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Gender Equality Leadership in the Canadian Private Sector project review – Consultant

Gender Equality Leadership in the Canadian Private Sector project review – Consultant

Terms of Reference

(1) Background

Global Compact Network Canada, the Canadian network of the UN Global Compact (UNGC), the Global Compact Network Canada (GCNC) is dedicated to assisting Canadian organizations with the advancement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 10 Principles of the UNGC. Launched in 2013, GCNC offers Canadian businesses and non-business sectors a unique opportunity to learn and exchange best practices in corporate sustainability, both within the Canadian Network and among global peers. 

The Government of Canada is committed to advancing gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment and is fulfilling this commitment through the Department of Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) – formerly known as Status of Women Canada. The Women’s Program, established by the Department of Women and Gender Equality, looks to support the achievement of women’s full participation in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada. As a result, GCNC received funding from WAGE for a three-year project, starting in 2017 and formally launched in 2018, for engaging the private sector as a responsible accelerator to eliminate barriers faced by women in the workplace. The project is entitled Gender Equality Leadership in the Canadian Private Sector and it focuses on engaging corporate partners to develop, test, and implement a blueprint for gender equality and a maturity model assessment tool.

Currently, GCNC is looking for a consultant to review and analyze all the deliverables created during the project (i.e. Blueprint, Maturity Model, and collected resources) in order to evaluate the relevance and reach of the blueprint for the Canadian private sector, identify potential gaps in the content and addressed areas, and provide recommendations to bridge those gaps. This review will be a critical step to guarantee that all the project deliverables are applicable to the majority of industries, sectors, and sizes of businesses in Canada.

It is in this context that this ToR lays out the goal and objectives of a comprehensive review of the Gender Equality Leadership in the Canadian Private Sector project.

(2) Goal and Objectives of the Project Review

GCNC has identified the need to review all project deliverables. The goals of this review are:

  1. Ensure that the Blueprint for gender equality, the Maturity Model, and the Resources align with the Canadian private sector context considering the project’s cornerstones: Leadership, Inclusion and Transparency and Accountability, as well as the attributes within the cornerstones: Baseline assessment; Internal communication; Intersectionality; Capacity building and awareness raising; Pay equity; Recruitment, retention and promotion; Workplace flexibility; Workplace safety; Career development; Supply chain; Marketing and advertising; Outreach initiatives and partnership; Goal setting; Measuring and evaluating; Reporting
  2. Ensure that the three aforementioned project deliverables are as comprehensive as possible for the use of any Canadian business considering the mentioned cornerstones and attributes
  3. Address any content gaps within the three aforementioned project deliverables to ensure applicability and relevance to the Canadian workplace

(3) Objectives of Consultancy

The consultant will work in close collaboration with the GCNC team to review the Blueprint, Maturity Model, and Resources to ensure that all deliverables reflect the Canadian private sector context and can be used by any Canadian business

Specifically, the main objectives of the consultancy are to:

  1. Perform an in-depth review of all the content and sections of the Blueprint, Maturity Model, and Resources through the lens of the Canadian private sector
  2. Assess the applicability, relevance, and usability of the Blueprint, Maturity Model, and Resources through the lens of the Canadian private sector.
  3. Identify any content gaps within Blueprint and Maturity Model with regards to the elements that support gender equality in the workplace and address the potential gaps.
  4. Perform a comparison of the Resources against the Blueprint and Maturity Model to ensure that existing tools, guides, etc included in the Resources support all the content in the Blueprint and Maturity Model.
  5. Identify potential tools, guides, and other resources to be included in the Resources to address any uncovered gaps from objective three and four.
  6. Create a change management guide that details how to carry out the process of implementation of the Blueprint, Maturity Model, and Resources within a workplace.
  7. Produce a summary report of main findings.

(4) Key activities and deliverables

Job sharing is an option to complete the key activities and deliverables of this consultation either by submitting a joint proposal or by submitting partial proposals for specific areas of this ToR, given the broad range of topics and themes addressed in the project, through its cornerstones: Leadership, Inclusion and Transparency and Accountability, as well as the attributes within the cornerstones: Baseline assessment; Internal communication; Intersectionality; Capacity building and awareness raising; Pay equity; Recruitment, retention and promotion; Workplace flexibility; Workplace safety; Career development; Supply chain; Marketing and advertising; Outreach initiatives and partnership; Goal setting; Measuring and evaluating; Reporting.

  1. Review the content of the Blueprint, Maturity Model, and Resources to assess applicability, relevance, and usability for the Canadian private sector and present main findings in a summary report:
    1. In consultation with GCNC team, develop a set of criteria as basis for the project review
    2. Review all content of the Blueprint, Maturity Model, and Resources and identify content gaps in relation to elements that impact gender equality and the Canadian workplace
    3. Organize findings/themes into searchable spreadsheet
    4. Address gaps identified in the assessment and perform necessary modifications to the Blueprint, Maturity Model, and Resources
    5. Develop report (8-10 pages) summarizing main findings
  2. Compare Resources to the Blueprint and Maturity Model to ensure existing resources cover all the content included in the Blueprint and Maturity Model and to identify new content based on the review and identified gaps of the Blueprint and Maturity Model content:
    1. Review all content of the Resources against the themes, actions, recommendations, success factors, etc included in the Blueprint and Maturity Model
    2. Organize findings/themes into searchable spreadsheet
    3. Identify new resources to close potential identified gaps and create a summary of each new resource to be added to the Resources
    4. Develop report (6-8 pages) summarizing main findings
  3. Create a change management guide based on the above review to help organizations establish a process for implementing the Blueprint, Maturity Model, and Resources
    1. Develop a set of steps and recommendations for the private sector to consider when looking to implement the Blueprint, Maturity Model, and Resources
    2. Develop a set of observations and recommendations to consider for guarantying relevance, applicability, usability of the guide among the Canadian private sector
    3. Create guide (2-4 pages) to be included in the Blueprint

(5) Tasks and Timeframe

Please refer to the PDF version of this ToR for the table version of the Tasks and Timeframe containing detail Expected Time Frame and Proposed Level of Effort.

  • Email of Interest Deadline, with any specific questions regarding assignment by December 17, 2019
  • Proposal Submission Deadline (5-8 pages max) by January 6, 2020
  • Contract awarded on January 10, 2020

PART A: Blueprint, Maturity Model and Resources review, and summary report (January 13 – February 7)

  • Develop criteria for review
  • Review all content of the Blueprint, Maturity Model, and Resources
  • Organize findings/themes into searchable spreadsheet
  • Address identified gaps and perform necessary changes
  • Develop report (6-8 pages) summarizing main findings

PART B: Resources and Blueprint and Maturity Model comparison, and summary report (February 10 – February 27)

  • Review all content of the Resources against the Blueprint and Maturity Model
  • Organize findings/themes into searchable spreadsheet
  • Identify and create summary of new resources to close gaps
  • Develop report (4-6 pages) summarizing main findings

PART C: Process implementation guide (February 28 – March 11)

  • Develop a set of steps and recommendations for the private sector
  • Develop observations and recommendations to ensure usability
  • Create guide to be included in Blueprint

 TOTAL CONSULTATION DURATION = 43 days (January 13 – March 11)

(6) Qualifications of Consultant

  • Minimum of 10 years of experience working on gender topics relevant to the private sector
  • Demonstrated experience and knowledge in change management, diversity and inclusion, or human resources, particularly in a workplace context
  • Demonstrated experience in qualitative research, including overall design, approach and methodological rigour
  • Demonstrated experience in analyzing knowledge products (e.g. case studies, reports, etc.)
  • Fluency in English is mandatory. Fluency in French is an asset.

(7) Application Packages and Procedures

This ToR is only open to independent consultant(s). We are not able to accept proposals from consulting firms. Qualified and interested individuals are asked to submit the following:

  1. Letter of interest in submission of a proposal (in the form of an email) to Sandra Espinosa – Sandra@unglobalcompact.ca. Please share this by 5pm EDT on December 17, 2019 along with any specific questions related to the assignment. Responses to these questions will be shared with all bidders via email by December 20, 2019.
  2. Detailed technical proposal of maximum 5-8 pages clearly demonstrating a thorough understanding of this ToR and including the following:
    1. Description of methodologies for Part A, Part B, Part C of the project and proposed conceptual framework for the research.
    2. Demonstrated previous experience in topic of focus if submitting a partial and/or joint proposal.
    3. Demonstrated previous experience in desk reviews and qualitative research and other qualifications outlined in this ToR.
    4. A proposed/revised timeframe detailing activities and a schedule/work plan meeting the above-mentioned timeline criteria as well as comments on the proposed Level of Effort.
  3. A financial proposal with a detailed breakdown of costs
    • Itemized consultancy fees/costs
    • Validity of period of quotations

In addition to the technical proposal outlined above, the proposal should also include the following:

  • Resume of proposed consultant(s) outlining relevant experience. For proposals that include multiple individuals, resumes must be provided for each of the roles to demonstrate each member’s breadth of experience.
  • Names and contact information of three references who can be contacted regarding relevant experience
  • A copy of on previous report of similar work undertaken on a) desktop research; OR b) qualitative studies

The proposal will be scored on both technical and financial (budget) aspects weighted at 80% and 20% respectively.

Closing date for submission of application package is 5pm EDT on January 6, 2020. Please note that the deadline to submit any clarification query is December 17, 2019.

Download PDF version here: GenderEqualityConsultantToR.pdf