Consultancy Opportunity: Development of a Practical guide to integrate gender in conservancies

TERMS OF REFERENCE

DEVELOPMENT OF A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO INTEGRATE GENDER IN CONSERVANCIES

Introduction

Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA) is the national representative body and voice for community and private wildlife conservancies in Kenya. As an umbrella body, KWCA role is to help catalyse the conservancy movement by connecting, informing, convening and representing private and community landowners and other key stakeholders in a shared effort to make wildlife conservancies thrive in Kenya. KWCA supports these conservancies through 11 landscape conservancy associations as umbrella organisations at an ecosystem level through which conservancies can have a voice, collaborate, share insights and best practices, integrate development planning and manage conservancies at a large scale.

The involvement of women and the youth is considered a key pillar in the sustainability of a conservancy and yet conservancy decision making and management structures is predominately male dominated. Decision making in conservancies is based on landownership and with only less than 10 percent of women represented in conservancies, women are entirely unrepresented and excluded from decision making, participation, negotiation and information sharing processes. Legal provisions in conservancy documents also discriminate against women.

KWCA acknowledges that integrating gender within conservancy decision making is a complex undertaking and a difficult goal to achieve especially in the contexts of highly unequal gender and power relations that characterises communities within conservancies, makes it difficult for women to access, influence or benefit from them. KWCA seeks to influence and encourage women inclusion in conservancy decision making and management structures through a gender sensitive approach that respects cultural norms and practices especially in pastoral communities where majority of conservancies are found.

Consultancy Objectives

KWCA seeks the services of a gender specialist to develop a practical gender guide to integrate gender in conservancies. The guide is meant to be a practical, logical and intuitive guide developed for conservancies to enable them recognise, encourage and integrate women’s participation in decision making and benefit sharing. The guide will detail practical strategies and examples on women’s participation and equitable benefit sharing. Although the development of the guide is not meant to be an overall solution to gender equality within conservancies, it should enable them to take the necessary steps towards closing the gender gap.

Scope of Work

Working closely with the gender officer, the Consultant shall facilitate the process of developing and drafting a gender practical guidance for conservancies as follows;

1. Undertake a situational analysis through desktop review, literature review, and any gender related information on the current status of gender in conservancies
2. Hold two focus group discussions with the National Conservancies Women Forum (NCWF) and a few male conservancy managers to establish strategies for incorporating gender within conservancy structures and programmes.
3. Present the guidance to the NCWF to validate the guide leading to its endorsement by KWCA’s board i.e. the National Conservancies Council (NCC).
4. Submit the final guide that incorporates recommendations from the validation meeting and NCC

Deliverables and timelines

The consultant shall deliver to KWCA the following deliverables to reflect all the work done as follows within 5 weeks upon signing of contract.

1. Undertake a situational analysis on the status of gender in conservancies.
2. Facilitate a focus group discussion by 31^st May 2021
3. Submit a draft guidance by 4^th of June 2021
4. Hold a validation workshop of the draft guidance by 18^th of June 2021
5. Submit final gender guide by 25^th June 2021.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent) in relevant area (gender studies, natural resources management, social sciences, organisational development, project management or relevant field.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant professional experience in gender integrated projects.
• Experience working with conservancies will be an added advantage;
• Excellent communication, presentation, report writing and analytical skills;

Technical and Financial Proposals

The consultant will submit a technical and financial proposal based on the terms of reference outlined above by Tuesday 18^th May at 5:00pm

• The technical proposal will include an outline of the proposed approach with specific timelines based on the Terms of Reference;
• Curriculum vitae;
• The financial proposal to include professional fees for the delivery of the service.