Consultant / Consultant.e: SRHR Advocacy Impact Assessment & Capacity Building

1. **Background**

Strengthening Adolescent Girls’ Sexual & Reproductive Health (FOUNDATIONS) is a 6-year (July 27th, 2021 – June 30, 2027) multi-country, gender-transformative project funded by Global Affairs Canada. The project aims to enhance the empowerment of adolescent girls, particularly the most marginalized and vulnerable, to exercise their Adolescent Sexual & Reproductive Health Rights (ASRHR) in Mali, Niger, and Sierra Leone. In order to achieve this ultimate outcome, the project is grounded in a rights-based and gender-transformative approach that places women and girls at the centre.

FOUNDATIONS is being implemented by Save the Children in three countries (Niger, Mali and Sierra Leone) and in partnership with multiple international partners, including the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Equipop, ODI (formerly Overseas Development Institute), and the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).

In alignment with Global Affairs Canada (GAC) requirements and its Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), FOUNDATIONS promotes gender equality and girls’ empowerment by using a socio-ecological approach that recognizes the multiple and interdependent spheres of influence shaping adolescent behaviours and norms. By engaging parents, other adult caregivers, teachers, community leaders, health providers, civil society organizations (CSOs) including women’s rights organizations (WROs), and government decision-makers, the project addresses these spheres simultaneously in order to generate sustainable and meaningful change. To achieve this ultimate outcome, three key intermediate outcomes are being realized:

- **1100:** Increased decision-making by in-school and out-of-school adolescent girls on adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) issues and the use of ASRH services
- **1200:** Improved provision of gender-responsive, adolescent-friendly and quality ASRH services for adolescent girls
- **1300:** Improved effectiveness of key stakeholders, particularly women & girls’ rights organizations and government decision-makers, to advocate for evidence-based, accountable and equitable ASRH policies, legal frameworks and services

The 1300 Pillar of the FOUNDATIONS project is focused on promoting the rights that are relevant to its constituents and to hold duty-bearer to account. At the national level, this is being done by working with local Women and Girls’ Rights Organizations (WGROs) in the three countries of implementation to build collective capacity to promote ASRHR, influence policy change and implementation processes, and hold government and community leaders accountable. At the regional level, the project has supported the West African Feminist Network in creating spaces for learning and sharing, and implementing regional advocacy campaigns both online and internationally.

As the project is nearing its end, FOUNDATIONS seeks to ensure the sustainability of advocacy interventions by: 1) Showcasing the impact of regional advocacy activities; 2) Developing capacity building tools that can be used by WGROs beyond the life of the project.

1. **Purpose of the consultancy**

FOUNDATIONS seeks to engage an external consultant for up to 55 working days to support advocacy efforts under Pillar 1300, between the dates of October 1st, 2026 and February 28th, 2027. The consultant will work remotely and collaborate closely with project teams and WGRO representatives in Mali, Niger, and Sierra Leone. No travel is expected for this consultancy.

The consultancy has two core objectives:

**1. Assess the impact of FOUNDATIONS’ regional advocacy activities (up to 15-20 days)**

This includes documenting national government stakeholders’ commitments, identifying best practices, capturing lessons learned, and highlighting contributions to regional feminist movement building and influence. Key findings will be summarized in a short 5–10-page brief.

**2. Develop an SRHR advocacy curriculum for youth and women in rural areas (30–40 days)**

The curriculum should strengthen the advocacy skills of young feminists and WGROs, with applicability in low-resource settings such as remote or rural communities in Sierra Leone, Mali, and Niger. The curriculum should be practical, accessible, and in accessible language. It is expected that

1. **Scope of work**

**Objective 1: Assessment of Regional Advocacy Impact**

The consultant will:

- Review existing documentation, reports, and advocacy products, including project impact indicators for advocacy initiatives
- Devise a methodology, inclusive of key impact indicators, for the assessment
- Conduct virtual consultations with the WGROs involved in the development of FOUNDATIONS’ regional advocacy strategy, both to refine the assessment’s impact indicators and methods of measurement, and collect data on regional advocacy impact
- If relevant, conduct virtual interviews with youth groups, government stakeholders, and project teams
- Map engagement with national and/or regional bodies, national/regional/ international stakeholders (i.e. donors, conference attendees, media, etc.), and commitments from key influencers and decisions stemming from this engagement
- Identify strengths, gaps, opportunities, and risks in regional advocacy approaches
- Produce a concise, evidence‑based 5–10-page brief highlighting regional advocacy impact, key enabling factors and contributors, challenges, and recommendations for sustainability

**Objective 2: Development of an SRHR Advocacy Curriculum**

The consultant or consultant team will:

- Conduct a participatory needs assessment with WGROs and youth groups to identify priority advocacy skills to be embedded in the SRHR advocacy curriculum
- Develop a curriculum tailored to rural contexts, including modules, exercises, and facilitation guidance, to be validated by key points of contact from the WGROs
- Ensure content is grounded in feminist, rights‑based, and participatory approaches
- Integrate themes such as:
- Stakeholder mapping
- Influence strategies
- Message development and storytelling
- Youth‑led advocacy and intergenerational collaboration
- Safe, ethical, and inclusive participation
- Produce accompanying tools such as templates, checklists, and sample advocacy materials
- Validate the curriculum through consultations with country teams and WGROs

1. **Consultant Profile**

**Location**

- Strong preference for a consultant or consultant team based in West Africa

**Values and Ways of Working**

The consultant or consultant team must be:

- Committed to feminist and human rights‑based approaches, centering the voices of marginalized women and girls
- Able to work in a collaborative, co‑constructive, participatory, and non‑extractive manner
- Respectful of grassroots knowledge, collective decision‑making, and local feminist leadership
- Adaptable to resource‑constrained environments, with sensitivity to advocacy risks and power differentials
- Open to feedback and able to foster a culture of reflection and self‑reflection

**Skills and Competencies**

The consultant or consultant team must possess:

- Advanced degree in public health, SRHR, social sciences, communications, or a related field
- Demonstrated experience supporting advocacy efforts and mobilizing resources to amplify women’s and girls’ voices
- Background in SRHR, Gender Equality and feminist approaches
- Strong communication skills and ability to tailor messages to diverse audiences
- Excellent writing, research, editing, and synthesis skills
- Experience working with international development or feminist organizations (an asset)
- Language requirements: Fluency in both French and English (spoken and written)

As FOUNDATIONS is strongly committed to centering leadership from those most impacted by gender inequalities, we highly encourage applications from women, particularly those belonging to historically marginalized groups, including young women, women with disabilities, rural women