Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) invites applications for a Gender Consultant (located in Tanzania or Uganda) to join our dedicated and talented team in our mission to create business solutions to poverty!
MEDA’s work is built on a foundation of Mennonite business roots and faith-based values, within the global context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We believe business solutions are effective interventions to address poverty. Through a market-systems approach and strategic partnerships, MEDA enables access to finance and provides business and technical expertise to build transformative agri-food market systems that create decent jobs, allowing traditionally excluded groups to become active participants in a sustainable economy. MEDA welcomes all who share our values and want to join us in our mission. To find out more about MEDA, please visit our website at www.meda.org.
Project Summary
MEDA’s RAPID Banana project is a four-year initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It seeks to improve the production and distribution of early generation seed (EGS) in Tanzania and Uganda by commercializing seed multiplication technologies and creating new business models that can help drive private sector investment into banana seed systems. The project is providing initial de-risked capital to a selected set of companies to test different technologies and business models with a view to improving the multiplication and distribution of clean and improved varieties of EGS material. MEDA is working with a range of stakeholders (such as tissue culture labs, nursery operators and national research programs) in this project.
The RAPID Banana project supports a “gender intentional” approach to bring gender advisory services alongside technical and business advisory services to its grantee companies. As part of its technical assistance to help these companies improve their overall capacities and efficiencies, MEDA has committed to providing gender advisory services that will help increase their gender awareness and ability to provide gender responsive technology, services and training to address gender gaps in ways that are targeted and appropriate for their business.

Scope of Work
To assist the RAPID Banana project in ensuring gender advisory services to its grantee companies, MEDA intends to draw from its long-standing expertise integrating gender equality and women’s empowerment in private sector development. Drawing from its GEM Framework tools, MEDA will assess existing gender equality practices among its grantee companies, while supporting them to identify gender mainstreaming strategies to help build gender-responsive business models that contribute toward a more equitable and inclusive seed system.

In carrying out this work, the RAPID Banana project seeks a Gender Consultant based in one of its countries of operation (Uganda or Tanzania) to support the gender assessment of its grantee companies, and to work alongside these partners to identify and implement strategies and activities to help mainstream gender equitable policies and practices that will strengthen company growth and impact.

Working closely together with MEDA’s Technical Specialist in Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) and RAPID Banana’s Country Project Manager, the Gender Consultant will:
• Support the development of gender assessment tools and facilitate the assessment process (which may include surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions) with grantee companies;
• Review and analyze assessment results and provide support to grantee companies in devising and adopting strategies to improve gender mainstreaming in their business model, policies and practices;
• Provide ongoing accompaniment and technical support, including tailored capacity building and monitoring support as needed, to grantee companies as they work to implement selected strategies.

Location: Tanzania or Uganda
Contract start date: August 2021
Duration: August 2021 – July 2022 (Level of Effort: 50-60 days)

Deliverables
• Tailored gender assessment tools developed for each grantee company (maximum 9 companies).
• Assessment reports completed for each grantee company.
• Action plans containing gender mainstreaming strategies and actions developed in collaboration with each grantee company.
• Tailored supporting materials (e.g. policy frameworks, training modules, communication materials, monitoring frameworks, etc.) developed for each grantee, depending on company needs and aspirations.
• Final consultancy report.

Inputs
• The consultant is expected the use their own computer.
• MEDA will provide the consultant with reference materials.
• MEDA will facilitate coordination with grantee companies and project partners.
• MEDA will cover travel expenses as applicable, as per MEDA rules and regulations.
• All arrangements will be adapted to current conditions, guidelines and requirements related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Candidate Qualifications:
• Advanced University degree in the field of Gender, Development, or other related areas;
• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in gender mainstreaming in rural development and agriculture projects in East Africa
• Practical experience strengthening institutional capacities to promote gender equality and inclusion in the agricultural development sector
• Experience conducting gender assessments/analysis through qualitative research
• Experience working with the private sector to strengthen gender equality in human resources policies and practices, marketing, etc. is an asset
• Excellent communication and writing skills in English; proficiency in Swahili and/or Luganda is an asset.