1. General information

1.1 Introduction

Fòs Feminista is as an intersectional feminist organization centred around the sexual and reproductive rights and needs of women, girls, and gender-diverse people. Led and governed by the Global South, Fòs Feminista works as an alliance of organizations in 40+ countries worldwide to advance sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. As the connecting fabric of this alliance, Fòs Feminista orchestrates transnational and transregional action, amplifies partners’ work, and promotes South-South learning and collaboration toward achieving common objectives.

Together with our partners, we provide access to sexual and reproductive health care, including contraception, abortion, and care for victims of gender-based violence, and we reach young people with comprehensive sexuality education. We recognize that the ability of women, girls, and gender-diverse people to make free and informed choices about their sexual and reproductive lives, including access to safe and legal abortion, is central to their life plans and to achieving gender and reproductive justice. As such, we are at the forefront of advocating for sexual and reproductive health and rights from an intersectional lens in national, regional, and global spaces, coordinating with our partners to ensure that diverse experiences, priorities, and voices of the Global South are represented in these spaces.

In December of 2021, Fòs Feminista signed a four-year grant agreement for the project titled Pathways to Reproductive Justice: Intersectional Feminist Approaches to Advancing Health and Rights in Latin America with Sida, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. The overall objective of the project is to advance an intersectional feminist development agenda in Latin America that centres reproductive justice.

Fòs Feminista is seeking a consultant to lead a participatory process in developing a definition of a humanitarian feminist approach to promote evidence-based decision making and learning among all stakeholders involved. This consultancy would be the first step towards developing a framework/strategy or roadmap of how we define and respond to humanitarian crisis from a feminist lens while ensuring that we align with Fòs Feminista’s intersectional feminist principles, including challenging power and rethinking hierarchies in our relationships with project partners.

The deadline to submit a proposal according to the specifications included in these Terms of Reference is December 31, 2023. The consultancy will take place within the timeframe of Feb to April 2024.

1.2 Objective of the Consultancy

This consultancy falls under the third objective of the Pathways to Reproductive Justice: Intersectional Feminist Approaches to Advancing Health and Human Rights in Latin America project.

The third specific objective of the project is to strengthen and amplify evidence-based feminist approaches to emergency preparedness and response, including migration, public health, and climate emergencies. Work toward this objective aims to generate evidence of the need for intersectional feminist responses that position sexual and reproductive health as essential for women, girls, and gender-diverse people wherever they are, including in emergency settings and along migration routes.

Under this objective, the intent of this consultancy is to define a feminist humanitarian approach that is cognizant of the diversity in the contexts and approaches that Fòs Feminista Alliance partners represent. This will encompass a definition of a humanitarian context and documentation of approaches and responses that entail working from a feminist perspective.

This process will be facilitated by desk reviews and interviews with both Alliance partner organizations and other relevant entities and personnel that are working in this area.

1.3 Consultancy rationale

Fòs Feminista seeks to develop a definition of a feminist humanitarian approach to advance our commitment to expanding care and services for contraception, abortion, sexual and gender-based violence, and comprehensive sexuality education to women, girls, and gender-diverse people, including those in humanitarian settings. Understanding and aligning our definition and approach with the realities of partner organizations is important for advancing sexual and reproductive rights and justice in humanitarian settings.

As an Alliance, we must have clear definitions so that partners can report accordingly, and their work can be made more visible. Furthermore, approaches, preparation and response to humanitarian and emergency settings is an important cross-cutting topic included in Fòs Feminista’s strategic plan. The development of this definition will include the results of research commissioned by Fòs Feminista in years prior which documented feminist emergency responses carried out by partner organizations in Latin America, including advocacy responses. This consultancy and subsequent definition will allow Fòs Feminista to better advance Objective 3 and support our partners across the Alliance who are providing a feminist approach to humanitarian and emergency situations.

This consultancy would be the first step towards developing a framework/strategy or roadmap to how we define and respond to humanitarian crisis from a feminist lens.

2. The assignment

2.1 Intended use and intended users

The purpose of the consultancy is to develop a working definition of a feminist humanitarian approach and recommend approaches thereto.

The primary intended users of the deliverables of this consultancy are:

Fòs Feminista
Alliance partner organizations

The consultancy should be designed to meet the needs of the intended users. Applicants should explain in their proposal how they plan to do so.

2.2 Scope

This consultancy shall take place within three months (Feb to April 2024) and the target group will be identified partner organizations from the Fòs Feminista Alliance located in the Global South.

2.3 Approach and methods

The consultant will be expected to describe and justify an appropriate approach/methodology for data collection for this assignment.

In the inception report, the consultant should present in detail the design and methods of data collection and analysis. Innovative and flexible methods for remote data collection should be considered.

Limitations to the chosen approach/methodology and methods shall be made explicit by the consultant and the consequences of these limitations discussed in the proposal. The consultant shall to the extent possible, present mitigation measures to address them.

A gender-responsive approach/methodology, methods, tools and data analysis techniques should be used. The approach should also be utilization-focused, which means the consultant should facilitate the entire process with careful consideration of how everything that is done will affect the use of the deliverables. It is therefore expected that the consultants, in their proposal, present i) how intended users are to participate in and contribute to the process and ii) methodology and methods for data collection that create space for reflection, discussion and learning between the intended users.

2.4 Time schedule and deliverables

It is expected that a time and work plan is presented in the proposal and further detailed in the inception report. The time and work plan must allow flexibility in implementation. The consultancy shall be carried out from February 1 to April 30. The timing of any desk reviews and interviews needs to be settled by the consultant in dialogue with the main stakeholders during the inception phase.

The timeline below lists key deliverables for this process. Alternative deadlines for deliverables may be suggested by the consultant and negotiated during the inception phase.

Start-up meetings (virtual) - Week of February 5, 2024
Key deliverable: draft inception report - Week of February 26, 2024 (tentative)
Inception meeting (virtual) - Week of March 4 (tentative)
Application of methods and data collection - March 4, 2024 to March 29, 2024 (tentative)
Data analysis, report writing and quality assurance - April 1- April 12, 2024
Debriefing/validation workshop (meeting) - Week of April 15, 2024 (tentative)
Comments from intended users to consultant - Week of April 15, 2024 (tentative)
Key deliverable: final report with definition - April 30, 2024 (tentative)

The inception report will form the basis for this process and shall be approved by Fòs Feminista before implementation proceeds. The inception report should be written in English and present the approach/methodology including how a utilization-focused and gender-responsive approach will be ensured, methods for data collection and analysis, and a stakeholder mapping/analysis. All limitations to the methodology and methods shall be made explicit and the consequences of these limitations discussed.

A specific time and work plan for the remainder of the consultancy should be presented. The time plan shall allow space for reflection and learning between the intended users.

The final report shall be written in English. It should clearly and in detail describe the approach/methodology and methods for data collection and analysis and make a clear distinction between the two. The report shall describe how the utilization-focused approach has been implemented i.e., how intended users have participated in and contributed to the process and how methodology and methods for data collection have created space for reflection, discussion and learning between the intended users. Furthermore, the gender-responsive approach shall be described and reflected in the findings, conclusions, and recommendations along with other identified and relevant cross-cutting issues. Limitations to the methodology and methods and the consequences of these limitations for findings and conclusions shall be described.

Findings shall flow logically from the data, showing a clear line of evidence to support the conclusions (i.e., the definition of a feminist humanitarian approach). Conclusions should be substantiated by findings and analysis. Recommendations and lessons learned should flow logically from conclusions and be specific, directed to relevant intended users and categorised as a short-term, medium-term, and long-term.

The report should be no more than 15 pages excluding annexes. If the methods section is extensive, it could be placed in an annex to the report. Annexes shall always include the Terms of Reference, the Inception Report and the stakeholder mapping/analysis. Lists of key informants/interviewees shall only include personal data if deemed relevant (i.e., when it is contributing to the credibility of the process) based on a case-based assessment by the consultant and Fòs Feminista. The inclusion of personal data in the report must always be based on a written consent.

2.5 Consultant qualifications

The consultant shall have the following competencies:

Proven experience in:
- Developing definitions for feminist organizations that work in the humanitarian space.
- Collaborating with partners at various levels of the funding flow, including donors, intermediaries, and grantees.
- Partnering with feminist organizations in the Global South.
- Familiarity and implementation of a utilization focused approach
Academic profile:
- Master’s degree or PhD in a relevant field.
Additional skills and experience
- Fluent verbal and written communication skills in English.
- Commitment to and knowledge of the sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice landscape across the Global South.
- Superb interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate effectively in multicultural settings across multiple time zones.
- Ability to be a self-starter that adapts to challenges and opportunities as they arise.
- Excellent communication and planning skills, with the ability to work under tight deadlines.
- Capacity to work independently and in collaborative teams.

It is desirable that the consultant have the following competencies.

Familiarity with Sida requirements or reporting.
Fluent verbal and written communication skills in one of Fòs Feminista’s other working languages (French, Spanish, or Portuguese).

2.6 Financial and human resources

The maximum budget amount available for the consultancy is $15,000 USD.

The contact person at Fòs Feminista is Josephine Mugishagwe. The contact person should be consulted if any problems arise during the consultation process.

Contact details to intended users will be provided by Fòs Feminista.

Fòs Feminista will support the consultant to arrange the logistics for booking interviews and preparing visits, including any necessary security arrangements.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

Fòs Feminista is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to advancing sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice and dismantling inequities from an intersectional feminist lens. Reproductive justice, racial justice, and diversity are driving forces for us.

Fòs Feminista provides equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression or identify, health status, history of conflict with the law, migrant status, national origin, parental or pregnancy status, partnership status, political belief, poverty, race, religion, sexual identity of orientation, sex, genetic information, veteran status, or any other protected category under federal, state, and local laws.

At Fòs Feminista we continue to build an inclusive culture that encourages, supports, and celebrates the diverse voices and experiences of our employees. We strongly encourage applications from all kinds of backgrounds to build a workforce that is diverse and inclusive of people who are from marginalized or excluded groups.

While we strongly encourage all current and new employees to be fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, there is no vaccine requirement for employment with Fòs Feminista. However, it is currently our policy that employees must show proof of full vaccination to engage in any work-related travel or to attend any work-related in-person gatherings. As appropriate, reasonable accommodations can be made, including, for example, arrangements for employees to participate remotely in any relevant gatherings.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however only those candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.