Land O’Lakes Venture37

Call for Applications —Individual consultant 

SCOPE OF WORK 

Assignment Title: Gender Equality and Social Inclusion “GESI” Analysis 

Assignment Locations: Zambia, Lusaka 

Contract (Level of Effort): Up to a maximum of 15 days (about 2 weeks)  

Intended dates: November 20, to December 20, 2023 

Project Background 

The Cooperative Resilience and Equity Activity (CORE) is a $11.6 million, 5-year activity being implemented by Land O’Lakes International Development (Land O’Lakes) in Rwanda and Zambia, with funding from the United States Agency for International Development – Washington (USAID-Washington). The goal of CORE is to foster vibrant, sustainable cooperative ecosystems in Rwanda and Zambia, in which self-managed cooperatives and all their members flourish economically and socially. Through CORE, Venture37 will take a localized and market-responsive approach, engaging market actors, including women and youth, in activity design, implementation and measurement. CORE will 1) Inclusively strengthen the capacity of cooperatives by dynamically responding to their unique challenges and market opportunities by adapting existing, tested tools. 2) Improve the cooperative enabling environment by working with private and public service providers to deliver market-responsive and well-coordinated services to cooperatives. 3) Spur innovation, learning and continuous improvement in the local and global development community through embedded applied research.

Objective and specific technical tasks of the assignment 

CORE will foster cooperative ecosystems that sustain and strengthen enterprises which adhere to an inclusive, socially responsible, and resilient cooperative business model—a model aligned with the Development Objectives of USAID’s Operating Units, USAID’s Gender-Based Violence (GBV) foundational elements, and the government of Zambia. 

The fundamental question that this assignment will seek to answer is: how can CORE equitably engage women and men and young people to achieve its strategic objectives and advance women’s empowerment? This shall be achieved through conducting gender analysis in Zambia and producing its corresponding Action plan. 

2.1 GESI Analysis 

• Review and better understand the root causes of gender inequalities and their correlation with the dairy, horticulture, and oilseed value chains and recommend strategies for GESI integration in the CORE project design and implementation workplans
• Review, identify, understand, and explain gaps between males and females and young people that exist in agricultural cooperative organizations.
• Review the CD4 gender analysis report, identify gaps, and inform the design and implementation of gender transformative interventions for CORE. 
• Identify and understand the ways in which gender norms and power dynamics affect how women, young people, and people with disabilities access, participate in and benefit from cooperative membership, including their presence and meaningful influence in leadership roles. (e.g. What barriers do women, youth, and people with disabilities face in their attempt to access and control resources, assets, income, social networks, public and private services, employment, technology, and information – explore GBV and implications to CORE implementation) 
• Review the cooperative enabling environment, understand local laws, policies and identify opportunities for women and youth engagement and participation in CORE. (e.g. Do relevant laws, policies, and institutional practices contain implicit or explicit women and youth biases that may affect their ability to participate in the value chains, assume leadership roles, and access the support provided by the project?). 
• Review and develop recommendations for effective gender and youth inclusion into the activity’s baselines, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) frameworks, project planning and key program interventions (e.g. What are the potential impacts, including unintended or negative consequences, of the project on women and men with disabilities, their relations and support systems. 

2.2. GESI Action Plan 

Develop GESI action plan and lead virtual workshop with Venture37 staff to present and validate findings. 

Methodology 

A) A comprehensive desk review of existing studies and reports including but not limited to: 

• World Bank. 2023. Zambia Gender Assessment. © Washington, DC: World Bank. 
• GenderEqualityinZambia-EquivalenceofOutcomeorOpportunity.pdf 
• Zambia: How Cooperatives Are Enabling Women to Take Advantage of Large-Scale Textile Business Opportunities - allAfrica.com 
• USAID’s Collective Action to Reduce Gender-Based Violence (CARE-GBV) 
• USAID Gender Analyses 
• Zambia cooperative policy, cooperative law, and other relevant regulatory guidelines
• CORE program description

B)

Primary data collection through selected key informants with cooperative members/leaders currently participating in CORE’s Agriculture value chains of focus, institutions supporting development of cooperatives, of gender development and or implementing similar programs. 

1. Outputs and deliverables 

# 

Activity/Deliverable 

Description of activity/deliverable 

Estimated LOE (Days) 

Estimated Due time 

Orientation meeting 

Meet with CORE staff to get an overview of the assignment 

1 

November 24, 2023 

Desk review 

Review the existing key documents including but not limited to 

• USAID’s Collective Action to Reduce Gender-Based Violence (CARE-GBV) 
• USAID Gender Analyses 
• CORE program description 
• Zambia cooperative regulatory documents (policy, law, strategies…) 

4 

Data collection 

Conduct selected and targeted Key Informant interviews, to confirm the relevance and or validity of data gathered through the literature review; a maximum of 5 interviews including but not limited to Cooperative leaders, cooperative members, program staff and or other local relevant stakeholders 

2 

November 

Gender Analysis 

Conduct an analysis of data from the literature reviews and conducted interviews, and submit a gender analysis report to CORE 

4 

November 

Gender action plan 

Develop and submit a gender action plan to Venture37 

2 

November 

Validation and reporting 

Finalize the gender analysis and action plan, accommodating feedback from Land O’Lakes Venture37 

2 

December 

Total Days 

15 

1. Consultants Qualification/Experience 

• Graduate degree in gender/women’s studies, international development, social science, or relevant field of study. 
• Minimum five years' experience in project/program and strategy design and implementation.
• At least 5 years of technical field experience working with/on gender development in Zambia and or in the region. 
• Proven track record conducting gender and or youth analysis. 
• Understanding and experience of USAIDs approach to gender equality and social inclusion. 
• Understanding of agriculture sector development and cooperative issues in Zambia 
• Proven record in delivering high quality outputs on time and on budget. 
• Country experience 
• Available for assignment as soon as possible. 

Interested consultants are encouraged to send their cover letter explaining their interest and justifying their candidacy, CVs, two certificates of completion of similar assignments to Procurement.CDP@landolakes.com no later than November 20th, 2023, at 6:00PM Lusaka time. The title of the email must include “GESI Analysis, CORE Zambia.” Do not submit your application via the "Apply Now" button below as it will not be reviewed. We will be reviewing applications as they are received, so please submit your application at your earliest convenience.

Other Considerations: 

Land O’Lakes Venture37 will provide transportation and other necessary logistical supplies for the consultant. 

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