Consultancy Development of CMAM Gender Strategy for Malawi

CONSULTANCY POSITION

Development of CMAM Gender Strategy for Malawi

VACANCY#: UNICEF/MLW/2015/004

1. BACKGROUND

Malawi was one of the first countries globally to pilot CMAM (then referred to as Community-based Therapeutic Care). CMAM has evolved from an emergency NGO-facilitated program to a service that is delivered within the healthcare system. Over the past decade, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and partners have invested in CMAM, and significant progress and gains made. Some of the notable gains include; the development of national guidelines that integrate CMAM with infant and young child feeding; scale-up of CMAM services to 560 out of 623 health facilities in the 29 districts; the established capacity of more than 1000 clinicians and 8,320 Health Surveillance Assistants to train, monitor, supervise, and manage therapeutic supplies/logistics; capacity building of more than 8,221 volunteers in community mobilization and active case finding of children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and moderate acute malnutrition (MAM); the integration of CMAM into the national nutrition policy and strategic plan; and the establishment of an efficient monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system.

Gender inequalities and how they affect child care in general and nutrition in particular is very pertinent, particularly in societies that have strong social rules, norms and practices like Malawi. The final evaluation of the Community based therapeutic care institutionalization in Malawi (CTCIM) 2013 conducted a gender analysis to identify whether there were any inequalities between males and females in the CMAM and analyzed how these gaps were addressed.

UNICEF Malawi is therefore, looking for an individual consultant to provide technical support to the Government of Malawi in developing a gender strategy that will be an integral part of the next five year CMAM operational plan (2015-2020). This assignment will, therefore, aim to (1) consolidate available information on gender dynamics in relation to CMAM; (2) identify information gaps and conduct primary research to fill them; (3) based on (1) and (2) and in close consultation with all stakeholders, develop a draft CMAM gender strategy. The strategy will give the Government of Malawi and partners a platform on which to systematically focus on gender as one of the key pillars for the successful implementation of the CMAM operational plan. The strategy will also include appropriate indicators for gender integration within CMAM.

1. SCOPE OF WORK
2. Carry out an in-depth literature review of documentation on gender relations in CMAM in particular, and child nutrition in general, in Malawi. The literature review should include, but not be limited to, the following documents:

o The 2009-2012 CMAM operational plan through desk reviews, bilateral meetings and interviews/consultations with relevant stakeholders etc.

o The draft CMAM operational plan 2015-2020

o The planning, monitoring and evaluation (PME) of CMAM at national level and as a part of District Implementation Plans formulation process

o The coordination and management aspects of CMAM implementation (institutional framework and other aspects of enabling environment)

o The gender-related recommendations of the Final Evaluation of the Community-Based Therapeutic Care Institutionalization in Malawi (CTCIM) project (USAID-CIDA, September 2013).

1. Convene and facilitate a stakeholder consultation workshop on gender mainstreaming in nutrition and particularly the CMAM program.
2. Identify key information gaps at the various levels (household, community, facility) and develop a detailed field work plan to address these gaps. This should follow a multi-method approach, including Key Informant Interviews and Focus Group Discussions at various levels. The exact composition of methods will depend on the outcome of the desk review. Fieldwork will be strictly limited to areas where information gaps exist, such as social norms and cultural practices that inhibit male and female’s understanding of nutrition and preventing stunting in their children (CTCIM Final Performance Evaluation, p. 56).)
3. Conduct field work in at least 3 districts exhibiting different levels of malnutrition.
4. Prepare a draft CMAM gender strategy. The draft strategy should provide the following information:

a. Situational analysis of gender mainstreaming in CMAM (summary)

b. Suggested key priorities areas for promoting gender equality in CMAM

c. Gender strategic objectives and corresponding activities - A clear monitoring and evaluation framework to asses gender mainstreaming and for proposed incorporation in the CMAM Monitoring and Evaluation Framework

d. Detailed work plan for implementing gender interventions within the CMAM 2015-2020 operational plan.

e. Guidelines on how to ensure gender focused planning, implementation and monitoring in CMAM programming.

1. Facilitate a dissemination/validation workshop of the CMAM gender strategy at national level.
2. Finalize the CMAM gender strategy.
3. Develop a clear costed implementation plan.
4. EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCE

· Master’s degree in Gender and Development

· Eight (8) years of professional experience in Gender mainstreaming and analysis

· Experience in Nutrition programming and strategic planning

· Demonstrated ability to conduct assessment, analyze/compile data and write report

· Demonstrated ability to effectively cooperate with national authorities in the design, implementation and dissemination phases of the review and development of strategic documents and operational plans at national and district level

· Demonstrated abilities or experiences in facilitating stakeholders consultations

· Excellent command of English, both written and oral;

· Strong communication, advocacy and negotiation skills.

1. DURATION

40 days

1. LEVEL

L4

HOW TO APPLY:

1. METHOD OF APPLICATION

Qualified candidates are requested to submit a cover letter, CV and Personal History Form (P-11 form) (which can be downloaded from our website at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_53129.html) Please indicate your daily/monthly rate to undertake the terms of reference above.

Applications should be sent on or before 26 January 2015to the following address:hrmalawi@unicef.org

NOTE:

· UNICEF is committed to gender equality in its mandate and its staff. Well

qualified candidates, particularly females are strongly encouraged to apply.

• Only shortlisted applicants will be acknowledged.
• Applications sent through the post office or hand delivered is not accepted.UNICEF IS A SMOKE FREE ENVIRONME