Hiring Consultant for the review and update of the Regional Advocacy Strategy for Sierra Leone and Liberia

 

“THE FEMINIST ALLIANCE”

@gmail. PROJECT TITLE: CONCERTED ACTION FOR ZERO TOLERANCE AGAINST SGBV IN THE MANO RIVER REGION

THE OFFICIAL TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR)

CONSULTANCY: Consultant for the review and update of the Regional Advocacy Strategy for Sierra Leone and Liberia

LEAD ORGANIZATION: Choices and Voices Foundation for Women and Girls (CVF) (Sierra Leone) and medica Liberia (mL) (Liberia)

PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS: In Sierra Leone: Women against Violence and Exploitation in Society (WAVES) and Girl 2 Girl Empowerment Movement (G2G); in Liberia: medica Liberia (mL), Aiding Disadvantaged and Traumatized Women and Girls (ADWANGA) and Rising Youth Mentorship Initiative (RYMI)

DURATION OF CONSULTANCY: Start in March 2026 to May 2026

LOCATION: Sierra Leone-based/Liberian-based, with close coordination with the consultant in the other country and possible regional/cross-border engagement

 

1. BACKGROUND AND PROJECT CONTEXT

The Feminist Alliance (FA), an alliance of six organizations in Sierra Leone and Liberia, implements the regional program “Concerted action for zero tolerance against SGBV in the Mano River Region” funded by the BMZ and supported by medica Mondiale e.g.. The partner organizations are: in Sierra Leone – Choices and Voices Foundation for Women and Girls (CVF), Girl2Girl Empowerment Movement (G2G) and Women Against Violence and Exploitation in Society (WAVES); in Liberia – medica Liberia (mL), Aiding Disadvantaged and Traumatized Women and Girls (ADWANGA) and Rising Youth Mentorship Initiative (RYMI).

The regional program aims to contribute to women and girls in the Mano River Region being able to live in an inclusive society, in dignity, and free from sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and discrimination. Specifically, the program seeks to mainstream the rights, needs, and perspectives of women and girls affected by SGBV into social, institutional, and policy responses to prevent and respond to SGBV at national and regional levels, reducing tolerance towards SGBV and at introducing a survivor-centred stress- and trauma-sensitive support for survivors.

The programme operates primarily at macro and meso levels through a multi-level approach. It involves regional political and intergovernmental bodies, national governments and policy makers in Liberia and Sierra Leone, institutional duty bearers/service providers (health, police, justice, education sector), civil society organisations, and feminist movements.

During the first phase of the program (2021 – 2025), advocacy strategies for the national level (Liberia and Sierra Leone), and for the regional level were developed through a participatory process. The regional strategy was designed to link and reinforce national strategies, addressing SGBV as a structural and political issue, and promoting survivor-centred and trauma-sensitive approaches at regional level.

Rationale for the Consultancy

Based on lessons learned from Phase I, developments in political, institutional and regional dynamics, and the revision of the national strategies, the Feminist Alliance seeks to review and update the existing Regional Advocacy Strategy to ensure continued relevance, coherence with the updated national strategies, and practical guidance for joint regional advocacy in Phase II (November 2025 – April 2029).

The Feminist Alliance is therefore looking for two consultants, one in Sierra Leone, on in Liberia, who will first work independently on the update of their respective National Strategy (under separate ToRs), and subsequently work together collaboratively to update the Regional Strategy, ensuring alignment and coherence across national and regional levels.

 

2. OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSULTANCY

2.1 Overall Objective

To review, revise and update the existing Feminist Alliance Regional Advocacy Strategy, ensuring it is coherent with the updated national advocacy strategies, by systematically identifying gaps, emerging priorities, lessons learned, and alignment needs, and by strengthening it as a practical and coherent framework for joint regional advocacy in phase II of the program.

 

2.2 Specific Objectives

The specific objectives are as follows:

1. Review the existing Feminist Alliance advocacy strategy, related tools, and relevant program documentation, to understand its scope, assumptions, and implementation experience
2. Identify gaps, weaknesses, and areas requiring adaptation in light of lessons learned from Phase I and developments in the regional context

• Analyse current regional policy frameworks, commitments, and coordination mechanisms relevant to SGBV in the Mano River Region – only where relevant updates or gaps exist.

1. Identify key regional SGBV trends, advocacy gaps, and opportunities for cross-border and regional engagement.
2. Update stakeholder mapping of key regional actors, institutions (MRU, WPS, ECOWAS), and influence pathways.
3. Prioritize participatory consultations and interviews with key national and regional stakeholders to identify advocacy opportunities.

• Revise and consolidate the Regional Advocacy Strategy with clear goals, priorities, actions, and responsibilities for the Feminist Alliance organisations, ensuring alignment with the updated national strategies.
• Strengthen the existing Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) framework to support adaptive regional advocacy.

 

3. SCOPE OF WORK

The Sierra Leone-based consultant and the Liberia-based consultant will work in close collaboration with each other and with the Feminist Alliance partners. The scope of work builds explicitly on updating and strengthening the existing Regional Advocacy Strategy and mirrors the approach used for the national strategy updates.

 

3.1 Desk Review and Regional Analysis

The desk review serves a supporting and verifying function and will focus on identifying gaps and changes rather than generating new baseline analyses. The consultants will:

1. Review the existing Regional Advocacy Strategy and ensure it’s alignment to regional policy frameworks such as MRU etc
2. Review relevant regional policy frameworks and instruments (e.g. MRU protocols, ECOWAS Gender Policy, the Maputo Protocol, AU/WPS frameworks), only where they are not sufficiently reflected or have significantly evolved since the original strategy.

• Analyse current regional and cross-border SGBV trends and key advocacy gaps not adequately addressed in the current strategy.

1. Update existing mapping of regional actors, networks, coordination platforms, and influence pathways critical for SGBV policy change.

 

3.2 Participatory Stakeholder Engagement

Stakeholder consultations constitute the core methodological pillar of this consultancy. The consultants will:

1. Co-design culturally sensitive and ethical consultation tools with the Liberia consultant.
2. Conduct or support consultations and interviews, in coordination with the Liberian-based consultant and the Feminist Alliance, with:

• MRU Secretariat and relevant MRU organs.
• ECOWAS gender, peace, and governance units.
• Government ministries and agencies from Sierra Leone and Liberia (e.g., Ministries of Gender, Justice).
• WPS Chairperson
• Relevant international bodies (e.g. UN WOMEN, UNOWAS)
• Regional CSO actors, coalitions and networks (e.g. MARWOPNET, WANEP).
• Any other relevant actors.
• Synthesize stakeholder inputs to identify implementation gaps, political opportunities, and priority advocacy entry points.

1. Support the preparation and facilitation of an online regional validation workshop.

 

 

3.3 Strategy Revision and Consolidation

Together with the Liberia consultant, revise the existing Regional Advocacy Strategy to ensure it is comprehensive, practical, and well aligned with current regional dynamics. The updated strategy should include:

1. Strategic Framework: Updated vision, mission, guiding principles, and a clear regional advocacy goal (aligned with national strategies).
2. Advocacy Agenda: Refined priority issues, joint advocacy messages, policy asks, and regional influence pathways and targets.
3. Implementation Framework: Joint action plan with timelines (aligned with national implementation plan), roles, responsibilities, and coordination mechanisms.
4. MEL Framework: Specific, measurable indicators and adequate, user-friendly monitoring tools.
5. Risk & Mitigation: Political, cultural, operational, and security risks with mitigation measures.

 

3.4 Validation & Finalization

1. Facilitate an online regional validation meeting with all relevant stakeholders.
2. Present the draft Strategy and meticulously document all feedback received.

• Integrate feedback from partners and stakeholders.

1. Finalize and polish the Strategy, incorporating all required annexes and sign-offs.
2. Submit the Final Regional Advocacy Strategy (Microsoft Word and PDF)

 

4. DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINE

 

4.1 Expected Deliverables

• Inception Report (methodology, tools, and work plan)
• Regular updates on the implementation status of the consultancy
• Stakeholder Consultation Report summarizing key findings.
• Draft Updated Regional Advocacy Strategy for review.
• Final Feminist Alliance Regional Advocacy Strategy, including objectives, indicators and action plan (editable and PDF versions).

 

4.2 Preliminary Timetable

Tentative timetable for the consultancy, to be refined during the inception phase. The highlighted due dates are expected to be met, as other processes in the implementation of the program depend on them. The timeline is provisional and partly contingent upon the completion of the national strategy update, as the process is expected to commence after the national strategies have been finalized. Certain preparatory activities may be undertaken in parallel and aligned with the national-level processes, where feasible.

Date	Activity	Participants	Locality
Inception Phase
Beginning of January	Selection of the consultants	Feminist Alliance	remote
Beginning of April (April 7, exact date tbc)	Regional Inception Meeting	Consultants Feminist Alliance medica Mondiale	remote
April 20	Submission Inception Report	Consultants FA and mm to review & provide feedback	remote
Analysis and conception phase
March 2 – March 13	Development of Questionnaire	Consultants FA mm	remote
April 20 – May 1	Desk Review	Consultants	remote
April 20 – May 1	Interviews with Regional Actors	Consultants, in collaboration with FA representatives	remote
Writing Phase
May 8	Submission of Draft	Consultants	remote
May 8 – May 15	Feedback loops	FA medica Mondiale	remote
May 20	Validation Meeting	Consultants FA Relevant stakeholders	remote
May 22	Submission Final Regional Strategy	Consultants	remote
One session between May 25 – May 27	Joint session during the Steering Committee Meeting (desirable)	FA medica Mondiale Consultant (desirable)	Freetown

 

 

 

 

 

5. METHODOLOGY

The consultant is expected to propose an inclusive, participatory, feminist, gender-sensitive, and survivor-cantered methodology, with a clear emphasis on stakeholder engagement over desk-based research. This must include:

• Targeted desk review and contextual analysis focused on gaps and updates
• Systematic updating of existing regional stakeholder mapping
• Participatory consultations and interviews
• Joint working sessions with Feminist Alliance partners
• Iterative feedback and validation loops
• Adherence to ethical, do-no-harm data collection and documentation standards.

The consultant will detail their comprehensive methodology further in the Inception Report.

 

6. DURATION OF CONSULTANCY

The consultancy is expected to last for three months (March – May 2026). The consultant must be available for all required joint sessions, cross-border consultations (mainly virtual), and the regional validation workshop (online). Participation in a joint session during an in-person meeting of the Steering Committee of the regional program (between May 25 and May 29) in Freetown is desirable.

 

7. CONSULTANT QUALIFICATIONS
8. Required

• Master’s degree in Gender Studies, Social Sciences, Development Studies, Human Rights, or a related field.
• 7–10 years of proven experience in advocacy, gender programming, or regional policy development.
• Strong background in strategy development and multi-country coordination.
• In-depth knowledge of SGBV issues in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the Mano River Region.
• Demonstrable experience engaging with MRU, ECOWAS, WPS, or similar regional actors, and relevant regional civil society networks.
• Excellent analytical, facilitation, report writing, and communication skills in English.

 

2. Preferred

• Prior experience leading or contributing to regional initiatives/strategies in West Africa.
• Prior experience working with women’s rights or SGBV-focused organizations.

 

8. REPORTING AND MANAGEMENT

• The consultant will report directly to Choices and Voices Foundation for Women and Girls (CVF) and medica Liberia (mL)
• Oversight and strategic guidance will be provided by the consortium’s Steering Committee.

Mandatory Coordination: Regular and consistent coordination between the two consultants is mandatory and will involve:

• Weekly virtual coordination meetings.
• Joint development and review of all consultation tools.
• Co-development and joint sign-off on all key deliverable.

 

9. Budget and Payment Schedule

Budget: The consultant should submit a detailed financial proposal, including professional fees (daily rate x number of days), travel costs (if applicable), any other related expenses.

Payment schedule: 50% upon signing of contract; 50% upon submission and approval of all final deliverable.

 

10. Ethical Standards and Safeguarding

The consultant must strictly adhere to the highest professional, ethical, and safeguarding standards throughout the consultancy. This includes:

• Confidentiality and Privacy: Ensuring the confidentiality of all data and information, especially that pertaining to SGBV survivors.
• Survivor-Cantered and Trauma-Informed Approaches: Utilizing methods that prioritize the safety, dignity, and well-being of survivors.
• Do No Harm: Actively minimizing any potential negative impacts of the work.
• Zero Tolerance: Adherence to a strict zero-tolerance policy for exploitation, abuse, or harassment.
• Cultural Sensitivity: Demonstrating cultural sensitivity, non-discrimination, and respect for all stakeholders.
• Safeguarding Policies: Full compliance with the safeguarding policies of CVF, mL and its partners.

 

 

How to apply

Interested consultants should submit:

• Technical proposal (understanding of assignment, methodology, work plan)
• Financial proposal (including daily rate, estimated number of working days, travel costs (if any), any other costs, total costs)
• CV
• Samples of similar work
• Contact information for two professional references

 

The interviews will take place online in January 2026.

Kindly note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

 

Please send your application to choicesandvoicesfoundation@gmail.com  until January 21^st 2026.

For questions about the content of the assignment please contact us at choicesandvoicesfoundationcom