Advocacy Consultant - Training Toolkit Development

Position: Advocacy Consultant

Requirement: Producing a contextualized training toolkit on the development of advocacy strategies.

Project: Strengthening Civil Courage

Time-Frame for this assignment: July 2022- October 2022

Duration: 4 months

Location: Beirut

Type of consultancy: Advocacy- training toolkit development

ABOUT THE PROJECT

“Strengthening Civil Courage” (SCC) is a project led by a four-member consortium funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is comprised of organizations which focus on the promotion and advancement of human rights. These include, Netherlands-based PAX and Amnesty International, ABAAD as well as Defend Defenders which operates in the African East and Horn sub-regions. SCC’s primary aim is to integrate civilians in peacemaking and peacekeeping processes and support them in countering human rights violations.

OVERALL GOAL OF THIS ASSIGNMENT

The goal of the assignment is to develop a toolkit that would enable ABAAD to capacitate organizations and grassroots groups across the MENA region and Africa in movement-building and advocacy. The consultant will have to produce a technical resource that would respond to the needs of different countries such as Syria, Yemen, Palestine, Mali and Niger all the while being mindful of their individual contextual nuances and specificities.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

As part of the toolkit development process, the consultant will:

• Submit a detailed proposal outlining the proposed structure of the toolkit to be discussed and approved by ABAAD to ensure programmatic needs are being met;

• Cover the fundamentals of advocacy, movement/network building and community mobilization;

• Examine the different levels that advocacy tackles. These include institutional advocacy (engaging parliament, government), community-based/grassroots advocacy (engaging civil society actors and local communities). It will also touch on the different spaces in which advocacy manifests itself. This refers to digital and offline advocacy;

• Integrate both theoretical and practical components (e.g. case studies; SWOT analysis) to make the toolkit’s contents tangible to recipients;

• Adopt gender, conflict and culturally-sensitive lenses which will allow training recipients to approach advocacy in a holistic and well-rounded manner as well as accommodate high-risks contexts such as Syria Yamen, and Palestine;

• Incorporate exercises and reflection tools that would allow recipients to analyze the relevant power dynamics at play. This includes the different stakeholders/rights-keepers as well as the different rights holders. This additionally implies that the toolkit will allow for the inclusion and engagement of marginalized groups that are traditionally alienated from advocacy processes;

• Ensure contents allow recipients to identify emerging trends and opportunities as well as carry out risk assessments that would help them outline threats and weaknesses;

• Translate the toolkit from English to both Arabic and French to accommodate francophone African countries;

• Carry out an induction and ToT workshop to selected ABAAD staff ensuring they are equipped to then administer the training to partners following the completion of the toolkit.

SKILLS REQUIRED

• Minimum of a Bachelor's degree required in social/political sciences or any other related field. Master's degree preferred;
• Extensive and proven experience in advocacy, lobbying, and strategic planning;
• Experience delivering ToT workshops;
• Sound understanding in concepts relating to GBV and gender;
• Sound understanding of the local and regional political, social and cultural dynamics;
• Proficiency in using Microsoft Office Suite;
• Ability to perform objective and ethical research at all times;
• Ability to meet time-sensitive deadlines;
• Effective communicator, both orally and written, in English and Arabic.