1. Background and Purpose of the consultancy:

The Spotlight Project is a multifaceted initiative aimed at promoting a comprehensive and transformative approach to eliminating violence against women and girls (VAWG), reflected in its four key outcome areas: (A) Enhancing the enabling environment for violence prevention and response through strengthened legal, policy, institutional and data frameworks; (B) Preventing violence and addressing its roots by challenging harmful social norms and behaviours across all levels of society; (C) Ensuring survivors have access to high-quality, consistent support by improving essential services; and (D) Empowering civil society to build effective social movements for sustainable change. UNFPA is dedicated to promoting a survivor-centered and rights-based approach to addressing Gender-Based Violence (GBV). It is recognized that survivors from marginalized groups (e.g., adolescent girls, persons with disabilities, etc.) face intersectional discrimination and social exclusion, which significantly restrict their access to justice, protection, and essential response services. With funding from the EU through the Spotlight Initiative, this comprehensive consultancy aims to conduct a multi-faceted assessment to diagnose these specific gaps, needs, and best practices for GBV services and develop practical, tailored recommendations to improve the inclusivity and responsiveness of outreach, physical infrastructure, staff capacity, and justice pathways as well as contribute significantly to the revision and/or improvement of the GBV minimum standards in Sierra Leone.

2. Objectives of the Consultancy
The overall objective is to generate rigorous, evidence-based recommendations that result in improved quality, accessibility, and inclusivity of both GBV and justice services for survivors and those at risk from marginalized populations in the Programme’s three target districts of Falaba, Moyamba and Kailahun.

The Consultant will be responsible for achieving the following specific objectives:
1. Assess Barriers to Access: Conduct an in-depth assessment of the structural, socio-cultural, and institutional barriers preventing marginalized groups from accessing GBV response services
2. Analyze Social Exclusion in Justice: Conduct a rigorous analysis of how social exclusion and systemic bias impact access to justice services, and the possible impacts on survivors.

3. Identify other gaps, needs and good/best practices for the provision of GBV services in the three targeted districts Develop Tailored Recommendations: Formulate district specific, actionable, and tailored recommendations for programmatic change, focusing on the inclusive outreach, accessible physical/digital infrastructure, and staff competency/training. Recommendation should be based on best practices within similar contexts such as Sierra Leone and substantive for the revision and/or improvement of the minimum standards for GBV services.

3.  Scope of Work:

In pursuance of the objectives of the engagement, the consultant will be required to undertake the following integrated tasks, utilizing a mixed-methods approach (quantitative and qualitative) with a strong emphasis on ethical, participatory, and survivor-centered research principles:

3.1 Task 1: Assessment of Barriers to Access of GBV Services (Output 1)

• Desk Review: Review national policies, organizational GBV protocols, and existing research on service access barriers for diverse marginalized groups, in the target context.
• Primary Data Collection: Collect data from diverse marginalized groups, service providers (health, legal, psychosocial), and community leaders.
• Barrier Analysis: Analyze data using an intersectionality lens to map barriers related to: financial cost, physical accessibility, communication, and social stigma.

3.2  Task 2: Analysis of Social Exclusion in the Provisions of Justice and GBV Services (Output 2)

• Justice System Review: Analyze formal and informal justice mechanisms to identify points where marginalized groups and individuals face social exclusion, bias, or lack of cultural/linguistic responsiveness.
• Service Delivery Analysis: Conduct analysis of staff attitudes, procedures, and institutional practices in GBV services that reinforce exclusion (e.g., lack of accessible complaint mechanisms, cultural incompetence).
• Develop Tailored Recommendations for Inclusivity: Based on the analysis, develop specific, detailed recommendations for:
    ❖ Inclusive Outreach: Strategies to build trust and effectively reach marginalized groups (e.g., through peer networks, accessible media).
    ❖ Infrastructure: Guidance on making service points physically, communicatively, and digitally accessible (e.g., universal design principles).
    ❖ Staff Training: Specific training content to address unconscious bias, cultural sensitivity, and trauma-informed care for diverse populations. 

3.3 Task 3: Studies to Identify Gaps, Needs, and Best Practices for GBV Services (Output 3)

Gaps and Needs Analysis: Synthesize findings from Tasks 1 and 2 to create a detailed list of programmatic, policy, and capacity gaps indicating current and future needs in the current GBV response landscape.

• Best Practice Documentation: Conduct international/regional research to document at least ten (10) transformative and promising practices that have proven effective in improving access and quality of GBV services for specific marginalized groups (e.g., mobile services, peer support, multi-sectoral coordination models) in similar contexts such as Sierra Leone. Provide recommendations/action plan for integration of the top-five best practices in the Programme’s implementation.
• Final Synthesis: Integrate all analysis into a single, comprehensive report that clearly links identified challenges to the proposed promising practices and actionable recommendations.

1. Expected Output:

DURATION:  3 Months 

PLACE OF WORK: UNFPA Country Office

Delivery dates and how work will be delivered (e.g. electronic, hard copy etc.):

• The final report will be available at the end of the contract and is to be provided in electronic format.
• The Consultant will progressively report on the accomplished tasks to UNFPA

• The reports will be reviewed by UNFPA before submission to UN Spotlight Coordination Team.

Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadline:

• Weekly meetings will be organized to monitor the progress, address bottlenecks control, including reporting requirements
• The reports of the consultant shall be submitted during the assignment and will constitute the basis on which the payment will be made.

Expected Travel:

The Consultant is expected to travel to and within Sierra Leone, UNFPA will communicate when travel is needed and facilitate accordingly.

Supervisory Arrangements:

The Consultant will be under the overall supervision of the Gender Specialist.

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements:

The Consultant must have:

Education

▪ Advanced university degree (Master's) in Gender Studies, Social Sciences, Public Health, Human Rights Law, or a closely related field.

Knowledge and Experience
▪ Minimum of 5 years of demonstrable experience in conducting research, analysis, program design or implementation in Gender-Based Violence (GBV) response, with a strong focus on protection and human rights.
▪ Proven expertise in conducting social exclusion and/or access to justice analyses using an intersectionality framework.
▪ In-depth, practical knowledge of the specific barriers and protection needs of diverse marginalized groups.
▪ Demonstrable experience adhering to ethical and safety guidelines (e.g., WHO Ethical and Safety Recommendations) for research involving violence and survivors.
▪ Proven experience in teamwork, especially in the field of gender and development.
▪ Excellent analytical, synthesis, and report writing skills
▪ Experience in leading teams in a complex multi-cultural environment is desirable.
▪ Fluent spoken and written English is essential,

Inputs/services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner (e.g. support services, office space, equipment), if applicable:

UNFPA will provide:
- Support services where appropriate
- Logistics arrangements while there is a need to travel in country

UNFPA Work Environment:

UNFPA fosters a work environment that embodies the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity, and a healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation, and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click here to learn more.

Disclaimer:

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, and other administrative requirements. 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing, or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process, and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts.