1. Background and Context

Habitat for Humanity is a global non-profit organization established in 1976, dedicated to affordable housing, operating in over 70 countries with the vision of ensuring everyone has a decent place to live. Established in 1999, Habitat for Humanity Bangladesh (HFHB) focuses on eliminating substandard housing and homelessness by partnering with low-income families to promote stability and self-reliance. HFHB seeks to bring people together to build homes, communities and focuses on affordable, resilient and decent housing with basic services for the marginalized.  

In its commitment to inclusivity, Habitat Bangladesh recognizes that gender equity is crucial for accessing adequate housing and achieving sustainable development goals. To enhance its impact, HFHB plans to conduct a country gender analysis to identify existing inequalities and biases within its priority sectors of Housing, climate resilience, WASH, DRR (Disaster Risk Reduction and Responses), Advocacy and influencing, Humanitarian Responses and Rohingya Responses Program. This country gender analysis will inform plans to integrate gender equity into all program operations, ultimately advancing HFHB’s mission of promoting affordable and resilient housing for marginalized communities.

Country gender analysis that identifies (within HFHB’s priority sectors of climate resilience and housing ecosystem) existing gender inequalities and systematic/unconscious biases to better transform HFHB’s program and influence strategies and designs. This analysis will employ a variety of methods to understand the relationships between men and women, their access to and control over resources, their activities, their relative condition and position in society, and the constraints they face relative to each other. The gender analysis will also provide information that recognizes that gender, and its relationship with race, ethnicity, culture, class, age, disability, and/or other status, is important in understanding the different patterns of involvement, behaviour and activities that women and men have in economic, social and legal structures.

We realise that Gender is a key factor in access to adequate housing, and an important pathway to inclusive development. Attention to gender equity and fairness in our programs and in our organisation is core to achieving our mission.  Therefore, Habitat for Humanity Bangladesh (HFHB) is embarking on a learning journey to improve the way its programming contributes to gender equity.
Habitat Bangladesh intents to make the organization and its program more inclusive focusing on gender equity. In this regard HFHB has planned to identify a key consultant to conduct country gender analysis to understand the gender gaps and finds the strategies to integrate gender equity in all its program operational level.

2. Specific Objectives of the assignment

• To do a country gender analysis and prepare a report covering rural and urban communities.
• To develop a gender policy of Habitat for Humanity Bangladesh.
• To develop a training module for staffs and partners on gender equity in line with the gender policy.

3. Scope of Work

The consultant will lead a country level gender context analysis process and stakeholder mapping in order to improve HFHB’s understanding of gender dynamics in organization and programme operations, and explore ways in which HFHB and its programming and relationships may better address gender inequity.

1. Inception Phase:
   1. Review all relevant documentation and prepare an inception report that summarizes objectives, scope, outputs, and methodology, including a detailed timeline.
2. Document Review:
   1. Review HFHB’s internal documents and relevant gender policies in Bangladesh.
   2. Conduct initial discussions with key staff to gain insight into the organization and its expectations regarding gender equity.
3. Development of Gender Analysis Tools:
   1. Design appropriate approaches, methods, and tools for gender context analysis.
   2. Define stakeholder levels, including experts, practitioners, and community members, and establish a data management system.
4. Collaborative Group Work:
   1. Facilitate group sessions with staff to introduce key gender concepts and methodologies.
   2. Coordinate logistics for data collection and analysis activities.
5. Lead Gender Context Analysis:
   1. Conduct a participatory gender context analysis and stakeholder mapping and capture findings in a Country Level Gender Context Analysis report (including stakeholder mapping).
   2. Identify key findings related to:
      1. Changes in social and regulatory contexts affecting housing and gender equity.
      2. Gender dynamics and inequalities in HFHB’s programming regions.
      3. Differential impacts of climate change on different genders.
      4. Key policies at national and local levels that impact gender equity and women's participation in decision-making.
6. Implications for Program Design:
   1. Explore strategies for integrating a gender perspective into HFHB’s programs and partnerships.
   2. Provide recommendations on community engagement, monitoring, evaluation practices, and safeguarding measures, captured in a set of training modules for orienting staff and partners on attention to gender equity across the program cycle.
7. Organizational Context and Expectations:
   1. Understand HFHB’s organizational context and expectations regarding gender equity.
   2. Review relevant strategic documents, including the Strategic Business Plan.
8. Drafting a Gender Policy:
   1. Develop a gender policy that outlines HFHB’s commitments to gender equity.
   2. Include operational procedures for implementing the policy in programming and organizational processes, along with mechanisms to assess progress.
9. Capacity Building Workshop:
   1. Design and lead a workshop to build understanding and commitment to gender equity among staff.
   2. Reflect on gender issues within the organization and explore ways to foster a safe and inclusive environment.

This scope of work will provide a structured approach for HFHB to advance its gender equity initiatives and ensure that it’s programming effectively addresses the needs of marginalized communities.

Key deliverables

Deliverables will include:

• Inception Report covering the gender context analysis design, methods, tools and plans
• Country Level Gender Context Analysis Report (including stakeholder mapping)
• Group discussion with the staffs and the key stakeholders to draft gender policy and related SOP and assessment mechanisms for HFHB
• A finalized gender policy document for HFHB
• Training module for orienting staffs and partners on attention to gender equity across the program cycle
• Workshop to share the gender context analysis and policy on gender equity within the organisation

4. Timeline: The timeline for this study is from December 01, 2024, to February 28, 2025.

5. Work Management

The consultant will be accountable to the Manager-FOI, who will oversee and guide the study. This includes facilitating collaboration among Habitat Bangladesh, the consultant, partner organizations, local groups and stakeholders for all fieldwork and onsite activities. All deliverables will undergo a minimum of two rounds of review and revision involving the consultant and key staff from Habitat Bangladesh, as designated by the National Director/ Manager-FOI during the initial phase of this engagement.

6. Safeguarding: The consultant and the field staff engaged in the project must adhere to the safeguarding code of conduct in both their professional and personal lives, which includes doing "NO HARM" to vulnerable children and adults, whether directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, knowingly or unknowingly. Each employee must take proactive steps to prevent, respond to, and report safeguarding- related risks and concerns by extending support and encouraging a "Speak Up" culture using the established reporting system. Any breaches would invite immediate disciplinary action, including the termination of the contract.

7. Consultant Competencies/Experience

• Demonstrated expertise in gender equity context analysis and program design.
• Familiarity with the shelter, basic services, and financial services sectors in Bangladesh is advantageous.
• Proven experience working at the community level in Bangladesh, with an understanding of social issues across diverse regions.
• Track record of leading teams in conducting gender analyses in various contexts, including within organizations.
• Strong knowledge of key stakeholders involved in gender equity initiatives in Bangladesh.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

8. Apply

Applicants may submit their proposal (both technical and financial) in English along with the CV directly to hr@habitatbangladesh.org using the subject field “Country Gender Context Analysis - [ Consultant’s Name]”. The deadline for submission is 25 November 2024.

The proposal should include:

• An outline of how your expertise aligns with the requirements for the role.
• An initial technical approach and methodology for this work outlining the tools and techniques you will employ and their relevance to the objectives.
• A preliminary work plan showing your grasp of the task with the potential for refinement during the initial phase, including proposed activities, and expected deliverables.
• Descriptions of previous assignments that reflect your experience relevant to this role.
• A financial proposal with brief budget narrative. The cost estimates used to prepare the budget should be presented in BDT. The proposal and costing structure should include (but not be limited to) fixed pricing & deliverables, required hours, travel expenses, etc.
• Vendors must agree to keep the quoted pricing in their proposals for a minimum of 90 days after proposal submission. The budget should be tied to the scope of work so it is easy to identify how the requirements are being met and at what cost. Costs should also be able to be broken down per area.
• An affirmation of your commitment to adhering to HFH Bangladesh’s ethical standards, data protection, confidentiality, conflict of interest, and safeguarding policies.
• Ensure that your application is thorough and demonstrates a clear understanding of the consultant's scope and objectives.

Unless specifically requested, extraneous presentation materials will not be reviewed. Submissions will be evaluated based on the information provided by the deadline and in relation to the described needs and qualifications.

This document is intended to provide a general description of the requirements and scope of the consultancy. It does not represent a contract, and the terms and conditions of any consultancy agreement will be negotiated separately with the selected consultant. The client reserves the right to modify the TOR at any time during the consultancy, subject to agreement with the consultant. The consultant will be expected to adhere to the highest ethical standards and comply with the client's policies and procedures, including those related to data protection, confidentiality, and conflict of interest, and HFHI Safeguarding policy.