Request for Proposals: Development of an Advocacy Manifesto on 'Participation and Leadership in[...]

Womankind; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Part time

Job summary

A women's rights organization is seeking a consultant to design an advocacy manifesto addressing barriers to women's leadership in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda. The ideal candidate has extensive experience in gender equality advocacy, strong research skills, and is familiar with international human rights frameworks. This position involves working collaboratively with consortium members and will require excellent facilitation and project management skills.

Qualifications

• At least 8 years of relevant experience in gender equality, governance, and advocacy.
• Knowledge of international and regional human rights frameworks focused on gender.
• Experience conducting research using an intersectional feminist lens.

Responsibilities

• Lead a participatory process to design and produce an advocacy manifesto.
• Conduct in-depth literature reviews and group discussions.
• Submit the final WPL-focused advocacy manifesto.

Skills

Intersectional feminist approaches

Research skills

Facilitation skills

Project management

Advocacy experience

Education

Advanced degree in Gender Studies, Law, Political Science, or related field

Job description

INTRODUCTION

AWESOME – Advancing Women’s Engagement: Strengthening Opportunities to Mobilise for Equality – is a 5-year advocacy programme to support women’s movements in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. The AWESOME programme aims to strengthen women’s movements to be less fragmented and more representative of diverse groups of women, including women with disabilities, resulting in a stronger collective voice to influence policies and key decisions affecting them.

AWESOME brings together seven women’s rights organisations with diverse approaches and constituencies. The consortium includes a mainstream women’s rights organisation in each country and a dedicated organisation working with women with disabilities, combined with an emphasis on policy, advocacy, access to justice, finance and budgeting, and women’s economic rights. AWESOME launched in 2021 and is implemented in collaboration with the Government of the Netherlands and funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The consortium comprises Ethiopian Women with Disability National Association (EWDNA), Ssiqqee Women’s Development Association (SWDA), WOMEN Challenged to Challenge (WCC) Kenya, Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE), and Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA Kenya).

The programme contributes to SDG 5 – Achieve gender equality and empower all women – and targets sub-objectives including preventing and eliminating sexual and gender-based violence and strengthening women’s leadership and participation in decision-making.

Following an ecological model, AWESOME operates at multiple levels: supporting WROs and activists at the self level; promoting societal shift to challenge harmful gender norms at the community level; and improving formal institutions to realise women’s rights, with advocacy and lobbying as key approaches.

PURPOSE OF THE CONSULTANCY

The consultant will lead a participatory process to design and produce a concise, compelling, and actionable advocacy manifesto that:

• Highlights barriers and opportunities for women’s leadership in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda.
• Presents clear advocacy demands and calls to action.
• Reflects feminist principles, inclusivity, and intersectionality.
• Can be used effectively by consortium members, women’s movements, and allies in national, regional, and international advocacy spaces.

SCOPE AND FOCUS

The scope of this work will be anchored on the AWESOME Programme – Partners’ work linked to WPL and their geographical location in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia.

The consultant shall be required to:

• Participate in an inception meeting and prepare an inception report detailing the methodology to be employed.
• Finalize a jointly agreed workplan and map timelines for key tasks and deliverables.
• Develop and share a template with a skeletal outline for the advocacy manifesto.
• Conduct an in-depth literature review, assessing current knowledge pieces including the WPL Research Report and the Why Feminists Should Lead annexed publications, with a focus on AWESOME focus countries.
• Conduct group discussions with AWESOME consortium members and relevant Womankind Worldwide staff to co-design the manifesto.
• Analyze and collate findings into the report and leverage them to develop a WPL-focused advocacy manifesto.
• Submit the final knowledge product to the Womankind WPL lead: a WPL-focused advocacy manifesto.

KEY DELIVERABLES

The key deliverables for this consultancy include:

• Inception Report – detailing a jointly agreed workplan, research methods, objectives, assumptions and expected outcomes.
• Co-design and co-creation session plan and notes.
• WPL-focused advocacy manifesto.

INTENDED AUDIENCE OF THE MANIFESTO

• The manifesto will target WPL advocacy and influencing with:
• National governments of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda.
• Global and regional bodies (e.g., UN mechanisms and policy spaces such as CEDAW, CSW, HRC; African Union; African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights; East African Community).
• Civil society actors and women’s movements for movement building and advocacy.
• Development partners, donors and funders to influence funding priorities.

TIMELINES AND ROLES

QUALIFICATIONS

• Knowledge and work on intersectional feminist approaches, including movement strengthening at global and regional levels (see: AWESOME and Womankind Focus Countries).
• Demonstrable knowledge of international and regional human rights and legal frameworks focused on gender and human rights; specific work in focus countries is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of normative and policy frameworks at international and regional levels focusing on women’s participation and leadership; experience in focus countries is desirable.
• Experience in conducting research using an intersectional feminist lens, including interviews with diverse people (women, girls, and people of all genders).
• Strong written and research skills from an intersectional feminist perspective.
• Proven ability to facilitate inclusive, participatory consultations anchored in feminist praxis.
• Ability to manage timelines, deliver high-quality outputs, and coordinate diverse stakeholders including persons with disability.
• Experience with feminist movements in the Global South is an asset.
• Advanced degree in Gender Studies, Law, Political Science, Public Policy, Development Studies, or related field.
• At least 8 years of relevant experience in gender equality, governance, and advocacy.
• Experience working with women’s rights organizations, movements, and/or political actors.
• Prior experience developing manifestos, charters, or advocacy position papers is an asset.
• Excellent writing and communication skills in English.

APPLICATION PROCESS

A cover letter outlining relevant experience and approach, a CV, a technical proposal (max 3 pages) with methodology and timeline, a financial proposal, and at least 2 samples of similar work (e.g., advocacy documents, manifestos, or reports).

The assignment should be finalised 4 weeks after signing the agreement. The consultant will be engaged for 10–12 working days at GBP 400 per day.

Required competencies and skills: interested candidates should submit.