1. Background

The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation is a Swedish non-profit organisation that supports women in conflict affected areas to increase women’s power and influence. Kvinna till Kvinna’s approach is based on strong local ownership and long-term support. As experts in Women, Peace and Security, Kvinna till Kvinna has been working with women’s rights organisations in the Great Lakes region (Rwanda, Uganda and DRC) for over 10 years to defend women’s rights, achieve women’s economic justice, gender equality and justice, prevent and respond to gender-based violence, and build feminist peace.

Alongside its partners, Kvinna till Kvinna has seen first-hand how conflict, environment and climate crises are increasingly interacting, resulting in deepened inequalities and vulnerabilities of women, LGBTQI+ and other marginalised groups, alongside exploitation and degradation of the planet. While women’s rights organisations (WROs) work to respond to the impact of armed conflict, they are also at the forefront of defending land, biodiversity, and the environment. Over the past years, Kvinna till Kvinna and its partners have carried out a series of reports, studies, and policy briefs on the nexus of environment, climate change, and women’s rights which are available on our website.

As the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda enters its 25th year, Kvinna till Kvinna believes it is time for bolder action: the WPS agenda has untapped potential as a policy vehicle for addressing the nexus of gender, conflict and climate change. The inclusion of environment and climate change in UN Security Council Resolution 2242 (2015) was a starting point for formally linking climate security to WPS and setting an important precedent for global policy. However, progress in mainstreaming the climate-WPS connection across national and international policies has been uneven. Women remain largely excluded from decision-making processes on environmental governance, climate adaptation, and access to climate finance.

Current WPS National Action Plans (NAPs) in Uganda, Rwanda, DRC, and Ethiopia lack climate-related recommendations or the political will to act on them, while Nationally Determined Contributions equally lack a meaningful gender perspective. The separate development of the WPS agenda, NDCs and environmental peacebuilding efforts nationally and regionally fails to recognise how environmental degradation and climate change uniquely affect women and girls in conflict and post-conflict scenarios, and how environmental considerations can contribute to peacebuilding efforts. On the civil society side, WROs and climate justice organisations largely work in silos, at a time when coming together across thematic and conflict divides to advocate for change could not be more crucial. There is an urgent need to bridge silos between women’s rights and environmental activists in order to fill research gaps, advocate for policy improvements and carry out intersecting work on the ground in communities.

With the support of the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), Kvinna till Kvinna is implementing a three year pilot initiative in Rwanda, Uganda and DRC: Research and Action for women’s participation in environmental peacebuilding and climate change prevention (REACT). The REACT project is primarily focused on influencing WPS NAPs and national climate policies through the NDC processes while also contributing to grassroots actions that improve women and girls’ lives who live at the conflict/climate nexus.

The REACT project also aims to influence at international levels, where there is a need to further strengthen and integrate policy frameworks that link sustainable peace, climate change and women, peace and security. Kvinna till Kvinna is actively engaged at global levels with the WPS framework and will raise findings from research and actions generated in this project in relevant advocacy spaces on WPS. There is also an opportunity with the development of a new generation of UNFCCC Lima Work Programme on Gender to ensure that climate and conflict related risks are elaborated and specific measures in a new Gender Action Plan are detailed to protect women and vulnerable groups. This project aims to support existing efforts by institutions like UN Women, UNDP and UN Environmental Programme in their advocacy to UNFCCC.

2.       Rationale for expert support

In the context of the REACT project, Kvinna till Kvinna seeks a consultant with expertise in the intersection of gender and climate change to support Kvinna till Kvinna and its partners. The consultant will bring strong networks and a track record of working with civil society in East Africa / Great Lakes region to engage in research, policy and advocacy related to climate change.

The scope of work for the expert consultant will include training partner organisations on how gender is incorporated in UNFCCC processes (i.e. the Lima Work Programme on gender), gender mainstreaming in NDCs and how civil society can engage in NDC processes. Lastly, the expert consultant will be responsible for supporting Kvinna till Kvinna to review partner proposals in regards to actions on ECC and will dialogue with partners throughout their project lifecycles on the implementation of ECC related actions.

3.       Expected Deliverables

A) Following consultations with the REACT Project staff, the consultant will submit an inception report updating their methodologies from the original proposal.

B) The consultant will carry out a policy, advocacy and stakeholder mapping relating environment and climate change where there is scope and opportunity to add a meaningful gender perspective at national (at minimum NDC processes), regional, continental and international levels. The mapping should also include national and regional WPS processes and spaces with an analysis of opportunities for adding a more meaningful environment and climate change perspective. Lastly, as the REACT project is focusing on conflict affected areas within the four countries, the mapping should provide an overview of ongoing peace processes and/or civil-military coordination initiatives at country or regional level where there is scope and opportunity to add a meaningful gender and environment perspective. The mapping will be a living document that is periodically updated throughout the consulting period as new information becomes available.

C) With the REACT Regional Program Manager, plan and co-facilitate a 2-day regional workshop with key regional actors from civil society, research/academia, and government. Attendees will be from the REACT countries: Uganda, Rwanda, DRC and Ethiopia, but other relevant experts may also be invited as proposed by the consultant. The consultant will present a draft of the policy and advocacy mapping at the start of the workshop to frame the discussion and use the space as a validation of the draft mapping. The majority of the workshop will focus on exchanging knowledge and mapping research and information gaps related to the policy and advocacy mapping on the WPS- climate nexus among women’s rights and climate justice actors in attendance.

D) Using the stakeholder mapping and regional workshop, produce a report that will contribute to the project’s baseline. It will provide baseline information on indicators related to WPS and ECC policy and advocacy at national levels in Rwanda, DRC and Uganda.

E) With the REACT Regional Program Manager, advise and input on concept notes for the project’s research outputs focusing on the gender/conflict/climate/environment nexus.

F) Later in 2026, Kvinna till Kvinna will launch two calls for proposals for which women led women’s rights organisations and women-led environmental organisations are eligible to apply. One call will be for funding policy and advocacy initiatives and the other will be for innovative community based initiatives at the WPS-environment-climate change nexus. The consultant will advise the grant review committee on applicant’s proposed projects as they relate to environment and climate change.

G) Once partners from each country have been selected and onboarded, the consultant will conduct a workshop where they will provide coaching to partners on ECC related policy and advocacy (based on mapping conducted). The workshop should train on messaging, stakeholder targeting, monitoring methods, and other advocacy tools (including shadow reports). The training should provide an overview of the UNFCCC processes (e.g. Lima Work Programme). As a product of the workshop/training, participating organisations will individually or collectively produce advocacy briefs related to all relevant processes they will engage in. The consultant will act as an advisor in this process.

H) A final report for the consultancy should be produced and submitted prior to completion. Focus and contents of the report will be decided with the Regional Program Manager.

4.       Timeframe

The consultancy will take place over a total period of 36 days. It is part time and is expected to begin within Q1 2026 and continue for a period of 12 months according to the rough deliverable schedule blow. When submitting the technical proposal, the consultant should specify if there are any periods of time in which they are not available.

The anticipated timeline for each of the deliverables above is:

A (inception report): Q1 2026

B (mapping): Q2 2026

C (regional workshop): Q1 or early Q2 2026 

D (Report on baseline indicators) Q2 or Q3

E (advisory on research outputs): Q2 2026

F (advise on call for proposals/submissions): Q3 & 4 2026

G (partner training/workshop & advocacy briefs): Q1 2027

H (final report): Q1-Q2 2027

There is a possibility of continued engagement with the consultant after the initial 12 month period depending on performance and availability.

6. Required Expertise and Experience

Essential

• Expertise on the subject matter of climate change, environmental degradation and gender.

• Experience and knowledge of regional (East Africa and Great Lakes) and continental (AU) policy and advocacy spaces and initiatives related to climate change and environmental activism.

• Experience and knowledge of international climate change advocacy including but not limited to COP (and the Lima Work Program on Gender).

• Knowledge of the latest research and initiatives related to gender, environment and climate change in East Africa / Great Lakes.

• Experience advising, or working with, civil society organisations on research, policy and advocacy related to climate change.

• Strong networks in the research, policy and advocacy space (regionally and internationally) that can be leveraged to maximise the impact of the REACT project.

• Knowledge of conflict dynamics in the Great Lakes region and Ethiopia.

Desirable (and will be considered a plus)

• Fluency in French

• Knowledge of the Women, Peace and Security agenda and WPS National Action Plans.

• Experience working on issues of climate change and environmental degradation in the context of conflict and natural disasters from both a policy level and response level.

• Deep experience or knowledge of climate/environment related national level policy and advocacy in any of the following countries: Uganda, Rwanda, DRC and/or Ethiopia.

• Experience working with environmental defenders and activists.

7.       To Apply

Qualified consultant(s) are invited to submit a technical proposal of no more than 6 pages that outlines their approach to the assignment, feminist values, and relevant experience. If the proposal includes more than one consultant, a strong rationale should be provided and explanation of ways of working with the Kvinna till Kvinna. Full CVs may be attached as an Annex.

Please note that only applications via this webpage will be considered.

The financial proposal will only need to include the following:

1.   Fees per day (tax inclusive)

2.       Any reimbursable expenses anticipated

Travel may be required for the assignment within the region but does not need to be included in the financial proposal at this time. However, location of the consultant will be considered and willingness for travel of up to 5 days is essential. 

Final submission deadline for proposals is 30th January 2026. Please upload everything in one PDF document.

Questions about this terms of reference will be accepted up to 22nd January and can be directed to

bridget.rhinehart@kvinnatillkvinna.se.