Small Grants Scoping and Design Consultant Vacancy at Options Consultancy Services

Company Description

We are a global team of experts and innovators tackling some of the world’s most pressing health challenges. We work with leaders and change makers around the globe to bring health strategies to life. We provide ideas, advice and technical know-how that enable our partners to build a path to lasting change.

With 30 years’ experience in global health, we collaborate with our partners to explore existing evidence, combine expertise, scale up ideas and co-create solutions that accelerate change. This includes collaborating on policy design, managing initiatives, building powerful coalitions and galvanizing social movements. Our impact is felt across whole communities, with a focus on women, girls and those who have been marginalized.

As part of MSI Reproductive Choices, all our profits go back into supporting MSI’s own mission of children by choice, not chance.

We believe in a world where everyone can access the high-quality health services they need, without financial burden.

The UK Government (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office – FCDO) has a vision of a world free from Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) by 2030, in line with the SDGs. A programme has been established entitled ‘Support to the Africa-led movement (ALM) to end FGM/C’ to contribute to global efforts to achieve that vision. The programme co-creation period started in 2020, and programme implementation is beginning from September 2021.

This programme will support and build the capacity of the ALM to end FGM/C at multiple levels and at scale, working in partnership with the rest of the FGM/C movement, complementing UN agencies (such as the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on FGM/C), Saleema initiative, other alliances (such as Girls not Brides etc.) and grassroots Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), women’s and girls’ movements, etc.

The programme includes two consortia working in close collaboration. Options leads a consortium including Amref Health Africa, ActionAid UK, Orchid Project, ACCAF and University of Portsmouth to implement the ‘Support to the ALM to End FGM/C’ programme. Population Council and Greenmash are implementing ‘The FGM/C Data Hub: Data and Measurement Support to the ALM to end FGM/C’.

Community-based activities within the programme are focused in Isiolo and Narok counties in Kenya, with communications and advocacy activities taking place at county, national and international levels. One important output of the programme is the provision of small grants to build the capacity of grassroots women-led, girl-led, women’s rights and youth-led organizations and activists to end FGM/C, given these types of organizations are often unable to access large formal funding mechanisms.

Options has previously led a small grants programme for grassroots end FGM/C projects in multiple countries in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as managing other grants programmes and providing technical assistance, networking and learning opportunities and capacity building to grantees. A number of tools, processes and systems therefore already exist, and a draft strategy and grants manual have already been written for this programme.

However, the grants mechanism design needs to be further tailored and updated to reflect: the needs and local context of potential grantees; the specific objectives of the programme; and to take on board the most recent best practices, learning and evidence from comparable small grants initiatives. We are therefore entering a period (January – March 2022) of refining and finalising the design of the small grants mechanism, in consultation with consortium partners, FCDO, our potential grantees, and other key stakeholders.

Position

The Small Grants Scoping and Design Consultant will support the Support to the Africa-led Movement (ALM) to end Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting programme to refine and finalize the design of its small grants mechanism to reflect the needs and local context of potential grantees; the specific objectives of the programme; and to take on board the most recent best practices, learning and evidence from comparable small grants initiatives

The objective of this assignment is to support the programme to refine and finalize the design of the small grants mechanism in a way that supports partners to deliver effectively, does not create unnecessary additional burdens on them, and manages key risks. The consultant will also advise the programme on how to support interim granting activities. This will be achieved by:

• Undertaking a scoping exercise that will enable us to:

1. Understand the diverse priorities, needs and ambitions of potential grantees (a range of activists (including girls and young women), grassroots organizations, women’s networks etc.) that we aim to support and collaborate with.
2. Identify grassroots organizations with existing, community-focused activities that are strategically aligned with the programme, that we can fund directly in the short term (prior to the grants mechanism launching in full)

• Synthesizing recommendations, good granting practices and evidence from comparable grant-making initiatives, learning from those who have designed and led this kind of grants mechanism before (e.g. those promoting locally led social change, with a focus on women and girls’ rights)
• Leading a consultative design process to refine and finalize the grants mechanism, drawing on steps (a) and (b)
• Updating and revising the grants strategy and funding manual to reflect the agreed re-design

Requirements

To succeed in this role, you will have:

• Relevant professional experience in designing consultative grant mechanisms within international development.
• Strong conceptual and research/analytical skills with the ability to quickly analyze data and information from different sources and produce coherent reports
• Strong knowledge of good granting practices in the social change, women and girls’ rights sectors
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills, with strong demonstrated ability to convey complex ideas in a clear, coherent, and lively style
• Ability to work independently, operate under pressure, manage multiple tasks, deliver time sensitive, high-quality work, and meet team objectives
• Ability to communicate and write competently in English.

Other information

• Options is an equal opportunities employer
• Our organization is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and post holders to share this commitment.
• We seek people who are pro-choice, energetic and enthusiastic about Options’ vision.
• Overseas candidates require a valid Kenya work permit.

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