Consultant at ACT! (Act Change Transform)

Job Details

Act! is constantly seeking to build on lessons learnt in the implementation of our peacebuilding programmes. This in turn enable us to better support our CSO partners and the communities we serve to pursue sustainable approaches to the peaceful resolution of conflict.  Globally there is now clear evidence about the difference that women’s participation in peace and security makes in terms of effectiveness and sustainability. A recent UN Secretary-General’s report to the Security Council called women leadership and participation in peacebuilding a “prerequisite for the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” In other words, without women’s participation, lasting peace will not be achieved; and without the stability of peace, sustainable development will also not be achieved.  These assertions attest to the centrality of women’s participation and leadership in peace and security processes.  These issues are also ambitious in nature and should be understood to be long-term political projects as evidenced by the failure to enact the Gender Bill in Kenya.  While most women’s empowerment programmes take a Rights Based Approach, it is also important for peacebuilding actors to interrogate and make the case based on empirical evidence of the impact of women’s participation. To aid in transforming the status quo, peace builders need to become better at communicating the links between gender inequality and conflict and, between gender equality and peaceful outcomes.

Purpose of the assessment

Under the PSS Development Engagement, one of the key output areas is “Increased women engagement in leadership roles in peace and security in the project areas”. It is against this background, and in line with the goal of the programme, Act! seeks to draw on the experiences of various actors, to strengthen the role and engagement of women in peace and security in Kenya. By taking stock of common lessons learnt at national level as well as analysing and discussing how the implementation of UNSCR 1325 has worked in Kenya during the past two years. The proposed study will highlight common challenges and share good practices. It will also serve as a resource for cross-learning amongst peacebuilding practitioners on how to nurture the conditions for women’s effective role as peacemakers in practical ways in the Kenyan context.

Act! through the DANIDA funded Peace, Security and Stability Development Engagement therefore intends to undertake an assessment of the current outlook on implementation of UNSCR 1325, the National Action Plan and the women security agenda in Kenya. Act! will thereafter consolidate findings from other assessments and reviews carried out in the past in order to validate and update the existing knowledge on the role of women in peacebuilding in Kenya. This will also help Act! as well as other peace building platforms such as UN Women, Uwiano Platform for Peace, generate new knowledge and strategies for enhancing the role of women in peacebuilding and conflict transformation as well as implementation of UNSCR 1325 in the country.

Objective of the Assessment

The overall objective of the study is to enhance the understanding of Act! partners and other peacebuilding and conflict management practitioners with regard to the current outlook on the implementation of UNSCR 1325, the NAP and the women peace and security agenda in Kenya at a national level. From this study, the consultant will pinpoint the most effective opportunities to strengthen the implementation of UNSCR 1325, particularly through capacity building. The following are the specific objectives:

• Assess progress with regard to the implementation of UNSCR 1325, Kenya National Action Plan to Implement UNSCR 1325 and the Women Peace and Security Agenda and enhance the understanding of Act! and its partners on the status thereof;
• Assess the role of the key stakeholders, including National and County governments in enhancing the role of women in peacebuilding towards implementation of UNSCR 1325 and NAP;
• Document any key lesson(s) learned towards enhancing the role of women in peacebuilding. Opportunities and Challenges in the Implementation of the Women Building Peace Agenda in Kenya.
• Generate strategies and recommendations for enhancing the role of women in peacebuilding, clearly articulating what the communities, CSO’s, County, National Governments and Development Partners can do.

Proposed Approach

The approach will involve among others literature review, Key informant interviews/research and a stakeholder’s review/feedback workshop.

The detailed approach will be as follows:

• Desk review: The consultant will undertake a literature review of the recent secondary data in the realm of gender and conflict in Kenya and beyond especially rationale and implementation progress of UNSCR 1325, the NAP and the women peace and security agenda in Kenya. The assessment will also identify gaps in the implementation of the foregoing resolution and action plan
• Field Research: The consultant will identify key persons to interview based on an agreed criterion and will collect data through key informant interviews, Questionnaires, Focus Group Discussions, among others. The data will be collected from Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, CSOs, community leaders, women leaders, among others.
• Validation workshop: The consultant will produce a report that will be presented to stakeholders in a validation meeting and the feedback used to finalize the reports.

Reporting and Supervision

The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the PBCT Program Manager and with support from the Head of Monitoring and Evaluation and the Peacebuilding Platform head.

Deliverables

The deliverables will be assessed against the provisions of this scope of work set for the assignment. In synopsis, the following are the key deliverables:

• Inception report: Clearly describing the assessment design, data analysis and a work plan for achieving the same. Preliminary secondary data, highlighting the main knowledge gaps, will form a key component of the inception report.
• Draft Assessment Report: This report, between 30 to 40 pages, will have detailed information analysing the current outlook on the implementation of UNSCR 1325, the NAP and the women peace and security agenda in Kenya and strategies for addressing any gaps therein. This report will be reviewed by Act! staff and subjected to stakeholder review during a validation workshop.
• Final Assessment Report: A final report of not more than 40 pages incorporating comments from both the Act! reviewers and the validation workshop will be submitted to Act!

Duration of the Assignment

This task will be carried out over a period of 25 consultancy days.