Who we are

Urgent Action Fund (UAF-Africa) is a feminist, Pan-African, rapid response fund committed to transforming power relations through resourcing African feminists and womn’s human rights defenders and their formations as an act of solidarity. We are a part of the ecosystem of feminist and womn’s movements in Africa and globally. In character, we are bold, courageous, proactive, responsive, creative, rigorous, curious, alert, agile, imaginative, grounded, consistent, and reliable. As a rapid response Fund, we are ready, alert, and agile to respond to and prioritise the urgent needs of womn in various movements. Registered in Kenya and Zimbabwe and operating as a virtual organisation, the Fund boasts of strategic presence in Africa’s five sub-regions- East Africa: Nairobi & Makuyu- Kenya, Kampala-Uganda and Addis Ababa- Ethiopia; North Africa: Cairo- Egypt; Central Africa: Bujumbura- Burundi; Southern Africa: Harare -Zimbabwe, Lilongwe & Blantyre – Malawi, Madagascar, Johannesburg & Cape Town-South Africa, and West Africa: Benue State & Abuja -Nigeria and Cotonou & Parakou- Benin and Yaoundé & Douala Cameroon and Lomé, Togo. Recognising the need to move resources rapidly on a continent where opportunities and threats arise and decline quickly, UAF-Africa uses a Rapid Response Grant-making mechanism.

UAF-Africa’s programming is centered around Sustaining African Womn Human Rights Defenders (AWHRDs) to counter the narrative of resilience without pausing to rethink, reimagine, and transform how they live and work. As testament to this commitment, UAF-Africa launched the Feminist Republik (also known as the African Womn’s Human Rights Defenders Platform) in December 2019 after years of reflecting on grantmaking trends and conversations with activists, partners and advisors on challenges facing WHRDs and areas of support that are lacking. It was clear there was a need for a platform focused on AWHRDs and facilitating their holistic security, safety, wellbeing, collective care, healing and justice. Thus, the platform was launched through the Feminist Republik Festival in Naivasha, Kenya in 2019 with the promise and praxis of One of the programme’s components is building a physical well-being farm – the Feminist Republik Healing Farm (herein referred to as the Healing Farm) home for AWHRDs. The Healing Farm is under construction in Kitui County, Kenya to serve as a rejuvenation center and a womn-run space for AWHRDs connect with nature, meet and connect with other AWHRDs across the continent, or for any other purposes to be determined by AWHRDs. The farm is also a political project, a bold challenge to the narrative of womn’s ownership of land & infrastructure across Africa.

Located in Muselele, Kitui County, the farm is surrounded by a community that will contribute and equally benefit from the facility as the hosts. UAF-Africa recognises the responsibility to ensure that operations regarding the Healing Farm project bring value to the community particularly by increasing protection and safety of girls and womn in Kitui County. According to World Health Organization GBV affects more than one in three womn throughout their lifetime with almost 27% of womn aged 15-49 years reporting that they have been subjected to some form of physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner. The African Development Bank’s Gender Data Index 2019 suggests the prevalence of intimate partner sexual or physical violence ranges from a little over 10% to close to 40% across Africa, which is some of the highest globally. According to the Kenya Demographic Health Survey (2022) , among womn aged 15 to 49, 34% have experienced physical violence, 13% sexual violence most commonly among womn who have ever been married or ever had an intimate partner were current husbands or intimate partners and former husbands or intimate partners. Since the onset of devolved governments in Kenya in 2013, counties have steadily increased coverage of basic services such as education, health, and cultural activities, which have begun to give each county an identity. Kitui County, for instance, has initiated a multi-stakeholder process of developing a GBV response policy. However, interventions by various stakeholders remain heavily fragmented and less than optimal in preventing and responding to gender-based violations. For example, there is no single source of GBV data at the National or County level, which continues to distort the magnitude of the GBV crises.

As a Feminist Fund that prioritises GBV response and prevention in its work, it is against this background that we seek to recruit a GBV/SEA/SH Specialist as a Consultant to draft frameworks that address the risks associated with Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Sexual Exploitation, and Abuse (SEA), Sexual Harassment (SH) arising of out of the influx of labour into the project area for the project implementation as guided by global and regional guidelines on addressing SEA/SH in projects involving major civil works.

Scope of Activities

The purpose of this task is to provide technical support to the Feminist Republik Healing Farm and UAF-Africa to ensure that adequate frameworks and policies to prevent and respond to Gender-Based Violence and Sexual Exploitation Abuse/Sexual Harassment are adopted. The policies and frameworks will inform the implementing of activities aimed at prevention, identification, referral, and response services for project workers, the community, target groups at risk, and GBV/SEA/SH survivors (womn, children including adolescents). The consultant will also develop protocols for grievance handling and case management.

The Consultant will:

1. Work closely with UAF-Africa (particularly the Healing Farm’s staff and implementing partners) to strengthen its capacity to implement GBV/SEA/SH safeguarding policies and guidelines.

2. Review UAF-Africa’s capacity to prevent and respond to GBV.

I. Review current GBV /SEA/SH interventions and implementation arrangements, existing policies including the safeguarding policy, and provide appropriate support for any further scope.

II. Review the current Healing Farm Environment and Social Management Plan to determine the extent to which GBV /SEA/SH guidelines and procedures, and code of conduct should be incorporated, make recommendations, and support further development as appropriate.

III. Review the historical context of GBV in the community and the viability of the current interventions to address the root causes.

IV. Develop a Healing Farm Environment and Social Management System that includes various components covered by the project

V. Conduct GBV/SEA/SH training for the UAF-Africa and Healing Farm staff and its implementing partners including the current contractors.

3. Provide technical guidance/capacity building to the Healing Farm staff on the importance of addressing GBV/SEA/SH on the project, and the mechanisms that need to be implemented. This may include training on accountability and response framework, responsibilities and reporting confidentiality, and whistle-blower protection clauses.

4. Support the development and integration of GBV/SEA /SH risk assessment in the Healing Farm’s social assessments using GBV risk assessment tools.

5. Support in the development and /or refinement of appropriate GBV/SEA/ SH sensitive channels for reporting within existing Grievance Reporting Mechanisms with specific GBV/SEA/SH procedures.

6. Support the Healing Farm in defining, refining, and reinforcing GBV/SEA/SH requirements in procurement processes and contracts. This will include proposing and incorporating GBV requirements and expectations in contractor contracts and allocating funds for GBV-related costs in procurement documents.

Deliverables

• An inception report with the refined scope of work /interventions, technical approach and methodology, work plan, and performance indicators developed and agreed upon with UAF-Africa within two months of the assignment’s commencement.

• A GBV/SEA/SH capacity building plan developed based on a detailed needs assessment/scoping report for GBV/VAW implementation within the Healing Farm developed and agreed upon with the client within three months of the assignment’s commencement.

• Reports against planned key deliverables and specific tasks prepared and submitted to UAF-Africa

• Reports Against Planned Interventions and Agreed inception report/work plans prepared according to agreed formats submitted to UAF-Africa in accordance with contract reporting schedules

• End of project report against agreed inception report incorporating project learnings (lessons and challenges) prepared to acceptable standards/formats and submitted one month before the expiry of the contract.

Qualification and Experience

Advanced degree in Anthropology, Sociology, Gender, Reproductive Health, Public Health or any other relevant Social Science/ Public Health.

At least Ten (10) years’ experience in working on GBV/SEA /SH safeguards for donor-funded infrastructure development or population in crisis projects with demonstrated understanding of Kenya’s legal, policy and institutional framework for GBV, Child protection and related issues is a requirement.

Demonstrable capacity in designing and implementing institutional capacity-building training and systems focused on prevention and response of GBV/SEA and Child protection.

Demonstrable experience of working through collaboration, networking and partnerships with government institutions, donor and CSOs at national level.

Experience in handling similar assignments on constructions projects in Kenya or in the African region is an added advantage.

Proficiency in English language is a must.

Other Core Competencies Required

Professionalism: Knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to social safeguards for construction projects. Has the ability to identify issues, analyse and participate in the resolution of issues/problems and in full consideration of the context. Conceptual analytical and evaluative skills to conduct independent research and analysis as well as due diligence of work and reports carried out by Consultants and Contractors. Ability to apply judgment in the context of assignments given, plan own work and manage conflicting priorities.

The ideal candidate should have high integrity and professional ethics.

Planning and Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.

Leadership and Innovation; Ability to lead multi-profession teams on as aspects of social safeguards and innovate all-inclusive solutions suitable for project contexts.

Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues and other stakeholders to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

Capacity building: has the abilities to transfer knowledge, skills and abilities in both informal and formal ways based on the gaps identified during the tenure. This should be done in a systematic manner with clear measurable outcomes presented in periodic manner.

Consultant Expertise

The Consultant is contracted based on their vast expertise, analysis, and experiences working within similar fields, providing the necessary professional and expert skills as desired for this assignment.

Duration & Remuneration

The consultancy will, therefore, cover a total of 21 non-consecutive working days.

Remuneration will be negotiated according to standard rates for similar consultancy work.

Liaison contacts at UAF-Africa

• The Programmes Director

• The Sustaining Defenders Senior Programme Manager

• The Feminist Republik Healing Farm Senior Project Manager

• The Sustaining Defenders: Senior Programme Officer- Civic Engagement, GBV and SRHRJ