Background

SoCha holds an umbrella contract mechanism to provide MEL services to USAID/Central Asia. To support anticipated gender-related task orders issued under this contract mechanism in the near and long term, SoCha is seeking qualified Gender Specialists to provide technical subject matter expertise for evaluations, assessments, and performance monitoring task orders.

SoCha will retain a pool of qualified applicants to whom it will reach out when gender-related short-term consultancies arise in the future. We expect the first consultancy task order may occur in August-October 2024. Such work will take place in countries supported by USAID/Central Asia, which includes Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

Scope of Work

Gender Specialists will provide technical subject matter expertise to lead or support gender-related assessments (such as USAID Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) Assessments) and evaluations. This will typically involve the following illustrative scope, to be completed in conjunction with other team members:

• Review relevant documents and complete background research.
• Design the study approach.
• Develop qualitative or quantitative question guides.
• Conduct key informant interviews.
• Complete gender analysis, triangulating findings across various sources.
• Draft report and other communication outputs.
• Facilitate meetings with USAID to solicit input and to present findings.
• Any other task to successfully address the SOW.

Gender Specialists must be very knowledgeable and experienced in various gender-related issues in Central Asia, such as gender-based violence, inclusion/participation of women in governance, gender equality in social services and development benefits, and gender norms around decision-making and behaviors. They must also be experienced with gender analysis.

Minimum Qualifications and Experience

• An advanced degree in a relevant field such as monitoring and evaluation, women’s studies, gender studies, or international development.
• More than six (6+) years of experience working on gender, gender equality, or women’s empowerment programming or analysis.
• More than four (4+) years of experience in monitoring and evaluation, including qualitative methods and gender analysis.
• Strong demonstrated understanding of gender-related norms, policies, and development challenges in Central Asian countries.
• Must have strong written and oral communication skills in English.
• Demonstrated experience designing, implementing, and performing analysis for evaluations and assessments.

Additional desired qualifications:

• Speaking proficiency in Russian is highly desired.
• Proficiency in other Central Asian languages is a strong plus.
• Past work experience on gender issues in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and/or Turkmenistan is highly desired.
• Past experience working on USAID-funded programs or evaluations is highly desired.

Location

TBD (Short-term consultancies will be located in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and/or Turkmenistan)