Learning on inclusive leadership and intersectional approaches in Lobby and Advocacy

Overview

The program “Feminist Power in Action for Women’s Economic Rights” (FemPawer) aims to strengthen the capacities of young women who face multiple economic gender-based violence (E/GBV) discriminations in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Tunisia to become leaders for change. By holding duty bearers accountable and improving conditions for young women in the informal sector through target-led activities, the program ensures that discriminated young women become advocates for their own rights and propose relevant solutions and recommendations. The FemPawer program focuses on strengthening leadership, challenging prevailing social norms, and promoting women’s economic rights (WER). It is led by a consortium of 4 organizations and consists of a network of 39 Women’s Rights Organizations (WROs), also referred to as Partner Organizations (POs), that are diverse and vary in size, experience, geographical location, and profile.

Kvinna till Kvinna, Collective for Research and Training on Development-Action (CRTDA), The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD), and Arab Women Organization (AWO), together, are looking for a consultancy team, to (1) develop a module on inclusive and intersectional leadership in Lobby and Advocacy (L&A) on E/GBV, (2) design a mentoring scheme targeting POs leaders/managers to practice inclusive leadership at program and organizational level, (3) deliver a Training of Trainers (ToT) on inclusive leadership and intersectional approaches in Lobby and Advocacy and (4) implement the mentoring program.

About Kvinna till Kvinna

The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation has defended women’s rights since 1993. Today, we are one of the world’s leading feminist women’s rights organizations, working directly in areas affected by war and conflict to strengthen the influence and power of all women. We work closely together with around 150 partner organizations in 20 countries to defend women’s rights, achieve gender equality and justice, and reach lasting feminist peace. We work in both conflict-affected and humanitarian contexts, supporting women’s rights and peace building with a long-term perspective. We strive to be a flexible and reliable partner for women’s rights organizations in these contexts, supporting them to adapt their work to the state of conflict and emergencies.

About other members in the consortium

AWO has been operating in Jordan since 1970, their mandate is to promote gender equality and women’s rights. CRTDA has been operating in Lebanon and regionally since 2003 and their mandate is to promote gender and citizenship equality and social justice and to have women become politically, socially, and economically autonomous and give them the voice and agency needed to participate in political and social societal spheres. PWWSD has been operating in Palestine since 1981 as a social movement and registered in 2001, and their mandate is to strive for national liberation, gender equality, the eradication of all forms of discrimination against women, and activate women’s participation in social and democratic change.

Background

The Program recognizes that economic discrimination towards women is a form of gender-based violence, and is interlinked with sexual, psychological, and physical gender based-violence. It further recognizes that women as a category are not a homogeneous group and are affected differently depending on the power relations that is prevailing in the various contexts.

The program aims to strengthen innovative and inclusive leadership in a mutual learning space that reflects the young women’s and WRO’s experiences and knowledge. We assume that if there is knowledge at the consortium and program level that promotes inclusion, participation and mutual learning of diverse type of women, voices, experiences of eGBV then, the consortium will be able to promote the intersectionality approach in lobby and advocacy, hence, partner organizations will implement lobby and advocacy related activities in an inclusive way, including voices of all, as opposed to majority groups only, this because the young women’s experiences and knowledge are reflected and brought into consideration that will positively impact advocacy recommendations for WER.

Objectives

1. Develop a modular resource focusing on inclusive leadership and intersectional approaches in Lobby and Advocacy
2. Design a mentoring scheme targeting POs leaders/managers to practice inclusive leadership at program and organizational level
3. Deliver a training of trainers in implementing intersectional approach to L&A
4. Follow up with the mentors on the implementation of the mentoring sessions

Methodology

In order to meet the objectives of the assignment, we envision the below methodology. This can be amended with the consultancy team.

Objective 1

• Desk review on intersectionality theories and practices on the theme of economic gender-based violence,
• Conduct Key Informant Interviews (KII) with relevant scholars from the MENA region on the themes of intersectionality and its practice within the framework of economic gender-based violence,
• Conduct focus groups (FGDs) with selected partner organizations (POs) on the practice of intersectionality in their work of lobbying and advocacy,
• Deliver a report containing an annotated bibliography, an analysis of the KIIs and the FGDs as well as recommendations on how to operate in an inclusive way.

Objective 2

• Development of a modular resource focusing on mentoring on inclusive leadership and including learning on best practices. The modular can include:
  • Training/awareness/workshops for mentors and mentees on what is mentoring and what is intersectionality and inclusion and why it matters,
  • Mentors/mentees identification and pairing mechanisms,
  • Mentoring sessions,
  • Mentors peer learning and improvement of mentoring scheme, etc.
• Development a mentoring plan targeting partner organizations and young women network.

Objective 3

• Design training material for the ToT,
• Develop selection criteria/profile for ToT participants,
• Selection of participants among consortium members to become trainers,
• Deliver ToT in a regional face-to-face workshop,
• Training of partner organizations (trainees) by newly trained trainers,
• Follow-up and support (peer support) to the newly trained trainers,
• Improve training material and support following the trainers and trainees’ experiences.

Training topics can be around:

• Definition, trends, good practices, lessons learned,
• Why does it matter, looking at our own bias (racism, sexism, colonialism, classism, etc.),
• Practice in L&A and related matters (tools and methodologies).

Objective 4

To ensure that intersectionality thinking is included in lobby and advocacy of partner organizations and doors are open within the organization to be fully inclusive and diverse in considering and involving women coming from different identities, a mentoring program will be implemented.

• Identify mentors and mentees,
• Training and matching of mentors and mentees,
• Goal setting for the mentees on inclusive leadership,
• Mentoring exchanges,
• Test and improve the model of the modules based on mentor/mentee experiences and recommendations.
• Follow-up, monitoring and evaluation.

Scope

Intended Users

The trainings and mentoring are intended for the consortium partners, WROs sub-granted in FemPawer and young women champions who are part of the FemPawer network.

Timeline

The assignment is expected to be carried out over a period of 20 months (April 01, 2024 – November 30, 2025).

• ToT is expected to be delivered by September 2024
• In country trainings by trainers is expected to be carried out between October and December 2024
• Mentorship program is expected to be launched in Q1 of 2025

The consultant when planning the timeline of the work should take into consideration that a “Working Group” will be involved in reviewing and providing feedback at different stages of the assignment.

Deliverables

1. Inception report and workplan
2. Modular resource focusing on inclusive leadership and intersectional approaches in Lobby and Advocacy,
3. ToT training design and materials,
4. Modular resources focusing on mentoring on inclusive leadership and including learning on best practices,
5. Mentoring scheme and materials,
6. Final report (including reporting on quantitate & qualitative indicator agreed upon)

Budget

A detailed budget suggested by the consultant in EURO, should be shared along with the technical offer submitted by the consultant (The monetary amount suggested by the external consultant is “All tax included”).

The total budget for the assignment shall cover all costs related to the assignment, excluding travel costs. Travel and accommodation to consultants and people attending trainings will be covered by the consortium. Contracted consultant/s cannot further subcontract the assignment. In cases where the tender includes a team of consultants, their division of labour shall be presented in advance to the Consortium Coordinator.

Qualifications

The consultant (s) should meet the desired criteria:

• Knowledge of feminist pedagogy, training techniques and mentorship,
• Knowledge in intersectional feminist concepts and analyses,
• Ability to facilitate dialogue, learning and collaboration with a diverse group of stakeholders and leadership styles,
• Professional experience working with women’s rights organizations,
• Professional experience in conducting similar work is preferable,
• Full proficiency in spoken and written Arabic and English,
• Ability to handle tight deadlines in a professional manner,
• Great communication skills,
• Organized and timely,
• Creative in overcoming barriers and ability to coordinate with multiple entities.