MAIN BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:
Development of War Child Gender and Social Inclusion Standards Framework
War Child Alliance (WCA) is a global network of humanitarian organisations working to support children affected by conflict. Operating across multiple fragile and conflict-affected contexts, War Child is committed to delivering high-quality, accountable, inclusive and child-centred programming.
As part of its strategic ambition and in response to donor requirements, War Child seeks to strengthen and formalise its approach to gender equality and social inclusion across both its programmes and organisational systems and culture.
While gender and social inclusion is already embedded in aspects of War Child’s work, approaches remain uneven across contexts and functions. There is a need to establish a clear, practical and organisation-wide standard to ensure consistency, quality and accountability.
This assignment will support War Child to develop a Gender and Social Inclusion Standards Framework aligned with:
- the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS);
- War Child’s safeguarding, accountability and child protection commitments;
The purpose of this consultancy is to develop a War Child Gender and Social Inclusion Standards Framework that defines:
- minimum standards for integrating gender and social inclusion across War Child's Evidence –Based Methods (EBMs) and programme cycle (including emergency response), partnership strategy and engagement activities (advocacy, comms, fundraising)
- organisational expectations for leadership, systems and culture;
- clear accountabilities, tools and guidance for implementation;
- alignment with CHS commitments and donor expectations.
The framework should be practical, implementable and adaptable across War Child’s diverse operational contexts.
CORE RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Diagnostic Review and Organisational Analysis
- Lead a structured review of War Child’s existing approaches to gender and social inclusion across EBMs, programmes, safeguarding, accountability and people practices.
- Analyse organisational strengths, gaps, risks and opportunities related to gender and social inclusion integration.
- Engage with key stakeholders across global, regional, country levels and relevant working groups (eg. Justice, Equity, Diverity and Inclusion working group) to capture diverse perspectives and operational realities .
2. External Benchmarking and Good Practice Integration
- Conduct benchmarking of relevant sector frameworks, standards and tools from peer NGOs and humanitarian actors.
- Identify applicable models and translate these into practical approaches suitable for War Child’s operating contexts.
- Ensure alignment with recognised standards, including CHS,gender-responsive/gender-transformative and social inclusion programming approaches.
3. Framework Design and Development
- Develop a comprehensive Gender and Social Inclusion Standards Framework covering both:
- programme standards across the full EBM and programme cycle; and
- organisational standards across systems, leadership and culture.
- Define clear minimum standards, principles, indicators and accountabilities.
- Integrate linkages with safeguarding, accountability mechanisms, child protection and inclusive programming.
4. CHS and Accountability Alignment
- Ensure the framework strengthens War Child’s alignment with relevant CHS commitments, particularly on participation, inclusion, needs-based programming, complaints and feedback, staff support and organisational learning.
- Embed gender and social inclusion considerations within accountability and feedback systems, including safe and accessible complaints mechanisms.
5. Development of Practical Tools and Guidance
- Design user-friendly tools to support implementation, such as:
- self-assessment or maturity tools;
- EBM development, programme and organisational checklists;
- optional gender and social inclusion marker or scoring approach;
- indicators and monitoring guidance.
- Develop a clear and phased implementation roadmap to support uptake across the Alliance.
6. Stakeholder Engagement and Validation
- Facilitate consultations and validation sessions with key internal stakeholders.
- Incorporate feedback to ensure the framework is relevant, practical and owned across functions and contexts.
- Support alignment across global and country-level priorities.
7. Finalisation and Delivery
- Produce a finalised framework and accompanying tools ready for organisational adoption.
- Provide a concise executive summary and/or presentation for senior leadership and donor engagement.
DELIVERABLES
The consultant will be expected to deliver:
Inception Report
Including methodology, workplan, stakeholder engagement approach and framework outline.
Diagnostic and Benchmark Summary
Concise analysis of current state, key gaps and relevant external practices.
Draft Gender and Social Inclusion Standards Framework
Including EBM, programme and organisational standards, guiding principles, CHS alignment and accountabilities.
Implementation Package
Including tools, checklists, indicators and a proposed rollout approach.
Validation Workshop(s)
Facilitation of internal consultation sessions and integration of feedback.
Final Framework and Tools
Revised, practical and ready for organisational adoption.
Executive Summary / Slide Deck
For leadership and donor engagement and For staff onboarding.