Hiring of a Consultant for GESI Audit

I.     Introduction:

Ipas is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) which works to assist the Government of Pakistan in achieving the country’s commitment towards the Sustainable Development Goal 3 (good health and wellbeing). It seeks to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity associated with complications due to unsafe practices. Improving reproductive healthcare is vital to preserve women’s reproductive capacity (fertility). We collaborate with provincial governments (in Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and the ICT region to provide technical assistance and support for strengthening the public and private healthcare system. We improve the provision of maternal healthcare services based on nationally approved guidelines and recommended technologies such as uterine evacuation and healthy spacing methods. We help to upgrade government-run hospitals and medical facilities by providing need-based equipment, supplies, and training to health care practitioners.

Ipas Pakistan is seeking the services of consultant to conduct a Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) audit which is also known as a Gender and Diversity (GED) Audit. The aim of this participatory review process is to assess the strengths of our current programs and institutional policy and practice and to identify existing good practices to reinforce and recommend specific ways to further improve organizational capacity in order achieve our mission.

To maximize learning, this GESI Audit will be led by an external consultant and supported by an internal team of Ipas staff.

II.    Period of Performance: June – August 2024

III.   Place of Performance: Ipas Head Office in Islamabad and virtual

IV.  Scope of Work:

a) Develop the overall methodology of the GESI Audit including the analytical framework to be used and related tools. Ipas recommends the use of the Gender Integration Framework as the analytical framework to guide the process focusing on Political Will, Accountability, Technical Capacity and Organizational Culture. However, the consultant may recommend an alternative globally accepted analytical framework with justification.

b) Conduct a desk review of the actual policies, strategies and guidance documents of Ipas Pakistan. The purpose of this will be to assess the “Accountability” dimension – i.e. the formal policies and procedures that guide and enforce gender and diversity integration in the institutional and programmatic aspects of our operations. This desk review must be conducted against a globally accepted Gender Marker. This desk review will include documents related to GESI in:

• Programs: planning and design, implementation, technical experience, monitoring and evaluation, advocacy, communications and partnerships.
• Institutional Policy & Practice: workforce data, policies and strategies, capacity building, culture and human resources.

c) Pretest relevant quantitative and quantitative tools such as anonymous online staff survey, followed by conducting the staff survey, focused group discussion (FDG’s) and key informant interviews (KII). This stage may be accompanied by co-facilitation of Ipas steering group if deemed appropriate.  For the sake of diversity and inclusion it is necessary for the consultant to have online staff survey tool to be translated and executed in both English and Urdu languages.

d) Produce the draft report including the above data analysis, the program desk review, incorporating findings from the staff survey and focus group discussions and prioritized recommendations. The structure of the report will be proposed by the Consultant to Ipas in advance for feedback and approval. The report will provide findings and specific recommendations to continue good practices as well as address any gaps identified. In order to do this, the consultant will work closely with Ipas steering group to prioritize the recommendations.

V.        Reporting to:  Community Engagement Advisor & HR Officer, Accountable to: Country Director

VI. Deliverables/Milestones

Deliverable and level of effort required

• Finalization of GESI Audit Methodology and data collection tools 5 days
• Completion of desk review of policies 10 days
• Completion Staff feedback, FGD’S and KII 10 days
• Draft report submission 10 days
• Feedback incorporation and sharing of final report 5 days

VII.      Skills and Experience Requirements:

Essential skills and experience:

• Experience of conducting gender and diversity audits in organizations.
• Expertise and proven track record of gender mainstreaming in programs and/or gender and diversity integration in workplace policy and practice.
• Technical and applied knowledge of gender and diversity principles, analytical frameworks and practice.
• Strong research and analysis skills.
• Track record of producing high quality reports of complex information in accessible formats.
• Good facilitation skills for convening outcome-oriented discussions among small groups.
• Master’s in social science or Gender Studies or relevant degree.

• Experience of working in the international development sector Excellent written and spoken English and Urdu.

Desirable skills and experience:

• Prior work experience in SRHR and SAS, GBV, and rights-based approach documentation will be an added advantage.
• Fluency in spoken Pushto or Punjabi.

VIII.       Application Process

Interested applicants are invited to submit their offers to Ipas by 5:00pm on 24 May, 2024.

Applications must include the following information:

• Technical Proposal including the approach to completing the deliverables outlined in this SoW and estimated time required for each task.

• Writing sample preferably to be a previous GESI/Gender and Diversity Audit report produced or a report about gender and diversity/gender mainstreaming analysis of an initiative.
• CV of the individual consultant, or in the case of a consultancy firm, the CVs of one or two key personnel proposed for this assignment.
• Financial Proposal including Estimated cost including the breakdown of daily fee and number of days required for delivering this assignment.
• Confirmation of availability to undertake this assignment within the indicated timeframe. 

This assignment can be carried out in hybrid model whereby certain aspects such as desk review may be carried out remotely while other tasks such as FGD’s and staff interviews will be conducted in person. The consultant would be expected to readily deploy an alternative approach, with prior approval of Ipas in the event unforeseen circumstances to ensure that the assignment is duly completed on time and to satisfactory standard. 

IX.       Budget: Ipas Pakistan will pay only the consultancy fee as per the agreement between both parties. The estimated level of effort required for this assignment should not exceed 40 days.

Tax will be conducted as per Government of Pakistan policy.

Ipas is strongly committed to providing a work environment that is free from all forms of harassment, discrimination, and inequity.  We recruit, employ, train, promote, and compensate our personnel without regard to race, age, sex, religion, national origin, color, creed, ancestry, citizenship, caste, ethnicity, regional identity, tribal identity, marital status, veteran status, disability, genetic information, gender identity, transgender status, sexual orientation, or any other personal characteristic protected by law or outlined by Ipas policy. Ipas acknowledges that these personal characteristics may differ in different contexts.