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  • CENN: Job Announcement of CARE International in the Caucasus

    Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)
    T +995 32 75 19 03/04
    F +995 32 75 19 05
    <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]
    <http://www.cenn.org> www.cenn.org


    CARE International in the Caucasus

    Job Announcement



    CARE International in the Caucasus serves disempowered people so they
    can overcome poverty with dignity. CARE models the principles of
    transparency, accountability, participation, equity and continuous
    learning.

    Job Title: Evaluation Consultant (for conducting participatory
    Baseline study)

    Organization: CARE-International in the Caucasus

    Place of Assignment: `Strengthening Women's Capacity for
    Peace-building in the South Caucasus region'

    Band: International hire

    Reports to: The contractor reports directly to the designated CARE
    Caucasus Project Director

    Duration: max 50 working days between March and May 2010

    Start Date: ca. 8 March 2010


    SUMMARY



    CARE International is looking for an international expert to
    conceptualise and conduct a base line study for a multi-year regional
    project in the South Caucasus aimed at strengthening women's capacity
    for peace-building in the region. The project is funded by the
    European Commission and the Austrian Development Cooperation.



    The consultant shall, in max. 50 working days, be responsible for:

    - design, undertaking and completion of the project's base line study,
    involving partners for information collection;

    - proposing recommendations on how to adapt indicators of success to
    current regional/local contexts and base line findings;

    - proposing, based on consultation with CARE staff and partners,
    monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for the project



    BACKGROUND



    The Caucasus wars in the early 90ies caused more than a million
    refugees and IDPs across the region. After ceasefire agreements
    stopped hostilities (between 1992-94), failing progress of peace talks
    kept the regions in a no-war, no-peace situation, maintaining
    war-affected population in extreme poverty, preventing sustainable
    rehabilitation of refugees and IDPs, hindering the development of
    equitable, pluralistic societies, and perpetuating a climate of
    insecurity, hostility and fear. The brief 2008 war over South Ossetia
    has caused more displacement and damage to communities, and changed
    the political environment for peace processes significantly.

    Women and men make different experiences during conflict and take on
    different roles in conflict and postconflict situations. Women's equal
    and full participation in the prevention and resolution of conflicts,
    in post-conflict reconstruction and peace-building is an important
    precondition for the sustainability of peace processes. This has been
    stated by a number of international standard setting policy documents
    such as the Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on women,
    peace and security and UNSCR 1820 on sexual and gender-based violence
    in times of conflict. However, the peace efforts/post-conflict
    rehabilitation processes in the Caucasus are far from living up to the
    aspirations of these standards.

    The project therefore aims at strengthening women's role in
    peace-building in the South Caucasus in line with these policy
    commitments. This vision encompasses peace processes where there are
    consultation mechanisms between political leaderships and women's
    rights groups; women's specific human security needs are assessed and
    addressed; women's rights are protected; post-conflict reconstruction
    and rehabilitation programmes are gender-sensitive rather than
    gender-blind; the importance of women's contributions to
    peace-building at community levels is recognised and their peace
    initiatives supported; the conflict and peace processes are used as an
    opportunity to address historical gender inequalities and
    discrimination; international interventions (peacekeeping,
    programming, policy dialogues) are gender mainstreamed and women
    participate as decision-makers in high-level peace talks.

    The project's specific objective is to Support partner NGOs from
    across the South Caucasus to create an enabling environment where
    marginalized women from conflict-affected communities can protect
    their rights and take active part in decision-making.

    The specific objective is a twofold empowerment objective. Firstly,
    the project aims to further empower partner NGOs from different sides
    in conflict to contribute to the creation of an enabling environment
    for gender equality, women's participation and women's rights in the
    Caucasian peace efforts. Partners will be supported to challenge,
    through advocacy, capacity-building and cooperation across
    conflict-divides, social and cultural, political and legal forces that
    hinder women in developing their full potential and role in peace
    processes. Secondly, the project aims to strengthen the voices of
    directly conflict-affected, marginalised women and to build their
    capacity to (a) protect and defend their rights and (b) contribute to
    peace and security through community-based activism. The project
    intends to achieve tangible improvements in all three core dimensions
    of women's empowerment identified by CARE: agency, relations and
    structures. By the end of the project, partner NGOs shall have
    strengthened their organisational sustainability and self-reliance
    through enhanced skills, resources, contacts and networks, advocacy
    experience, access to information and funding opportunities. There
    will be examples where decision-makers have acted upon/responded to
    recommendations generated by the project. Partner NGOs' peace-building
    and network initiatives will have greater visibility and recognition
    in media and broader society.


    The project focuses on the two following target groups:

    Target group 1: Six local partners - one from each South Caucasus
    `entity': civil society organisations with long-standing engagement in
    peace-building and women empowerment. All have branches or a network
    stretching across their country/region.

    Target group 2: Marginalised women that have been directly affected by
    conflict: including minority women, IDPs/refugees, returnees, widows,
    relatives of injured or missing persons, war invalids, ex-combatants,
    & socially vulnerable women in areas that might be affected by renewed
    conflict. A core group of 80-100 women from marginalised
    conflict-affected communities will have started to act as leaders for
    initiatives aimed at improving women's situation in conflict areas,
    using rights-based approaches. More beneficiary women at the grass
    roots will have gained confidence, knowledge and skills enabling them
    to take active part in community-based or broader social
    initiatives. Some male leaders will have been mobilised in each region
    to actively support a strengthened role for women and gender
    sensitivity in peace-building. There will be some improved legal
    and/or policy guarantees for women's equality, women's rights and
    women's participation (e.g. National Action Plans for the
    implementation of UNSCR 1325/1820 or related strategies).

    The Project estimates to achieve the following results through
    capacity-building of partners, women leaders, community mobilisation,
    local/regional/cross-border networking, engaging with male leaders,
    research on implementation of key aspects of UNSCR 1325/1820,
    local/international advocacy:

    1. Partner organizations have developed sustainable capacity to
    empower marginalised women from conflict-affected communities so their
    rights are better protected, and their confidence and skills to engage
    actively in society and decision-making are increased;

    2. 1500-2000 women from marginalised/conflict-affected target
    communities have built skills to better analyse and articulate key
    human security concerns, forming the basis for advocacy activities
    towards decision-makers;

    3. Lessons learned of women activists and beneficiaries are made
    available and exchanged at national, regional and international
    levels;

    4. Engage with national, regional and international actors on key
    aspects as regards the realisation of UNSCR 1325's objectives in the
    South Caucasus and advocate for improved realisation.


    OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSULTANCY:



    CARE-International in the Caucasus is currently seeking the services
    of a qualified international consultant to carry out a participatory
    baseline study for this project, against which impact can be measured
    within 33 months.


    1) Design a participatory methodology for a base line study

    Indicators contained in the approved Logical Framework at the Specific
    Objective and Expected Results levels should be used as a guideline
    for the type of information to be collected. Indicators currently
    being developed at a global level for monitoring UNSCR1325/1820 should
    also be looked at for guidance. (Information on these can be provided
    by CARE, if necessary.) The base line study should include:

    * An assessment of 6 partners' capacity-building needs and

    * A survey of vital UNSCR 1325 / 1820-related needs of women in
    selected 30-35 target communities in Abkhazia, Georgia, Armenia,
    Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh - suitable to inform also the
    conceptualisation of a piece of research for advocacy purposes.

    CARE and its partners will select the target communities and provide a
    list of these to the consultant before the start of the
    consultancy. Criteria for the selection of target communities include:

    - Communities whose population is suffering consequences of conflict

    - Interest from a critical number of people in the project

    - Needs and issues present in the community that this project is
    suitable to work on

    - Some existing potential/capacity for community-based activism
    (e.g. informal leaders, past experiences)



    Partner organisations should be involved for information gathering
    among target communities. Some key areas of interest for this exercise
    include:

    - Capacity gaps of local women and women's initiatives

    - Areas of insufficient protection of women's human rights (incl.
    gender based violence)

    - State of consultation processes between decision-makers/duty bearers
    and conflict affected women/women's initiatives

    - State of women's representation in institutions deciding on
    rehabilitation / reconstruction

    - programmes


    The assessment will be used as a basis for selecting specific key
    issues the project's community-based empowerment activities shall be
    focusing on, as well as to refine the indicators of the logical
    framework and design the monitoring and evaluation plan.(as stated
    below).

    The assessment should be based on good standards of `gender analysis'
    (and take into account, as relevant, CARE Österreich's Gender Analysis
    Guidelines to be found at:
    http://expert.care.at/downloads/careexpert/COe _GenderAnalysisGuidelines.pdf)
    ..


    2) Manage the information gathering and produce a base line report

    The consultant is responsible for supervising the information
    collection by partners, analysing the information gathered, and
    compiling a base line report.

    The report should include specific recommendations on how to
    revise/refine/concretise the indicators of success for the project.
    Indicator revisions shall be guided by identified local needs,
    realism, as well as taking into account, where suitable, global
    peace-building/women empowerment indicators currently under
    development. (Information on these will be provided to the consultant
    by CARE.)



    3) Provide recommendations to CARE for the implementation strategy

    The consultant is also expected to provide recommendations and
    suggestions to CARE for the project's implementation strategy,
    including on what kind of communication and media actions will be most
    relevant and fruitful for targeted communities and the purpose of the
    project.


    4) Propose monitoring, evaluation & learning mechanisms for the project

    In consultation with local partners, CARE Caucasus, CARE International
    Eastern Europe Coordinator, CARE Austria gender expert and CARE UK
    conflict adviser, the consultant shall propose monitoring, evaluation
    & learning mechanisms for the project. The monitoring should cover
    both quantitative and qualitative components, disaggregated by gender,
    and shall be based on the revised indicators of success mentioned
    above.



    5) Present findings and discuss their implications for the project at
    a first regional meeting in Istanbul



    It is suggested that the consultant attends a regional meeting of CARE
    staff and partner organisations in late May 2010 (probably in
    Istanbul) to present the base line data, discuss revised indicators of
    success, and agree the roles of each project participant in
    monitoring, evaluation and learning.



    Methodology



    The consultant is expected to make one visit each to Abkhazia,
    Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh in the course of the
    base line study. South Ossetia is currently not being
    assessed. Partner organisations should be used as appropriate for
    information gathering among target communities.



    Deliverables / time frame:



    - Visits to target areas between ca. 15 March and 18 April (partly in
    company of the CARE Project Director)

    - Submission of report: 1st draft end of April / 2nd draft mid-May

    - Participation/presentation at regional workshop: tentative dates for
    workshop: week starting 24 May



    The baseline study should be completed in not more than 50 working
    days. The detailed plan of the study will be agreed upon with CARE
    during the first week of the consultant's work. The consultant will be
    expected to spend ca. 50% of time in the target regions (1 visit each
    to 5 regions). He/she will receive adequate support from CARE's
    program staff. Travel to/from and within the target regions and
    accommodation costs will be reimbursed upon the study's
    completion/borne by CARE.



    Qualifications required:



    The consultant should possess:

    - Experience in base line research and needs assessment

    - Expertise in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

    - Good Russian (reading, communicating and writing)

    - Excellent English writing skills

    - Good understanding of the South Caucasus region, in particular
    conflict dynamics

    - Technical expertise in gender/peace-building

    - Good understanding of the UN SCRs on `Women, Peace and Security
    (1325, 1880, 1882 and 1889)



    REMUNERATION AND APPLICATION PROCEDURE



    Service fee will be commensurate to knowledge
    and experience of the applicant.


    Interested applicants should submit a resume/CV with a cover letter
    and a proposal (a comprehensive plan of the activities as related to
    the terms of reference, a proposal should indicate sound
    implementation methodology, anticipated levels of effort, timeframe,
    output format and presentation, no longer than 10 pages) to the
    following address: <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] with subject
    heading `1325 project baseline survey'.



    Short listed candidates will be called for interview and presentation.
    For logistical reasons, non-shortlisted candidates will not be
    contacted.


    Deadline for submission of the documents is February 22, 2010, 13.00
    hrs Tbilisi time.



    CARE International is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
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