Consultant – Gender Equality, Diversity, and Social Inclusion – Beirut, Lebanon

Background:

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

Funded by the Government of Canada, Mercy Corps Lebanon is implementing “Market-based Opportunities and Skills Training for Women and Youth” (3amaly). 3amaly is an integrated project designed to improve livelihood opportunities for women and young women and men (aged 15-34) in four areas (Saida, Nabatieh, Lower Chouf, and Tripoli). The overall objective is that women and young women and men are empowered and valued for playing an active economic role within their households and communities.

Purpose / Project Description:

Mercy Corps aims to support this objective by addressing constraints to employment for women, young women, and young men from diverse identity groups and communities by linking them to market-driven skills training; working with nano, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with a focus on those led by women, and with entrepreneurs to provide technical assistance or in-kind support to accelerate growth and foster equitable and gender-responsive human resources practices; and providing mentorship and professional networking opportunities with facilitation from local women and youth-led organizations.

The project focuses on three main Intermediate Outcomes:

• Creating opportunities and linking to jobs and on-the-job training for women, young women, and young men to access safe and decent employment or self-employment.
• Supporting MSMEs and new entrepreneurs, with a particular focus on women, to develop their businesses and address factors that are limiting their capacity to grow and to employ women as essential parts of their workforce.
• Identifying and overcoming barriers prohibiting women and young women from entering the workforce.

Specifically, the project seeks to achieve a better understanding of the gender dynamics in the project’s implementation areas, to identify the barriers that impede women, young women, and young men from entering and being retained within the workplace. This is done with an acute acknowledgment of the impact of intersecting identity factors, including nationality, religion, and displacement status, on the experience of young and adult youth (and particularly women and girls) in education, employment, and self-employment.

Consultant Objectives:

The 3amaly project in its final stage with some activities under Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) components remaining incomplete. The Gender Equality, Diversity, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) Advisor will use their in-depth technical and practical expertise and relationship-building skills to define and support the delivery of the remaining project activities related to GEDSI. The role will provide technical guidance to all of the project’s Intermediate Outcomes to ensure high-quality programming that will advance gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment. The role will provide leadership to ensure that the project is grounded in intersectional gender and power analysis and supports the design and implementation of gender transformative monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning systems to demonstrate impact while sharing learning across our team. To this end, they will lead the piloting of Global Affairs Canada’s (GAC’s) new Gender Equality and Empowerment Measurement (GEM) evaluation tool and produce recommendations for future use of the tool for Mercy Corp Lebanon. The GEDSI Advisor will also support the 3amaly Behavior Change Consultant in developing and testing a behavior change curriculum designed specifically for women owners of nano, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and members of their households, focused on promoting improved communication, shared decision making, and shared household division of labour. The GEDSI Advisor will support the final project evaluation consultant to ensure that progress towards gender equality is measured as part of the project’s desired outcomes.

Consultant Activities & Deliverables:

The Consultant will:

• For the remaining activities of the project, provide oversight and guidance to the implementation teams to ensure that thematic components are technically sound and grounded on gender and power analysis; ensure the inclusion of women and men from a diversity of identity groups and communities; approach the subject matter from an intersectional feminist perspective; and ensure that implementation methods are consistent with national and global strategies, feminist principles, and acknowledged good practice.
• Lead pilot of GAC’s GEM evaluation tool, build the capacity of the project team to use the tool going forward, and document best practices and lessons learned in its use.
• Collaborate with the Behavior Change Consultant on the design and testing of a behavior change curriculum.
• Provide technical support to the project’s final evaluation to demonstrate evidence-based gender-related results and learnings.
• Review project workplans, reports and data collected, analyzing outcomes and desired impact making crucial recommendations to maximize gender transformative potential.
• Contribute to donor reporting and ensure submission of reports that effectively communicate the project’s gender equality, diversity, and inclusion work across.
• Support the development of knowledge management products to increase the project’s understanding of successful implementation strategies; distill learnings and evidence generated into thought leadership for internal and external consumption.
• Support the implementation and documentation of project activities falling under the WEE components, including support to women and young peoples’ organizations and networks.
• Support in recruiting, mentoring and onboarding new team members/consultants, ensuring they are set up for success and familiar with the project’s gender equality, diversity and inclusion strategy and how this relates to their role.
• Deliver regular training and ongoing mentorship and training as needed to project team members and partners to promote capacity, ownership, and commitment to gender equality, diversity, and inclusion.
• Provide ongoing technical supervision, leadership, support, guidance, and mentorship to international and national consultants and staff
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one-on-ones and performance reviews.
• Represent Mercy Corps and the project at relevant external meetings and events, including coordinating with bodies connected to protection and GBV.
• Lead in documenting and coordinating information dissemination activities that share project achievements and results to influence decisions and policymakers.
• Prepare and deliver presentations to stakeholders about project approaches, best practices, and learnings related to gender equality, diversity, and inclusion and women’s economic empowerment.

Timeframe / Schedule:

November 10, 2022 – March 31, 2023 (with total of 60 days LOE)

The Consultant will report to:

Director of Programs

The Consultant will work closely with:

Project technical leads; project MEL team; HR team; headquarters and regional technical support units, Behavior Change Consultants, Final Evaluation Consultant, Performance and Quality (PAQ) team, and Senior Representative (Canada), Regional Gender Advisor.

Required Experience & Skills:

• 5-10 years of experience in a relevant technical field.
• Advanced academic qualification in Women and Gender Studies or related, or equivalent work experience.
• At least five years of experience providing technical leadership for the design and implementation of women’s economic empowerment and gender transformative programs.
• Demonstrated knowledge and skills related to intersectional gender and power analysis, and to the design, piloting, implementation and evaluation of innovative technical tools and resources to advance gender equality in complex contexts.
• Significant experience in gender and inclusion training, capacity building and mentoring, and a demonstrated ability to make complex concepts compelling and accessible.
• Proven ability to work effectively with a multicultural and diverse team in a sensitive environment.
• Fluency in English. Knowledge of Arabic and French is an advantage.
• Solid knowledge and application of established inter-agency standards and guidelines relevant to the protection and prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.
• Solid knowledge of empowering women for economic opportunities.
• Knowledge and understanding of and/or prior work experience in Lebanon, or the Middle East is a significant advantage.
• Knowledge of GAC’s gender equality policies, standards, and tools is essential.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization 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 on the basis of race, color, 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 are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.