AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

BANQUE AFRICAINE DE DEVELOPPEMENT

Gender Women and Civil Society Department (AHGC)

Rue Joseph Anoma, 01 BP 1387

Abidjan 01, Cote d’Ivoire

Telephone : +225 20262472

Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for a Consultant (Review of the Gender Marker System)

Brief description of the Assignment: The consultant will work with the AHGC department in reviewing the implementation of the Gender Marker System which has been in use since January 2018. The consultant will provide leadership and guidance to the Bank in reflecting on the design and implementation of the Gender Marker System, and specifically identify lessons and recommendations on how it can be strengthened.

Department issuing the request : Gender Women and Civil Society Department (AHGC)

Place of assignment : To be determined at the time of signing the contract

Duration of the assignment : Three (3) months

Tentative date of commencement : 1st October 2020

Terms of Reference (ToR) for the assignment : Please see below for summary of ToR.

Deadline for confirming interest : 4th September 2020

Indications of interest to receive the request for proposals to be submitted to : [email protected]; and copied to [email protected]

Any    questions    and     requests    for     clarifications     may     be     sent    to :     [email protected] ; [email protected]

TERMS OF REFERENCE

CONSULTANT FOR THE REVIEW OF THE GENDER MARKER SYSTEM (GMS)

  1. BACKGROUND :

The AfDB’s Ten Year Strategy (TYS) – At the Center of Africa’s Transformation (2013 – 2023), highlights gender as one of the three areas of special emphasis, in addition to improving inclusive growth as one of its two main objectives. The AfDB’s vision in the TYS encourages Africa to address gender-based disparities in voice and agency, education, economic activities, earnings and GBV to “capture the demographic dividend of its young population and the energies of its women.” The Bank is committed to mainstreaming gender in all its operations.

In 2017, the Bank introduced a Gender Marker System (GMS) as a mechanism to “classify” or “categorize” operations based on the extent to which they specifically address gender equality/women’s empowerment issues (GE/WE) in their objectives, components, and expected results. The objective of the GMS is to systematize the Bank’s approach to gender in operations. It was developed to define, clarify and make gender mainstreaming more tangible, and ensure Bank-wide consistency and uniformity in its operations. This approach makes Gender Equality central to all operations, and “hardwired” into operational procedures, and practices. It ensures that mainstreaming gender equality is not an “optional extra” task to be discarded, and that resources for gender mainstreaming are managed strategically and realistically.

The Gender Marker System has been applied in the design of Sovereign Operations since January 2018. The Bank has set gender targets within the framework of its strategies (Corporate KPIs, ADF-15 and GCI VII) with respect to performance on the Gender Marker System. The AHGC department working together with the gender specialists in the regional hubs and Task managers has coordinated and guided the use of the GMS tool. Additionally, the department has reviewed and tracked the use of the tool in all Sovereign Operations approved by the Board since January 2018.

It was acknowledged that the Bank needed to learn from the experience of implementing the GMS and make corrections and adjustments to the tool as operational experience is gained during implementation, and as sector- and project-specific issues are encountered. Hence, the implementation of the GMS has been undertaken initially in a pilot manner, and after three years since its deployment, the Bank would like to get an understanding of how the tool is working, whether it is making any impact in the design of bank Operations, and how it can be improved.

  1. OBJECTIVE :

The overall objective of this consultancy is to assess the design and implementation of the Gender Marker System, identify early lessons, and propose any revisions that can strengthen the mainstreaming of gender in the Bank’s Sovereign and Non-Sovereign Operations with the use of the GMS tool.

  1. SCOPE OF WORK :

Reporting to the Manager, Gender and Women Empowerment division and working closely with the organizational units of the department as well as with internal and external stakeholders, the consultant’s role will include but not limited to :

  1. Examine the categorization, definition and criteria for the four categories of the Gender Marker System, and how responsive they are in the context of various Bank operations e.g. Sovereign, Non-Sovereign, Policy Based Operations ;
  2. Examine the marked projects with specific reference to the assigned category, its related definition and criteria, and consistency of marking across projects ;
  3. Assess the relevance of the Readiness Review criteria and scoring ;
  4. Assess whether and how the review processes (Peer Review, Readiness Review) add value and influence the design of the Project Appraisal Report, particularly the inclusion of gender results ;
  5. Examine how the log frame integrates gender aspects, including by reviewing the: appropriateness of the gender results and indicators, coherence with the gender analysis, and action plan, and the GMS definitions and criteria ;
  6. Assess the quality and relevance of the gender analysis and how this informs the design of the project ;
  7. Examine whether and how the Gender Action Plan (GAP) is an integral part of the Results Matrix, Project components and budget, and consequently the possibility of being implemented ;
  8. Assess the role of the Regional Member Countries (RMCs) in planning, designing and implementing the Gender Action Plan ;
  9. Assess the effectiveness of the assigned responsibilities for Gender Marking in the project lifecycle, with a specific focus on the participation of the gender specialist ;
  10. Assess awareness, knowledge and attitudes of operations staff (Task Managers, gender specialists, etc.) regarding the GMS tool ;
  11. Explore how compliance with the GMS can be strengthened through the Bank’s review and approval processes  ;
  12. Assess the sufficiency of the Bank capacity (staffing, funding) to effectively implement the GMS ;
  13. Review the adequacy of the targets set per Category in moving the Bank towards more gender-responsive operations ;
  14. Compare the effectiveness of mainstreaming of gender in Sovereign Operations before and after the adoption of the GMS ;
  15. Assess the relevance and appropriateness of the GMS for private sector operations, informed by lessons from the Bank’s implementation of the GMS, and comparator organizations.
  1. METHODOLOGY :

The review will be a highly consultative process specifically targeting the full participation and engagement of as many operational staff as possible, and select key internal stakeholders. The process shall be facilitated by the Consultant with the support of the Gender Results Monitoring & Evaluation officer. The consultant will prepare and submit an inception report that will further refine the overall scope, approach, design and timeframe, and provides a detailed outline of the methodology.

The table below elaborates on the tasks and schedule to be followed :

Activity Timeline
1. Conduct a desk review and draft an inception report October 2020
2. Conduct a review of sample project documents (PCNs, PARs, Reviews) over October 2020
the period 2018 – 2020
3
3. Conduct an online survey for key operations staff October 2020
4. Conduct Key Informant Interviews with specific Bank staff October 2020
5. Facilitate a half-day review meeting to validate the draft report November 2020
6. Finalize the review Report and submit to the Bank December 2020
  1. DELIVERABLES :

An inception Report 

Proceedings report of the review meeting, and A review report.

 

  1. COMPETENCIES (SKILLS, EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE)

The qualifications required for this assignment are the following : 

  • At least a master’s degree or equivalent in Gender Studies, Projects Management, Sociology, Anthropology, Economics or related areas ;
  • Preferably a minimum of 10 years of professional experience in Gender analysis, research and designing/implementing gender and development projects ;
  • At least five years professional experience in conducting gender assessments, reviews, and evaluations ;
  • Skills in facilitation of stakeholder engagements/workshops; Evidence of having undertaken similar assignments ;
  • Demonstrate understanding of regional social issues, analysis and policy formulation ;
  • Experience in reviewing the operations of related institutions (e.g. MDBs) on gender, implementation of gender-specific policies, programs and projects, preferably in African or other developing countries is an added advantage ;
  • Knowledge of the practices of major bilateral and multilateral partner development agencies in African countries is an added advantage ;
  • Communicate and write effectively in French or English, with a good working knowledge of the other language ;
  • Be a national of one of the member countries of the Bank.

 

  1. DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT :

The assignment will commence at completion of the selection process and upon contract signing. The consultancy is expected to start in October 2020. The contract with the selected Consultant will last for a period of 3 months. The duty station will be established at the time of signing the contract.

  1. FEES AND PAYMENT : 

The applicant should submit their financial proposal consisting of their professional fees. The consultant shall meet the cost of any insurance and medical examination, or treatment required by him/her in the course of performing the Services. The Consultant shall seek and obtain any visas or resident permits that he/she may require to carry out the Services and perform his/her obligations under the Contract. The Bank shall, as necessary, assist the Consultant in obtaining such visas and/or permits.

  1. EVALUATIONS OF OFFERS : 

The consultant will be selected based on i) General qualification and suitability for the task to be performed, ii) Specific experience in assignments similar to the ToR, iii) Experience with international donor agencies; iv) Knowledge of the region, and (v) language skills. The eligibility criteria, the establishment of a short list and the selection procedure shall be in conformity with the Bank’s Rules and

Procedures for the Selection of Corporate Consultants. Interest expressed by a Consultant does not imply any obligation on the part of the Bank to include him/her in the shortlist.

  1. APPLICATION :

The AHGC department invites individual consultants to indicate their interest in providing the above-described services by submitting their CVs detailing their qualification, experience and a list of references, and a cover letter. Applications should be transmitted in one file only (PDF preferred), with CV no longer than 5 pages and cover letter no longer than 1 page. Applications should be sent by e-mail to the address mentioned below no later than Friday, September 4th, 2020 at 23:59 PM GMT and specifically mentioning “Expression of Interest (EOI) for a Consultant (Review of the Gender Marker System) ”. Applications non-compliant with these guidelines will be rejected.

For the attention of :

Ms. AMEL HAMZA

E-mail : [email protected] and copied to [email protected]