Consultant to Conduct Research on Amplifying Women’s Voices, Agency, and Leadership in Gender-Responsive Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding: Examining the Enduring and Intergenerational Impacts of the Liberian Civil War on Women and Girls. The Deadline for applications is September 10, 2026. Interested applicants should submit their applications to geraldine.tabi@kvinnatillkvinna.se and korto.williams@kvinnatillkvinna.se

Project Title: Strengthen Her Voice: Empowering Women’s Voice and Agency to Enhance Gender-Responsive Access to Justice, Inclusive Peace, and Security (UNPBF Gender Promotion Initiative 2.0)

Duration: 60 Working Days within a three (3) month period

Location: Liberia, with field research in Grand Cape Mount, Montserrado, Bong, Nimba, Lofa, and Grand Gedeh Counties

Reporting Line: Country Director, Kvinna till Kvinna, Liberia

1. Background

The Strengthen Her Voice Project, funded by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (UNPBF) Gender Promotion Initiative (GPI) 2.0 and jointly implemented by UN Women, OHCHR, and Kvinna till Kvinna, seeks to strengthen women’s voice, leadership, and participation in peacebuilding, governance, access to justice, and transitional justice processes in Liberia.

More than two decades after Liberia’s civil wars, many women and girls continue to experience the lasting effects of conflict, including trauma, economic hardship, displacement, social exclusion, and barriers to justice and decision-making. At the same time, Liberian women have played a pivotal role in advancing peace, reconciliation, community recovery, and the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda.

Despite these contributions, women’s experiences and perspectives remain underrepresented in national peacebuilding and transitional justice efforts. To address this gap, Kvinna till Kvinna seeks to commission a consultant to conduct a qualitative study examining the enduring and intergenerational impacts of the civil war on women and girls. The research will document women lived experiences, amplify their voices, highlight their resilience and leadership, and generate evidence-based recommendations to inform advocacy, policy, accountability, and gender-responsive peacebuilding initiatives in Liberia.

2. Purpose of the Assignment

The research study aims to generate evidence on the experiences of women and girls affected by Liberia’s civil war and its enduring impacts across generations in Montserrado, Grand Cape Mount, Bong, Nimba, Lofa, Grand, Gedeh Counties. The study will amplify women’s voices and perspectives on recovery, justice, reconciliation, accountability, and peacebuilding, while highlighting their leadership and resilience. Findings will inform advocacy, policy, and programming to advance gender equality, transitional justice, and sustainable peace. The assignment will also develop a practical Transitional Justice, Governance, and Accountability Scorecard to support monitoring, advocacy, and accountability for commitments related to justice, governance reform, and women’s meaningful participation in decision-making processes.

3. Objectives

The specific objectives of the study are to:

1. Document and analyze the lived experiences and enduring, including intergenerational, impacts of the Liberian civil war on women and girls.
2. Examine and elevate women’s roles, leadership, resilience, and contributions to peacebuilding, reconciliation, recovery, and social cohesion.
3. Assess barriers and opportunities for women’s meaningful participation in governance, accountability, justice, and transitional justice processes.
4. Generate actionable recommendations and develop a Transitional Justice, Governance, and Accountability Scorecard to support policy engagement, advocacy, monitoring, and accountability efforts.

4. Scope of Work

The consultant will lead a participatory research process that documents and amplifies the experiences, leadership, and perspectives of women affected by Liberia’s civil war. Working closely with Kvinna till Kvinna, UN Women, and OHCHR, the assignment will include the following:

1. Research Design and Data Collection

• Review relevant literature, policies, and existing studies.
• Develop the methodology, workplan, sampling framework, and research tools.
• Conduct field research across the six target counties using gender-responsive, survivor-centered, and trauma-informed approaches.

2. Analysis and Documentation

• Document women’s experiences, resilience, leadership, and contributions to peacebuilding and recovery.
• Analyze findings through gender, human rights, governance, and transitional justice lenses.
• Capture photographs, testimonies, and human-interest stories to support advocacy and visibility efforts.

3. Knowledge Products and Accountability

• Produce a final research report, executive summary, policy brief, and stakeholder presentation.
• Develop a practical Transitional Justice, Governance, and Accountability Scorecard with measurable indicators to track progress on justice, accountability, governance reforms, and women’s participation.
• Present findings and recommendations to support advocacy, policy dialogue, and accountability efforts.

5. Target Participants

The research will engage women survivors of the civil war and conflict, women’s rights organizations, women peacebuilders, community and traditional leaders, youth and intergenerational women’s groups, civil society organizations, human rights actors, transitional justice stakeholders, local government representatives, and peacebuilding practitioners. The study should seek to ensure diversity of perspectives and representation across age groups, geographic locations, and social backgrounds.

6. Deliverables

The consultant will be responsible for delivering four key outputs over the duration of the assignment.

• Deliverable 1: Inception Report (25%): Within 10 working days of contract commencement, the consultant will submit an inception report outlining the proposed methodology, workplan, sampling approach, research tools, ethical considerations, audiovisual documentation approach, and an initial framework for the Transitional Justice, Governance, and Accountability Scorecard.

• Deliverable 2: Fieldwork and Preliminary Findings Brief (25%): Upon completion of fieldwork, the consultant will submit a brief report and presentation highlighting key findings, emerging insights, and preliminary analysis. This deliverable should also include a selection of approved photographs, testimonies, and human-interest stories collected during the research.

• Deliverable 3: Draft Research Report and Scorecard Framework (20%)

The consultant will submit a draft report presenting key findings, analysis, case studies, women’s voices, and preliminary recommendations, together with a draft Transitional Justice, Governance, and Accountability Scorecard outlining proposed indicators and monitoring measures.

• Deliverable 4: Final Research, Advocacy, and Accountability Package (30%)

The final package shall include:

• Final Research Report: This report shall be between 40 to 42 pages and will include the following: Executive summary (2 pages), Introduction and background (2 Pages), Research Objectives and questions (9 Pages), methodology and limitations (3 Pages), Context and literature review (3 Pages), Key research findings (8 -10 Pages), analysis and discussion (3-4 pages), conclusion (1 Page) Recommendations (1-2 Pages,) Advocacy and accountability framework/actions (4 Pages). Policy brief (4-6 pages). The final report will also Transitional Justice, Governance, and Accountability Scorecard Framework and User Guide (3 – 4 pages); as well as a curated audiovisual documentation package comprising selected photographs, human-interest stories, testimonies, and advocacy materials documenting women’s experiences, leadership, and contributions to peacebuilding, justice, reconciliation, and governance. This may be subject to reduction after Kvinna till Kvinna’s review and feedback.
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7. Expected Outcomes

This consultancy will generate evidence on the lasting and intergenerational impacts of Liberia’s civil war on women and girls, while elevating their voices, experiences, leadership, and contributions to peacebuilding, governance, and transitional justice.

The findings will inform advocacy, policy dialogue, and programming aimed at advancing gender-responsive justice, reconciliation, accountability, and sustainable peace. The research will also support implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security agenda by identifying opportunities to strengthen women’s participation and leadership.

A key outcome of the assignment will be the development of a Transitional Justice, Governance, and Accountability Scorecard, providing Women’s Rights Organisations, civil society, policymakers, and development partners with a practical tool to track progress, strengthen accountability, and support evidence-based advocacy and reform efforts in Liberia.

8. Management and Supervision

The consultant will be contracted and supervised by Kvinna till Kvinna under the overall guidance of the Country Director in Liberia. Throughout the assignment, the consultant will work closely with the Kvinna till Kvinna team and will collaborate closely with the project’s consortium partners – UN Women and OHCHR to ensure alignment with project objectives and quality standards.

All deliverables will be submitted to Kvinna till Kvinna for review and approval. Technical feedback may be provided by all consortium partners throughout the assignment.

9. Required Qualifications and Experience

The consultant should possess an advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Political Science, Peace and Conflict Studies, Transitional Justice, Human Rights, Public Policy, Gender Studies, Development Studies, or a related field.

The successful candidate should demonstrate:

• At least seven (7) years of experience conducting qualitative research in governance, peacebuilding, transitional justice, human rights, gender equality, or related areas.
• Experience working with conflict-affected communities using ethical, survivor-centred, and trauma-informed approaches.
• Strong knowledge of Liberia’s conflict history, post-conflict recovery, governance reforms, and accountability processes.
• Proven ability to produce high-quality research reports, policy briefs, assessments, scorecards, and other analytical products.
• Excellent analytical, facilitation, communication, and report-writing skills, with the ability to deliver high-quality outputs within agreed timelines.

10. Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be evaluated based on a combined technical and financial assessment.

Technical Evaluation (70%)

Financial Evaluation (30%)

The contract will be awarded to the consultant achieving the highest combined technical and financial score.

11. Application Requirements

Interested candidates are required to submit:

• Cover letter;
• Technical proposal outlining the proposed methodology and work plan;
• Financial proposal (lump sum);
• Updated curriculum vitae;
• Two relevant writing samples;
• Contact details for three professional referees.

Financial framework

Consultant fees shall be specified lumpsum fees for 60 Working Days within a three (3) month period rather than fees per day and shall indicate if tax is included or excluded. The number of workdays for the assignment should be divided per consultant(s). Kvinna till Kvinna will not be responsible for paying local taxes which are required for all consultants of any nationality.

The total budget for the assignment shall cover all the costs, including travel and per diem, communication, insurances, and any other expenses, estimated taxes related to the assignment such as hiring of interpreter/ local team members. All costs should be itemised on the financial proposal.

Contracted consultant/s cannot further subcontract the assignment. In cases where the tender includes a team of consultants, their division of labour shall be presented in advance to Kvinna till Kvinna.

Payments are expected to be issued as follows: 25% upon submission of inception report; 25% upon submission of draft evaluation report; and remaining 50% upon approval of the final version of the report.

12. Ethical Considerations and Safeguarding

The consultant team shall adhere to Kvinna till Kvinna’s protection from sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment policy (PSEAH), child safeguarding policy, confidentiality, and ethical standards policies throughout the assignment. All activities shall be conducted in accordance with gender-responsive, survivor-centered, conflict-sensitive, and Do No Harm principles.

The consultant will be expected to uphold the highest standards of ethical research practice throughout the assignment. All research activities must be grounded in informed consent, confidentiality, safeguarding, and survivor-centred principles. Care should be taken when engaging women and girls affected by conflict to ensure their safety, dignity, and well-being.

The consultant must have a plan in place to:

• Protect the rights of respondents, including privacy and confidentiality.
• Elaborate on how informed consent will be obtained and to ensure that the names of individuals consulted during data collection will not be made public.
• Data collection tools must be designed in a way that is culturally appropriate and does not create distress for respondents.
• Any in-person data collection visits should be organised at the appropriate time and place to minimise risk to respondents.
• If the data collection involves children (under 18 years old) the consultant must consider additional risks and need for parental or guardian consent and adhering to child safeguarding principles where relevant.

All data, reports, audiovisual materials, photographs, recordings, scorecards, and other outputs produced under this consultancy shall remain the property of Kvinna till Kvinna and its project partners and may not be shared, published, or used without prior written authorisation.