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Summary
Since 2023, The Carter Center has been supporting government and civil society partners to institutionalize gender equality and women’s empowerment within Sierra Leone’s justice sector. Under a recently ended project funded by USAID, the Center partnered with the Justice Sector Coordination Office (JSCO) and Legal Access through Women Yearning for Equality Rights and Social Justice (LAWYERS) to assess gender biases, increase public awareness, develop implementation and monitoring plans, and identify policy recommendations to facilitate the implementation of the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) Act, 2022. To achieve these objectives, the Center, JSCO, and LAWYERS partnered with various legal actors, organizations, and ministries, including the Judiciary, the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Social Welfare.
The GEWE Act requires designated private and public bodies employing 25 or more persons to ensure at least 30 percent of their workforce is female. This new legal requirement highlighted the pressing need for well-designed implementation strategies, administrative protocols, guidelines, and regulations to attain gender parity in the workplace. To address challenges in operationalizing the GEWE Act, targeted efforts are needed to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the legal profession and the judiciary. These include immediate measures to address gender bias that leads to discrimination in recruiting, hiring, and promoting women.
In December 2024, The Center developed a document for Sierra Leone’s Judiciary that guides the advancement of gender equality and equity in the workplace, with a focus on magistrate courts. This guidance responded to findings and recommendations from a 2024 gender diagnostic conducted by the Center and its partners. In addition to general guidance for advancing gender equality and equity in the workplace, the document provided guidance for gender-sensitive recruitment, promotion, retention, and human resources policies, and recommends gender sensitization training modules.
The Center now seeks to contract a Sierra Leone-based gender expert to support The Center in developing the implementation guidelines to facilitate the Judiciary in implementing the GEWE Act. The contract is expected to be conducted over a short-term period, with the first draft of both materials due by August 15, 2025, and a final draft due by August 29, 2025.
Purpose, Objectives, and Scope
The contractor will review the materials provided by The Carter Center, JSCO, Judiciary, and the Ministry of Gender; conduct independent desk research; meet with officials within these organizations and government entities; and develop implementation guidelines that advance gender equality and equity in the workplace, including through gender-sensitive recruitment, retention, and promotion practices within Sierra Leone’s Judiciary. The implementation guidelines should take into consideration existing laws, policies, and guidance within the Judiciary and the wider Government of Sierra Leone, ensuring harmonization across the justice sector. The Center will provide these guidelines to the Sierra Leone Judiciary and otherjustice sector actors to assist them in complying with and implementing the GEWE Act and realizing its objective of gender-sensitive human resources practices.
Proposed Budget Ceiling
The consultant will be paid on the basis of completed deliverables up to a maximum ceiling of $12,000.
Qualifications
The successful applicant will demonstrate expertise in gender and human resource practices, an understanding of Sierra Leone culture, and previous experience developing guidelines related to gender integration and equality. The successful applicant consultant will have an advanced university degree or equivalent experience. The Center will provide ongoing input into the process based on its own experience and understanding of the issues being addressed.
How to apply
Application Instructions
Applicants should submit the following materials by 5pm GMT on July 2, 2025, at this link:
https://filerequestpro.com/up/gender-consultant-atj-africa. Applications received after the deadline will not be accepted. The Carter Center will not be liable for any expenses incurred by vendors responding to this solicitation. Applications should include:
- Updated curriculum vitae spelling out qualifications and experiences related to gender integration.
- A written commitment that the service provider or firm will be entirely engaged if the consultancy is awarded.
- Gender-sensitive professional certifications are preferred.
- A sample of previous guidelines the candidate has developed.
Shortlisted vendors may be required to submit additional documentation, respond to further questions, or take part in a virtual interview at the Carter Center’s discretion.
