International consultant on men engagement initiatives assessment

TERMS OF REFERENCE (to be completed by Hiring Office)

Hiring Office:

UNFPA Turkmenistan CO

Title:

Purpose of consultancy:

UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. Our mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. 

Within its mandate and in cooperation with national partner agencies and NGOs, UNFPA CO initiated the interventions within the Youth and Gender programmes aimed at dismantling patriarchal attitudes and gender stereotypes concerning the roles of women and men in the family and in society. Thus, in partnership with the Ministry of Adalat, State Committee on Physical Culture and Sports, Institute of State, Law and Democracy and NGOs Mashgala, Taze Zaman, and Yenme, UNFPA CO launched the following:

Through comprehensive training sessions and community outreach efforts aimed at fostering dialogue around gender roles, participants can collectively work towards a cultural shift that prioritizes equality and respect. This collaborative effort underscores the importance of collective responsibility in combating GBV while nurturing an environment conducive to healthy relationships among young people.

• Comprehensive training sessions and consultations at the Civil Registration Offices for young couples to promote gender equality in the family and prevent domestic violence.
• Comprehensive training sessions, community outreach efforts and social media campaigns aimed at sensitizing and engaging young men and boys in sports schools to promote gender equality and prevent gender-based violence through volunteerism programme based on peer-to-peer principles of education.

Starting from early 2023 the activities were piloted in sports schools and Civil Registration Offices in Ashgabat city, Mary and Lebap velayats. 

Within this context the UNFPA CO plans to hire an international consultant to support the Gender and Youth programme by conducting an assessment of preliminary results of the piloting and developing recommendations to advise the national agencies for further institutionalization of the subject initiatives. 

Scope of work:

(Description of services, activities, or outputs)

1. Desk review:  Review the relevant internal documents of the UNFPA and its partners’, including but not limited to project documents, field reports from national consultants, other reports and documents related to the initiatives – 3 days;
2. Inception phase: Prepare Inception Report which should outline detailed scope, assessment framework; methodology; sampling of respondents and submit a work plan of assignment – 2 days;
3. Fact-finding phase (data collection) - 5 days:
   1. Collect data with minimum involvement of partners or UN staff, but with the help of national party and independent national consultant on the ground, and taking note of special conditions and limitations, ethical considerations, confidentiality requirements. UNFPA will facilitate the data collection and field work required for this exercise;
   2. Focus the assessment approach, data collection and analysis methods on equity, gender and human rights aspects. 
   3. Conduct data interpretation and conceptual work.
4. Reporting phase – 5 days:
   1. Draft Assessment Report and pay close attention to formulating practical and strategic recommendations, clearly prioritizing 3-5 recommendations for concrete actions;
   2. Consult with the UNFPA staff on the strategic level programme recommendations;
   3. Present the draft report and main finding to the UNFPA.
   4. Finalize the report.
5. Develop final consultancy report - 1 day.

Total number of days: 16 working days

Expected Outcomes and Deliverables:

Deliverable 1 - Inception Report by September 25, 2024;

Deliverable 2 – Draft Assessment Report and Presentation of the report by October 25, 2024;

Deliverable 3 – Finalized Assessment Report by November 5, 2024;

Deliverable 4 – Final consultancy report by November 10, 2024.

Duration and working schedule

Duration of this consultancy is from September 16, 2024 to November 15, 2024 including operational closure of the contract.

Place where services are to be delivered:

The consultancy services will be delivered on a home-based mode with a 5-day mission to the country.

Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadline:

The UNFPA Programme Analyst on Gender and Youth will monitor the International Consultant’s work through regular meeting to update on the progress, reviewing submitted materials and participation in the meetings. 

Supervisory arrangements: 

The international consultant will directly report and work under the supervision of the UNFPA Programme Analyst on Gender and Youth. 

Expected travel:

Mission to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, in the week of 6-12 October, 2024. Travel costs will be covered additionally according to the UNFPA’s Duty Travel Policy.

Required expertise, qualifications, and competencies, including language requirements:

• Advanced University degree (Master’s) in a relevant area;
• At least seven years’ experience in assessment and evaluation, including experience of designing and implementing theory-based evaluations; assessments using experimental and non-experimental approaches; 
• Good understanding of youth-sensitive, gender-sensitive, family sensitive issues.
• Sensitivity towards ethics with regards to human and gender issues, different cultures, local customs, religious beliefs and practices, personal interaction and gender roles, disability, age and ethnicity.
• Familiarity with UNFPA and the UN system mandates and programmatic areas;
• Strong analytical skills and statistical data analysis experience;
• Prior experience in Turkmenistan or in Central Asia and knowledge of gender equality context and practices in the region.
• Fluent in written and spoken English. Knowledge of Russian language will be an advantage.

Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner (e.g support services, office space, equipment), if applicable:

UNFPA will provide the consultant with the available materials, data, information and reports. However, additional information will be identified by the consultant through desk reviews, consultations, other.

The consultancy fee will be calculated based on the P4 level of the UN Salary Scale for Professional and higher categories effective 1 January 2022. The fee will be paid in a lump sum upon quality provision of all deliverables.

COA: TKM05GEN, FPA90, YEMPOWER, PU0074, B5470