TERMS OF REFERENCES (TOR) FOR CONSULTANCY TO CONDUCT GENDER-SENSITIVE MARKET AND LIVELIHOOD ASSESSMENT

About SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia

SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia is an International Non-governmental organization and a member of the SOS Children’s Villages International Federation. It started its humanitarian work in Ethiopia with the opening of its first Village in Mekelle, the Northern part of Ethiopia in 1974. Since then, it has expanded its programmes to different regions including Amhara, Oromia, Somali, Harari, Sidama, Southern Ethiopia, and South-Central Ethiopia regions and Addis Ababa. SOS Children’s Villages Ethiopia has currently seven programme locations (Mekele, Harar, Hawassa, Bahir Dar, Addis Ababa, Jimma and Gode.)

When children lose their own families’ parental care, SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia provides quality alternative care options; and a nurturing environment where they can flourish, grow, and realize their full potential. The programme also works with different youth empowerment initiatives, supporting young people to help them become productive and independent members of society. The family and community development programme has enabled many families to become self-reliant and provide the necessary care for their children. Furthermore, SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia also provides humanitarian assistance interventions in cases of natural and human-made disasters, when the livelihoods of families and communities are disrupted. SOS CVE collaborates with like-minded organizations, community structures, government entities, and relevant actors in advocating for the fulfilment of the rights and needs of vulnerable children, young people and families.

SOS CV Ethiopia engages with a variety of community-managed organizations and local government authorities. It supports them in providing an enabling environment for the most vulnerable communities and families to access vital social services and protection whether in peaceful times or crises, to ensure care and protection for all children and youth living in their community.

Description of Programme Location and Context

Established in 1980, SOS Children’s Villages program in Harar is Ethiopia’s second oldest children’s village in Ethiopia. It has been at the forefront of transforming the lives of countless children, families, and communities who have faced adversities in the Eastern Part of Ethiopia including Harari, Dire Dawa, and East Hararghe zone. The program location has ample experience in implementing the Family and Community Strengthening Projects in Harar, Haramaya, and Dire Dawa, benefiting more than 10,000 children and young people at risk of losing their parental care. Currently, the program location runs seven projects in Harari Regional State, Dire Dawa, and East and West Hararghe zones of the Oromia Regional State.

Rationale for the market and livelihood assessment

Women and girls often face systemic barriers that limit their access to education, training, financial resources, and market opportunities. To address these challenges, the project aims to implement sustainable income-generating activities that are tailored to the local market and the skills and aspirations of women. It is believed that empowering women economically has a ripple effect, leading to improved household well-being, increased educational attainment for children, and greater community development. This market and livelihood assessment is a crucial first step in designing effective interventions. The findings ensure that income-generating activities are aligned with actual market demand, increasing their likelihood of success and sustainability, and ensuring that the project implements market-driven interventions. Furthermore, the assessment provides insights into the specific skills, resources, and aspirations of women and girls in the target area, enabling the design of tailored interventions. It will help to prioritize resources and investments in activities that have the greatest potential for success.

Geographic locations and project targets

The newly launched project is designed to contribute to strengthening the resilience of women and girls to live a life free from violence in the Harari region, Ethiopia. It is implemented in three kebeles of Amir Nur woreda (kebele 01, kebele 02, and kebele 07) and one kebele of Sofi Woreda (Awumer Kebele). The project plans to strengthen the capacity of 350 women in these four kebeles in income-generating activities (IGAs). Hence, the target participants for this market and livelihood assessment include these vulnerable women/women in vulnerable situations in these four kebeles (three kebeles in Amir Nur and one Kebele in Sofi woredas).

Objectives of the Assessment

Overall objective

The overall objective of the market and livelihood assessment of Harar FS project is to identify existing livelihood strategies, options, analyze skill requirements in the labor market, skill gaps employers face when hiring new staff, viable business areas for self-employment, job opportunities for wage employment and feasible, sustainable, women responsive livelihood options and interventions:

Specific Objectives

The specific objectives of this market assessment are:

• To identify potential market opportunities, employment opportunities, map the existing value chains of potential market opportunities and align with the skills and resources of the target group (vulnerable women in Amir Nur and Sofi woredas).
• To propose income-generating activities, livelihood options and strategies that align with market demand and the skills and interests of women in Amir Nur and Sofi Woredas.
• To assess the feasibility of potential market opportunities, assess the barriers/ constraints faced by women considering factors such as profitability, sustainability, and scalability and provide recommendations on how to overcome them.
• To assess the financial literacy and access to financial services of women in Amir Nur and Sofi woredas.
• Develop actionable recommendations for interventions that support women’s economic empowerment through market-based approaches.

Scope of the assignment

The assessment primarily aims to identify existing livelihood strategies and market participation of women in these four kebeles of Amir Nur and Sofi Woredas. Geographically, it will be delimited to these four kebeles and the surrounding markets (Harar), to enable us to map the existing value chains of potential market opportunities. Single mothers, women living with disabilities, women heads of households, women experiencing food insecurity, and women experiencing gender-based violence are among the key participants in this assessment. The consultant is expected to come up with appropriate methods to ensure the participation of all relevant stakeholders to get data on the livelihood analysis, market analysis, and barriers and constraints analysis.

Methodology

Applicants should provide a detailed methodology showing how the assessment objectives will be met. It is anticipated that the methodology for this task will include relevant quantitative and qualitative methodologies that can generate the highest quality and most credible evidence. It is also anticipated that the methodology will include a mixture of primary and secondary data collection methods to achieve the objective of this assessment. The consultant should develop a detailed assessment methodology, including data collection tools.The consultant should also clearly explain which questions will be answered using which methods. Moreover, he/she is expected to explain the design and process of data collection tools, data collection plans and data analysis instruments during inception report presentation.

Sampling

To ensure that the assessment provides a comprehensive and accurate picture of the market and livelihood opportunities for women and in the target kebeles, the applicant is expected to define relevant sampling strategies for this assessment. He/she is expected to use appropriate sampling techniques and set an acceptable sample size for both qualitative and quantitative data.

Major market and livelihood assessment questions

This market and livelihood assessment is expected to answer, but not limited to, the following key assessment questions. The consultant is expected to develop additional research questions to get sufficient information on women’s livelihood strategies, livelihood activities, resilience and vulnerabilities, market access, value chains, and social and institutional factors.

• What are the primary livelihood strategies employed by women in these kebeles?
• What are the diverse income-generating activities undertaken by women in these communities?
• What resources (land, capital, skills, social networks) do women utilize in their livelihood strategies?
• What are the challenges faced by women in maintaining their current livelihood strategies?
• What factors influence women’s ability to diversify their livelihoods?
• How resilient are women’s livelihood strategies to shocks and stresses (e.g., drought, market fluctuations)?
• What are the barriers to women’s access to markets (e.g., transportation, information, social norms)?
• How do social norms and gender roles influence women’s livelihood strategies and market participation?
• What are the existing institutional support mechanisms for women’s economic empowerment?
• How do local policies and regulations affect women’s ability to participate in markets?

Work plan and Expected deliverables

Work plan/timetable

The assignment is expected to be finalized within 30 days after the contractual agreement is signed. The consultant is expected to develop her/his work plan based on the following table.

Deliverables

The consultant will deliver the following:

• An inception report outlining the methodology, work plan, data collection and analysis tools, sampling framework, and protocols for data collection and analysis.
• A draft market and livelihood assessment report in writing.
• A comprehensive assessment report (final draft), including:
• Executive summary
• Methodology
• Market analysis.
• Livelihood analysis.
• Findings and recommendations.
• Annexes (data tables, interview guides, etc.).
• A presentation of the assessment findings and recommendations.

Report criteria

The reporting criteria for the market and livelihood assessment shall be in line with the SOS Children’s Village Ethiopia result-based management (RBM) toolkit, which will be shared with the winner consultant along with the data review process and/or for the preparation of the inception report. The final report should have all the topics listed above (comprehensive assessment report), and the consultant is expected to submit the report (first draft and second draft) both in hard copies and soft copies to the SOS Children’s Village in Ethiopia Program in Harar MEAL Coordinator.

Safeguarding and Ethical Considerations

This assessment will be conducted with the highest ethical standards, ensuring the safety and dignity of all participants, particularly vulnerable groups, including children. SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia is committed to upholding ethical principles and Safeguarding standards in all its activities. The consultant is required to ensure that all data collection methods are conducted ethically, with informed consent obtained from all participants. Special attention will be paid to ensuring that consent is freely given and understood, particularly by vulnerable groups. Data collection will be conducted in a manner that respects the privacy and confidentiality of participants. Anonymization and secure data storage protocols will be implemented. The consultant will adhere to the organization’s safeguarding regulations, policies, and procedures. This includes mandatory reporting of any suspected or actual safeguarding issues.

When interacting with participants, the consultant is required to ensure that all interactions are safe, respectful, and appropriate. No child will be interviewed without the explicit consent of their parent or guardian, and in the presence of a trusted adult. The consultant will adhere to the “do no harm” principle, ensuring that the assessment does not inadvertently exacerbate existing vulnerabilities or create new ones. The consultant will be required to sign a code of conduct that includes strict adherence to ethical guidelines and child safeguarding policies. Failure to comply with these ethical standards and child safeguarding policies may result in the termination of the contract.

Logistical arrangements

The awarded consultant shall show feasible logistical arrangements for the assignment as part of the technical proposal.

Notice of delay

The incumbent consultant is expected to report the delay in any part of the assignment 10 days before the agreed days of the timetable. If the consultant fails to complete the work within the time limit prescribed under contract agreement, he/she shall pay 0.5% (0.5 percent) of the contract price as liquidated damage for each day of delay until the Client unilaterally terminates the contract for non-performance. The Client shall have the right to decide whether there is a convincing reason for the delay or not.

Copyright and other proprietary rights

The market and livelihood assessment result shall be the sole property of SOS-CVE and shall not be copied or modified for other purposes without the formal consent/approval of the national director.

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.

Qualification of the researcher/research team

• The applicant consultant shall have at least a master’s degree in a relevant field of study such as Psychology, Sociology, Social Work, Law, development studies, Economics, Project Management (Development or Humanitarian), Monitoring & Evaluation and other related fields per the required assignment
• At least 5 years of work experience & proven competency in market and livelihoods assessment, monitoring, and evaluation, including baseline assessments or organizational/program evaluation (baseline, midterm, and final evaluations). The incumbent shall attach at least one sample market and livelihood assessment report produced by the candidate on a similar topic.
• A good understanding of women empowerment, market and livelihoods and development programme work.
• The consultant should have Gender expertise, and at least one gender expert among the consultant team members.
• A good understanding of child/youth rights/safeguarding & other issues affecting vulnerable children in the Ethiopian context.
• Proven experience in participatory processes and data collection methods
• Strong skills in coordination, analytical and conceptual skills on market and livelihood assessment
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English.
• Ability to transfer complex concepts and ideas into practical and simple language.
• Experience in organizing research processes with/for child-focused development organizations.
• Experience and credibility in providing market and livelihood assessments for external communication and organizational purposes.
• Experience in managing market and livelihood assignments in respect of the participating communities’ culture, social norms, values, and behavior; and maintaining appropriate relationships with participants of this evaluation.
• Legally registered firms with renewed license, VAT registration and TIN.