Terms of Reference

Document Rwanda Women Parliamentary Forum (FFRP) achievements, lessons learned and success (1996-2024) to build on for future legislatives Terms

I. Background and justification 

Rwanda is committed to gender equality and empowerment of women and girls in its’ development agenda. This has been demonstrated in setting gender responsive policies and legal frameworks as well as programs and strategies in different areas of development. The Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda is a cornerstone for guaranteeing equal rights between Rwandan men and women.

Rwanda has also ratified and domesticated various International commitments on GEWE such as the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); the Beijing Declaration and its’ Platform for Action; the UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, the Maputo Optional Protocol, the Agenda 2030 etc.

In order to translate into action policies, programs, strategies and international commitment, a strong institutional mechanism was set up, comprising the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF), the Gender Monitoring Office (GMO) and the National Women Council (CNF). The National Gender Machinery works in synergy with Civil Society organizations, private sector and Faith Based Organizations to advance the gender agenda and galvanize synergy of respective interventions to achieve social transformation and make sure that no one is left behind.

The Parliament is one of the arms of the State, working independently in the setup of power separation, with the mandate to legislate and exercise oversight over the government. This mandate makes the Legislative body well positioned for guaranteeing accountability of all government interventions.

Especially for Gender accountability, the Parliament offers a comparative advantage of having the Rwanda Women Parliamentary Forum (FFRP) as one of its’ affiliated networks of Parliamentarians, set up to act as a think tank, catalyst and mobiliser on GEWE related matters. The uniqueness of FFRP is to have men and women working together, championing Gender Equality and Women Empowerment. It is important to note that during the last two decades, women representation in the Parliament increased constantly from 48,8% (2003), 56% (2008), 64% (2013) and 61,25% (2018).

 Having a critical mass of male and women championing the gender agenda makes FFRP a vibrant network working with various partners, including One UN, International NGOs, Academia, and different Development Partners including International Cooperation agencies.

UNDP and UNIFEM/ UN Women supported the formation of the Forum and facilitated building of capacity to the forum members, by providing knowledge that influenced policy and catalysed positive change in uplifting women fundamental rights. During the early years of FFRP, legislative reforms were undertaken to challenge and review multiple barriers that women were facing after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

In order to sustain the gains of FFRP, it is planned to document its’ journey from 1996 to date and produce a documentary film and a concise report on its achievements towards GEWE. This will provide a solid foundation to build on for future legislatures.

It is against this background that, UN Women is seeking to recruit, on behalf of the FFRP, a qualified and motived individual consultant for a short term technical support to develop a concise and summarized written document, narrating FFRP experience and providing identified inputs, processes, partnerships, roles and responsibilities  and others key points which have resulted into increased  women representation and participation in the Parliament of Rwanda, tracking evidence of the impact of women’s representation and participation in advancing the gender agenda through  FFRP interventions for the period of (1996 -2024) and opening the gateway for sustainability and future prospects.

II. Objectives 

The overall objective of the publication is to take stock of the contribution of FFRP towards GEWE and provide a solid foundation to build on for the next legislatures of the Parliament.

  This will specifically respond to the following objectives:

• Enhance Legacy and institutional memory of the FFRP.
• Share knowledge on the contribution of women in Parliament through FFRP from 1996 to date.
• Document success stories and create physical and online resources to inform the public beyond the borders.

III. Expected Results

• Institutional memory of the FFRP kept in a sustainable and accessible way.
• FFRP enabled to document and illustrate the contribution of women in Parliament from 1996 to date and keep records of its’ past year’s contribution.
• FFRP success stories pined, documented, and posted using various platforms to be accessible to the public worldwide.

IV. Timeline

The written document should be ready in a period not exceeding 30 calendar days following the singing of the contract.

V. Expected deliverables.

The consultant will be responsible for delivering the following specific deliverables: 

1. An inception report indicating highlighting the understanding of the assignment, key factsheet, success stories to be documented, proposed methodology, key respondents and protocol for interviews and timeframe for the work.
2. A draft version of the written document including key achievements, lessons learned content of themes/ topics to be highlighted as success stories, and key factsheet, to be approved by the Technical Committee for quality assurance, approved by FFRP Committee and UN Women.
3. Report of quality assurance and validation meetings highlighting key inputs from participants towards the quality of the final product.
4. Presentations in preparation of validation meetings.
5. A final version of the edited and proofread report of achievements, with key factsheet and success stories.

VI. Qualifications for the consultant 

Education:

At least a Master’s degree in any of the following social sciences:  Communication, Gender and Development studies, Social Development, Gender and Economics, Public Policy or another related field 

Experience: 

1. At least 10 years of demonstrated expertise in program reporting and proposal writing,
2. At least 5 years of proven experience in research, and/or impact evaluations and undertaking documentations or reviews.
3. At least 7 years of relevant experience in carrying out similar assignments at both national, regional, and international levels especially in developing countries including Rwanda. Proof of 3 certificates of relevant good completion from well recognized agencies is mandatory. Certificate from one of the gender machinery institutions will be an added advantage.
4. At least 3 years’ experience in professional writing, editing, proof-reading for publications or organizations including design and layout of gender related documents on both national and international levels.
5. Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, desktop publishing applications.) 

Language Requirements:

The Consultant should possess excellent command of written and spoken English including the ability to convey complex concepts and recommendations, in a clear and persuasive style tailored to match different audiences. Knowledge of Kinyarwanda is required; French would be an asset. 

Skills Required:

1. Excellent analytical and organizational skills.
2. Experience in creating high quality corporate products.
3. Ability to be flexible and respond to changes to concepts and texts as part of the review and feedback process.
4. Strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate and work with a diverse group of people.
5. Patience and professionalism.
6. Excellent oral and report writing skills, including a proven track record in writing succinct, analytical publications and reports.

Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines, work under minimum supervision while maintaining a high level of accuracy.

VII. Supervision arrangement

The consultant will work under the overall guidance of the FFRP Leadership and in close collaboration with UN Women Project Coordinator.  All deliverables shall be agreed upon with FFRP/UN Women and presented in the English language in hard and electronic copies. The draft and final documents will be shared with and validated by FFRP Executive Committee and submitted to the Bureaus of both Chambers of the Parliament before being launched in a High-Level Dialogue on achievements of the FFRP.

VIII. Application procedure 

Interested candidates should apply by presenting the following documents in English:

• Cover letter to include a brief overview about which of the previous experiences makes the applicant the most suitable candidate for the assignment.
• Copy of the CV including indicating educational background and professional qualification, a list of previous assignments, contact details of three reference persons and contact details of the candidate (e-mail addresses and telephone numbers). Portfolio with examples of performed works of different types and formats according to this assignment.
• Technical proposal

Applications without any of the items listed above will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further processing.

All interested and qualified individual consultants are requested to submit their applications to rwanda.offers@unwomen.org not later than 22 February 2024 at 5:00 pm Kigali Local Time.

Please note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

IX. Ethical Considerations and Intellectual Property

The review and report production process should adhere to ethical guidelines, ensuring the protection of participants' rights, confidentiality, and informed consent. Any potential risks or ethical concerns should be addressed and mitigated appropriately. All data, information, and reports generated during this review and report production process should be considered the property of FFRP and proper attribution and acknowledgment should be given to all contributors and sources.