1. Background

Women for Women International (WfWI) is an international non-governmental organization that supports women survivors of war and conflict to rebuild their lives. In Iraq, WfWI works with women in Ninewa and the Kurdistan Region, and complements this work through its Men's Engagement Programme (MEP).

MEP is built on the understanding that men are often the main decisionmakers in Iraqi households and communities, and that lasting change in women's lives depends on their support In view of this WfWI Iraq is committed to improving the knowledge and capacity of men engagement programming given the importance of the men engagement as allies of women empowerment. The programme works with male relatives of women taking part in WfWI programmes, as well as with other men in the community, through group training sessions on gender equality, women's rights and the prevention of gender-based violence (GBV).

WfWI first piloted MEP in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 2022, followed by a GIZ-funded pilot in 2023. Since June 2025, the programme has been implemented in Mosul and Hamdaniya districts of Ninewa Governorate under the project Powering SPACE: Advancing Men's Engagement for Gender Equality in Iraq, funded by GIZ until January 2027. Besides the training for men, the project works with community leaders and Male Champions, holds peer exchange sessions and couple dialogues, and organises roundtables where Male Champions and community leaders meet government stakeholders.

The project measures change through baseline, midline and endline surveys on men's knowledge, behaviors, household decision-making, spousal relationships and attitudes, including the Gender Equitable Men (GEM) Scale. A qualitative data collection exercise was planned from the start to help explain the survey results.

Implementation has also shown that recruiting and keeping men in the programme is not easy. In one cohort in 2026, more than a quarter of the men who registered never attended a session. As the project comes to an end, WfWI would like to explore and understand the factors and dynamics which may have contributed to these and to prepare the CO to plan to address and learn from the outcomes and to document what has worked in engaging men in Iraq. The planned qualitative data collection will therefore be combined with a wider learning review, and both will be carried out by the same consultancy team so that the same people are not interviewed twice.

2. Purpose and Objectives

The assignment has both an accountability and a learning purpose. Using one round of fieldwork, the consultant will produce two separate reports, each of which should be able to stand on its own:

• Report 1: Qualitative Endline Report. This report will document the changes experienced by MEP participants, their families and their communities. It will complement the quantitative endline survey and feed into WfWI's final report to GIZ.
• Report 2: Learning Review Report. This report will look at why men join, stay in or leave the programme, what works in which context and at what cost, and what a future phase of MEP should look like. It will be accompanied by an MEP delivery guide and a short learning brief.

The specific objectives of the assignment are to:

1. document changes in participants' knowledge, attitudes and behaviours, and help explain the endline survey findings;
2. verify these changes at household level with wives and female relatives, including any unintended or negative effects;
3. assess the role and contribution of Male Champions and community leaders;
4. identify the factors behind enrolment, retention, dropout and no-show;
5. map how other organisations working with men in Iraq recruit and retain participants;
6. estimate the cost per participant and the main cost drivers; and
7. recommend a practical delivery model for a future phase of MEP in Iraq.

The main users of the findings will be the WfWI Iraq programme and senior management teams, WfWI's global programme and MERL teams, GIZ, and other organisations working with men in Iraq. The findings will be presented and discussed at a validation workshop in January 2027.

3. Scope

The evaluation will cover the Men engagement Program implementation period from June 2025 until the time of data collection, with reference to the earlier pilots where relevant. Fieldwork will take place in Mosul and Hamdaniya districts of Ninewa Governorate. Interviews with other organisations and government representatives may take place in Erbil, in Mosul or remotely.

The consultant is expected to reach current MEP participants and graduates; men who enrolled and registered but dropped out or never attended; wives and female relatives of participants; Male Champions; community and religious leaders; MEP trainers and staff; other organisations, government and UN actors; and community members in the project areas.

This is not a statistical impact evaluation. The quantitative endline survey is being conducted separately by WfWI. The consultant will use its results but will not repeat them.

4. Key Evaluation Questions

The evaluation will be guided by the questions below, which are organised around the OECD-DAC criteria. Questions 2 to 4 will be answered in Report 1, and the remaining questions in Report 2. The consultant is expected to refine and prioritise the questions together with WfWI during the inception phase.

Relevance (Report 2)

1. To what extent do the content, timing, duration, venues and support offered by MEP (such as transport allowances) fit the daily realities of men in Mosul and Hamdaniya?

Effectiveness (Report 1)

2. What changes do participants report in the project's outcome areas, namely knowledge of women's rights, recognition of GBV, sharing of household work, women's freedom of movement, joint decision-making, communication between spouses, and attitudes towards women? What explains the differences between participants?
3. How do wives and female relatives describe the changes at home? Have there been any unintended effects, positive or negative, including backlash?
4. How have Male Champions and community leaders used their role in peer exchange sessions, roundtables with government and community awareness-raising, and with what results?

Implementation (Report 2)

5. What factors influence men's decision to enrol, stay, participate, drop out or not show up after registering (for example working hours, loss of income, stigma, family pressure, transport or session timing)?
6. What works in which context, for example in Mosul compared with Hamdaniya, across different communities, and through different entry points such as religious leaders, workplaces or referrals from women?

Efficiency (Report 2)

7. What is the cost per enrolled and per graduating participant, and which costs could be reduced in a future phase?

Sustainability and learning (Report 2)

8. Which changes and structures, such as the Male Champions, and peer networks, are likely to continue after January 2027?
9. How do other organisations working with men in Iraq mobilize, recruit and retain participants, and what could MEP learn from them?
10. What should a future phase of MEP look like in terms of delivery model, retention measures, partnerships and realistic costs?

5. Methodology

WfWI expects a mainly qualitative and participatory approach, complemented by a short community survey and a review of existing data. The consultant should triangulate the views of men with those of women, as well as with monitoring data and survey results. A detailed methodology and sampling approach will be agreed in the inception report. The indicative sample is shown below.

All discussions and interviews with women will be conducted by the female co-researcher in women-only settings. Data collection will be in Arabic, or in other local languages where needed. Findings should be disaggregated by location, age group and participation status (graduate, current participant, dropout or no-show).

6. Deliverables

The consultant will submit the following deliverables in English. WfWI will share consolidated comments on each draft within five working days.

1. Inception report (maximum 12 pages, excluding annexes), covering the refined evaluation questions, an evaluation matrix, the sampling approach, data collection tools (FGD and KII guides, dropout interview guide and survey questionnaire), an ethics and safeguarding protocol, and a detailed workplan.
2. Fieldwork completion notes and debriefs, summarising the data collected by method and location, with a presentation of preliminary findings to WfWI.
3. Draft Report 1 and draft Report 2.
4. Validation workshop, a one-day workshop co-designed and facilitated with WfWI, bringing together WfWI staff, other organisations, Male Champions and stakeholders, followed by a short summary of the feedback received.
5. Final Report 1: Qualitative Endline Report (maximum 20 pages, excluding annexes), including six Most Significant Change stories.
6. Final Report 2: Learning Review Report (maximum 25 pages, excluding annexes), together with a four-page learning brief, a practical MEP delivery guide for Iraq (8 to 10 pages) and the actor map.
7. Cleaned and anonymised datasets and notes from all data collection.

The two reports should stand alone. Report 2 may refer to the findings of Report 1 but should not repeat them.

Report 1 should include an executive summary of no more than two pages, the methodology and its limitations, findings organised by project outcome area (knowledge of rights, behaviours, decision-making, spousal relationships, attitudes and norms, and the role of community leaders and Male Champions), women's perspectives, unintended effects and conclusions. The tools and Most Significant Change stories should be annexed.

Report 2 should include an executive summary of no more than three pages, the methodology and its limitations, findings organised by evaluation question, conclusions, and prioritised, practical recommendations, each addressed to a specific user. The evaluation matrix, actor map and an anonymised list of respondent groups should be annexed.

All payments will be completed by 21 January 2027.

7. Required Qualifications

The assignment will be carried out by a team of at least two people: a lead consultant and a female co-researcher. Because women respondents must be interviewed by a woman, applications that do not name a female co-researcher and include her CV will not be considered. Women are also strongly encouraged to apply for the lead consultant role.

Lead consultant

• Master's degree in social sciences, gender studies, development, evaluation or a related field.
• At least seven years of experience in evaluation or qualitative research, including at least three evaluations of gender-transformative, GBV prevention or men's engagement programmes.
• Proven work experience in Iraq, preferably in Ninewa.
• Strong facilitation skills, including experience leading group discussions with men on sensitive topics.
• Excellent analytical and report-writing skills in English, and fluency in Arabic.
• Experience in cost analysis or value-for-money assessment is an advantage.

Female co-researcher

• University degree in social sciences, psychology, gender studies or a related field.
• At least three years of experience in qualitative data collection with women in Iraq, including on sensitive topics such as family relations or GBV.
• Training in survivor-centred or trauma-informed interviewing, and familiarity with referral procedures.
• Fluency in Arabic and a good working level of English. Knowledge of Kurdish or Syriac is an advantage.
• Availability for fieldwork in Mosul and Hamdaniya from mid-November to early December 2026.

Both team members must have no conflict of interest with WfWI or its partners, be available for the full contract period, and will be required to sign WfWI's safeguarding policy and code of conduct.

8. How to Apply

Individual consultants applying as a team, as well as consulting firms, are welcome to apply. Applications should be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

   by 27 October 2026 at 17:00 (Erbil time), with the subject line "MEP Evaluation and Learning Review", and should include:

1. a technical proposal of no more than eight pages, setting out the understanding of the assignment, the proposed methodology and sampling, the approach to ethics and a workplan;
2. a financial proposal in USD, showing the daily rate and number of days for each team member, within the available budget;
3. the CVs of the lead consultant and the female co-researcher;
4. one evaluation or research report written by the lead consultant; and
5. confirmation of availability for the full contract period.

Note: the proposal should submit in USD.