Terms of Reference (TOR) to conduct PHE EC & its 13 Environmental partner organizations’ organizational capacity assessment for SRHR engagement and develop capacity building plan for the same

Background

There is a growing evidence that women and girls, who constitute the majority of the world’s poor, are disproportionately affected by climate change. Gender inequalities in terms of unequal access to wealth, resources, information and decision-making are further reinforced by the effects of climate change. For example, in developing countries, climate change affects the availability of surface water, and as a result rural women, who are usually given the task of fetching water, have to cover greater distances to collect the water, increasing their already substantial workload. Studies have also shown the strong links between climate-related disasters and female mortality, with women, boys and girls more than 14 times more likely than men to die during a disaster. Women often have more limited rights than men, limited mobility and less access than men to resources, information, and decision-making authorities. Consequently, they are significantly more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and have fewer capacities to adapt and diversify their livelihood options.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its 5th Assessment Report (2013) states that climate change hazards ‘increase or heighten existing gender inequalities, thereby contributing to the greater climate change vulnerability of many women’. According to the IPPC, an individual's vulnerability and capacity to adapt to climate change are influenced by the following factors, which are heavily differentiated across gender lines: human capital, which includes elements such as literacy, education, skills and access to information, health and nutritional status; levels and sources of income and livelihood diversification strategies, and access to economic capital and productive resources; social capital, including the quality of informal and formal institutions and support networks; and the availability of and access to technology, public utilities and agricultural inputs.

In terms of health impacts also; including increased exposures to heat, poor air quality, extreme weather events, altered vector-borne disease transmission, reduced water quality, and decreased food security; affect men and women differently, depending on local geographic and socioeconomic factors. Globally, women suffer from higher rates of anemia and malnutrition and are sensitive to climate-driven food insecurity due to increased nutritional needs during menstruation and childbirth. Anemia is associated with cognitive impairments including poor attention span, diminished working memory, and poor educational outcomes. Additionally, a majority of the world’s smallholder farmers are women, and therefore women’s livelihoods are at risk from climate-related crop failure, which threatens to increase poverty as well as poor health outcomes

In general, climate change threatens to widen existing gender-based in-equalities, health disparities, especially in low- and middle-income countries. As a developing country, the situation in Ethiopia can be seen in line with this global view.

At the same time, women’s empowerment offers the greatest opportunities to effect positive and sustained change at relatively low cost as compared to, for instance, technology-focused climate adaptation interventions: the cost of a rights-based approach to adaptation based on family planning has been estimated to be five times lower as compared to green technologies in combatting climate change.

The upper mentioned project recognized and intends to contribute to this objective. However, there is a need for many stakeholders to come together and jointly engage in the subject. PHE EC has 13 potential partner organizations possibly willing to engage in SRHR works. It needs to assess their organizational capacity to engage in SRHR, develop capacity building plan on the same and jointly form an alliance for SRHR advocacy and ground implementation. For this, PHE EC wants to hire a consultant with proven experience to conduct this organizational capacity assessment and develop capacity building plan in order to understand their gaps, build capacity and form alliance for joint advocacy work on SRHR 

Objectives of the consultancy

The general objective of the study is to assess the current organizational capacity of 13 partner organizations on SRHR and to develop capacity development plan for these partners.   Specifically, the study will have the following specific objectives:

• To assess the capacity of 13 organizations regarding SRHR promotion which would include their SRHR knowledge, policy, strategy, structure, resource, and programs.
•  Develop capacity development plan for the 13 organizations based on the gap assessment 

Tasks

• Develop a detailed work plan, indicating the time in which the study results will be produced and delivered;
• Review relevant literature and publications and consult relevant institutions to discus and learn about the subject matter, to over view the national policy strategy context.
• Develop organizational capacity assessment tools for the 13 organizations on SRHR promotion
•  Facilitate and coordinate data collection in the targeted organizations, analyze and consolidate results
• Develop and submit the assessment result, the draft document 
• Co-develop organizational capacity development plan for the 13 organizations for effective engagement in SRHR promotion
•  Develop and submit draft capacity development plan for review
• Receive feedback for both draft documents both from PHE EC, the 13 organizations, international partners, and incorporate the same and submit final documents

Expected deliverables

1. Detailed inception report/work plan which explain the process to follow, methodology to be used and time frame to conduct the organizational capacity assessment. Feedback provision, incorporation and approval of the inception report will be followed to the report
2. Submission of community capacity assessment tools to be used for the assessment. Feedback provision, incorporation and approval will be followed here also
3. Draft organizational capacity assessment report which specifies organizational capacity of the 13 organizations,
4. Draft organizational capacity development plan on SRHR .
5. Final organizational capacity assessment report om SRHR
6. Final organizational capacity development plan  

Criteria for selecting the best offer

Upon the advertisement of the Procurement Notice, qualified consulting firm is expected to submit both the Technical and Financial Proposals together with credentials. Accordingly; firms will be evaluated based on Cumulative Analysis as per the following scenario:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. In this regard, the respective weight of the proposals are:
• Technical Criteria weight is 60%
• Financial Criteria weight is 40%

Job Requirements

Consultant qualification

Consultant should:

• Be a consulting organization/institution/firm with a team of expertise from social, economic and environment background
• Have team member with an appropriate post-graduate qualifications and appropriate experience in baseline survey, cooperative concept, climate change, with at least five years relevant experience
• Be a registered firm under the set of legal provisions or under any valid legal cover
• Have a commitment to meet the deadlines
• Have experience on SRHR related studies

Timescale

The total time required for this assignment is three months maximum (June 24 – September 23, 2021).

Terms of Payment

• 50% upon signing of the contract.
• 40% upon satisfactory completion of the draft baseline report
• 10 % upon satisfactory completion of all the deliverables 
• The payments will be made in A/C payee cheques in the name of the consultant firm. PHE EC will deduct income tax. Besides, no other benefits shall be admissible beyond what is stipulated in the contract.

How to Apply

Submission of Proposals

• Interested and qualified professionals/firms may send/submit their proposals, along with the following information:
• Profile, giving background and experience of the organization  
• Technical Proposal consisting of:
• Proposed detail plan to undertake the assignment.
• Time period needed for completion of the contract.
• Financial proposal: Indicate the total price with detailed breakdown
• Copy of renewed Registration Certificate, License or Work Permit. This is a must for pre-qualification
• Other relevant supporting documents.

Any interested and qualified applicants are required to submit their application through; vacancy@phe-ethiopia.org or hand delivery at our office located ABCO building 3^rd floor in front of Brass Hospital until July 18, 2021.