Bid Announcement for the Review and Development of the WE-Action Gender Equality Policy (2027–2031)

1. Background

WE-Action is committed to promoting gender equality, women's empowerment, diversity, inclusion, and social justice across all its programs, operations, and institutional systems. The organization recognizes that achieving its mission requires institutional policies that promote equal opportunities, prevent discrimination and harassment, ensure gender-Transformative programming, and strengthen accountability for gender-transformative change.

The current Gender Equality Policy has guided the organization's work over the previous strategic period. As WE-Action develops its new Strategic Plan (2027–2031), there is a need to review the existing Gender Equality Policy to assess its relevance, effectiveness, and alignment with emerging national, regional, and global gender equality commitments. The revised policy will provide strategic direction for mainstreaming gender equality across governance, human resource management, safeguarding, programming, partnerships, monitoring, evaluation, learning, and organizational culture during the 2027–2031 strategic period.

WE-Action therefore invites qualified consulting firms or individual consultants to submit technical and financial proposals to undertake the review and development of its Gender Equality Policy (2027–2031).

2. Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this consultancy is to review the existing Gender Equality Policy and develop a comprehensive, practical, and gender-transformative policy that aligns with the organization's Strategic Plan (2027–2031) and international best practices.

The policy should strengthen institutional accountability and provide a clear framework for integrating gender equality across organizational governance, systems, programs, and partnerships.

3. Objectives

The consultant will:

• Review the existing Gender Equality Policy and assess its implementation.

• Identify strengths, gaps, lessons learned, and opportunities for improvement.

• Review organizational systems, practices, and institutional culture from a gender equality perspective.

• Ensure alignment with the new Organizational Strategic Plan (2027–2031).

• Develop a revised Gender Equality Policy incorporating international best practices.

• Prepare a practical implementation framework with clear responsibilities and accountability mechanisms.

• Develop monitoring indicators to measure implementation progress.

4. Scope of Work

The consultant will undertake a comprehensive review of WE-Action's existing Gender Equality Policy and develop a new Gender Equality Policy for the period 2027–2031. The assignment will assess the relevance, effectiveness, implementation, and alignment of the current policy with the organization's new Strategic Plan (2027–2031), emerging gender equality priorities, and national and international best practices.

The scope of the assignment will include both institutional and programmatic assessments. This will involve reviewing organizational governance, policies, systems, human resource practices, organizational culture, and accountability mechanisms, as well as examining the integration of gender equality across program design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, learning, and partnerships.

The consultant will conduct a participatory consultation process involving key internal and external stakeholders, including the Board, Executive Management Team, staff, partners, and selected target groups and beneficiaries. The findings from the review and consultations will inform the development of a practical, gender-transformative policy that provides a clear implementation framework, roles and responsibilities, and mechanisms for monitoring progress during the 2027–2031 strategic period.

5. Methodology

The consultant is expected to use a participatory approach combining:

• Desk review.

• Institutional assessment

• Key informant interviews

• Focus group discussions.

• Policy benchmarking

• Validation workshops

• Document review.

6. Deliverables

The consultant will deliver: 

• Inception Report 

• Policy Review Report

• Draft Gender Equality Policy (2027–2031)

• Validation Workshop 

• Final Gender Equality Policy 

• Implementation Framework

7. Duration

The assignment is expected to be completed within 45 calendar days from the date of contract signing.

8. Required Qualifications

The consulting firm or lead consultant should have:

• At least 10 years of experience in gender equality, gender mainstreaming, organizational development, or institutional capacity strengthening.

• Demonstrated experience in developing organizational gender equality policies for NGOs, INGOs, UN agencies, or development organizations.

• Strong knowledge of gender-transformative approaches, feminist principles, safeguarding, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

• Proven facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills.

• Excellent report writing and policy drafting skills.

• Advanced degree (master’s or PhD preferred) in Gender Studies, Social Sciences, Law, Development Studies, Public Policy, Organizational Development, or a related field.

9. Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria:

CriteriaWeight (%)Understanding of the assignment20Technical approach and methodology30Relevant organizational experience20Qualifications of key personnel15Financial proposal15Total100

Job Requirements

10. Proposal Submission Requirements

Interested consultants or firms should submit:

• Technical Proposal (maximum 5 pages)

• Financial Proposal

• Company profile or consultant CV

• At least three examples of similar assignments completed within the last five years.

• Three professional references

• Copy of business registration and Tax Identification Number (for firms)

• Proposed work plan and timeline

How To Apply

Interested applicants should submit their technical and financial proposals through email: no later than July 26, 206 

Applications should be submitted to:

Email: martha.n@we-actionethiopia.org

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Job Requirements WE‑Action is seeking a qualified consulting firm or individual consultant to review and develop its Gender Equality Policy for the 2027–2031 strategic period. The role requires extensive experience in gender mainstreaming, organizational development, and policy drafting, with a strong background in feminist principles and DEI practices. Applicants must demonstrate a proven track record of creating gender‑transformative policies for NGOs or international organizations and possess advanced academic credentials in relevant fields. How to Apply Send your technical and financial proposals via email to the contact address provided, ensuring submission before the stated deadline.