Request for Proposal : Feminist Digital Security and Holistic Protection Training

Equality Fund; Ottawa; Remote; CAD 60,000 - 80,000; Part time

Job summary

A global feminist resource organization is looking for a consultancy team to provide training on Feminist Digital Security and Holistic Protection. This role involves creating tailored training sessions, assessing participants' capacities, and developing effective digital security strategies. The ideal candidate has relevant qualifications, experience in feminist movements, and strong facilitation skills. This is a contract position with a budget of CAD 60,000 to 80,000, set to conclude by January 2026.

Qualifications

• Experience with feminist organizations and digital security.
• Strong understanding of women’s and LGBTQI movements.
• Ability to work independently within a small team.

Responsibilities

• Provide training on digital security and holistic protection.
• Develop a work plan and training sessions tailored to participants.
• Assess grantee partners’ current capacity and recommend strategies.

Skills

Digital security

Feminist frameworks

Facilitation experience

Participatory training development

English proficiency

Bilingualism (French, Spanish, Russian)

Organizational skills

Intersectional feminist approaches

Education

Relevant tertiary qualifications (e.g., IT, social sciences)

Job description

Overview

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: Trainings on Feminist Digital Security and Holistic Protection (Centering Collective Care and Healing Justice)

Location: Remote

Duration: To be implemented between September 2025 and January 2026

Budget: CAD 60,000 – 80,000

Reports to: Director Accompaniment - Global Programs

Application Deadline: August 10, 2025

Reference Number: GMA

Background

The Equality Fund is transforming how resources and power flow into the hands of women, girls, and trans people worldwide. Designed by feminists for feminists, it is a model for sustainably resourcing feminist movements through global grantmaking, gender-lens investing, policy advocacy, and feminist philanthropy. Launched in 2019, the Equality Fund has committed $100 million and as of 2025 supports over 1,000 organizations working in 100 countries globally.

The Equality Fund provides more than financial resources; it offers opportunities for connection, advocacy amplification, and feminist risk management, and co-creates spaces to strengthen capacity for sustainable impact. This offering on Feminist Digital Security and Holistic Protection connects a cohort of Equality Fund grantee partners with expert trainer(s) to center feminist approaches for risk management and preparedness in digital contexts, with emphasis on collective care and healing justice as essential to holistic protection for women human rights defenders.

Applying Mama Cash’s definition, holistic protection includes digital and physical security as well as care of mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health at personal and collective levels.

Digitization and Human Rights Defenders

Technology presents challenges to protection, including privacy, information authenticity, copyright, and anonymity. In shrinking civic spaces, defenders must secure their digital and personal environments. Governments have increased clampdowns on feminist organizations, and malicious digital activity continues to threaten safety. Artificial intelligence presents opportunities and risks in administration and content creation. Defenders need enhanced capacity and time to center care and well-being.

Scope of Work

The Equality Fund seeks a consultancy team to provide training to support grantee partners in advancing digital security and holistic protection through feminist values and praxis. The training will present good practices for digital security and holistic protection, centering collective care and healing justice. The facilitator will guide participants through key topics, co-developed with grantee partners, including but not limited to:

• Interconnection between psychosocial and emotional wellbeing, physical security, and digital security
• Individual and collective healing and recovery as elements of sustainable human rights defense
• Visibility and transparency versus safety
• Digital protection plans and processes, including but not limited to:

• Best practices for institutional and personal online safety
• Financial cybersecurity and fraud prevention
• Supporting organizations to do threat modeling / security planning
• Confronting digital emergencies and Online Gender-Based Violence
• Creating safer digital spaces for feminist activists: digital security and digital rights advocacy

The training will assess grantee partners’ current capacity, set a baseline, and measure capacity built over the duration. It will help develop a digital security strategy, identify gaps, and set up activities to strengthen organizations for future work. The Consultant will provide recommendations to participants and share insights with Equality Fund and other donors.

Deliverables

• Work Plan: A detailed plan with tasks and timelines based on this RFP and inception meetings
• Training Sessions: Minimum of six sessions over two months on digital and holistic security, tailored to diverse languages and contexts, with a cap of 50 participants per session
• Individual Coaching: Coaching sessions to support development of digital and holistic strategies
• Summary Report: A summary report on the work completed, participant progress, and recommendations for further capacity development

Timeline

This consultancy is expected to be completed by January 2026. A detailed work plan will be developed upon contract award.

Selection Criteria

• Relevant tertiary qualifications (e.g., information technology, development studies, social sciences, or gender studies)
• Experience with feminist organizations, digital security, healing justice, and collective care (preferably in Global South); knowledge of philanthropy/donor spaces is an asset
• Experience facilitating virtual participatory meetings with activists and civil society
• Experience developing participatory training approaches
• Strong understanding of women’s and LGBTQI movements; experience with grassroots and diverse organizations
• Written and oral English proficiency; bilingual French, Spanish, or Russian encouraged
• Efficient, flexible, collaborative, highly organized, analytical, and responsive to feedback
• Demonstrated commitment to intersectional feminist approaches and global justice
• Ability to work with limited supervision within a small team

Assessment Criteria

• Compliance with terms of reference and experience supporting feminist or rights-based organizations
• Ability to demonstrate understanding of tasks and realistic scope of work
• Proven expertise in similar work; willingness to partner with a co-facilitator if needed
• Acceptance of terms and conditions

How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit their resume (including all team members), a cover letter, and a proposal by August 10, 2025.

Consent to the Use of Personal Information

Consentement à l’utilisation des informations personnelles

I acknowledge that personal information provided as part of my job application will be used for recruitment, evaluation, and selection for available positions within Equality Fund. The information may include name, contact details, professional and academic background, and references. I understand I can withdraw consent at any time by contacting the Equality Fund, though withdrawal may affect the processing of my application. Further details about data collection and protection are available in Equality Fund’s privacy policy.

Funded by the Government of Canada

Required Experience: Senior IC

Key Skills: Accounting and Auditing, Heavy Machinery, ABB, BPO, Claims, ASIC

Employment Type: Contract

Experience: years

Vacancy: 1

Monthly Salary: CAD 60,000 – 80,000