About this role
Role Description
With financial support from the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) will implement the Damal Programme Phase II – Strengthening the Social Contract through Access to Justice in Somaliland (2026–2030). The programme seeks to strengthen the social contract in Somalia by improving the legitimacy, effectiveness, and inclusiveness of justice sector institutions at national, regional, and district levels. Building on the achievements of Damal Programme Phase I (2021–2026), Damal II will consolidate and expand access to justice interventions through three mutually reinforcing outcomes:
Improved access to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms and referral pathways, particularly for vulnerable groups; Enhanced access to formal justice through integrated support for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) and other vulnerable justice seekers; Increased citizen participation in accountability processes relating to justice and security.
The programme will commence with a preparatory phase designed to establish the strategic, operational, and analytical foundations for implementation. During this period, IDLO will undertake a series of complementary assessments, including:
Baseline Assessment and Legal Analysis; Political Economy Analysis (PEA); Conflict Sensitivity Assessment (CSA); Gender Conflict and Social Inclusion (GESI) Analysis.
The purpose of this assignment is to conduct a detailed Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Assessment that provides the foundation for gender-responsive and inclusive implementation of Damal II. The assessment will examine how gender and intersectional factors such as age, disability, displacement, clan status, minority identity, rural location, poverty, social norms, and other factors affect access to justice, ADR, reconciliation, justice-security coordination, and referral pathways in ADR centers locations.
The assessment will support IDLO to ensure that Damal II undertakes a gender-transformative approach in implementation and monitoring, and does not unintentionally reinforce exclusion, harmful norms, gender inequality, discrimination, unsafe referrals, or barriers to justice. It will also identify entry points for strengthening women’s participation and leadership, survivor-centred justice, inclusive ADR, safe referral pathways, and meaningful participation of vulnerable groups in justice and security processes.
The specific objectives are to:
Identify legal, institutional, administrative, cultural, economic, social, geographic, and security-related barriers affecting access to justice for women and vulnerable groups; Assess how formal and informal justice systems respond to the needs of women, girls, GBV survivors, IDPs, minority communities, persons with disabilities, youth, and rural populations; Provide recommendations to refine Damal II’s Theory of Change, work plan, MEL framework, referral system, ADR approach, training strategy, and partner engagement.
The consultant will conduct a GESI analysis across Damal II’s three outcomes as mentioned above and target locations. The assessment will analyse how women and vulnerable groups experience justice in practice, comprehensively assessing their interactions with the formal and informal justice chain, including referral pathways.
The assessment will also consider intersectionality, analysing how vulnerability is shaped by overlapping factors such as gender, age, disability, displacement, minority status, rural location, poverty, marital status, survivor status, clan affiliation, and access to information.
Qualifications
Advanced degree in gender studies, law, human rights, social sciences, development studies, governance, peacebuilding, or a related field. At least 10 years of experience conducting gender analysis, GESI assessments, access to justice research, GBV-related analysis, or inclusion-focused programming in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Strong knowledge of Somaliland and/or Somalia’s justice, customary justice, ADR, GBV, social norms, clan, displacement, and inclusion context is highly desirable. Demonstrated experience working on gender-responsive justice, survivor-centred approaches, legal aid, ADR, referral systems, women’s access to justice, disability inclusion, minority inclusion, and community-based justice mechanisms. Excellent analytical writing, facilitation, stakeholder engagement, and English-language drafting skills are required. Somali language skills will be considered a strong asset.
Requirements
Conduct a GESI analysis across Damal II’s three outcomes. Examine relevant formal justice systems, ADR mechanisms, customary justice, Shari’ah-based dispute resolution, legal aid services, GBV referral pathways and services, justice-security coordination mechanisms, and community-level justice processes. Assess social and cultural norms that influence justice-seeking behaviour. Utilize a participatory, gender-responsive, inclusive, conflict-sensitive, and evidence-based methodology.
Benefits
The consultancy will be home-based with travel to selected programme areas and IDLO offices as required, subject to security and operational approval. All reports, tools, datasets, interview summaries, notes, presentations, action plans, monitoring tools, and analytical products produced under this assignment shall remain the property of IDLO. IDLO is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome applications from qualified candidates of all backgrounds. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for IDLO vacancies.
Application Deadline
23 August 2026 (23:59hrs Rome Time).