Job Description

Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Girls’ Project (EROP PROJECT)
Terms Of Reference for Endline Evaluation

Background and Rationale
In Ghana, women constitute the majority (51.2%) of the population according to the 2010 Population and Housing Census.  However, most women and girls do not enjoy their human rights and opportunities to live fulfilled lives due to low empowerment, discriminations and violence against them in male dominated and oppressive societies.  Notwithstanding the progress in legal and institutional commitments, which seem to present Ghanaian women and girls as enjoying equal rights and opportunities as their male counterparts, the reality is that they lag behind in several aspects of public life including political participation and decision-making, expressing and enjoying their sexual and reproductive rights and being treated as equals to their male counterparts in the societies in which they live.
In order to overcome these institutionalized gender and power relations and attain gender transformation, the empowerment process must challenge and change the set of ideas, attitudes, beliefs and practices in gender relations, in institutions and structures such as in the family, the household, the communities, religion, the market places and media among others. This is the basis for which Members of the GH Alliance, WIN and AfCHuRSD sought funding from the Dutch Embassy through the EROP Project, to contribute to Government’s collaborative efforts to attain equal rights and opportunities for women and girls.  The EROP Project provided basic education on issues of gender equality, equity and empowerment opportunities for women and girls; promoted the enjoyment of economic rights for women and girls; promoted the roles and services of Social Justice Institutions for increased utilization; advocated for the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill into law, improvement of maternity leave arrangements and initiated discussions on paternity leave policy,  and engendered community support for gender equality, equity and empowerment opportunities for women and girls in communities and in schools. These steps were critical to inspire women and girls to step beyond just coping with and adjusting to inequalities, discrimination, alienation and abuses. 

Objective
The overall objective of the end line evaluation is to assess the current state of the knowledge of women and girls on gender equality and opportunities available for them to live successful lives leading to their empowerment and compare to the situation before the start of the implementation of the EROP project. The end line report will also be used as a reference point for evaluating the project implementation.

The following are the expected outputs of the assessment

• A quantitative/ qualitative reflection on the outcomes indicators on the project.
• A comparative analysis of the current situation after implementation relative to the base-line 
• A quantitative/ qualitative assessment of the existence of gender equalities and gender norm that support the rights of women
• A quantitative/ qualitative assessment of the knowledge of community stakeholders and community members on gender equality/equity, SGBV and Discrimination against women and girls 
• A quantitative/ qualitative assessment of the existence of employment opportunities for women and girls
• A quantitative/qualitative assessment of the occurrence of SGBV in the implementing district relative to the reporting of case of SGBV
• A quantitative/ qualitative assessment of support provided and willingness to act by social justice institution and community stakeholders in the occurrence of SGBV
• A report on the sustainability efforts and plan community stakeholders and community members will be employing to sustain the gains of the EROP project.
• A report on the status of the passing of the Affirmative Action Bill by government
• A report on the discussion around the extension of maternal leave and instituting of a legal paternal leave initiative
• A report on the existence or absence of bye laws in the implementing communities that support gender SGBV 

Methodology

• Quantitative Survey: Structured questionnaires will be used to assess awareness, knowledge and practices around gender equalities and gender norms from different target groups in the project area. The content of the questionnaires will be adjusted based on the target group. The target groups are women and girls (in and out of school), those living with HIV, those who identify themselves as LGBTI, those living with disabilities, those living in hard-to-reach areas of the Project location.
• Key Informant Interviews: In-depth interviews will be conducted to gather information on the current state of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in the community from selected stakeholders after the implementation of the project. The stakeholders include various social justice institutions in the districts such as DOVVSU, CHRAJ, Social Welfare, Gender Desk Officer, GHS and GES and the traditional and religious leaders in the communities
• Desk Review
  The study design will be developed and finalized in consultation with the EROP Project Management Team with full consideration of limitations and feasibility.

• Sampling
  In order to understand better and keep the uniformity while bidding, the EROP project proposes that the sampling for the survey would be drawn on stratified basis and following sampling size might serve the purpose of the survey. If the bidder has any pertinent suggestion other than the proposal made then the bidder could suggest that with note to points. It could be discussed accordingly in the pre-bid or pre-awards meetings

  The study design will be developed and finalized in consultation with the EROP Project Management Team with full consideration of limitations and feasibility.

• Quantitative

• Qualitative

Key methods will be focus group discussions and key informant interviews with partners. Project team proposes 7 FGDs with Women and girls and men and boys from the implementing communities and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and actors from the communities. These include DOVVSU, CHRAJ, Social Welfare, and Gender Desk Officer, GHS and GES and the traditional and religious leaders in the communities

Moreover, the consultant’s team can make suggestions as to other partners to be interviewed based on needs that come up during the study. All suggested tools will be discussed with project team to finalize.

Deliverables 

• An inception report
• An end-line evaluation report with findings and recommendation

Outline of the report
The final report is expected to follow the required format below:

• An executive summary
• Introduction (ToR)
• Objectives and methodology of the assessment
• Findings 
• Discussion
• Suggestions/recommendation  

Proposed period

Financial proposal/budget 
The Consultant should provide a work plan for the task and should make a breakdown of costs in the budget part of the proposal, including different activities and types of costs (travel related costs should be included in the budget, if any.

Required Skills or Experience

• Comprehensive Experience with conducting evaluations (The applicant is requested to send several samples of prior evaluation reports written by the organisations).
• Excellent oral and writing skills in English.
• Academic background from social sciences field with minimum MSc. title and five years of working experience in academic or research institution.
• Prior experience of working in the EROP Project areas.
• Prior experience with projects targeting girls and young women beneficiaries.
• Prior experience with projects targeting gender mainstreaming.
• Preferably prior experience with projects targeting educational policy.
• Knowledge of the national policies targeting prevention of gender-based violence and promote gender equity. 
• When applying, it is necessary to enclose CV with printed hard copies (or e-documents in PDF format) that indicate the experience

Selection Process
Please note that this ToR will be shared widely and then proposals received will undergo a panel evaluation process. Only selected consultants will be contacted.