Terms of Reference (TOR) for Conducting Gender Audit for the Ministry of Health of Jordan, the Ministry of Education of Jordan, and the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation of Jordan

Terms of Reference (TOR) for Conducting Gender Audit for

The Ministry of Health of Jordan, the Ministry of Education of Jordan, and the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation of Jordan

 

Location: Amman  

  Type of Contract: Consultancy Firm  

Starting Date: August 2024  

Duration: 4 months  

 

Background

The Jordanian National Commission for Women (hereinafter – JNCW) is the national machinery for Women in Jordan established in 1992 by the Cabinet Decree and chaired by HRH Princess Basma Bint Talal, which mandate is the promotion of status of women in Jordan. The Commission works on integrating women’s issues and priorities in national strategies, policies, legislation, plans, and budgets. JNCW is a reference body for all official agencies in setting woman-related policies and strategies, suggesting legislative amendments to improve the status of women in Jordan.

JNCW is a member of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Women’s Empowerment, which was formed in 2015 as one of the permanent ministerial committees of the Cabinet.  The Committee has clearly defined powers and tasks and it contributes to the promotion of women’s rights and access to decision-making issues.

 

The Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) led the process of preparing the National Strategy for Women[1] in Jordan (2020-2025) (NWS) under the guidance of the Prime Minister, and the preparation of the Action Plan[2] of the National Strategy for Women in Jordan (2023-2025) in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC) and the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) for Women Empowerment. Both strategic documents were endorsed by the Government of Jordan in 2020 and 2023 respectively.

 

 

 

2. Rational of the assignment

The 1995 Beijing Platform for Action is “an agenda for women’s empowerment” signed by all governments, including Jordan. The Platform provides the first global commitment to gender mainstreaming as the methodology by which women’s empowerment will be achieved.[3]

In the response to this commitment, in 2020, Jordan adopted the Gender Mainstreaming Policy, accompanied by its comprehensive Gender Mainstreaming Action Plan in 2021. This measure confirmed the government's commitment to include gender issues into all of its internal processes, budgets, and programs.

Within this assignment a gender audit will be conducted in the frame of the project that supports gender-responsive budgeting, funded by the French Development Agency (AFD) in cooperation with UN Women for the period 2022-2024. The project aims to promote gender equality through gender-responsive budgeting and its integration into financial planning processes.

The gender audit will be conducted in the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation of Jordan.

 

3. Objectives of the gender audit is to assess the extent to which gender equality is integrated into the policies, programs, projects budgets, processes, institutional structure and culture of the above-mentioned ministries, its departments/directorates, including gender-sensitive projects/programs and budgets implemented by target directorates/departments of the targeted Ministries.

The gender audit will identify gaps and challenges in implementing gender-responsive policies, programs and budgets and will provide recommendations for strengthening gender mainstreaming efforts.

 

4. Scope of Work

The gender audit will be conducted in the following three (3) ministries:

1.  The Ministry of Health of Jordan:

• Primary Health Care Department (with its affiliated directorates)
• Directorate of Project Management, Planning and International Cooperation
• Human Resources Directorate

2. The Ministry of Education of Jordan:

• Educational Planning and Research Directorate
• Educational Directorate
• Vocational Education Directorate
• Educational Training Center Directorate
• Queen Rania Center Directorate
• Quality and Accountability Unit
• Development Coordination Unit (DCU).
• Samples of field Directorates (North/Middle/South)

3. The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (the entire Ministry).

 

V. Methodology

To conduct a gender audit for the targeted ministries, a unified tool for mainstreaming gender equality and women’s empowerment will be utilized. This tool, developed by the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) in partnership with USAID, is specifically designed for public sector institutions.

The selected consultancy company's auditors will receive a one-day specialized training session on the unified gender audit tool. Therefore, it is preferred that applying companies have experience in conducting gender audits and/or are certified in applying gender auditing tools specifically for public sector institutions.

The contracted auditing company/consultancy will work closely with the JNCW team, which will provide support throughout the auditing process.

 

6. Team Composition

Each ministry will have a dedicated auditing team consisting of one team leader and two auditors. The audit will be conducted simultaneously across all three ministries.

During the inception phase, the auditing company will organize a kick-off meeting with the targeted ministries. The objectives of this meeting are to outline the auditing process, establish a detailed timeframe, and clearly specify the units, departments, directorates, centers etc. to be audited, particularly for the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education. The auditing process will comprehensively cover all aspects of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.

 

7. Deliverables

• Inception Report (IR) with a detailed work plan after initial consultations (the IR to include all three ministries).
• Separate stand-alone Gender Audit Report for each Ministry (MOH, MOE, MOPIC): Detailing findings on gender equality, inclusion across the organizational structure, policies, strategies, services, programs and budgets, and recommendations.
• Separate stand-alone Final Gender Audit Report for each Ministry (MOH, MOE, MOPIC): Incorporating feedback from targeted ministries, including recommendations for action.
• Presentation: A PowerPoint presentation on processes and results of the audit.
• Separate stand-alone action plan for each Ministry in collaboration with each Ministry’s team, including a plan for monitoring progress.

 

The deliverable need to be provided in both Arabic and English languages. 

 

 

8. The Gender Audit team should comprise experts with the following qualifications:

• Certified experience in conducting gender audits, gender analysis, and institutional assessments (minimum 5 years) in public institutions/ministries (the possession of a gender auditing certificate).
• Expertise in gender mainstreaming and gender-responsive policy development (5 years)
• Knowledge of the health, education, and development sectors in Jordan (5 years).
• Skills in data collection, analysis, and report writing.
• Proven track-record of facilitation and participatory methodologies to conduct gender audits (samples of work to be provided for the technical evaluation purposes).

Excellent command of oral and written Arabic and English are necessary.

 

9. Coordination and Reporting

The Gender Audit team will coordinate with and report to the Jordanian National Commission for Women and to a focal point appointed by each respective ministry. JNCW team will provide necessary support for the consultancy team to perform tasks defined in the TOR and inception report     in collaboration with all targeted ministries.

 

10. Ethical Considerations

The Gender Audit will be conducted in accordance with ethical guidelines, ensuring confidentiality, informed consent, and respect for all participants.

 

11. Evaluation Criteria for Technical and Financial Proposals

Proposals for conducting the Gender Audit will be evaluated based on:

• Understanding of the TOR, its objectives and deliverables.
• Methodological approach and work plan.
• Relevant experience and qualifications of the team and proved track-record for the previous assignments – gender audits.
• Budget and cost-effectiveness.
• Timeline and deliverables.