Development Impact & Gender Advisors at FSD Africa

• This call for EoIs aims to identify individual consultants with expertise in one, or a combination, of the following key areas:

Research, Evaluations and Insights (REI)

• Provide intellectual and practical guidance on strategic research projects, helping the REI team define research questions and offering constructive feedback on research proposals, reports and presentations.
• Provide advice on Terms of Reference (ToRs) and support procurement for specific thematic evaluations or other studies.
• Provide guidance on effective communication and dissemination strategies for research studies, evaluations and other evidence-based materials.
• Support the REI team in Peer review for research studies conducted.
• Leveraging their networks, support the REI unit in introducing, establishing and maintaining partnerships with high-quality and influential actors in the ecosystem.

Development Impact Planning and Delivery (DIPD)

• Provide expert advice to the Director, Development Impact on the current state of knowledge relating to the impact of the financial system on sustainable development
• Provide high-level technical support for DI ex-ante screening process, offering expertise across key themes such as nature, carbon, energy, and gender.
• Review intervention proposals to identify impact gaps, ensuring robust evidence supports impact scoring and DI risk assessments for proposed interventions.
• Serve as a panellist in the Impact Review Panel (IRP), evaluating impact theses, gender approaches, and additionality frameworks to confirm they are evidencebased, rigorous, and aligned with FSD Africa desired outcomes.
• Offer expert insights and recommendations to deal teams through the DIPD team, facilitating informed decisions that balance financial returns and impact goals.
• Participate in pre-IC sessions, supporting the DIPD team in articulating and defending the impact narrative within investment and project proposals.
• Support the DIPD team in designing and delivering capacity-building sessions and modules for partners
• This EOI also aims to attract qualified individual consultants with gender expertise in the following gender related areas:
• Developing gender strategies in financial and development sectors, climate finance and just transition programming.
• Integrating gender considerations across project cycles, including design, implementation, and impact measurement including designing and developing sector specific tools and frameworks.
• Conducting gender analysis, developing gender action plans, and designing robust results monitoring and evaluation frameworks.
• Undertaking gender budgeting, gender lens investing, financial inclusion for women, and integrating gender considerations into proposal research and strategy development.

Experience

• The consultants wishing to be considered for shortlisting will need to demonstrate some, all, or a combination of the below experience and a readiness to fulfil the following anticipated work plans.

Overall key competencies:

• Sound and in-depth knowledge of Africa's financial markets and related challenges that hinder socio-economic growth, including themes relevant to FSD Africa's strategy.
• Demonstrated experience supporting development impact within private sector development programmes across SSA.
• Experience in conducting research and generating insights and evidence to support adaptive management within organisations.
• Evidence of quality management processes and experience to deliver a high-quality output on schedule and with value for money considerations
• Experience in impact planning and delivery within financial sector development, with a focus on key themes such as nature, carbon, energy, and gender.
• Experience in designing capacity-building initiatives on development impact for partners and key stakeholders.
• Available to start at the required time and can engage with this assignment to deliver outputs as per schedule.
• Partnerships and networks with market actors such as funders, thinktanks, ecosystem enablers, to support external development impact activities.
• Experience conducting Training of Trainers (ToT) and institutional capacity strengthening.
• Solid understanding of market system development (MSD) approach and understanding of issues related to gender finance gaps in programming and investment.
• Knowledge of the donor landscape especially potential donors with a strong commitment in gender finance and climate space.
• Language proficiency of French is desirable