Expert on advocacy strategy development for KRI

medica mondiale e.V. is a non-governmental organisation based in Cologne, Germany. As a feminist women’s rights and aid organisation medica mondiale supports women and girls in war and crisis zones throughout the world. Through own programmes and in cooperation with local women’s organisations we offer holistic support to women and girl survivors of sexualised and gender-based violence. On the political level, we pro-actively promote women’s rights, call for a rigorous punishment of crimes as well as effective protection, justice and political participation for survivors of violence. Currently medica mondiale is working in Northern Iraq/Kurdistan, in Afghanistan, in Liberia, in Kosovo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as the African Great Lakes Region.

Call for Expressions of Interest

Expert on advocacy strategy development

Preliminary terms of reference (Date: 26/10/2020)

Context

The Transnational Health Training Programme (THTP) aims at improving access to stress- and trauma-sensitive health care services for women and girls affected by sexualised and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Kosovo and the Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI). To achieve this goal, the project includes the stress- and traumasensitivity approach by medica mondiale. medica mondiale implements the THTP II together with its partner organisations Medica Afghanistan (Afghanistan), Medica Zenica (BiH) and Medica Gjakova (Kosovo). In the Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI) the project is implemented through the medica mondiale regional office.

The project pursues a system-oriented approach that strengthens capacities at several levels with connected components:

• Component 1 (Qualification of health care professionals) strengthens the capacity of health professionals to provide stress- and trauma-sensitive health services (including symptom identification, qualified referral and treatment/counselling and self-care).
• Component 2 (Institutionalisation of stress- and trauma-sensitive health services) strengthens institutional capacities among management structures and decision-makers in the participating health care facilities by raising awareness of the need for stress- and trauma-sensitive health services.
• Component 3 (international networking and advocacy work) strengthens the capacities of the health institutions and local project holders to influence relevant international advocacy processes.

Components 2 and 3 include the development of advocacy strategies. The strategies will guide the implementing partners to advocate on district/provincial, national and international level. The goal is to institutionalise stress- and trauma-sensitive health services for survivors of SGBV in the health systems on a long-term. The following advocacy strategies shall be developed:

• Country Advocacy Strategies for each country (Kosovo/ Bosnia and Herzegovina/ Kurdish Region of Iraq/ Afghanistan), which primarily address stakeholders at country level. The Advocacy Strategies at country level shall guide the local project partners in institutionalising stress- and trauma-sensitive elements into health services at local health facilities. The focus of the strategies will be on raising awareness on existing barriers regarding the access to trauma-sensitive health services and on advocating to make them a priority.

• International Advocacy Strategy, which creates interlinkages between the country advocacy strategies and addresses relevant stakeholders at international level. The International Advocacy Strategy shall guide the international advocacy of the project partners (including medica mondiale) to influence the international dialogue on the topic of “Strengthening health systems for survivors of SGBV”.

The development of the Country Advocacy Strategies refers to Component 2. The development of the International Advocacy Strategy refers to Component 3.

Purpose and Objectives of Assignment

In the frame of these Terms of Reference the following strategy will be developed: Country Advocacy Strategy for the Kurdish Region of Iraq.

Against this background, the objective of the consultancy is to facilitate the development process of a Country Advocacy Strategy and to build the advocacy capacities of the Country Advocacy Strategy Team.

Scope of Work

1. Inception Phase:

2. Briefing Meetings with medica mondiale in KRI, and possibly the medica mondiale Head office in Cologne

3. Compilation and agreement on detailed work plan of the consultant and an inception report including a compilation of existing advocacy work within the organisation.

4. Analysis and conception phase: including desk review, workshops, feedback loops and interviews with Country Advocacy Strategy Team, according to the working plan. Documentation of the process (i.ex. workshops, interviews, etc.)

5. Writing phase, including the compilation of the strategy document based on the results of the analysis phase (workshops and interviews with Country Advocacy Strategy Team)

Deliverables

• Working plan (and inception report)
• Regular updates on the implementation status of the consultancy (frequency and template to be defined)
• Country Advocacy Strategy, including objectives, indicators and action plan based on the documentation of the PATH methodology (i.ex. stakeholder analysis).

· Final report of the consultancy

Methodology

· The consultant should use the PATH methodology (https://pathwebprod.path.org/resources/map-your-advocacy-impact-strategy/) to facilitate, accompany and document the development process of the Country Advocacy Strategy. All four countries will follow this methodology.

· The process should be participatory and engage the Country Advocacy Strategy Team through workshops, feedback loops and interviews. The Country Advocacy Strategy Team will be set up by the country’s steering committee.

· The advocacy strategy should include short-, mid- and long-term goals. The monitoring of the goals should be clear and accompanied by SMART indicators.

· The advocacy strategy should include clear action points to achieve its goals.

· The consultant should advise the Country Advocacy Strategy Team on innovative ways to implement the advocacy strategy.

· The consultant should also be able to realise the facilitation of the process remotely, depending on the current Covid-19 situation and travel restrictions.

· The final document should be compiled by the consultant with the content input by the Country Advocacy Strategy Team: Country Advocacy Strategy and attachments (documentation of PATH methodology)

· Key inputs:

o Use the key recommendations from the country studies compiled within THTP as a base for the advocacy strategy. The country studies identify barriers for survivors of SGBV to access adequate health care services and propose recommendations within the country contexts.

o The consultant compiles and reviews existing advocacy(-relevant) documents within the organisation and uses them as a key input for the Country Advocacy Strategy.

· The consultant is expected to use other relevant information for the advocacy strategy.

Qualification

• Demonstrated conceptual knowledge of feminist theory and praxis in the context of sexual and gender-based violence and/or public health
• Knowledge and/or experience in the MENA / South East Europe etc. region
• Demonstrated experience to facilitate the development process of an advocacy strategy
• Demonstrated experience in the implementation of advocacy strategies
• Capacity-building skills to accompany and engage the Country Advocacy Strategy Team in a participatory way, preferably also applicable online
• Strong conceptual, analytical and problem-solving skills
• Strong coordination, organisation and communication skills
• Uses creative approaches to work and resolve challenges in a positive way
• High language level of English and ideally Arabic and/or Kurdish
• Ideally, familiarity with the PATH methodology to develop advocacy
• Ideally, strong knowledge of the international and regional public health structure and key actors

· Formal requirement in case of travel: recent security training

Preliminary Time Table

Tentative Timetable for the consultancy. Deadlines to be revised during inception phase. The highlighted deadlines should be met, as other processes in the implementation of the programme depend on them.

Date

Activity

Participants

Locality

I. Inception phase

01/2021

Signature of Contract

• Consultant

• Medica mondiale regional office KRI

Medica mondiale Cologne

remote

02/2021

Briefing Meetings

03/2021

Due date Inception Report**

• Consultant.

• Medica mondiale regional office KRI approves

Medica mondiale Cologne

remote

II. Analysis and conception phase

03/2021 to 15/04/2021

Desk review

• Consultant

remote

05/2021 to 06/2021

Workshops, Follow-up of Workshops and Interviews (no of Workshops etc. to be defined in Inception report)

• Consultant: facilitation of process

• PO / Strategy Team: development of contents

Presence in country[1]

III. Writing Phase **

08/2021

Draft Strategy available

• Consultant: compiles document derived from contents developed in previous phase

remote

08/2021

Feedback Loops

• Consultant with strategy team

remote

01/09/2021

Final Version of Country-Strategy available

• Consultant finalises

• Strategy Team: approves document

remote

How to apply:

To indicate your interest, please send your CV and a cover letter, including your daily rate and links to writing samples (please send all documents as one PDF file with a maximum of 2 MB). Only successful candidates will be contacted. The interviews will take place online in the beginning of January 2021.

Please send your application with the subject ‘Countr Advocacy Strategy KRI’ to [email protected]

until December 10th, 2020.

Female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Further information on medica mondiale and our projects can be found on our website: medicamondiale.org

[1] Depending on the Covid-19 situation and travel restrictions at the given time.