Gender Expert

General objectives  The objective of this assignment is to prepare a Gender Strategy and a Gender Action Plan for IYBA-SEED in coordination with other Implementing Partners of the project, across the 5 target countries (Benin, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Togo)Expected deliverables (compulsory deadlines have been set - see attached ToR):- IYBA-SEED Gender Strategy- IYBA-SEED Gender Action Plan- Training sessions on gender considerations and on IYBA-SEED ToolboxSpecific objectives and main duties The specific responsibilities and main duties of the gender expert under this assignment are:- Develop an IYBA-SEED Gender StrategyDeveloping a comprehensive Gender Strategy aligned with the IYBA-SEED programme's objectives and EU regulations in coordination with other Implementing Partners of the project, across 5 target countries. This will include meetings and interviews with different stakeholders: representatives of the 5 European development agencies (including Project Management Unit but also Gender experts of each Agency), Country Teams, local civil society representatives, local gender experts, etc.The gender strategy will include:- Clearly identified gender-related goals and objectives of the project, aligned with broader gender equality and women's empowerment principles.- Measures to ensure gender mainstreaming throughout the project needed to integrate a gender sensitive approach in all project activities, outputs, outcomes and indicators.- Recommendations to successfully reach the target group (women as Seed beneficiaries) to ensure their meaningful participation during project activities.- Identified and flagged potential gender-related risks and vulnerabilities that the project might unintentionally exacerbate and develop strategies to mitigate these risks.- Proposed strategies for raising awareness about gender equality and the project's gender-focused objectives.- Proposed strategies to ensure sustainability and continuity of Gender mainstreaming efforts.- Defined metrics and methods to measure the effectiveness of the Gender Strategy.- Work with the C&V expert to ensure that the IYBA-SEED C&V Strategy and C&V Plan are using the proper communication channels, material and are mainstreaming our Gender strategy.- Develop an IYBA-SEED Gender Action PlanDeveloping the project Gender Action Plan, outlining specific activities, tasks, timelines, responsible parties required to implement the strategy, in consultation with the project team, the EU and Expertise France's Gender Expert.The Gender Action Plan will include:- Gender Toolbox for the design and implementation of activities to be included in the Country and International Action Plans, to ensure taking full account of gender considerations and enabling therefore the highest empowerment of women entrepreneurs in the 5 target countires. When preparing the toolkit, the expert will take into account the many tools already developed by the Implementing Partners.- List of specific tasks and activities that need to be completed to execute the Gender Strategy.- Proposed mechanisms for coherent and adapted collaboration between the project stakeholders (PMU and Country Team) on gender issues (assigning individuals or teams responsible).- Proposed key performance indicators with recommendation on mechanisms to collect gender-disaggregated data to track progress and outcomes and evaluation methodology adapted to gender and women empowerment - Develop and deliver training sessions on gender considerations and using IYBA-SEED Toolbox- Conduct a needs assessment to understand the participants' current knowledge of gender issues and their training needs,- Define the specific objectives of the training session and the desired outcomes- Create engaging presentation, handouts, case studies, and interactive exercises that align with the learning objectives,- Encourage open discussions and group interactions, allowing participants to share their experiences, challenges, and insights related to gender,- Provide opportunities for participants to apply the toolbox concepts to real-world situations relevant to their work,- Prepare a training report summarizing the objectives, content, outcomes, and participant feedback. Expertise France is the French public international cooperation agency. It designs and implements projects which aim to contribute to the sustainable development of partner countries, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda and the priorities of France's external action.The project "Investing in Young Businesses in Africa – Supporting Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development" (IYBA-SEED) is co-funded by the European Union (DG INTPA), the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Team France and SlovakAid, for a period of 4 years (2023-2026). It is implemented by a consortium of leading European development agencies, including Enabel (Belgium), Expertise France (France), GIZ (Germany), SAIDC (Slovakia) and SNV (Netherlands). The consortium is led by Expertise France.IYBA-SEED is part the Team Europe Initiative of the same name (TEI IYBA), in particular of its third Block aimed at "supporting the ecosystem, with a special emphasis on women and young people". For information, the first two Blocks of the TEI IYBA are aimed at increasing financial and technical support for enterprises and entrepreneurs at (pre-)seed stages.IYBA-SEED takes an "Ecosystem Strengthening" approach: it targets the entrepreneurship ecosystem and its actors, in order to reach young businesses (i.e. SEED beneficiaries) which are defined as:- (Very-)early stage businesses and entrepreneurs (pre-seed and seed)- Led by young entrepreneurs (18-35yo) and/or women entrepreneurs (of all ages)The project aims to "contribute to creating decent jobs and resilient economies by strengthening entrepreneurship ecosystems in a number of sub-Saharan countries so that they can increase access to Business Development Services (both financial and non-financial) for SEED beneficiaries" in 5 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (Benin, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Togo).IYBA-SEED works on four key components / specific objectives- Capacity Development and Networks : strengthen and connect Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Actors (EEAs) and their networks (both nationally and internationally) to improve access to Business Development Services (both financial and non-financial) for SEED beneficiaries- Business Environment : contribute to a business environment (policies and regulations) which is conducive to the creation and growth of SEED beneficiaries- Entrepreneurial Culture : promote an inclusive entrepreneurial culture that encourages existing and future young and women entrepreneurs to create and grow SEED beneficiaries- Knowledge : foster access for Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Actors, SEED beneficiaries and other stakeholders to lessons learned and best practices for Entrepreneurship Ecosystem StrengtheningCurrently, the Country Diagnostics are being implemented in each of the five implementing countries with the objective to provide the information needed for the development of Country Action Plans and an International Action Plan tailored to the gaps and needs identified.The Action Plans will contain activities tailored to the local contexts and needs, including activities either specifically designed for women, or activities intended to ensure better participation of women, targeting the improvement of the gender equity in access to Business Development Services. CONTEXT OF THE ASSIGNMENTThe IYBA-SEED project will incorporate issues of women's economic empowerment and gender equality in all respective outputs and outcomes; indeed, as SEED beneficiaries, women entrepreneurs have been specifically targeted for this intervention. Under component 1, women-led business associations and networks will be intentionally mapped and strengthened, in terms of their connections to other Entrepreneur Ecosystem actors as well as in terms of their service offerings. The goal is for women entrepreneurs, as SEED beneficiaries, to have access to relevant support services at all stages of the development of their business ventures. IYBA-SEED will similarly support specific measures that address adverse underlying business norms and values, in a culturally sensitive way, by addressing perceptions of women at work (component 3) and supporting conducive and gender-transformative business environment reforms (component 2). Component 4 serves as the capitalisation of IYBA-SEED and seeks to make country diagnostics and maps, as well as overall lessons learned on Ecosystem Strengthening, available to a wide range of stakeholders. The aim is that women entrepreneurs will use this information to access the services they need to grow their businesses, while Entrepreneur Ecosystem actors will develop more relevant and inclusive service offerings, and other stakeholders will apply the key takeaways when designing and implementing future projects targeting women entrepreneurs as beneficiaries.In a similar vein, IYBA-SEED will bring a perspective of gender-equality to each project phase, from diagnostics to capitalisation. The mapping exercise of the diagnostic phase will identify the existing services available to female entrepreneurs, as well as the "gaps" to be remedied throughout the project. It will also highlight obstacles within the political and cultural spheres which limit the trajectories of women entrepreneurs; these conjectures will be validated through the various Deep Dives. Throughout the implementation phase IYBA-SEED will promote the inclusion of women on project teams and will intentionally seek gender-balanced and gender-transformative dialogues. The capitalisation phase will finally ensure that national and regional learnings, tools, and good practices will be published in formats and on platforms which are accessible to women, and that they will contain gender-relevant content.  Qualifications and skills required- Master's degree or equivalent in Gender Studies, Political Science, International Cooperation, Anthropology or equivalent.- Proven experience (4+years) in gender issues and gender mainstreaming, preferably in development projects or international organizations. Experience in this field on the African continent would be an asset- Good knowledge of cooperation mechanisms and official development assistance, experience in project management under European Union or AFD (Agence Française de Développement) funding would be an asset.- Familiarity with the Africa's development landscape and its policy frameworks would be an advantage (especially in Benin, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Togo).- Fluency in English and French (read, written and spoken)- Excellent organizational and project management skills with the ability to multitask and meet deadlines- Diplomacy and ability to adapt, resilience and capacity to work under pressure in a multi-cultural environment.- Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a multicultural and interdisciplinary environment. Coordination arrangementsThe Communication Expert will report to the Project Coordinator (Expertise France).In order to draft a well-informed Strategy and Action Plan fully reflecting the spirit of the project, the Expert will work closely with the PMU team members in Brussels and have regular interactions with project teams in IYBA SEED countries (Benin, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Togo).Working conditionsAs part of this assignment, the project will cover the following expenses: per diem, accommodation and transport during any missions outside of the expert's place of residence, visa fees if necessary.The working language will be English and French.Location and length of assignmentThe Expert should preferably be based in Brussels.ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONDesired start date of the service: 02 October 2023Type of contract: service provision contractDocuments to be supplied:- CV- Technical and financial offer including:- An implementation schedule- FeesThe estimated duration of the assignment is 49 working days.Candidates interested in this opportunity are invited to submit their application as soon as possible. Expertise France reserves the right to pre-select candidates before the deadline for applications. If you do not receive a reply from us within 3 weeks after deadline, please consider that your application has been unsuccessful.The selection process will take place in two stages:- Firstly, a shortlist will be drawn up by Expertise France.- Secondly, the shortlisted candidates will be invited to a videoconference interview.See attached ToR for expected deliverables compulsory deadlines and indicative number of working days.