Consultant to Develop Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights Toolkit for Adolescents

gillian.kiplagat · July 14, 2020, 2:27pm

Terms of Reference (ToR) for Consultant to Develop Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights Toolkit for Adolescents**

Organisation/Agency**|BBC Media Action, South Sudan Country Programme|

Background to the organisation**

BBC Media Action was founded in 1999 as an international development charity. In the UK, BBC Media Action is registered in England & Wales under charity number 1076235 and company number 3521587. In South Sudan, BBC Media Action is registered with RRC as Non-Governmental Organisation that uses Media for Development (M4D). BBC Media Action uses media and communication to reduce poverty and promote human rights in developing countries. We partner with civil society organisations, local media and governments to: (i) Produce creative programmes based on robust research in multi-media formats which inform and engage audiences around key development issues and (ii) Strengthen the media sector through building professional capacity and equipping the stations.

Background to the project – Amplifying Women’s Voices for Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights**

This Terms of Reference (ToR) relates to a project implemented by BBC Media Action funded by Global Affairs Canada. The end-goal of the four-year initiative is that women and girls are empowered to make their own decisions regarding their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in a more peaceful environment.

To this end, BBC Media Action is producing a factual radio programme, aimed at both men and women young and old, to challenge attitudes and shift behaviours around SRHR. This programme is produced by BBC Media Action and broadcasted by local partner radio stations. It is produced in Simple Arabic, Dinka, and Zande languages.

In addition, the project features story lines related to SRHR in our on-going radio drama - Life in Lulu. Alongside these outputs are community mobilisation activities that target adults, adolescents in schools and youth groups. Use of the adolescent tool kit will go a long way to reach the adolescents in this project. Throughout the project, we will be working with civil society organisations, community-based organisations to carryout community mobilization activities e.g. listening clubs, community dialogues and interactive drama on SRHR.

The project aim is to contribute to long-term social and behaviour change by increasing knowledge, shaping positive attitudes and practices, and by challenging unhelpful norms to support women’s and girls’ agency and decision-making power.

The Toolkit

A Toolkit is a fixed set of procedures, factual and interactive guidelines, criteria, etc., established to ensure a desired or required result or prevent oversights. For example, a toolkit to tackle domestic abuse, a toolkit to tackle or address issues of Sexual Reproductive health amongst Children and Youth etc. A Toolkit can also be a package of skills and knowledge that are useful for a particular purpose or activity, considered together.

The Consultancy Purpose

As per the above toolkit definition (s), the purpose of this consultancy work is to develop an Adolescent SRHR Toolkit to support and guide the work of CSOs working with adolescents on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRH) that targets adolescents of age between (10-19) years old. The Toolkit should be developed to include evidence-based interventions, interactive and engaging age appropriate approaches for increasing Adolescent access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and information in rural and urban environments.

Why the need for the Adolescents Toolkit?

The Toolkit for adolescents: Younger adolescents (whether in or out of school) have the least access to media such as radio. Where they do have access, they will have the least control over what is listened to, particularly girls. This toolkit will therefore be a guide for how to provide access to appropriate topics that affect them, and how to engage and support the target group.

So, the Consultant should clearly provide guidance on the topics and how to engage adolescents which will help BBC Media Action design short audio recordings (spots), visual materials; and , a discussion or activity guide focusing on scenarios and choices which will be used by partner organisations (including CSOs and NGOs) to reinforce understanding and discuss sensitive issues in simple and clear ways with adolescents.

Our approach to engaging young people is based in our research and experience in South Sudan, and our strategy for what works to support and enable young people. The physiological changes that occur during adolescence, and how these are interpreted and responded to, means people experience a lot of changes in a short space of time. By the time a girl reaches the end of adolescence, she may have stopped education, be married, moved home, had sex, have children and all without her own consent or choice. She may or may not accept her situation. A boy may have had similar experiences, but with greater decision-making power over who he marries and when he has sex (although whilst this may be a decision with power, it may still be an uninformed choice). He is less likely to have moved home, and more likely to have brought his wife to live and work for his family. Offering age appropriate information is very relevant in shaping their decisions and approaches to physical and emotional life changes.

The project recognizes that boys and girls therefore need clear, simple SRHR information and actions that are easy to follow before they reach different stages of puberty, enter relationships and before they start having sex. Adolescence is also an important stage in identifying development and value formation. It is therefore essential to engage with adolescents to break harmful norms and disrupt the values that reinforce the disempowerment of women’s and girls’ SRHR and a life free from harm. The Tool kit will go a long way in guiding CSOs and NGOs who work with young people on matters of SRHR. It will provide implementors with guidance on how to help young people to reflect on the causes and consequences of different SRH decisions, particularly those that cause harm; understand issues of SRH rights and consent; understand the causes and consequences of GBV and how to resolve differences in non-violent ways and believe that supporting women and girls’ SRH and rights is not only desirable but essential for long-term change.

The Scope of the Consultancy

The Consultant will:

Develop an inception report of desk review process and outline of methodology and conceptual framework that will be used in developing the Toolkit
Hold at least 2 consultative workshops with 1 with 10 staffs of 5 youth led CSOs & 1 workshop with 10 adolescent/Youth (5 girls and 5 boys) while observing all COVID-19 Measures including social distancing and submit the 2 reports.
Develop an Adolescent SRH Toolkit which will include short audio recordings (spots) produced by BBC Media Action to support and guide the work of CSOs working with adolescents on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) that targets adolescents of age between (10-19) years old.
The Toolkit must contribute to the following three Amplifying Women Voices for Sexual Reproductive - Behaviour Change objectives and specific objectives under them.

1. Objective 1110: Increased knowledge and understanding of sexuality and family planning, including contraception, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) including HIV among girls and boys aged 10-19 and adult men, women, and influential community leaders.

Specific Objectives

More people understand how the sexual and reproductive system works
More people have accurate information about how body changes during puberty affect us physically, psychologically, and emotionally
More people understand that girls’ bodies are not mature enough to have a safe pregnancy
More people, especially girls and women, understand how to, and support women and girls to manage menstruation in a healthy way
More people have accurate information on the different types of pregnancy prevention including methods, how they work, risks and benefits.

2. Objective 1120: More supportive attitudes towards women and girls having control over re-productive decision-making and accessing SRH and GBV support services, among girls and boys, men, women and community leaders.

Specific Objectives

More people, especially men and community leaders, support and believe that women and girls should be able to decide if and when to have sex (even in a marriage or relationship)
More people, especially men and community leaders, support and believe that women and girls should be able to decide if, when and how many children to have
More people support and believe that women and girls should decide if and which contraceptive methods to use
More people support, and believe it is normal and healthy for women and girls to access modern SRH services

3. Objective 1130: Increased confidence among women and girls to discuss sexuality, healthier relationships, decision-making around e.g. sex, birth spacing, and contraception use with each other and men and boys.

Specific Objectives

More parents have the skills and confidence to discuss sexual health (including menstruation) with their children, body changes, emotional changes, and rights.

In addition, the Consultant will:

Develop the toolkit with the Definition of adolescent as per the South Sudan’ Ministry of Health definition, and the laws associated to Adolescent in the Country.
Develop the toolkit that provides Tips on how to translate the contents into practicality with the target age groups during this covid-19 period and beyond.
Will research on the applicability and find out from the Ministry of Health and laws of South Sudan on SRHR and on use of contraceptive to young people/adolescents.
Facilitate a workshop with Youth led CSOs, NGOs focused on SRHR, adolescents and youths, to gather ideas collectively on concrete content and activities that should be included in the SRH Adolescent toolkit.
Develop a draft, SRH Adolescent toolkit in English for the CSOs to use in their work with adolescents, based on all available toolkits, manuals, and resources the Consult deemed appropriate to provide adolescents and youth with comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights information.
Develop an adolescent Toolkit which includes short audio recordings (sport) produced by BBC Media Action and the Visuals to support and guide CSOs working with adolescents on Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) that targets adolescents of age between (10-19) years old.
Submit the draft Adolescent toolkit to BBC Media Action for review and revise based on feedback
Test the draft Adolescent toolkit in a validation workshop with CSOs, NGOs focused on SRH, and adolescents and youth to provide feedback on the draft.
Revise the adolescent toolkit based on feedback from the validation workshop and submit to BBC Media Action for final review.
Discuss the final reviewed draft with the BBC Media Action Project Lead and the Senior Health Advisor/specialist based in London.
Make final edits and submit final toolkit.

The Key Deliverables of the Consultancy Service

The Consultancy service is expected to deliver a comprehensive Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights “Adolescent toolkit” which is appropriate for age group from (10 – 19 years old).

To realize the above key deliverable, the Consultant will work and deliver:

Inception report of desk review process and outline of methodology and conceptual framework that will be used in English.
Report of the 2 workshops with Youth led CSOs staffs and adolescents/youth on idea generation for the toolkit in English.
Submit to BBC Media Action the Draft Adolescent toolkit in English for review
Report of the 1 validation workshop with Youth led CSOs, NGOs focused on SRHR, adolescents and youth testing the revised draft toolkit and their feedback and recommendations in English.
Revised, final draft of the Adolescent toolkit for BBC Media Action’s review.
Final Adolescent toolkit
At least one-day training workshop of CSOs and BBC Media Action on the final SRHR Adolescents toolkit.
The consultant should be able to get his/her final work approved by the Ministry of Health.
Technical and Financial Proposal

The Consultant/Consultancy firm is required to prepare and submit a technical and Financial proposal of about 10 to 15 pages based on this Terms of Reference (TOR).

The proposal should contain:

Technical proposal with:
Detailed plan of action for the work indicating staff‐days required and timeline.
Detailed methodology.
Schedule for 2 Consultative workshops with CSOs and Youths/Adolescent groups
Schedule to meet and discuss with other SRHR partners
Financial proposal with;

Detailed budget breakdown with justifications.
Budget must include most important elements and no additional amounts will be claimed outside the submitted budget in case of success for the job.
Additional Requirements:

A profile of the individual consultant or firm and a sample of similar work performed.

A list of three references.

A commitment for availability for the entire assignment.

2 reports from similar assignments, performed by Consultant or firm.

Qualifications and Requirements

Advanced degree preferably in medicine, public health, SRH, social sciences or related field.
Minimum 5-10 years of increasingly responsible professional experience in working in young people/Adolescent programming related to SRHR
In-depth knowledge of behaviour change issues and challenges, as well as adolescent issues, in South Sudan
The consultant should have experience working with South Sudan Ministry of Health’s Reproductive Health Department and be able to get his/her final work approved by the Ministry of Health.
Proven experience of developing SRHR toolkits and of training on these topics; sample work to be provided with the application stating clearly what the role of the consultant was in that process.
Proven experience in designing storyboards and conceptualizing interactive and adolescent or young people friendly toolkits; Demonstrated capacity for creative, adolescent and youth friendly thinking and working with adolescents and youth, both male and female.
Proven experience in facilitating workshops, engaging with participants, and leading ideas discussion processed in an interactive and inclusive manner.
Excellent writing/reporting skills.
Fluency in English and knowledge of Arabic is an added advantage.
Good communication skills.
Must be able to work in a multidisciplinary team and multicultural environment.
Must be committed to respecting deadlines of delivery outputs within the agreed timeframe.

Expressions of interest

Interested individuals or Firms should contact [email protected] latest by Friday 24th July 2020 . You should include a CV, application letter detailing why you should be considered for this commission, plus links to previous work if possible or actual attachments of similar previous work done. Suitable candidates will then be invited for a creative discussion with the Amplifying Women’s Voices team to talk through the project in more detail – and to present further examples of your work.

Willing to Understand and comply with the Safeguarding policy and the staff Code of Conduct including Respect at the workplace.