Gender and Disability-Audit in TVET Institutions and Provide Capacity-Building Training for TVET Staff

Description of programme locations and context

SOS Children’s Villages Addis Ababa and Harar programme locations are two of the seven programme sites under SOS Children’s Villages Ethiopia. These locations have been implementing various interventions primarily focused on children, young people, families, and communities within Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa city administrations, as well as the Harari and Oromia regions.

Currently, the Addis Ababa and Harar programmes deliver alternative childcare services, family and community development initiatives, humanitarian actions, and advocacy efforts. In addition, SOS Children’s Villages has recently launched the Green Growth Project, which aims to promote youth employment in these areas.

Under this consultancy, the Gender Audit and Disability Audit specifically focus on conducting a gender- and disability-Audit within selected Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions. This will be followed by capacity-building training for TVET staff to strengthen their ability to provide inclusive and equitable support for youth education in TVET and employment opportunities.

Rationale for Conducting a Gender-Audit and Disability-Audit in TVET Institutions and Providing Capacity-Building Training for TVET Staff

SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia, with funding from the Government of Canada, is implementing the Green Growth Project aimed at increasing decent and sustainable green employment opportunities, particularly for youth and women. The project is designed to align with Ethiopia’s climate-resilient green economy strategy and contribute to gender equality and economic empowerment.

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions play a critical role in equipping youth with the competencies required for employability and sustainable development. In alignment with the global agenda for green skill development and climate resilience, there is an increasing need to integrate green skills into TVET curricula and teaching practices.

Despite progress made in expanding TVET opportunities, gender inequalities and barriers for students with disabilities remain significant. Women and girls continue to be underrepresented in vocational and technical education due to lack of instutional support from TVET , Gender-based violence and harassment in and around TVET that create unsafe learning environments, discouraging girls from attending regularly and leading to higher dropout rates. While students with disabilities face systemic obstacles, including inaccessible infrastructure, learning materials, and social stigma.

Conducting a gender and disability-audit is essential to identify the above-mentioned barriers, assess current practices, and provide actionable recommendations to improve inclusion and equity in TVET institutions.

Following the gender and disability audit a capacity-building training program will be conducted for TVET staff to equip instructors and administrators with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to implement inclusive teaching practices to foster accessible learning environments and promote gender equality within their institutions. This approach not only strengthens the institutional capacity of TVET providers but also enhances the employability and empowerment of youth in the project areas. This initiative also contributes to promoting human rights commitments and enhancing the quality and equity of vocational education and training systems.

Objectives of the Gender and Disability-Audit in TVET institutions and Capacity Building Training

General Objective:

The main objective of this assignment is to conduct a gender and disability audit of the planning, management, and delivery of education in partner TVET institutions, and strengthen the capacity of TVET instructors and management through targeted training on gender mainstreaming and disability inclusion, thereby promoting equitable and inclusive teaching and learning environments.

Specific Objectives:

The specific objectives of the assignment are as follows:

• To assess the extent of integration of a gender and disability inclusive perspective in the policies, strategies and initiatives, documents, budgets and decisions of TVETs.
• To assess gender and disability-related disparities in enrollment, participation, performance, and completion across TVET programs, and to evaluate the physical, pedagogical, and institutional accessibility of TVET institutions for students with disabilities.
• To analyze staffing and leadership composition, capacity, and workplace culture from gender equality and inclusion perspective.
• To develop and deliver a training program for TVET instructors and management on gender mainstreaming and disability inclusion.
• To provide actionable recommendations and institutional action plans to strengthen inclusive and gender-responsive TVET delivery.

Project outcomes and outputs:

The Green Growth project has the following ultimate outcome, intermediate outcomes, immediate outcomes and outputs.

Ultimate Outcomes: Increased economic participation and resilience of disadvantaged youth within the green economy, especially for young women, in Ethiopia.

Intermediate Outcomes

• 1100 – Improved provision of quality gender-sensitive technical and vocational education, including trainings in green skills, for disadvantaged youth in Ethiopia, Somalia and Rwanda.
• 1200 – Enhanced marketable skills among disadvantaged youth, especially green skills among young women, in Ethiopia.
• 1300 – Increased formal employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for disadvantaged youth, especially for young women in the green economy, in Ethiopia.

Immediate Outcomes:

• 1110 – Enhanced capacity of TVET institutions to provide gender-sensitive training and green skill building
• 1120 – Enhanced capacity of TVET instructors to provide gender-sensitive and market-relevant education, especially in green and emerging skills.
• 1210 – Improved access to market-sensitive skills training among disadvantaged youth, especially young women.
• 1220 – Improved proficiency in employability skills among disadvantaged youth, especially young women.
• 1310 – Improved access to self-employment opportunities, especially for disadvantaged young women, in the green economy.
• 1320 – Improved access to waged employment, especially in the green economy, for disadvantaged youth.
• 1330 – Enhanced capacity of labour market actors and financial institutions/associations to support the economic participation of disadvantaged youth.

Outputs under immediate outcomes:

• 1111 – Revised TVET curricula that include the teaching of green skills to youth are developed.
• 1112 – Partnerships with the private sector created to ensure the provision of practical internships to TVET students.
• 1113 – Technical and material support provided to TVET institutions to facilitate teaching of new green and emerging skills in an inclusive environment
• 1121 – Training provided to TVET instructors on the revised TVET curricula focused on green skills
• 1122 – Training on inclusive teaching strategies provided to TVET instructors and management
• 1123 – Training provided to TVET instructors on work-readiness skills
• 1211 – Financial support provided to support the enrolment of disadvantaged youth in technical and vocational education, especially in green fields
• 1212 – Entrepreneurship training provided to disadvantaged youth
• 1221 – Trainings on employability skills provided to disadvantaged youth. (Includes digital literacy skills, soft skills, financial literacy, etc.)
• 1222 – Career guidance provided to disadvantaged youth (includes exposure to the workplace, job fairs, field trips to businesses, mentorship, etc.)
• 1311 – Business Development Services (Entrepreneurship coaching) provided to disadvantaged youth
• 1312 – Financial and material support provided to young entrepreneurs
• 1321 – Job and internship placement support provided to disadvantaged youth
• 1331 – Material and technical support provided to SACCOs/VSLAs and finance institutions to improve their capacity to provide financial support to disadvantaged youth.
• 1332 – Dialogues facilitated between stakeholders on the topic of youth employability and the green economy.

Scope of Work:

Geographically, the gender and disability audit and training program is expected to be conducted in selected TVET partners institutions located in Dire Dawa, Addis Ababa and Adama cities. Specifically, the assignment will cover Akaki Polytechnic College (Addis Ababa), Nefas Silk Polytechnic College (Addis Ababa), Adama Polytechnic College (Adama), and Ethio-Italy Polytechnic College (Dire Dawa).

The Gender and disability audit will focus on the following key areas:

A. Gender and Disability Audit

• Conduct an extensive desk review of TVET institutional documents (strategic plans, annual plans, training guidelines, HR and admission policies, etc.).
• Develop a gender and disability audit framework informed by global standards and contextual relevance
• Identify institutional, structural, and attitudinal barriers affecting gender equality and disability inclusion.
• Identify good practices and key lessons in advancing gender equality and inclusion in TVET
• Evaluate equity, gender equality, inclusion, participation of girls, students with disabilities, disadvantaged groups, and learner engagement in green skills training programs in TVET.
• The audit should include key themes such as political will and decision making, technical capacity, accountability, organizational structure, programming, strategy and MEAL, planning, budgeting and teaching practice processes as well as enrollment, participation, performance, and completion
• Develop a gender and disability self-assessment checklist to facilitate periodic reflection and action

B. Capacity Building / Training

• Develop a training manual and facilitation materials on gender mainstreaming and disability inclusion in TVET.
• Deliver participatory training sessions to selected instructors and administrators from partner TVETs.
• Facilitate practical exercises and discussions focusing on gender-sensitive planning, inclusive pedagogy, accessible facilities, and equitable participation

The Project has the following direct participants/beneficiaries.

Project direct Beneficiaries for SOS CVE Ethiopia		Addis Ababa	Adama	Dire Dawa
Disadvantaged youth (60% women and 8% women with disability)	7,000 (4200 young women)	2,450 (60% young women of which 5% women with disability)	2100 (60% young women of which 5 % women with disability)	2100 (60% young women of which 5 % women with disability)
private sector partnerships including partnerships with Green Tech electric vehicle manufacturing company and STEM Synergy solar bakery production company	56	20	17	19
TVETs	4	2	1	1
SACCOs, VSLAs or financial institutions	4	1	1	2

5. Methodology

The commissioned consultant will develop an appropriate methodology for the assignment including a theoretical framework, all necessary data collection instruments, sampling methods, and data analysis techniques to address the analysis questions. A gender-transformative and disability-inclusive approach is expected throughout the process. The consultant and all involved researchers are required to adhere to the SOS Child Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct, and to take all necessary measures to ensure that collected data is handled safely, confidentially, and respectfully.

Sampling:

The consultant is required to propose statistically sound sampling strategies to ensure representativeness. He/she is required to clearly state the sample size and the acceptable margin of error. The consultant will develop a detailed data analysis plan, outlining the statistical methods to be used for the quantitative data and the thematic analysis approach for the qualitative data. All data collection activities should be conducted following the highest ethical standards, ensuring informed consent, confidentiality, and the safety of all participants.

Work plan and expected deliverables:

Work plan/timetable:

The assessment task is expected to be finalized within 30 consecutive days after the contractual agreement is signed. The training is expected to be delivered within 15 working days .

The consultant is expected to develop her/his detailed work plan based on the following table.

Activities	Dates	Time frame	Location

Deliverables:

The commissioned external consultant must deliver the gender and disability audit in TVET institutions within 45 days of the contract signing. The consultant is expected to analyze the findings by programme intervention sites in each TVET found in Addis Ababa, Adama and Dire Dawa. Based on the work plan, SOS Children’s Villages of Addis Ababa and Harar programme locations’, the national office , and youth empowerment teams expect the following deliverables:

• An inception report of 8 pages to do the work plan
• Summary of current policies, regulations and initiatives at national and regional regarding gender and disability inclusion in TVET institutions.
• The consultant is expected to present both the draft and final findings of the analysis.
• Validation Workshop Presentation
• Final Report (with executive summary, findings, and recommendations)
• Raw data, which has been cleaned (both qualitative and quantitative, including original field notes for in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, and recorded audio material), should be submitted with the report. SOS CVE will have sole ownership of all final data, and any findings shall only be shared or reproduced with the permission of SOS Children’s Village Ethiopia.
• A gender and inclusion self-assessment checklist
• Contextualized training manual with tools and facilitation guide on gender mainstreaming and disability inclusion
• Participatory training delivery tools, PowerPoints
• Training report

[TA1]How many TVETs and where need to be specified.

[TA2]Scoping is required.

[TA3]Please recheck whether this is within the scope of the ToR.

[TA4]It seems a separate deliverable.

[TA5]Please separate the two or show how the two can be carried out together.

[TA6]I suggest this shall be delivered separately. You may prepare another ToR for this.

Report Criteria:

The reporting criteria for the final evaluation report shall be in line with the SOS Children’s Villages Ethiopia result-based management (RBM) toolkit and SOS Children’s Villages will share result framework, the project document and the reporting template with the winner consultant.

Child Safeguarding and ethical issues:

SOS Children’s Villages is committed to ensuring that all research, evaluation and data collection processes (i.e. evidence-generating activities) undertaken by SOS Children’s Villages and its partners are ethical and respect child safeguarding policy and procedure.

The consultant must respect the rights, dignity and protection of children and other vulnerable population groups and should ensure special protection for children and other vulnerable groups during any data-generating activities to minimize any potential risks. Any research, evaluation and data collection SOS Children’s Villages is directly carried out or is involved in as a partner.

Ethical practices need to be ensured in the following circumstances:

• Any research, assessment, baseline, midterm or final evaluations and data collection SOS Children’s Villages has commissioned for ethical oversight of these processes.
• Any research, evaluation and data collection carried out by researchers/consultants on SOS Children’s Villages programmes and participants.

Hence, relevant project coordinator and location MEAL coordinator in Addis Ababa and Harar programme locations will ensure that any researchers, evaluators and data collectors should receive awareness training on, sign and adhere to SOS Children’s Villages core policies:

Obtaining consent from research participants is central to the research relationship and signals respect for the research participant’s dignity, their capability to express their views and their right to have these heard in matters that affect them. Informed consent is an explicit agreement which requires participants to be informed about and understand the research/assessment. This must be given voluntarily and be renegotiable, so that participants may withdraw at any stage of the research process.

Logistical arrangements:

The awarded consultant shall show feasible logistical arrangements for the assignment as part of the technical proposal. National or location-level staff (SOSCV) will be available to help organize the interviews including contacting SOSCV, announcing and local preparation of evaluation, and linking to community duty bearers and national authorities if required.

Duration of the contract and terms of payment:

Payment will be made only upon SOS Children’s Villages’ acceptance of the work performed in accordance with the above-described deliverables. Financial proposals should include proposed stage payments. Payment will be affected by bank transfer in the currency of birr.

Funding and Payment:

The consultant will be paid by SOS Children’s Villages as follows:

30% on the submission and approval of the inception report.

30% on completion of the draft report.

40% on completion of the final report.

Duration of contract: the contract is effective from the moment it was signed until the acceptance of work by the SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia management team.

Notice of delay:

Shall the successful bidder encounter a delay in the performance of the contract which may be excusable under unavoidable circumstances; the contractor shall notify SOS Children’s Villages in writing about the causes of any such delays within one (1) week from the beginning of the delay.

After receipt of the Contractor’s notice of delay, SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia shall analyse the facts and extent of the delay and extend the time for performance when in its judgment the facts justify such an extension.

Copyright and other proprietary rights:

SOS Children’s Villages shall be entitled to all intellectual property and other proprietary rights including, but not limited to, copyrights, and trademarks, with regard to products, processes, inventions, ideas, know-how, or documents and other materials which the Contractor has developed for SOS Children’s Villages under the Contract and which bear a direct relation to or are produced or prepared or collected in consequence of, or during the course of, the performance of the Contract. The Contractor acknowledges and agrees that such products, documents, and other materials constitute works made for hire for SOS Children’s Villages.

All materials: interviews, reports, recommendations, and all other data compiled by or received by the Contractor under the Contract shall be the property of SOS Children’s Villages and shall be treated as confidential and shall be delivered only to SOS Children’s Villages authorized officials on completion of work under the Contract. The external consultant is obliged to hand over all raw data collected during the assessment to SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia.

Termination:

The termination of the service agreement for the assignment will be in accordance with the contractual agreement to be included at the formal agreement’s actual signing.

Education:

• The applicant consultant shall have at least a master’s degree in relevant fields of study such Gender, TVET Education, Sociology, Social Work, development studies, Economics, Project Management, Monitoring & Evaluation and other related fields per the required assignment

Technical Skills:

• Proven experience in gender audit, gender analysis and disability inclusion.
• Knowledge of TVET systems and inclusive education.
• Strong analytical and report-writing skills.
• A good understanding of child/youth rights/safeguarding & other issues affecting vulnerable children in the Ethiopian context.
• Demonstrated knowledge and practical experience in green skills development, green economy, or sustainable vocational training approaches.
• Strong experience in facilitating and delivering training on Gender and Disability inclusion in TVET
• Strong experience on national and regional TVET policies, strategies, and frameworks.
• Strong skills in coordination, good facilitation, organizational, and interpersonal skills
• Strong skills in coordinating teamwork
• Ability to transfer complex concepts and ideas into practical and simple language.

Experience:

• Prior experience in conducting gender audit and disability analyses, organizational analyses, or institutional strengthening assignments for education or training institutions, preferably on TVET institutions
• Experience in organizing research processes with SOS Children’s Villages or similar child focused organizations.
• Legally registered firms with renewed license, VAT registration and TIN number

Language:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is mandatory.
• Proficiency in local languages (e.g., Harari, Oromiffa, Amharic) is a significant advantage and may be required for fieldwork and stakeholder consultations.