1. Background

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. UN Women provides support to Member States’ efforts and priorities in meeting their gender equality goals and for building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.  UN Women operationalizes this through Flagship Programming Initiatives (FPIs) developed to achieve transformative results for gender equality and women empowerment. One such FPI is the Women Peace and Security (WPS) Program.  The WPS program is aligned to and contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 5 on Gender Equality, SDG 16 on Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies and UNSCR 1325. 

UN Women has secured funding to implement a four-year Programme titled “Women lead and benefit from sustainable and inclusive peace and security” with the overall goal to ensure women’s full participation in and enjoyment of peace and security in Uganda. The Programme contributes towards the implementation of Uganda’s third National Action Plan on Women Peace and Security.  Specifically, over the next four years 2022 – 2026, the proposed Programme will contribute to the following NAP III WPS priority outcomes: Outcome 1 All forms of violence prevented and conflicts resolved; Outcome 3 Natural and human made disasters are prevented and mitigated and Outcome 4 Systems and structures for the implementation and coordination of the NAP III strengthened.

UN Women is seeking to recruit a national consultant to conduct a baseline survey for WPS II Programme which will be implemented in 15 Districts spread across Uganda. The Programme targets 27,000 beneficiaries directly and 2,160,000 indirectly in key conflict prone districts in Uganda across 5 regions.

The survey is expected to cover a representative sample of the districts in the following regions where the WPS II Programme will be implemented.

• Central region: Wakiso
• Northern Uganda: Lira, Dokolo, Kitgum
• Western region: Kasese, Kabarole, Kyegegwa,
• Karamoja: Napak, Moroto, Kotido
• Eastern Uganda: Mbale, Kapelebyong
• West Nile: Adjumani, Yumbe, Arua, Terego

1. Project Description

Drawing on UN Women’s WPS phase one Programme which was implemented from 2018 – 2021, the WPS Programme Phase II will achieve the following desired Outcomes and Outputs:

Outcome 1: By 2026, Women participation in enhancing social cohesion and reducing interethnic conflicts increased, including before, during and after elections 

• Output 1.1. Transitional Justice processes are influenced by and benefit women, including young women
• Output 1.2. Women, including young women, have improved knowledge, skills and tools to effectively participate in conflict prevention, mediation and resolution processes
• Output 1.3. Civic education and media campaigns on alternative conflict resolution systems conducted
• Output 1.4. Increased representation of women and youth in peace committees
• Output 1.5: Systems, structures and frameworks for preventing and mitigating violence against women in elections established

Outcome 2: Increased participation of women in reduction of violent extremism

• Output 2.1. Increased knowledge and adoption of appropriate tools among women, including young women, in reduction of violent extremism  
• Output 2.2. Community policies, programmes and mechanisms on the prevention of violent extremism, de-radicalization, reintegration, and reconciliation are gender sensitive
• Output 2.3. Women and youth living in risk locations for Violent Extremism are employed and receive livelihood and entrepreneurial opportunities

Outcome 3: By 2026, Women, including young women participate in preventing and mitigating natural and human made disasters

• Output 3.1.  Women and youths (in communities prone to natural disasters) have knowledge and skills on use of renewable energy infrastructure and eco-friendly technologies
•  Output3.2:Climate sensitive policies/frameworks are developed that narrow the gender and age gap, reduce impact of climate change on women and youth, and empower women and youth to contribute and benefit from climate change mitigation
• Output 3.3 Women have better knowledge on early warning systems for climate related natural disasters    

Outcome 4: Systems and structures for the implementation and coordination of the NAP III strengthened

• Output 4.1. A National Steering Committee and National Technical Committee is supported to oversee the implementation of NAP III
• Output 4.2. Key actors are mobilized and engaged in the implementation of the NAP III WPS

1. Objectives of the assignment

The overall objective of the assignment is to establish quantitative and qualitative baseline information on all the Programme indicators as indicated in the Programme results framework and design monitoring and data collection tools that Implementing Partners will adopt to guide Programme monitoring and reporting. The baseline will provide progress information on key WPS II indicators and serve as a benchmark for assessing the changes that will be brought about by the project interventions.

1. Scope of Work/Duties and Responsibilities

The baseline assessment is expected to cover all the 15 districts targeted by the project.

Under overall guidance of the Monitoring and Evaluation Team Lead in coordination with the WPS Program Team, the consultant is expected to:

• Review and map out the existing work on women, peace and security, key actors and interventions in the target districts. This will enable the Programme to identify potential areas of duplication and collaboration.
• Develop a detailed methodology and plan of how the baseline assessment will be executed. Methodology should detail how quantitative and qualitative data will be collected, analyzed and reported.

• Collect baseline data on all indicators, ensuring that the collected data is gender disaggregated where possible.
• Design monitoring and data collection tools that will guide project monitoring.

1. Duration of the assignment

The assignment is expected to be completed between April – June 2023. All the deliverables have to be reviewed and approved by M&E Specialist in coordination with the Project Management Team.

1. Scope of Work and Expected Deliverables

The consultant is expected to carry out the following tasks and deliver the related results, ensuring that related reports are presented as and when due:

1. Report Writing

All the documents and reports should be written and submitted in English language. Upon receipt of the deliverables and prior to the payment of the instalment, the deliverables, related reports and documents will be reviewed and approved by M&E Specialist.

The assessment report (maximum 30 pages) should have:

• An executive summary
• Background (brief)
• Methodology and the process (brief)
• Data collection tools
• Data analysis process, tools used for sampling and data cleaning process
• Findings: consolidated qualitative and quantitative data files
• Recommendations for informing end line assessment, including inter alia on any adaptations needed for the methodology, data collection tools, understanding indicators, selection of target groups, focus on analysis among others.

1. Inputs

• UN Women will cover the costs of daily subsistence allowance (DSA) for areas within the country as per standard UN rate, as per UN Women regulations, for all approved official travel.
• The consultant is expected to work using her/his own computer and other means of communications but may access the UN Women office for printing of relevant documents or should he/she be required to work on-site at any point during the assignment.
• UN Women will provide transport in the field only, consultant is expected to arrange own transport within Kampala.

1. Performance evaluation:

Consultant’s performance will be evaluated based on timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.

Core Values

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Functional Competencies

• Ability to synthesize programme performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
• Strong analytical skills
• Good interpersonal skills and capacity to liaise with parties concerned
• Strong facilitation, writing and presentation skills
• Excellent verbal and written English
• Experience using ICT tools to conduct assessments is required

1. Required experience and qualifications

The Consultant is expected to assemble a team with multiple skills and experience to deliver quality and expected results of the assignment.  The team composition is expected to include an overall experienced team leader and at least one additional team member.

The team leader will be responsible for the deliverables and will coordinate the work of team member(s) during all phases of the process, ensuring the quality of deliverables and effective application of methodology as well as timely delivery of all products.

Specifically, the evaluation TEAM LEADER is expected to have the following expertise:

• At least a PhD preferably, in Peace and Conflict studies, Political Science, Development Studies, Social Sciences, with a bias in gender studies;
• Expert knowledge and experience in gender equality, Women, Peace and Security and human rights at national level or regional level

• Technical expertise in designing and leading gender assessments, or assessments on conflict prevention and peace building, with excellent analytical skills;
• A minimum of 10 years of working experience applying qualitative and quantitative methods to conduct assessments
• Experience in conducting perception studies
• Detailed knowledge of the role of the UN programming is desirable.

• In-country or regional experience in gender equality and women empowerment including solid understanding of the women peace and security agenda
• Proven track record of managing teams

The other member of the assessment team should have the following skills:

• At least a Master’s degree in Peace and Conflict studies, Political Science, Development Studies, Social Sciences or related discipline
• Working knowledge of Women, Peace and Security at national level is a requirement
• Extensive knowledge and experience in the application of quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods with a strong gender focus; 
• High level data analysis skills; 
• Demonstrated flexibility and ability to work as part of a team
• Pays attention to details with ability to work under pressure, with limited supervision to meet challenging deadlines