Terms of Reference: Family Planning Specialist (Individual Consultant)

Who We Are

Girl Effect is an international non-profit that builds media that girls want, trust and need. From chatbots to chat shows, and TV dramas to tech, our content helps adolescent girls in Africa and Asia make choices and changes in their lives.

We create safe spaces for girls, sharing facts and answering questions about health, nutrition, education, and relationships, empowering girls with the skills to negotiate and redefine what they are told is possible “for a girl”.

Our reach is 50 million and counting. And we’re using technology to reach girls at scale so every girl can choose to be in control of her body, her health, her learning and her livelihood.

Because when a girl unlocks her power to make different choices that change her life, it inspires others to do so too. She starts a ripple effect that impacts her family, community, and country.

That’s the Girl Effect.

Background

With the support of MSD for Mothers, Girl Effect will design, launch, and implement an 18-month project to develop a new digital product or products that will help connect young women in Kenya to sexual and reproductive health services and products (oral contraception, IUDs, implants, consultations with gynecologist and more. Digital technologies have opened up new ways for women to access these products and services online. However, there are still too many barriers that prevent young women from taking advantage of these options. Over 18 months, Girl Effect aims to bring together young women, service providers and other key stakeholders to co-create and test prototypes and products for a new digital product or products that will work with existing platforms to expand access to healthcare across Kenya. Through this work, we aim to raise new funding to take successful products to market at scale.

Context of the Role

We’re looking for a technical family planning expert who can support Girl Effect global and country teams on the design and delivery of the programme outlined above, with a focus on equity.

Duties to include:

  • Work with the teams to resolve significant technical and strategic questions related to family planning.
  • Provide technical input into documents related to the programme, including but not limited to; in-country session preparations, multi-media content, literature reviews and research protocols.
  • Advise on programme creative outputs such as content messaging, products, and services designed with and for young women and girls.
  • Attend and contribute to meetings across the design and delivery phase of the programme as requested.
  • Assist teams in identifying and engaging relevant stakeholders in the family planning sector.
  • Support the development of indicators with the Girl Effect’s Evidence and Insights team, negotiating with the SBCC team to ensure adherence to Girl Effect’s Theory of Change (ToC).
  • As needed, provide strategic input and support to bolster the GE-MSD partnership inclusive of:
    • Drafting documents related to MSD for Mothers reporting, including but not limited to; midline and annual reports, donor presentations, GE-MSD meeting briefings and correspondence.
    • Attending and contributing to MSD meetings or preparations as requested.
    • Identifying and facilitating opportunities to showcase the GE-MSD partnership on outlets where family planning innovations are highlighted.
  • Contribute to the development of future grant applications and funding opportunities which include a family planning component.

Tentative Timelines:

● Terms of reference published: 26th January 2023

● Deadline for responses: 1st February 2023

● Project commencement: 6th February 2023

Who You Are

  • An expert in family planning and reproductive health service delivery with experience designing and implementing high-impact interventions.
  • You possess strong knowledge of the unique realities of youth, especially Kenyan girls from low-middle income backgrounds.
  • Deep knowledge of the landscape for family planning programming in Kenya, including related key MOH priorities.
  • You have a proven ability to work with internationally dispersed cross-functional programme teams, delivering robust and clear technical inputs.
  • Expertise in developing relationships and coordinating with key stakeholders, including government officials, implementing and civil society partners, and other non-governmental organisations.
  • Demonstrable experience in government policy analysis or development and working with policymakers.
  • Fluency in speaking Kiswahili and English.

Expected Commitment

  • The assignment will take approximately 11 months to complete.
  • The consultant will be expected to spend 1- 2 days a week or up to 16 hours each week on this assignment, depending on the programme’s needs.
  • The consultant’s assignment period is from February 2023 to December 2023.

Location

The consultant must be based in Kenya and must be conducive to working with teams in Tanzania, Ethiopia, the UK, the USA, and India. This consultancy will require roughly 10% travel. GE will cover the travel expenses in accordance with its travel policies.

Proposal Submission

Your proposal, should you be interested (Max 5 pages), should cover

  • Your understanding of the brief and why you feel you are well-placed to advise us on this
  • Credentials/Profile/CV – Please showcase any previous work that you consider relevant to what we are trying to achieve, how we approach our work, and the audience we cater to. Describe the qualifications, experience, and capabilities of the firm or consultant in providing the requested services.
  • **Reference-**Provide at least three references for similar contracts with a description of the service provided, the value of the contract, and the contract periods of performance.
  • Breakdown of Costs with applicable taxes and other charges clearly identified in KES. Consultants should provide their daily or hourly billing rate or their proposed fixed fee for the requested deliverables.
    • All applicable taxes should be quoted separately;

In their proposal, the bidder must demonstrate an understanding of the requirements described in the RFP and demonstrate how the bidder will meet the requirements of the evaluation criteria.

GE is not liable for any cost incurred during the award/contract preparation, submission, or negotiation of the award/contract. All submitted documentation and/or materials shall become and remain the property of GE.

VALIDITY of the proposal shall be for 90 days from the date of bid closure.

Evaluation Criteria

The criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are listed below.

Technical Evaluation

  • Experience and qualification as outlined in your CV/Credentials – 30%
  • Showcases relevant experience in having done previous similar work with relevant agencies or organizations – 20 %
  • Interpretation and understanding of this TOR – 10%
  • Evidence of a minimum of three contactable references – 10%

Financial Evaluation

  • Value for money/proposed budget breakdown – 30%

Reporting

The consultant will report to Girl Effect’s Chief Programmes Officer.

How to Apply

To apply for this opportunity, please submit a proposal by email with the subject line “Family Planning Specialist” to suppliers@girleffect.org by 1st February 2023.

Tax

Applicants are advised to ensure that they clearly understand their tax position with regard to provisions of the Kenya jurisdiction tax legislation when developing their proposals.

Disclaimer

GE reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, the number of short-listed participants, the right to withdraw from the proposal process, the right to change this timetable at any time without notice, and reserves the right to withdraw this tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party. GE shall inform the ONLY successful applicant(s). The process of negotiation and signing of the contract with the successful applicant(s) will follow.

Safeguarding

You may be required to undertake safeguarding checks. Shortlisted consultants will be assessed on our organizational values at the interview stage. The successful consultant will be expected to adhere to our safeguarding policy. We encourage you to read and understand our safeguarding policy, the executive summary of which can be found here. We have zero-tolerance for all forms of violence against children, beneficiaries and staff.

Equal Opportunities

Girl Effect Services is committed to equal opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression. We are proud to be an equal-opportunity workplace.

We are committed to building an organization that is increasingly representative of and works extensively with the communities that we serve. To this end, due regard will be paid to procuring consultancy service organizations and individuals with diverse professional, academic and cultural backgrounds.

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