To achieve the task the consultant will deliver the following tasks;

Conduct a desk review to evaluate the performance of the National Plan of Action for Women Economic Empowerment (NAPWEE) 2016-2021 and related literature, policies and best practices from other programmes, to identify key interventions, and to prioritize interventions in the new action plan.

Conduct qualitative and quantitaive field research including developement of survey tools, data collection, analysis and preparation of reports in selected districts in each region to support the sytematic evaluation and the development of the new action paln. The districts will be purposively selected based on the outcomes of the desk review and areas of focus.

Based on the review and prioritisation, lead the design and development of the successor NAPWEE.

Lead and oversee implementation of the key meetings and workshops for the review and development of the NAPWEE, including;

Provide input to the concept design and execution plans of all key workshops

Foster collaboration and communication of involved stakeholders in the gender and women economic empowerment sub-sectors

Participate in preparations and debriefing meetings before and after key workshops

Support the review of documentation following key processes, such as official stakeholders’ agreement/consensus

Quality management and monitoring of the NAPWEE review and development process.

This assignment will be done in five phases as follows:

Phase I: Develop an Inception Report

• Conduct a detailed literature review to identify gaps, challenges and lessons learnt during the NAPWEE implementation and rapidly assess the continuing relevance of the selected strategies in the context of the changing development landscape and emerging risks. Key aspects include (but are not limited to): effectiveness of the synergies and linkages with other programmes relevant to the NAPWEE; governance and coordination structures; the extent to which the NAPWEE has supported the development of a sustainable social protection system and other relevant sectors.
• Based on well-articulated objectives of the assignment, develop an appropriate methodology and strategy to support the drafting of the NAPWEE, including clear deliverables and related timelines. The process needs to be highly participatory and stakeholder-driven, with involvement of both national and sub-national actors.

• Conduct a stakeholder consultation meeting to present the draft inception report and collet critical feedback and comments on the approach and methodology.

Phase II: Field Data Collection

• • Collect data from purposively selected districts based on outcomes of the desk review to support the identification of pillars/themes of focus in the successor NAPWEE at National districts and community levels.
  • Conduct consultative meetings and in-person interviews with staff from MoGCDSW, other relevant Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), UNICEF, and Civil Society Organizations, Development partners including (but not limited to) to the European, Embassy of Ireland, GIZ and the World Bank to identify key strategic barriers which need to be addressed to promote economic empowerment of women.

Phase III: Draft Successor NAPWEE

• Define and validate the scope and boundaries of the new NAPWEE, as well as key themes/pillars (e.g. via a SWOT analysis), in alignment with key national policies, sectoral strategies and plans.
• Draft successor NAPWEE which outlines the vision, mission and goals together with Key Performance Area (KPAs), corresponding activities, and expected outputs and outcomes.

Phase IV: Conduct a validation with key stakeholders

• Facilitate a consultative workshop to present and validate the draft NAPWEE to key stakeholders

• Incorporate inputs from stakeholders and make necessary adjustments to finalize the NAPWEE

Phase V: Finalize NAPWEE

• Facilitate a high-level, multi-stakeholder result-oriented dialogue to build consensus on the NAPWEE framework, structures, coordination mechanisms, areas of focus, strategic activities.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Academic qualification:

• A master’s degree or PhD in the following areas, development studies, Gender Studies, Social Science, Anthropology, Sociology, with specialization in gender and development. 

Work experience:

• 10 years experience of professional work in the gender and social protection sector at both national and international levels, with proven experience in development sectoral policy analysis for central government, in any relevant sector.
• Proven experience in conducting women’s economic empowerment and/or livelihood-related research, evalutations, and assessments, for national programmes.
• Track record in evaluation processes and assessment of national policies and strategies involving government personnel is a distinct advantage.

Technical skills, knowledge and strength areas:

• Essential: Knowledge of gender issues and the prevailing social and economic challenges faced by women in Malawi, specifically in social protection, including social cash transfer programmes..

• Essential: Strong knowledge of child rights and women’s rights, about developmental and humanitarian programming, with a focus on social protection in general, and social cash transfer programmes in particular.
• An in-depth understanding of the development context of Malawi and/or the region and experience in working with the government at national and sub-national levels is required.
• Demonstrated technical expertise in conducting sectoral gender and policy analysis and related capacity building at different levels. Knowledge of the MNSSP II and Malawi social protection sector is essential.

• Familiarity with social protection and poverty reduction approaches and proven excellent communication, analytical and reporting skill is required.

• Excellent computer skills – MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint is required.