Thematic Expert- Gender, Inclusion and Safeguarding (Kenya)

About Busara

Founded in 2014, Busara is a leading behavioral science and research organization dedicated to improving development outcomes by understanding and influencing human behavior. Busara Uganda partners with governments, development agencies, foundations, research institutions, NGOs, and private sector organizations to design solutions that are evidence-based, contextually grounded, and capable of achieving impact at scale. Over the past decade, Busara has grown into one of the largest behavioral science organizations globally, combining global expertise with deep local knowledge and implementation experience. Busara's mission is to advance and apply behavioral science to help people and organizations make better decisions. The organization's distinctive value lies in its ability to connect rigorous research with practical implementation. Busara combines behavioral science, adult learning principles, human-centered design, systems thinking, and applied research methods to identify the behavioral, social, and institutional factors that influence program outcomes. This enables partners to move beyond understanding what challenges exist to understanding why they exist and how to address them sustainably. Busara supports partners across the full program lifecycle, including assessments, behavioral diagnostics, curriculum development, training and capacity strengthening, program design, monitoring and evaluation, adoption measurement, and knowledge generation.

The Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works Strategy aims to enable 7 million young women and men across Kenya to access dignified and fulfilling work. Through partnerships with financial institutions, training providers, enterprise support organizations, and other ecosystem actors, the initiative supports programs designed to expand employment opportunities and strengthen pathways to sustainable livelihoods for youth. Over its implementation, the scale and diversity of supported programs have grown substantially across sectors and geographies. As the strategy has matured, the Foundation’s learning priorities have shifted to place greater emphasis on understanding the nature and durability of the outcomes these programs generate. The central evidence question has shifted from assessing how many young people are reached to examining whether they can access and sustain dignified and fulfilling work as a result of these interventions. In this context, the Foundation wants to understand several interrelated dimensions of program outcomes. These include the sustainability of employment and livelihood outcomes over time, differences in outcomes across youth segments, and the extent to which interventions contribute to broader institutional and ecosystem changes.

Busara is partnering with Mastercard Foundation as its Impact Partner Organization (IPO) in Kenya to conduct Program Outcomes Assessments (POA) and Strategic Reviews across Foundation-supported programs under the Young Africa Works Strategy. These assessments and reviews combine quantitative and qualitative inquiry structured around four core POA question areas, including Reach and Access, Progression to Dignified and Fulfilling Work, Improvements in Quality of Life, and Systems and Institutional Contribution, alongside program-specific objectives for each Implementing Partner reviewed.

Busara is seeking the services of a Gender, Inclusion and Safeguarding Thematic Expert on a short-term basis to support work across the Young Africa Works Strategy program portfolio, whose programs incorporate gender, inclusion, and safeguarding principles into their interventions for the youth participants. 

Purpose of the Role

The Gender, Inclusion and Safeguarding Thematic Expert brings expertise in gender-responsive evaluation, inclusive programming for structurally excluded groups, and safeguarding practice in Kenya and the East African region. On this assignment, the expert leads disaggregated analysis across gender, refugee status, and disability status; oversees qualitative data collection with these populations; ensures safeguarding standards are upheld throughout fieldwork; and ensures inclusion perspectives are reflected across all review deliverables. The expert will support Busara and Mastercard Foundation Kenya to establish: 

• How trends in Kenya’s Gender, Inclusion and Safeguarding thematic practice are impacting youth employment opportunities where the strategy is active in Kenya.

• The extent to which the strategy’s partnerships and investments are positioned to respond to and capitalize on these trends.

• Opportunities, risks, and gaps in the strategy’s Gender, Inclusion and Safeguarding positioning, and practical, prioritized recommendations to strengthen it.

Key Responsibilities

Review literature, strategy documents, implementing partner reports, and results data on gender, inclusion, and safeguarding in Kenya.

Provide technical input to assessments and reviews related to gender, inclusion, and safeguarding ecosystem indicators. 

Map key actors, emerging trends, and ecosystem dynamics in Kenya’s gender, inclusion, and safeguarding practice, and benchmark them against relevant East African strategies.

Conduct key informant interviews and stakeholder consultations with relevant actors.

Assess how current programs address key gender, inclusion, and safeguarding challenges, including access to services, cost barriers, and the impact of technology.

Assess the relevance and positioning of gender, inclusion, and safeguarding across the Young Africa Works partner portfolio and flagship interventions, including alignment with national priorities.

Identify barriers and opportunities for youth participation in the gender, inclusion, and safeguarding sub-sectors, to strengthen participant access to opportunities, including potential new partnerships, delivery models, priority sub-sectors, or areas of focus.

Evaluate the effectiveness of gender, inclusion, and safeguarding practices during youth participants' engagement, and their linkage to dignified and fulfilling work 

Produce a report with findings, recommendations, and a prioritization framework for dissemination to Busara and the Young Africa Works stakeholders.

Indicative Deliverables

An inception report covering the methodology, work plan, and budget.

Key Informant Interview (KII) discussion guides tailored to key stakeholders.

Audio recordings and notes from Key Informant Interview (KII) discussions. 

A draft narrative report including an executive summary, findings, learnings and recommendations, and a prioritized action matrix.

A PowerPoint slide deck for presentation to the Foundation. 

Hold a validation and dissemination session with the Foundation. 

A final PowerPoint slide deck incorporating input from the validation and dissemination session.

Participate in sensemaking sessions with the Foundation, Implementing Partners, and other relevant ecosystem actors, as required.

A final narrative report incorporating input from the validation, dissemination, and sensemaking sessions.

Required Qualifications and Experience

Advanced degree in Gender Studies, Social Sciences, Development Studies, or a related field.

Minimum 8-10 years of experience in gender-responsive evaluation, inclusive programming, or safeguarding in development or humanitarian contexts in Kenya, ideally including direct work with refugee or displaced populations and persons with disabilities.

Demonstrated experience designing and conducting qualitative fieldwork (IDIs, FGDs, KIIs) with structurally excluded groups, including trauma-informed and culturally appropriate facilitation techniques.

Proven track record and consulting experience conducting strategic reviews, evaluations, or advisory assignments for donor-funded or foundation-funded gender-responsive and inclusion programs.

Working knowledge of safeguarding frameworks and referral pathways appropriate to the Kenya context, including experience handling sensitive disclosures during fieldwork.

Familiarity with Kenya’s refugee response context (including major refugee settlement areas) and with national gender and disability inclusion policy is strongly preferred.

Strong facilitation skills in relevant Kenyan local languages, or demonstrated experience working effectively through local-language facilitators and interpreters.

Prior experience contributing to donor-funded evaluations or strategic reviews, ideally within mixed-methods designs, is an advantage.

Duration and Level of Effort

Twenty-four (24) working days over a period of three (3) months (starting September 2026).

The timelines above are indicative and will be finalized jointly with the successful consultant during the inception phase, in line with the specific review cycle for which they are engaged.