Terms of Reference Expert on Gender and Education

	 	 
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Terms of Reference
 Expert on Gender and Education
Project: Further Advancing Women’s Rights in Kosovo II
Implemented by: Kosovo Women’s Network
Supported by: Austrian Development Agency (ADA), co-financed by Swedish International Development Agency (Sida)
Contact person: Zana Rudi, Program Manager
Background
The Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) is a network of 135 organizations that supports, protects and promotes the rights and the interests of women and girls throughout Kosovo, regardless of their political beliefs, religion, age, level of education, sexual orientation, and ability. Within the KWN Strategy for 2023-2026, created by KWN members, one of the main programs is “Improving Access to Quality and Gender Sensitive Education”.
KWN has its roots in the Rural Women’s Network, which focused mainly on expanding access to education for girls during the 1990s. The core activities of some of KWN’s longest standing member organizations have contributed to fundamental changes in girls’ access to education. Partly because of their efforts, the percentage of young women attending education has increased considerably in the last two decades and now girls attend education at similar rates as boys. Some Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian girls, as well as those with disabilities, still face some challenges in accessing education. Many KWN members continue their important education-related work today, focusing on improving access to education for minority ethnic groups and children with disabilities. KWN has supported various advocacy initiatives towards increasing access for girls and women to education by supporting KWN member organizations through the Kosovo Women’s Fund (KWF).
Amid this progress, KWN and its members’ ongoing efforts to integrate appropriate sexual education in schools has faced challenges. Still today few youth learn about issues related to sexuality and sexual and reproductive health at school.[1] Nor do they learn about using contraceptives, as teachers evidently regularly bypass reproductive health education lectures.[2] KWN members have repeatedly expressed their concerns that teachers are not teaching this information to students.
Meanwhile, for years, activists have raised concerns regarding the curricula in Kosovo, which often reenforces gender stereotypes.[3] For example, women are shown cooking and cleaning, while men are “strong” as construction workers. In more concerning instances, books such as in the Faculty of Law, have included text “blaming the victim”, implying that it is women’s fault if they suffer rape or sexual violence. Such curricula, still taught in Kosovo today, likely contribute to violence against women as well as poor response by institutions to gender-based violence. Overall, the use of curricula that reinforces rather than transforms traditional gender roles contributes to inequality, including the reinforcement of women’s role as unpaid caretakers and occupational stereotypes. While organisations like Youth Initiative for Human Rights and the Kosovar Gender Studies Centre have advocated to MEST change the curricula, they have faced resistance, as have young women lawyers advocating to the Faculty of Law.
Meanwhile, the KPGE also has identified the curricula as an area in need of address to transform traditional gender norms, and mentioned NGOs as an actor that should engage in this together with AGE and MEST. The KPGE, as well as other key documents like the EU Gender Action Plan (GAP) III emphasize, the importance of addressing traditional gender norms, roles, and relations through education, at all levels, in curricula and in teaching methodologies, towards sustainably transforming socialized roles and relations that contribute to gender inequalities.
Early education in particular could serve to transform traditional gender roles and norms, by educating children from an early age that they have equal opportunities to diverse occupations and life choices, regardless of their gender. However, not only is such an approach not taught in Kosovo, but attendance in preschool education in Kosovo where such learning should begin is very low due to the lack of affordable preschool institutions.[4] As mentioned, this contributes to women’s low employment rates, given their traditional social roles as caretakers. Moreover, the lack of early education undermines children’s eventual educational performance.[5] Kosovo remains far from achieving the EU Barcelona Objectives,[6] even though the government has committed to progress in this area in the National Development Strategy, and, more recently, the KPGE. Efforts are needed to monitor the realisation of these commitments, as well as to advocate to municipalities, under decentralization, to allocate sufficient resources for the continued functioning of preschool institutions.
In 2021-2025, KWN has received support from the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and Sida, for a four-year project entitled “Further Advancing Women’s Rights in Kosovo II.” The anticipated impact of this action is “Improved gender equality in Kosovo, where women and men are more equal and have more equal opportunities for education, employment, political participation, healthcare and a life without violence.” The action’s foreseen outcome, to which the expert will contribute, is improved access to education that challenges existing gender norms and power relations. The foreseen output is that KWN and its members are more engaged in advocating access to education that transforms traditional gender roles.  
Towards achieving these results, KWN seeks an expert to: 1) collaborate with KWN and its members to observe the process of revising the curricula and advocate for these changes to be made; and 2) train interested KWN members and student volunteers in the shared, already established methodology for observing secondary school teachers’ delivery of curricula, advocating for improved approaches where shortcomings are identified, including conducting research with KWN members. Based on this observation, KWN will provide recommendations for changing curricula, teacher training, and continue observation to reduce gender inequalities, transform gender roles, and change gender norms and power relations to MEST and its working groups. KWN will advocate for adoption of these recommendations, including to other actors where needed.
Responsibilities
The expert shall train interested KWN members and young volunteers in the established methodology for observing secondary school teachers’ delivery of curricula, free from gender stereotypes and towards transforming gender roles. They all will be trained in the agreed methodology. The experts shall accompany them during their initial observing exercises and debrief with them in order to ensure that the process has been done correctly. The trained and qualified KWN members and their volunteers will receive KWN KWF grants to conduct the observation visits.  They will provide weekly reports that will be reviewed by the expert, and the expert will periodically join visits in order to ensure quality control. The findings will be compiled into a report.
Duties 

Design and deliver interactive workshops and/or mentoring sessions, as agreed with KWN, with KWF grantees to explain clearly the methodology for observing teachers’ teaching and support them with improving their methodologies, as needed.
Establish a work plan for following, supporting, and monitoring the work of KWF grantees observing education, including their research (in close communication with KWN).
Provide mentoring to KWF grantees working in this programmatic area of KWN’s Strategy, as needed and agreed with KWN KWF staff. This may include but not be limited to mentoring in methodology design, observation techniques, interview techniques, use of Excel, data analysis, and policy brief writing skills.
Attend initial observation and interviews in municipalities with KWF grant recipients, providing support, feedback, and mentoring via debriefing, towards furthering their research capacities.
Using KWN’s template, write short reports that summarizes workshops/mentoring, evaluation results from participants, and propose recommendations for next steps, revising based on any comments received from KWN.
Together with KWN and its members, follow the ongoing process of revising the official curricula to attend to gender norms, roles, and social relations, supporting KWN in submitting comments on the curricula based on evidence and research findings. Include such recommendations in policy briefs and papers, as relevant.
Combine observation reports received from KWN members and collaborate with the other Gender and Education Expert to write a report based on their observations, submitting it to KWN for review.
Revise the report based on feedback received from KWN.
Communicate regularly with and debrief KWN staff on activities.
Write and revise as needed a short annual report regarding tasks carried out that year, the number of beneficiaries reached divided by gender, results achieved, and recommendations for next steps.
In all work, consider cross-cutting issues of gender and environment, where relevant.

Scope
The expert will be needed throughout this ADA and Sida supported Action, until 28 February 2025. The geographic range shall include all of Kosovo, focusing on areas where target groups and beneficiaries are located. Day trips may be periodically required, for which KWN will reimburse the expert for travel expenses. The volume of the work will vary, based on KWN members’ and KWF grant recipients’ needs.
Timetable
The approximate timetable shall be as follows:
Position Announced                                22 March 2023
Applications Due                                    12 April 2023
Finalists interviewed                               27 April 2023
Expert Selected                                      28 April 2023
Informative meeting                              First week of May
Annual Reports                                      TBC annually
Anticipated Working Days
This contract will involve approximately up to 40 days, starting from May 2023 to 28 February 2025, to be invoiced based on actual time worked. The timing of working days shall be specified in the work plan in discussion with KWN staff.
Coordination/Responsibility
The expert will report to the KWN Program Manager Zana Rudi and will coordinate closely with the KWN Program Director Nicole Farnsworth, the KWF Manager Donjetë Berisha and other KWN staff. KWN will provide assistance arranging the monitoring, workshops and needed meetings with KWN members. KWN will cover all transportation costs for pre-approved travel related to this contract.
Experts Qualifications 
The expert shall speak fluently in Albanian and English (Serbian language skills welcome). The selected expert shall demonstrate in their application that they possess, at minimum:

At least a BA diploma related to education, gender studies, and/or sociology.
Knowledge of the education system in Kosovo, including the relevant legal framework;
At least three years’ experience conducting social research, including demonstrated experience with gender analysis, interviewing, and observation;
At least two years’ experience in capacity development, including teaching, training and/or mentoring;
Experience and an appropriate approach in mentoring and working closely with potentially marginalized and/or vulnerable groups (e.g., including women, persons with different abilities, and in rural areas); and
Excellent writing skills.

Submission of Bids
Interested qualified experts, are requested to send an application package including: 

CV;
Motivation letter that explains the qualifications and capacities to undertake these duties;
Short description of the proposed approach to the duties enlisted above (no longer than one page);
Contact information for at least three references; and
The expert’s proposed daily rate in gross euros, in line with independently verifiable prior rates for similar work performed by the expert.

Interested, qualified experts, should consider that KWN is a non-profit organization seeking bids in accordance with local daily rates. 
Please submit the requested documents by 12 April 2023, at 17:00 to info@womensnetwork.org  with the subject “Education Expert”.
Evaluation of Candidates
Candidates shall be evaluated by a Commission of three persons, as follows:
30% Experience
30% Proposed methodology
30% Interview (communication skills)
10% Lowest cost
[1] KWN, Access to Healthcare in Kosovo.
[2] According to the observations of KWN members.
[3] KWN, Kosovo Gender Analysis, p. 36.
[4] KWN, Kosovo Gender Analysis.
[5] EC, Barcelona Objectives: Development of childcare institutions for young children in Europe with a view to sustainable and inclusive growth, p. 5.
[6] The ‘Barcelona Objectives’ state that pre-school education should be offered to 90% of children between the age of three and compulsory school age, and to 33% of children under the age of three (EC, Barcelona Objectives: Development of childcare institutions for young children in Europe with a view to sustainable and inclusive growth, p. 5.