Change Agent Consultant at Women for Women International

Location: Plateau
Terms of Reference: Development of Change Agents Programme

Background

• Women for Women International (WfWI) works with marginalized women in conflict-affected countries to help them move from poverty and isolation to self-sufficiency and empowerment. Through our combined economic and social empowerment programme, we aim to provide participants with a combination of knowledge, skills, and resources to increase their self-confidence and capacity to create sustainable change in their lives and those of their families and communities.
• Through this year-long programme, women learn about the value of their work in the family and local economy, basic health practices, their role in decision making, women’s rights, and the benefits of working together in a group for social and economic purposes. For women who need it, we provide a limited series of numeracy classes to bring them to the level where they can better benefit from their business and vocational skills training. We also provide referral services to women, connecting them to health, legal and financial services.

Job Description
Budget available: $13,500 USD (for all costs associated with this project).
Women for Women International-Nigeria (WfWI-Nigeria) is seeking support to:

• Using participatory methods, design a curriculum for Change Agents training programme with WfWI graduates, with emphasis on advocacy issues related to violence against women and women’s economic empowerment.
• Work with WfWI-Nigeria to develop selection criteria for participants for the Change Agents programme.
• Work with WfWI-Nigeria to develop monitoring and evaluation tools that will be used by staff.
• Train social empowerment trainers to deliver the Change Agent curriculum;
• Organise and hold one-day training for wider WfWI-Nigeria staff on advocacy and on Violence Against Women (VAW).
• We invite applications from individuals or organisations with expertise in women’s rights programming in Nigeria and who are skilled in participatory methods to facilitate information gathering.

Project Overview

• Women for Women International (WfWI) is delighted to be a recipient of a FLOW (Funding Leadership Opportunities for Women) grant from the Dutch Government. Through this support, three WfWI country offices (including WfWI-Nigeria), will train women graduates of our year-long programme (see background section) in leadership and advocacy skills, focusing on issues relating to ending violence against women and women’s economic empowerment.
• These ‘Change Agents’ will then go on to advocate in their communities and provide a two-way link between their communities, local NGO’s and national-level advocacy. WfWI- Nigeria trainers will deliver the training and provide ongoing support to the Change Agents until the end of 2020 by WfWI- Nigeria, including through the development, implementation and monitoring of work plans.
• The Change Agents curriculum must be developed using participatory methods before 31 January 2017. The Change Agents curriculum should be grounded in ‘global components’ and consistent with guiding principles that have been developed by WfWI internally and will provide consistency across the Change Agents programmes being delivered by WfWI in three countries. We envision the curriculum as a toolkit that trainers can adapt to different cohorts, based on their needs.
• As graduates of WfWI’s year-long women’s empowerment programme, the Change Agents curriculum should also build on elements from that programme. As should selection criteria for graduates of WfWI’s year-long women’s programme and monitoring and evaluation tools that WfWI-Nigeria staff can use. The first Change Agents cohort will be enrolled in the first quarter of 2017 and WfWI-Nigeria has committed to training 40 women each year, for three years (2017-2019 inclusive).

Outputs (all due by 31 January 2017):

• Change Agents Training Curriculum. NB developed by using participatory methods, centred on WfWI’s global principles and taking forward elements from WfWI’s year-long programme. This is the priority output.
• Work with WfWI-Nigeria to develop selection criteria for participants for the Change Agents programme.
• Train WfWI-Nigeria staff to be able to deliver the programme.
• Work with WfWI-Nigeria to develop a monitoring and evaluation tools that will be used by staff.
• One-day training for wider WfWI-Nigeria staff on advocacy and on VAW.
• WfWI-Nigeria will be responsible for identifying, enrolling, training and providing follow-on support for the Change Agents. We do not envision further support from the individual/organisation after 2016.

Timeframe:

• Activity/deliverable Timing
• Interviews and appoint - contracts signed w/c 18 November 2016
• WfWI briefs consultant w/c 21 November
• Inception report produced by consultant and approved by WfWI-Nigeria. This report will provide a clear work plan for the development of the curriculum including dates and any instruments for information gathering By 2 December
• Phase one of curriculum development (suggested*): we envision that this will include desk based research (into other grassroots advocacy programmes and Nigeria-specific materials), initial discussions re: M&E, criteria etc. Concluded by 15 December
• Phase two (suggested*): information gathering from key informants (WfWI staff, participants, partners, etc.) Concluded by 13 January 2017
• Consultant submits first draft of curriculum. By 20 January
• Phase three (suggested*): Consultant works with WfWI-N to finalise curriculum and develop M&E tools and selection criteria. Final version submitted. w/c 23 Jan 17
• Criteria and M&E tools and process finalised. By 31 January 2017
• This is a suggested process from WfWI to provide clarity around our expectations and not a dictated process. We do expect applicants to go into depth on their proposed process in their application.

Budget

• $13,500 USD - this is to cover all costs associated with the outputs and a full budget must be included in the application. Within the budget, we expect budget lines to be specific and expenditure estimated against weeks/months. NB WfWI budgets run January to December, and we have budgeted for $8,100 for November and December 2016, and $5,400 for January 2017.

Essential Skills and Experience

• Expertise in women’s rights programming in Nigeria;
• Expertise in grassroots advocacy programming;
• Experience and understanding of grassroots advocacy on VAW and women’s economic empowerment;
• Experience in participatory methods;
• Ability to work to strict/tight deadlines;
• Fluent in English.