Vacancy: Consultant for Lessons Learned publication
Type of Contract: Consultancy
Location Belgrade, Serbia
Posting Date: January 31, 2023
Closing Date for Application: February 10, 2023
Summary
The Roma Education Fund (REF) is looking for a short-term consultancy engagement of a Consultant to produce a Lessons Learned document for the project “Education, Employment, Partnerships and Gender Equality: A Winning Formula for Roma in VET”, funded by the Austrian Development Agency and implemented by REF, in cooperation with project partners Roma Versitas Albania and Roma Versitas Kosovo.
The document is part of the gender equality output of the project, which is focused on empowering stakeholders to prevent discrimination and discriminatory stereotypes towards education and employability of Roma girls. It is part of the previously realized activities which aims to ensure gender sensitive project interventions in Albania and Kosovo[1].
To implement this task, the Consultant should build on the previous project work, carried out in 2020 and 2021, when opportunities and entry points for mainstreaming gender into the project were identified and developed. These activities included development of a “training-of-trainers” (ToT) for the project management team, leading the training, development of a training manual and producing two gender analysis documents of Roma women and girls in VET in target countries.
Background
The Roma Education Fund’s (REF) mission and goal is to close the gap in educational outcomes between Roma and non-Roma. To achieve this goal, the organization supports policies and programs which ensure access to quality education for Roma through scholarships, grant making, research and advocacy activities. The objectives of REF include:
- Expanding Romani children’s access to quality early childhood education and care;
- Improving primary education outcomes for Romani children aged six to fourteen;
- Boosting academic performance and graduation rates from secondary education for Romani pupils;
- Supporting access to tertiary education, improving graduation levels and strengthening identity of Romani university students;
- Expanding employment opportunities for young Romani adults
The overall objective of the project (May 1, 2020-June 30, 2023) is to contribute to social inclusion and poverty reduction of Roma in Albania and Kosovo through support of vocational education and training, facilitation to labor market and empowering stakeholders to take measures to support transition of Roma to employment.
The activities and outputs are clustered into two main areas:
- Education – increased access to vocational education for Roma youth and young adults, through scholarships, mentoring and tutoring and improving access to education and employment for Roma girls, boys, women and men;
- Employability – improved employability for Roma youth and young adults, through job placements, professional development and partnerships of civil society, public and private sector institutions for Roma workforce inclusion aimed at influencing policy changes.
The project has focused on strengthening professional skills of REF scholars and other beneficiaries – through vocational training, internships, professional skills development, cooperation and partnerships with employers. Wide range of vocational training (VET within the education institutions, such as high schools) and obtaining recognized certificates, as well as paid professional internships in the public or private sector, and additional education (conducted by accredited institutes, such as vocational courses), which include scholarship and mentoring support has been provided so far.
In October 2020, REF engaged a Gender Consultant to produce several deliverables defined in the Project Document, related to gender component. Training of Trainers ‘Gender Mainstreaming for Gender Equality’ was developed and conducted in December 2020 in a five-day online ToT for the project management team and local staff of the project partners working with the primary and indirect target groups, with aim to give the teams the knowledge and tools to raise the level of awareness, sensitivity and adherence to the project’s gender equality outcome among the primary and indirect target groups. The training was accompanied by a Manual for planning and implementation of gender mainstreaming into project interventions ‘Gender Mainstreaming for Gender Equality’. It accentuates on the elaboration of various steps which are part of the gender mainstreaming process, including gender analysis and gender planning. It also provides a background of trends and overview of current state of affairs in achieving gender equality in target countries, as well as context for understanding the gender aspect in project interventions.
Both deliverables were based on the findings from the ‘Gender Analysis of Roma Women and Girls in VET in Albania’ and ‘Gender Analysis of Roma Women and Girls in VET in Kosovo’, which had been prepared from October 2020 until May 2021, when it was publicized. The analysis on the position of Roma women and girls, as well as men and boys in VET, seek to identify both obstacles and opportunities which women and men encounter in the pursuit of education in Albania and Kosovo. The analysis informed the project about the strengths and weaknesses in addressing gender equality through activities and monitoring of gender mainstreaming throughout the project.
All described deliverables can be viewed at: https://www.romaeducationfund.org/winforvet-project-puts-a-strong-accent-on-gender-mainstreaming-read-about-three-core-gender-related-activities/
The Consultant should also consult Country Assessment Research documents for Albania and Kosovo, (an overview of the situational, legal, and institutional framework of VET education and development), produced within the same project, which can be viewed at: https://www.romaeducationfund.org/ref-published-two-country-assessments-on-vocational-education-and-training-among-roma-ashkali-and-egyptians-in-kosovo-and-albania/
Description of consultancy responsibilities
Deliverables
Based on available project document and activities, as well as other sources (quarterly and annual reports, website and social media channels), as well as feedback from partners and stakeholders collected through interviews or other tools, such as focus groups, or any other selected methodology, the Consultant should produce a Lessons Learned publication on the prospect of Roma women and girls in VET and their employability. The Consultant should also carry out an extensive desk research in order to compare the assumptions posed at the beginning of the project and actual situation at the end of the project, and design a comprehensive, in-depth document that contains clear and well-formulated lessons that would inform any future projects of the successes and obstacles faced by the project, methodologies and approaches that worked well and project shortcomings.
A previously conducted gender analysis of Roma women and girls in VET was done with the aim to identify obstacles faced, but also opportunities available. This was necessary because, though there is disaggregated data on female participation in preschool, primary, secondary and university education levels, there is a lack of official and even unofficial gender-related data specifically for VET education. Lesson Learned on the prospect of Roma women and girls in VET and employability publication will lean heavily onto the findings of the analysis.
The publication should clearly identify obstacles and opportunities, lessons learned, for Roma women to practice their rights in education and employment; it is intended to be used as an advocacy and visibility tool for indirect target groups (schools, employers, public institutions) with the aim to promote success stories for employers and to encourage role models for girls and women in the Roma communities. The publication should also be a learning document for REF and its partners, as well as all stakeholders of the project.
Methodology and process
The Consultant can propose the methodology according to his/her experience in similar work, however, it should contain at least the following:
- Analysis of the documents directly linked to the publication (‘Gender Analysis of Roma Women and Girls in VET in Albania’ and ‘Gender Analysis of Roma Women and Girls in VET in Kosovo’; ‘Gender Mainstreaming for Gender Equality’ Manual and ToT curriculum and materials; Country Assessment Research for Albania and Country Assessment Research for Kosovo),
- Review of the project documentation/desk research (Quarterly and Annual reports, Project Document, REF and Roma Versitas Albania and Kosovo websites and social media channels),
- Feedback from partners and stakeholders collected through interviews, focus groups and other selected tools,
- Lessons Learned workshop with the project management teams, and
- Review of any other sources.
The publication must contain at the least the following elements:
– Summary – a brief summarizing the findings and providing recommendations,
– Report – an overview of the lessons learned together with a summary of what went well, what went wrong, and how to improve, with examples,
– Findings – a summary of any issues found during the review process,
– Recommendations – actions needed to correct or improve the findings.
The Consultant will work under the guidance of the Project Manager based in Belgrade, Serbia.
Required Education and Experience
- Postgraduate university degree in social sciences or other relevant discipline, preferably with a specialization in gender and project cycle management,
- Previous experience in conducting gender analysis, preferably in working on mainstreaming gender into project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation,
- Previous experience in working with Roma and/or Roma CSOs,
- Knowledge of the VET and employment sector in the target countries and the region.
Required skills
- In-depth knowledge and understanding of the gender context in the project’s countries;
- Familiarity with gender analysis tools and methodologies in the specific area of intervention, i.e. education and employment (of Roma);
- Ability to communicate ideas in a manner conducive to their practical application;
- Excellent organizational, analytical, communication and interpersonal skills;
- Fluency in written and spoken Serbian and English.
Planned duration of the engagement: 15 consultancy days
Timeline: February 20 – April 20, 2023
How to Apply
This position is open only for candidates with the citizenship of or permanent residence in the Republic of Serbia. Interested candidates who meet the requirements set out in the Call for Applications are invited to apply for the position electronically by sending their CV, Cover Letter (both in English), and the proposed daily fee (in EUR), to: office.serbia@romaeducationfund.org no later than February 10 2023 [CoB] with the subject line: Application: Consultant for Lessons Learned publication.
All received applications will be subject to a through administrative check. Applications submitted after the specified deadline, incomplete applications (missing CV, Cover Letter and/or proposed daily fee), as well as applications submitted in languages other than English will not be considered.
Only candidates whose applications meet the above listed requirements and the criteria set out in the Call will be considered for the next step in the selection process.
Roma Education Fund is an equal opportunities employer.
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[1] This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
