Context
The Carter Center’s Rule of Law Program partners with governments, civil society, and international and regional bodies to enhance governance and transform lives through a meaningful right of access to information and justice.
With partner in Sierra Leone, The Carter Center will implement the Gender Equality and Rights in the Justice Sector (GEAR Justice) project to address and reduce gender bias gaps in the legal profession and judiciary, thus mitigating discrimination in the recruitment, hiring, and promotion of women.
Role and Purpose
The Carter Center seeks a Vendor (an individual consultant, NGO, or firm) to provide technical assistance and support to local partners in developing and implementing strategies that aim to promote gender equality within the legal profession and judiciary in Sierra Leone.
GEAR Justice will work to address any identified gaps and practices that hinder women’s full participation as senior actors in a judicial workplace. Activities will include a gender diagnostic in five magistrate courts and headquarters to examine current barriers. Following the Gender Diagnostics, The Carter Center and partners will then provide technical assistance to incorporate the findings into existing policies and manuals and develop new trainings or tools that lead to more equitable recruitment and retention.
For all duties described below, the selected Vendor will report directly to an Associate Director of the Carter Center’s Rule of Law Program and work closely with The Carter Center’s in-country Project Coordinator. In conducting the Gender Diagnostic, the Methodology should adhere to Interaction or a similar approach. Gender-Audit-Handbook-2010-Copy.pdf (interaction.org)
Schedule of Expected Activities
Up to 50 days over six months that will begin August 7, 2023, and will continue through January 30, 2024.
- Conduct desk research and key informant interviews to identify and articulate policy and operational gaps and recommendations to improve gender equality within Sierra Leone’s legal profession and judiciary including existing reference material related to gender equity policies, frameworks, and practices within legal and judiciary sectors.
- Provide expert technical guidance to local partners and collaboratively develop and conduct a Gender Diagnostic (including methodology and technical approach), training, and development of materials. Technical assistance should use a transformative adult education learning model.
- Travel and work closely with the in-country team, specifically The Carter Center’s Project Coordinator, to facilitate Gender Diagnosis in magistrate courts in five districts and Freetown.
- Facilitate in-country workshops to develop a Gender Action and Capacity Building Plan.
- Participate in and/or facilitate meetings and roundtables with various stakeholders as relevant to achieving project objectives.
- Provide technical assistance to guide the development and/or improvement of relevant policies, frameworks, and protocols to address cultural and structural barriers facing women in the legal profession and judiciary.
- Provide capacity building and facilitation support, as needed, to validate and test new training modules and identify additional gaps/challenges for recruitment, retention, and promotion of women in the judiciary; and,
- Work closely with Carter Center staff, consultants, and government partners in implementing relevant project activities.
Expected Deliverables
1. Assess capacity of up to 2 local partners in their ability to conduct a Gender Diagnostic in a workplace
2. Design and conduct appropriate capacity strengthening for local partner(s) through a combination of remote, hybrid and in-country assistance
3. Assist the designated local partner(s) to conduct a Gender Diagnostic on the ground, providing the local partner(s) with progressively more responsibilities
4. Assist the local partners to draft and finalize Gender Action and Capacity Building Plan(s)
5. Final report.
Evaluation Criteria
(1) Proposed methodology and technical approach – 30 points.
(2) Written example from a previous gender audit/diagnostic conducted by the consultant(s) (no more than 10 pages). Work on different topics will not be reviewed or considered – 20 points
(3) Relevant skills in the region and previous similar experience as evidenced by CV(s) (each CV may be no more than 2 pages maximum) – 30 points
(4) Interview – 20 points
Requirements: Professional level report-writing in English.
Interested applicants should submit all required documents, preferably in one combined PDF, to [email protected] All documents must be emailed on July 31, 2023, 5:00 PM EST. Late applications will not be accepted or reviewed.
