CONSULTANCY TO DESIGN A COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY FOR A GIRLS EDUCATION CHALLENGE (GEC) PROJECT IN AMHARA AND OROMIYA, ETHIOPIA

CHILDHOPE in collaboration with CHADET are implementing Girl’s Education Challenge /GEC/ Project in Amhara and Oromia regions with the aim of enabling 14,503 girls marginalized by early marriage, street involvement, risky migration and domestic labor; to enroll and remain in education and achieve improved learning outcomes. It will carry out essential work at grassroots level to maximize the potential for not only the girls targeted within this project, but many more girls in the future, to access and remain in education. There is a strong focus on supporting the girls themselves to take an active and creative role in their development as well as engaging boys and men in this process. CHADET would like to develop a communication strategy for this project.

The aim of the consultancy is to develop a communications strategy that will help CHADET engage effectively with groups of marginalized girls, their parents and guardians and community stakeholders. The strategy will allow CHADET to develop communications that will:

1. Influence positive changes in behaviors and perceptions among targeted groups on themes of education of marginalized girls, male engagement, disability, child protection and child participation.
2. Ensure Ethiopian public and international partners understand what CHADET and its GEC project does.
3. Demonstrate the success of the GEC project to local and international audiences.
4. Offer tools to analyze effectiveness of CHADET’s communications activities.

SCOPE OF WORK:

1. Communication analysis

• Analyze effectiveness of CHADET’s current communications around issues of early marriage, risky migration, street-involvement, domestic labor and girls’ education, identifying what has been successful and what hasn’t worked well over the last five years.

1. Communications objectives

• Support GEC project refine communications objectives that are aligned with CHADET and the overall GEC programme objectives.

1. Audiences

• Identify the best audiences with whom CHADET needs to communicate to achieve GEC project objectives - those that will deliver maximum wider impact in supporting education of marginalised girls, engage men in girls’ education issues, promote child protection and child participation (including those that are not most obvious).

1. Messages

• Using Participatory Ethnographic Evaluation and Research (PEER) methodology carry out in-depth interviews with selected identified audiences to develop relevant and appropriate key messages to target identified audiences.

• Develop different elements/means of communication to emphasize key messages for different audiences.

• Identify three key messages which can be constantly repeated for each audience to ensure maximum impact.

1. Channels, tools and activities

• From identified audiences, messages, or a combination of the two, propose the most appropriate channels, tools and activities for communicating with identified audiences.

• Review proposed communications activities in GEC project for consistence with the communication strategy proposed by the consultant.

• Tailor proposed GEC tools and activities to the strategy and level of time and human and financial resources available.

• Propose an implementation plan and two-page protocols for carrying the following tailored GEC communications activities

• Community conversations on girls’ education, early marriage, risky marriage, and male involvement.

• Parenting sessions

• Producing media products, in print and broadcast (IEC materials)

• Radio conversations on girls' education

• School clubs communications work

• Supporting girls clubs to actively participate in celebration in international days for women and peace

• Training community workers and equip good brother and girls' clubs in carrying out puppetry and drama to disseminate messages to address community attitudes.

• Disseminate messages addressing community attitudes and engaging men and community members in preventing marginalisation of girls and promoting their education.

1. Assessing effectiveness

• Develop indicators of what success will look like and how CHADET will you know when communications objectives have been met?

• Develop monitoring tools for communication activities with each target audience.

1. CHADET communication capacities

• Analyze and propose plans for developing capacity of communications officer and other officers responsible for communicating in implementing effective communications.

DELIVERABLES:

The Consultant will be required to present:

1. An interim report, subject to approval by the ChildHope and CHADET, no later than 14th October 2013 setting out progress made on:
   • A gap analysis of the communication needs of the GEC project overall and communication needs of the activities to be undertaken by CHADET
   • Setting goals and SMART targets of the proposed communication strategy
   • Conducting a PEER study with targeted audiences to identify messages.
   • A detailed analysis identifying the settings, channels and media for reaching the critical publics for the communication strategy
2. A final report, subject to approval by ChildHope and CHADET, no later than setting out:
   • Detailed dissemination strategy with recommended outlets and media for reaching the public’s and audiences identified,
   • Proposals, in outline, of the types of educational and informational materials suggested for use as part of the communication strategy
   • An implementation plan, including a detailed resource list and estimated budget,
   • A Gantt chart timetabling the roll-out of the strategy, and
   • A draft evaluation instrument for measuring the achievement of the goals and targets of the strategy.
3. An in-person presentation to ChildHope and CHADET on the communication strategy no later than 23rd October 2013.

CAPACITIES

1. Eligible consultants must be formally qualified in mass communication/ public relations/ advertising/ communication analysis & planning/ marketing in Ethiopia
2. The consultant must have knowledge and experience of carrying out Participatory ethnographic evaluation and research (PEER) for developing communication strategies.
3. The individual consultant, or leader of the consultancy team must have a minimum of six (6) years work experience,
4. The consultant must have proven experience in conducting communications needs analysis and strategic design as well as in managing social and behavioural change communications campaigns around girls’ education or empowerment in Ethiopia.
5. The consultant needs to have a renewed license in the field with TIN number.

How to apply:

Applicants should submit separate technical and financial proposals to allan@childhope.org.uk no later than 20th September 2013