Consultant for Safe and Conducive Environment

Introduction   IRC is one of the world’s leading humanitarian and post-conflict development agencies, working with communities in over 40 developing states. The core of IRC’s mandate is to support and empower people who have been affected by conflict and disaster. IRC’s portfolio consists of government, multilateral, and foundation funding that spans short-term and protracted humanitarian response through long-term development initiatives. Alongside other thematic areas, IRC has extensive global expertise in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and is a leader in gender focused programming.

IRC has been working in Pakistan since 1980, and delivers a wide range of programming to Afghan refugees, temporarily displaced persons and other marginalized/underserved communities across the country. Programs focus on Health and WASH, Disaster Risk Reduction, Protection and Women’s Protection and Empowerment, Livelihoods, and Education.   Project Description   With an overall goal of gender equitable and socially inclusive WASH services for improved health conditions of marginalized groups, this project aims to directly improve the lives of 168, 000 beneficiaries in 75 villages in three districts of KP, Pakistan. Based on an in-depth understanding of social and environmental conditions in intervention districts, this project will contribute to the empowerment of women and marginalized groups especially women, girls, transgender and persons living with disability through the implementation of WASH-focused programs in the target villages. Engagement of groups which have traditionally been voiceless has been shown to be effective in strengthening their position in their communities.

The project will reach its goal through three pillars:  

 Inclusive Community Level WASH I   Improved WASH Governance   Strengthened decision making around WASH  

The project will focus on schools and health centers that serve communities, as well as community and household WASH.

A process of participatory training and discussion will be utilized to strengthen women’s role in the community, and will be supported with life skills training and gender protection programming. Knowledge management and learning through ongoing monitoring, periodic evaluations and research will keep the project on track, provide evidence for advocacy for improving legislative environment, and draw learning for future programming.

The project objectives and intended outcomes are;   Objective 1: Expanded inclusive and sustainable WASH services.

Intended Outcome

1.1: Increased access to WASH facilities for all Intended Outcome

1.2: WASH services are safe and responsive to the needs of women, girls, and marginalized   groups. Intended Outcome 1.3: Improved practice on how to use and access WASH facilities.

  Objective 2: Improved inclusive WASH governance systems.  

Intended Outcome

2.1: Inclusive and gender- equitable WASH policies in place Intended Outcome

2.2: Institutions strengthened around gender equitable and inclusive WASH  

Objective 3: Increased women’s, girls’, and other marginalized groups decision making around WASH

Intended Outcome

3.1: Community structures are safe, inclusive, functional, and culturally appropriate Intended Outcome

3.2: Women, girls, and other marginalized groups have the capacity to identify, plan, and implement WASH interventions and policies that address their needs. Intended Outcome

3.3: Men engage in accountable inclusive and gender-equitable WASH practices.    

The Key role of incumbent (Technical)  Organizational Policies and Practices

• Assessment and analysis of policies, guidelines, strategies, frameworks, action plans of IRC, IRC Country Program in Pakistan, and partner organizations with regards to gender equality, social inclusion and diversity, inclusive and equal opportunity workplace particularly for transgendered persons and persons living with disabilities.
•  Facilities and Physical Work Environment Assessment and analysis of risks, safety and security, accessibility, and contexts for transgendered persons and persons living with disabilities to effectively carry out their functions under an organizational setting. Risks include those from within the organization, and from the communities that IRC serve.
• Assessment of the readiness, sensitiveness, and responsiveness of physical environments and facilities for staff members who are transgender or living with disabilities. Identification of constraints and opportunities for the full participation of transgender persons and PWDs in project activities in the context of IRCs intervention areas.   Attitudes and Perceptions Understanding of attitudes, perceptions, and social norms of IRC staff, partner organizations’ staff, and communities regarding gender equality, diversity, and inclusion. This is to understand level of tolerance, acceptance, or prejudice towards transgendered persons and persons living with disability.
• Identification of supportive factors that promote gender equality, diversity, and inclusion in principles, policies, and practices.

 Recommendations

• Development of a strategy and action plan to mainstream gender diversity and social inclusion in all aspects of organizational work (programming and operations).
• Development of a set of actions to address risks, safety and security, prejudice, and accessibility barriers faced by transgender staff and staff with disability at the workplace and in communities where they serve.
• Development of recommendations to ensure human resources policies and practices (including job descriptions, recruitment processes, interview and selection processes, interview panel’s capacity, benefits and entitlements, safeguarding practices, duty of care, etc.) are gender inclusive, sensitive, and responsive, particularly in response to specific needs of transgendered staff and staff with disability.
• Recommendation on language for policies, guidelines, strategies, project theory of change, M&E and accountability tools, communication protocols, HR correspondence and day to day correspondences, especially with reference to gender equality and diversity, and social inclusion.
• Development of a scorecard mechanism to ensure gender equality, diversity and inclusion in workplace and in target communities, and recommendations on measurement dashboards for senior management team. Development of a set of actions to ensure gender equality, diversity and inclusion in project implementation, monitoring, and reporting.   
• Capacity Building Organization of training sessions for the transgender staff and staff with disability on their rights, and anti-sexual harassment at workplace policies and practices at IRC.
• Design and implementation of training sessions for IRC staff and partner organizations on gender equality and diversity, including rights and protection of transgender persons and PWD.
• Design and implementation of training and gender-sensitization sessions for the project and implementing partners’ staff on behavioral change towards transgender and PWD staff, with a specific module for managers and supervisors.  
• Network Building Mapping of networks, movements, groups, organizations, and/or actors that work to promote equal opportunity, rights of transgender persons, rights of persons with living disability, and social inclusion.
• Recommendations on strategies and actions to meaningfully engage persons living with disabilities and transgender groups to promote gender equality and diversity, equality opportunity, and social inclusion at workplace.  

  Education and Experience

Strong profile in Social Inclusion and relevant work experience in programme and policy/strategy development in governmental or multilateral organization at national and/or international levels. Experience of working with government and local bodies, various donor agencies.