Title:                               Consultant, Gender Expert

Org. Unit:                       Outbreaks & Epidemics (O&E), African Risk Capacity (ARC)

Duty Station:                 Remotely based – West Africa

Contract Type:              When Actually Employed (WAE) consultant

Duration:                        25 working days over 3 months

Reporting to:                 Lead Advisor Outbreaks & Epidemics (O&E) and Head of Gender Unit

1.      BACKGROUND

The African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group is comprised of ARC Agency, a Specialized Agency of the African Union founded in 2012; and the African Risk Capacity Limited (ARC Ltd), a hybrid mutual insurer and the commercial affiliate of the Group founded in 2014.

ARC Agency was established to support African governments in improving their capacities to better plan, prepare, and respond to natural disasters triggered by extreme weather events, and infectious disease outbreaks of epidemic and pandemic potential. On the other hand, ARC Ltd offers complementary risk pooling and risk transfer services. Together, the two provide Member States with capacity building and contingency planning services, access to state-of-the-art early warning systems, and risk pooling and transfer facilities towards building resilience against climate and health-related disasters. In the process, the Group strives to apply gender equality principles and achieve inclusivity in the programme to ensure that no one is left behind.

In December 2022, the ARC Group launched its outbreaks and epidemics risk insurance product. This innovative risk financing instrument, requested in 2015 by African Ministers of Finance in the wake of the West African Ebola Crisis in 2013-2016, aims at equipping countries with rapid and predictable funding to contain high-impact infectious diseases outbreaks such as Ebola, Marburg, and Meningitis, and complement the efforts of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to safeguard health security across Africa.

ARC, through its Outbreaks and Epidemics (O&E) Programme, supported by the Gates Foundation, is conducting a capacity-building work to implement disaster risk management and financing practices, and build the capacities for surveillance, disease prevention, response and resilience to epidemics and other health emergencies in ECOWAS member states. This work entails four key components:

• Epidemic risk profiling and assessments on preparedness and capacity for early response.

• Epidemic risk modelling of selected pathogens in countries affected.

• Contingency Planning for efficient and timely response; and

• Rapid deployment of capital to operationalise the pre-approved contingency plan.

2.      INTEGRATING GENDER IN DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT APPROACHES INCLUDING INFECTIOUS DISEASE EPIDEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE

Extreme weather events and infectious disease outbreaks and epidemics disproportionately impact men and women, and other vulnerable groups such as the elderly, youth, children and people with disabilities. The increased frequency and severity of such events is therefore of great concern for these categories of the population. Mainstreaming gender in disasters and epidemic preparedness and response actions and policies is therefore critical in strengthening the resilience of these vulnerable groups. The African Risk Capacity is committed to gender equality and social inclusion, recognizing that climate-related disasters and outbreaks & epidemics often exacerbate existing vulnerabilities and disproportionately affect women, girls, and marginalized populations.

Following the comprehensive gender analysis, policy dialogue, and trainings conducted in West Africa in 2023-2024 (Gates Phase 1 Project) to assess gender disparities and challenges in the context of disaster risk management (DRM) and infectious disease outbreaks, it is essential to evaluate the impact of the interventions in Phase I.

In this context, in line with Objective 3 of ARC Gender strategy and the Gates Phase II objectives, ARC will conduct an assessment to evaluate the effectiveness, outcomes, and gender-transformative impacts of the Gates Phase I gender analyses and action plans in selected countries in West Africa.

3.      OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNEMENT AND DELIVERABLES

The main objective of this endeavour is to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the actions and policies outlined in the gender action plans and policy briefs developed by ARC in selected countries in West Africa. The assessment will specifically examine the degree to which interventions in Phase I of the Gates Project have contributed to enhanced resilience, improved institutional capacity, and increased gender equity in disasters and outbreaks & epidemics preparedness and response. Special attention will be paid to how these programmes have addressed the differentiated needs of women, men, youth, and other vulnerable groups in outbreaks & epidemics risk management, risk financing mechanisms, and early action systems.

Under the supervision of the Lead Advisor Outbreaks & Epidemics (O&E) and Head of Gender Unit, and the support from the respective Country Engagement Managers, and in line with the objectives above, the deliverables expected from the Gender Experts are summarized below:

Deliverables  Inception Report  5 days

Tasks  

• Inception meeting with the ARC Team.

• Review of the Gender Analysis Report, Policy Brief, and training material developed by ARC in West Africa.

• Outline the proposed methodology, work plan, and timeline to conduct the consultancy.          

Deliverables  Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Report 15 days

Tasks  

• Conduct an in-depth review of the implementation of the actions and policies outlined in the gender action plan and policy brief.

• Evaluate their integration into national and sub-national structures and strategies.

• Formulate recommendations for further integration into national and sub-national structures and strategies.

Deliverables  Workshop report      5 days

• Formulate recommendations for further integration into national and sub-national structures and strategies.

4.      WORKPLACE, TRAVEL AND INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

ARC is looking for remotely based Gender Experts located in West Africa.

• The Consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for the execution of the tasks under this assignment.

• The Consultant will be responsible for providing their own working station (i.e., laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to a reliable internet connection.

• The Consultant is expected to be available for consultations and be in reliable email contact for a set number of hours that align with Government/ARC business hours.

• The Consultant will carry out their tasks under the direct supervision of the Lead Advisor O&E and Head of the Gender Unit, and the overall guidance of the African Risk Capacity Country Engagement Managers in charge of the engagement with the governments in West Africa.

5 COMPETENCIES

• Substantive experience conducting research and analysis in public health, gender equality and at least one related theme, including Disaster Risk Management (DRM), climate change mitigation and adaptation environment and sustainable development.

• Strong understanding of the links between DRM, O&E and gender issues.

• Experience or strong familiarity with the work of WFP and other multilateral, bilateral and civil society development partners.

• Excellent analytical, writing, and communications skills.

6 EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Master’s degree in any related areas: public health, gender, DRM, climate change, environment, sustainable development, or comparable academic qualifications.

• At least ten (10) years of progressively advanced and relevant professional experience at the international and national levels in public health, mainstreaming gender in development projects and policies, especially in the development of manual(s) and training materials for gender mainstreaming on at least one other related theme, including DRM, public health and sustainable development.

7 LANGUAGE

• Excellent written and verbal communication in English or French.