Consultant (Team) Gender & Disability Analysis and Training in Moldova and Romania

The Austrian NGO Jugend Eine Welt – Don Bosco Entwicklungszusammenarbeit (JEW) and its partners Fundatia Don Bosco (Don Bosco Moldova), A.O. CONCORDIA. Proiecte Sociale (CONCORDIA Moldova) and Organizația Umanitară CONCORDIA (CONCORDIA Romania), implement the Humanitarian Measures Protection and Livelihood for Ukrainian refuge Seekers (PLUS) with a duration from 01.05.2022 to 31.07.2023. The measures are funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and contribute to an effective and safe emergency response for refugees from Ukraine.

The purpose of these Terms of Reference (TOR) is to initiate a Gender & Disability Analysis (GDA) for the above-mentioned humanitarian aid measures in the Republic of Moldova and Romania. The overall objective of the GDA is to identify access barriers of participation in activities and access to existing emergency accommodations and temporary accommodations, based on the persons sex, gender, age and legal status. It is expected that the GDA gives practical recommendation how to tailor emergency and mid-term measures according to the needs of children, unaccompanied and separated children (UASC), women, elderly, people with disability (with and without access to mobility), Romani and people without legal documents. Further, practical recommendations are expected to guide measures to be adopted according to gender specific needs offering a sensitive and safe environment to children, UASC and women. The assessment process will include close cooperation with the Programme Directors from Don Bosco Moldova, CONCORDIA Moldova and CONCORDIA Romania

To respond to the specific challenges of UASC, boys and girls, women, elderly, persons with disabilities, Romani, other minority groups, and people without legal documents, a GDA will be conducted in the facilities of Chişinău, Rajon Nisporeni, Rajon Orhei, Rajon Ștefan Vodă in Bucharest and Ploiesti including assessments of intersectionality. Recommendations for adaptations of the intervention will be developed in order to dismantle barriers encountered by girls, boys, women, men and persons with disabilities.

At the end of the assessment period, the consultants will deliver a report as well as a comprehensive training for Emergency Team staff members of the Project Committee. The training will include gender- and disability sensitive topics such as protection, prevention of GBV, safeguarding, access barriers for people with disabilities as well stipulate the staff’s awareness to identify gender specific needs. Further, the training will include a component to identify Persons with Disabilities with and without access to mobility and develop a protocol for the project partners to refer persons with disabilities that cannot be protected in the frame of PLUS as well as UASC to existing agencies, shelters and accommodations.

The findings of the assessment and practical recommendations will be adopted in the project Log Frame and Project Implementation Schedule. The monitoring of the gender-responsiveness of the programme is part of regular consultations of the Project Committee and documented in the Evaluation and Monitoring Plan.

The gender and disability analysis should cover qualitative and quantitative information, sex-age disaggregated data and an analysis of gender as well disability specific problem areas for refugees in the Republic of Moldova and Romania. It should provide an analysis of the gender sensitivity present at the project partners, the program team, care professionals and emergency team staff and the impact on the beneficiaries. The assessment shall review possible obstacles on the activity and program level for equal access to the program interventions and activities depending on gender and disability.

The consultant(s) will be expected to:

• Map existing networks (safeguarding, women empowerment) as well as agencies, organisations and protocols working with at-risk refugees in the Republic of Moldova and Romania (UASC, elderly, people with disabilities, people without documents);
• Identify key barriers and obstacles for beneficiaries with gender and disability specific needs to access accommodation spaces and social services;
• Formulate recommendations for the program with concrete suggestions about how to improve the gender and disability-responsive approach in the programme;
• Conduct a gender and disability-learning needs assessment (via interviews, staff survey, etc.) assessing knowledge gaps of professional care and emergency team staff and their capacities to carry out gender and disability sensitive measures;
• Develop training methodology that meets the needs of the staff to implement safe and sensitive services and activities for at risk girls, women, elderly, people with disabilities and people without documentation;
• Record and conclude the results of the GDA including practical recommendations for further use in a document of maximum 30 pages, including an Executive Summary (3 – 5 pages).

The consultant(s) should be specialized in the areas of Gender and/or Disability and Development. Knowledge and experience implementing participatory research methods is seen as an asset:

• University degree in social sciences, humanities, development or equivalent;
• Proven Knowledge and Experience in the areas of Gender and/or Disability and Development;
• Knowledge of internationally recognized documents and guidelines on the promotion of gender equality and disability rights, e.g. the EU Gender Action Plan (GAP) III 2021-2025 and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;
• Evidence of at least 3 years of experience in conceptualizing and conducting studies, evaluating statistics within the fields of gender and development at regional, national and/or international level;
• Excellent command of methods and tools for collecting, surveying, analysing and synthesizing statistical and qualitative data;
• Mastery of facilitation techniques, animation training and participatory methods;
• Proficient English as well as Romanian (spoken and read), ability to communicate in Ukrainian is an asset.

On 6th of May, 11am CET, a Zoom-Call will be arranged for interested service providers, with the possibility to pose questions on the call for proposal. All parties interested to participate in the call are requested to register with Irmgard Neuherz ([email protected]) by 5th of May 2022.