Consultancy on Advocacy and Lobbying

Overview of the Program

The program “Feminist Power in Action for Women’s Economic Rights” (FemPawer) aims to strengthen the capacities of young women who face multiple economic gender-based violence (E/GBV) discriminations in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Tunisia to become leaders for change. By holding duty bearers accountable and improving conditions for young women in the informal sector through target-led activities, the program ensures that discriminated young women become advocates for their own rights and propose relevant solutions and recommendations. The FemPawer program focuses on strengthening leadership, challenging prevailing social norms, and promoting women’s economic rights (WER). It is led by a consortium of 4 organizations and consists of a network of 39 Women’s Rights Organizations (WROs), also referred to as Partner Organizations (POs), that are diverse and vary in size, experience, geographical location, and profile. The focus of this consultancy is Jordan. In Jordan, there is one consortium partner, the Arab Women Organization (AWO), and 12 Partner organizations (POs).

About AWO

AWO is a Jordanian local women’s rights organization for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. AWO advances women’s leadership and solutions toward political, social, and economic empowerment that promotes women’s status. AWO was founded in 1970 by an extraordinary group of women’s activists, they recognized that the commitments to women’s rights that emerged from the Fifties of the 20th Century would require rigorous work to improve women’s daily lives and advance true transformation for social justice.

Over its 50-year history, AWO has worked to bring feminist analyses into the center of the voices of frontline and grassroots women’s rights leaders in the national policy dialogues. AWO work is centered on partnership-building: creating spaces inside policy processes and movements where feminists and women’s rights activists can build joint agendas, map entry points and intersections and voice demands in collective.

AWO coordinates women’s rights meetings in local and Arab spaces and builds coalitions around gender issues. Women in Jordan are facing intertwined crises of economic loss, inequality, and social injustice. At present, the COVID-19 pandemic is revealing the deep fault lines in the creation of resilient societies that uphold social protection, while further entrenching deep gender inequalities. AWO works to create gender-just solutions for increasing women’s political and economic participation as well as to abolish the entrenched cycles of violence.

Background

AWO is currently seeking an expert consultant to conduct a series of activities aimed at enhancing the advocacy and lobbying capacities of young women and Partner Organizations (POs) associated with FemPawer Program. This consultancy is part of accumulated efforts to address E/GBV in Jordan, now entering its fourth year of implementation. Over the past three years, AWO has dedicated efforts to building the capacities of young women and the 12 POs to equip them with the necessary advocacy and lobbying skills. The goal for this year is to intensify these efforts through comprehensive activities that include advocacy, lobbying, community mobilization, and alliance-building with various stakeholders and duty-bearers to combat E/GBV.

AWO plans to utilize the progress made in the previous years by organizing activities that strengthen advocacy and lobbying skills and also foster community mobilization and the building of alliances. These activities are planning to engage with different stakeholders and duty bearers, including trade unions, the private sector, decision-makers, governmental officials, and the international community, including UN agencies, embassies, and international organizations.

The consultant will take the role of facilitating, coordinating and implementing these activities, ensuring that the young women and the 12 POs have the tools and knowledge to effectively advocate for their rights and challenge the norms that contribute to E/GBV. By focusing on community mobilization and alliance building, the consultant will help create a unified front that can drive significant change in addressing economic and gender-based violence.

2. Objective[1]

The primary objective of this consultancy is to enhance the advocacy and lobbying capacities of young women, and the 12 POs associated with the FemPawer Program. This involves facilitating, coordinating, and implementing activities that build advocacy, lobbying, community mobilization, and alliance-building skills with various stakeholders to combat E/GBV.

3. Scope of Work

The consultant will undertake the following tasks:

1. Needs Assessment:

– Utilize community-based research reports, policy briefs, and publications from the FemPawer Program to inform advocacy efforts.

– Highlight the impact of intersectional gendered shrinking space on women’s economic rights and E/GBV.

2. Strategy Development and Implementation:

– Develop and execute an advocacy and lobbying strategy tailored to the Jordanian context.

– Formulate plans for community mobilization and alliance building.

3. Capacity Building:

– Conduct skills-building workshops on community mobilization and alliance-building for young women and POs.

– Develop training materials and deliver engaging workshops using interactive and adult learning techniques.

4. Stakeholder Engagement:

– Establish and maintain relationships with international actors to present evidence and advocate for policy changes.

– Facilitate dialogue sessions with international organizations such as the UN, ILO, and EBRD.

– Engage local communities, including men, in advocacy activities to support young women’s economic rights and the elimination of E/GBV.

5. Policy Advocacy:

– Engage in dialogues with national governments and policymakers to influence policy changes.

– Organize dialogues with the private sector and trade unions to encourage corporate responsibility and support for women’s economic empowerment initiatives.

6. Documentation and Reporting:

– Prepare and submit comprehensive reports and recommendations.

– Document and disseminate the outcomes of advocacy efforts.

4. Deliverables

– Research and Assessment Report: A comprehensive report based on community-based research and existing literature.

– Advocacy Strategy Document: Detailed strategy document outlining advocacy and lobbying plans.

– Workshops and Training Sessions: Conducted workshops and training sessions for young women and POs.

– Stakeholder Engagement Reports: Reports on dialogues with international and national stakeholders.

– Final Report: A comprehensive report summarizing activities, outcomes, and recommendations.

5. Consultancy Team Composition and Requirements

– Qualifications:

– Master’s degree or higher in Gender Studies, Social Work, Human Rights, International Development, or related fields, or equivalent experience.

– Minimum of 9 years of experience in advocacy and lobbying for women’s rights and gender equality.

– Strong skills in community mobilization and stakeholder engagement.

– Fluency in Arabic and English.

– Experience:

– Proven track record in conducting community-based research.

– Expertise in capacity building and training.

– Experience in engaging with policymakers and influencing policy changes.

– Familiarity with the cultural context of Jordan.

6. Timeline

– Deadline for Applications: June 22, 2024

– Application Decision: End of June 2024

– Final Comprehensive Report: Mid-December 2024

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