Background:

Mercy Corps is a leading global organisation powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than forty (40) countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.

Under Component 4 of the FCDO-funded Climate Smart Jobs (CSJ) programme: Climate Smart Land Management and Services, Mercy Corps and partners are implementing the Restoring Ecological Vitality in Vulnerable Ecosystems (REVIVE) project, which will support both smallholder farmers vulnerable to climate change and key market system actors to adopt more sustainable land management approaches, increasing productivity and incomes and reducing environmental risks for entire communities. The aim is to support the flow of finance, skills, and knowledge to allow small and medium farmer communities to become the stewards of their own ecosystems: to ensure commercial viability and to design incentives that will work to restore and protect at the ecosystem watershed or landscape levels. REVIVE seeks to achieve these objectives through the following areas of intervention:

1) Viable and climate impactful sustainable land management products and services are identified and prepared for investment (stimulate supply);

2) Smallholder farmers, (including women and refugees within host communities) have increased information access and skills needed to adapt to, and increased resilience against climate shocks and stresses through sustained uptake of effective sustainable land management practices (stimulate demand);

3) Key barriers which confront the enabling environment and therefore the success of this programme are overcome (for both SMEs and smallholder farmers) with a focus on improving advocacy capacity at community level (improve the enabling environment).

The outputs will ensure that regenerated and improved ecosystem services at landscape/ watershed level are able to support smallholder farmers’, refugee communities' and women’s resilience and climate adaptive capacity.

Purpose / Project Description:

The REVIVE project is committed to promoting Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI), with a focus on empowering marginalised groups in Uganda such as women and refugees (50% women, 20% refugees) who are disadvantaged in their access to and ownership of economic resources.

Mercy Corps Uganda requires the services of a consultant to conduct an in-depth gender analysis to better understand the populations the program will be working with to ensure activities and strategies respond to the needs of women and other marginalised individuals.

Objectives of the Analysis

The overall purpose of the GESI analysis is to better understand the gender and social inclusion dynamics among the targeted groups of the project, which will serve to inform safe and gender transformative interventions. The specific objectives of the assessment are to:

• Understand how the existing land management laws, policies and norms impact women, men, girls and boys differently and what opportunities exist that can be explored to empower women.
• Identify best practices and missed opportunities in integrating gender in climate smart land management in Uganda from existing literature, and how these learning could be integrated into the project. Two important aspects to explore among marginalized people are: i) use of information technology for landscape management; and ii) access to Landscape Ecosystem Services.
• Understand how the status of women, men, girls, and boys in the community – including among refugees - affect their individual access to/control over assets, resources, opportunities, and services and why.
• Capture how time use and responsibilities in the household, especially for women and girls, may hinder their participation in agricultural activities.
• Identify how decision-making and power dynamics influence the ability of women, men, girls and boys to exercise control and decide over resources (economic and assets) at the household level?
• Understand how the project could mitigate any risk of doing harm among marginalized groups, while including them in project interventions.
• What are the limitations of women, girls, men, boys and refugees in access and usage of information and technology in relation to landscape management, ecosystem services and CSA?

Desired Methodology

This assignment will comprise a two-stage process:

• A desk-based literature review, gathering relevant available reports, evaluations and papers on previous GESI assessments conducted in country, and especially in the geographical areas/targeted population of the project.
• Data collection to assess GESI-related dynamics within households and relevant key informant interviews in the communities and institutions served by the project. These may take the form of qualitative Focus Group Discussions, Participatory Rural Approach methods or individual, semi-structured interviews.

Consultant Activities (Tasks and Deliverables):

The composition of the study team will be further discussed and agreed with Mercy Corps, however it is expected that the Consultant will serve as Technical Lead for the development of the literature review, study methodology and tools. As necessary, Mercy Corps will provide enumerators to support the consultant with data collection, as well as field supervision for quality assurance. The Consultant will be responsible for the following:

• Perform desk-based research on the inclusion of women, girls and other marginalized people into land management, adoption of climate smart agriculture technology and other economic empowerment interventions;[1]
• Based on the analysis of the literature review, design and develop tools/ question guides, data collection plans and a proposed methodology (qualitative data collection is required to support findings);
• Share study design including process, methods and all tools (e.g., questionnaires/ checklists) with the project team, collect feedback and finalize the study design;
• Liaise with Mercy Corps’ Africa GESI Regional Advisor in developing the enumerators’ training;
• Liaise with the data collection team during field work and provide technical backstop if necessary;
• Update the Mercy Corps team about the regular progress of the study;
• Analyse the qualitative data. The framework should include (but not be limited to) the following key domains:
• Access and Control of Resources
• Beliefs and Perceptions
• Community and Institutional Participation
• Contextual Factors (Institutions, Laws and Policies)

Data should be analysed by gender and other intersectional factors (e.g. refugee status), and geographical areas, and specify barriers and opportunities to achieving program objectives.

• Share a preliminary draft report (either Word or PPT) prior to finalization and incorporate changes and recommendations from the Mercy Corps team. The report should also include sections on the inclusion of GESI-focused activities in the annual project workplan, and indicators to measure outputs and outcomes on GESI.[2]
• Provide a final report in electronic copy and all research documents and interview materials (filled out tools, question guides etc.)

Major Responsibilities of Mercy Corps:

Mercy Corps will provide the Consultant with necessary support to undertake and implement the assignment and execute the objective of this SoW. Such responsibilities include the following:

• Provide relevant documents and technical support to the Consultant.
• Orient the consultant on any relevant and useful project and institutional information.
• Provide backstopping service in study design, tool development, data collection, data analysis and report finalization process.
• Arrange the data collection plan, hire enumerators and allocate field supervision to liaise timely with the consultant for technical support,
• Monitor regularly, and provide feedback and ensure effectiveness of study; and,
• Disburse payment as per the agreed schedule in the Consulting Contract.

Timeframe / Schedule: 

Estimated in November 2022 through December 2022.

The Consultant will report to:

REVIVE Team Leader.

The Consultant will work closely with:

• REVIVE GESI Advisor;
• REVIVE Project Technical staff;
• Other technical consultants (such as those leading on the Ecosystem Service Valuation; Landscape and Market Assessment);
• Mercy Corps’ GESI Technical Support Unit;
• Project Partners.

Required Experience & Skills:

• Seven years plus (7+) of responsible work experience in qualitative and quantitative research, including experience with action-oriented gender, equality, and social inclusion assessments.
• Experience of working with international development organizations and/or donor agencies on gender-related programs.
• In-depth knowledge of qualitative research methods and design of research tools.
• Experience in participatory approaches; facilitation of focus group discussions and conducting face-to-face ad virtual interviews, processing and analysing of qualitative data.
• Strong analytical and statistical analysis skills;
• Ability to work effectively under tight deadlines;
• MSc or equivalent required; Master’s degree in Development Studies, Sociology, International Development, Development Economics, or a related field preferred;
• Fluent spoken and written English;

Desired Skills:

• Previous experience working in Uganda and/or knowledge of Uganda’s Gender National laws/regulations and guidelines, land laws/regulations, land use rights, and rights to the exploitation of natural resources;
• Previous experience with FCDO-funded initiatives.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organisation with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening, and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination based on race, colour, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of our field projects. Team members should conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values always and in all in-country venues.