Consultant to develop a Male Engagement Strategy

Background

The Malawi Spotlight initiative is grounded on the core rallying principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – leaving no one behind and reaching the furthest behind first. During the first phase of the initiative, and in alignment with government’s own commitment to the SDGs, effort will be made to identify the groups furthest behind on key targets such as reproductive health, empowerment, and economic activity. The ‘left behinds’ in the context of Malawi include persons with disabilities, persons with albinism, stigmatized HIV-positive persons, the LGBTI community, refugees, prisoners, and widows. However, further and deeper investigations will be conducted to identify other population groups that face multiple and intersecting discriminations.

Men are critical change agents in bringing about gender equity since, in most societies, men exercise preponderant power in nearly every sphere of life, ranging from personal decisions regarding the size of families to the policy and programme decisions taken at all levels of Government. It is essential to improve communication between men and women, girls and boys and their participation on a wide range of development issues for instance sexuality and reproductive health, food security and nutrition, and the understanding of their joint responsibilities, so that men and women are equal partners in public and private life.

Advancing gender equality is critical to reducing gender-based violence, promoting positive health seeking behaviour of men and boys and advancing efforts to fast-track the national AIDS response towards achieving the 90-90-90 targets. There is evidence that many men of reproductive age engage in unsafe sexual behaviours including multiple sex partners, cultural practices and cross generational sex putting them at risk of constructing STI’s including HIV. Men’s role in achieving gender equality, and advancement of women and girl’s sexual reproductive health and rights is increasingly being recognized globally. Although small changes are notable, traditional customs and stereotypes are still deeply entrenched in Malawian society.

In line with SDG 5, the UNFPA’s Strategic Plan (2019 -2023) clearly refers to the importance of scaling up – or institutionalization of the engagement of men and boys as an important area of work with an emphasis on supporting institutionalization– defined as government supported and funded policies and programmes. In addition, the new UNAIDS 2016-2020 Strategy calls for action on gender equality in the AIDS response .The HeForShe Initiative established to support the implementation of UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2018- 2021 is a key strategy targeting men and boys to enable them to identify with the issues of gender equality and to recognize the crucial role that they can play to end the global persisting inequality faced by women and girls, both in their own lives, and at more structural levels in their communities.

In a bid to effectively implement the 2019 Spotlight Initiative Annual Work Plan under pillar 3 and 4. The United Nations under the Spotlight Initiative is seeking a competent and experienced Consultant who has knowledge and professional experience in social norms, violence against women and girls, HIV/AIDs, SRHR and prevention of child, early and forced marriages to develop a male engagement strategy.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and present an inception report demonstrating a clear understanding of the TORs, with details on the methodology and timeline for completing the assignment
• Conduct a literature review of all relevant documents (both local and international) on evidence informed strategies, structures and mechanisms for effective male engagement on gender equality, SRHR and HIV interventions
• Review institutional structures and mechanisms for the coordination and delivering of gender equality, GBV, SGBV, Harmful Cultural Practices, HIV and SRHR services at national and sub-national levels?
• Carry out key informant interviews, that includes national level and sub-national actors to build consensus on effective, appropriate and context specific strategies for male engagement in Malawi
• Develop a draft national male engagement strategy and a two-year operational plan with details on the packaging of services and interventions on gender equality, GBV, SGBV, Harmful Cultural Practices, HIV and SRHR for men and boys. For costing purposes, the proposed operational plan will provide details on strategies, outcomes, outputs and activities to be implemented over the next two years.
• Present the draft national strategy and operational plan to a Stakeholders’ Validation Meeting and incorporate the recommendations of thereof in the final plan
• Develop a Policy Brief on Male Engagement in Malawi for advocacy and resource mobilization purposes

Deliverables of the Assignment

• Inception report demonstrating a clear understanding of the TOR with detailed roadmap on the methodology and timeline for completing the assignment
• A national male engagement strategy and a two years operational plan with details on the packaging of services and intervention on gender equality, GBV, SGBV, Harmful Cultural Practices, HIV and SRHR for men and boys.
• PowerPoint presentation to be facilitated during stakeholder validation meetings
• Policy brief on engaging men and boys in gender equality, GBV, SGBV, Harmful Cultural Practices, HIV and SRHR interventions

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Required Skills and Experience

• Masters’ degree in Programme Policy, Public Health, Social Sciences or Development Studies and any other related fields
• Good knowledge in Policy, Strategy and operational planning, formulation and development
• Technical knowledge and experience in gender equality, GBV, SGBV, Harmful Cultural Practices, HIV and/or SRHR programme design and implementation at both national and local level is required.
• Minimum of 7 years’ experience in evidence-based program development and management is desirable.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work independently as well as part of a team;
• Previous experience working directly with PLHIV and GBV survivors in a non-stigmatizing and non-discriminatory way.