participatory. The role of the Consultant will be to facilitate this process in collaboration with the GSG and MCP team. Among commonly-used
international frameworks, including the ILO and Interaction tools, Mercy Corps and GSG do not have a required approach, and we are open to discussions with the selected Consultant on the specific methodology.
The Consultant will work closely with MCP’s Diversity and Inclusion Manager as well as the GSG Monitoring and Evaluation Manager to undertake the Gender and Inclusion Audit.
The Consultant will complete the following key steps:
● Develop a detailed methodology for the Audit, along with a work plan and schedule.
● Support the MCP/GSG team to establish internal collaboration groups to support the Audit.
● Review key organizational policies and process documents from across the MCP/GSG teams.
● Collect required information through a participatory process, including questionnaires, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions.
● Analyse and validate the data with the MCP/GSG team.
● Write the draft report identifying recommendations; facilitate feedback from the MCP/GSG team.
● Support MCP/GSG teams to develop achievable action plans based on the findings of the Audit.
● Assist MCP/GSG teams to develop a monitoring and reporting process to enable them to measure their progress against their action plans.
● Present a final, agreed report on the process, findings, and team-based action plans. This will include a detailed report for MCP/GSG internal purposes as well as a summary report with key findings that can be shared with external parties (such as MCP/GSG donors).
● Conduct (or briefing)sessions with Sweden to discuss key values, expectations, outcomes and key findings of the Audit
In conducting the Audit, the Consultant will be asked to consider the following items:
● The overall culture, attitudes and understanding of the GSG/MCP team members regarding gender equality, diversity, and inclusion.
● The extent to which GSG’s operational policies, processes, and procedures (e.g. procurement, logistics, human resources, etc.) support gender equality, diversity, and inclusion.
● The approaches used by the GSG to attract and nurture the leadership and professional development of a diverse pool of staff and participants, including women (e.g. feedback mechanisms, promotion opportunities, training opportunities, profile-building opportunities, etc.)
● The extent to which GSG has identified, analysed, and responded to systemic and project-specific barriers that impact the potential for female and male participants to benefit equally from the program (e.g. gender pay gap, burden of care work, etc.).
● GSG’s external and internal communication of the value placed on gender equality, diversity, and inclusion by the program and the incorporation of these values as a core part of the GSG brand.
Key Activities
MCP/GSG has established an internal team who will lead the contracting of the Consultant and facilitate all aspects of the Gender and Inclusion Audit, MCP will initiate an open-call for an external consultant to conduct the gender audit. The budget allocated for the consultant is a minimum of
250,000 SEK (25,000 USD) but may be increased (subject to Swedish team approval) depending on review of the submissions. The final report will be submitted to Mercy Corps by 15 September 2021.
Expected Deliverables
It is expected that the Consultant will produce the following deliverables:
● A work plan for the Gender and Inclusion Audit.
● Findings on gender equality, diversity, and inclusion across the GSG program and the MCP
program operations team that support GSG.
● A draft and final internal report including recommendations for action.
● A draft and final external report for circulation to stakeholders.
● A powerpoint presentation to Sweden on the process and outcomes of the audit.
● An action plan developed collaboratively with the MCP/GSG team including a plan for monitoring progress.
Consultant Recruitment
MCP will contract the Consultant through an open-tender process. We seek to engage a Consultant with experience in both Gender and Inclusion Audits as well as in the local context.
The Consultant is expected to have the following skills:
● Experience in undertaking Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Audits.
● Strong facilitation skills and hands-on experience of working in participatory ways with staff groups, partners, communities, and participants.
● Experience leading frank and open discussion on difficult subjects.
● Strong gender, diversity, and inclusion analytical skills and knowledge/experience of different gender and inclusion audit tools.
● Qualitative data collection and analysis skills.
● Good English report-writing skills; Arabic language skills strongly preferred.
● An ability to negotiate challenging findings with staff and the senior management team.
● Experience with the Palestinian/general tech-ecosystem and environment a plus.
Deliverables and Deadlines
Milestone Timeline
Presentation and approval of TOR
15 December 2020
Engagement of consultant
1 April – 30 April 2021
Conduct gender audit
10 May 2021 – 8 August 2021
Present findings to Swedish team
15 September 2021
Note: This timeline may be revised based on the Consultants proposed work plan.
Application Process
In addition to the Curriculum Vitae of the Lead Consultant and any Associate Consultants who would carry out the assignment, candidates are asked to submit one document maximum three pages, margins 2.5 cm, font “Times New Roman” size 11 providing the following information:
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Name:
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Email:
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Country of Residence:
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Languages Spoken:
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Date available to commence assignment:
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Tell us about your experience as a gender audit consultant including the last three audits that you have conducted with different organizations.
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What is your background/understanding of the Palestinian/MENA region context, including gender and power dynamics?
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What do you think is the most important priority for a gender and inclusion audit facilitator to take into consideration in carrying out their work?
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There are many methodologies out there for conducting gender audits. Do you have a preferred methodology and what is the reasoning behind this?
How to apply
Closing Date: 11:59pm on Monday 10 May 2021
To help us track our recruitment effort, please indicate in your email/cover letter where (ngotenders.net) you saw this job posting.