CONSULTANCY FOR SELF AND COLLECTIVE CARE TRAINING FOR THE WOMEN VOICES LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME

1.Background

The Women Voices and Leadership programme works towardsstrengthening the capacities of WROs and networks. The project is funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and is being delivered by CARE Canada, CARE Kenya, Uraia Trust, The Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW), Community Advocacy and Awareness Trust (CRAWN Trust) and Urgent Action Fund Africa (UAF- Africa). Its goal is to increase the enjoyment of human rights by women and girls and to advance gender equality in Kenya. It will support the capacity and activities of local and national women’s organizations and movements seeking to empower women and girls, advance the protection of women’s and girl’s rights and achieve gender equality. Women’s rights organizations are defined by the WVL project as ‘Civil society organizations active at the grassroots, county, national, or regional level, with an overt women’s or girls’ rights, gender equality or feminist purpose, and play a central role in spearheading change in support of the empowerment of women and girls, increasing their agency to support vulnerable and marginalized women and girls contributing to gender equality.’ The approximate 120 WROs supported by the project will receive funding for activities in this project to undertake interventions that promote women’s rights, institutional capacity strengthening, improve service provision and strengthen their linking and networking within the national, regional, and international women’s movement.

Women’s Voices and Leadership offers the following 4 types of support to women’s rights organizations(WRO): (1) Multi-year funding; (2) Fast, responsive funding for discrete activities / short projects to allow for nimble responses to unforeseen events and pilot innovative ideas; (3) Institutional capacity-building support; and (4) Network and alliance building (including intergenerational alliances) for movement building to amplify WROs voices and foster an enabling environment where collective action can coalesce. Outcomes of the project include: 1. Improved management and sustainability of local women’s rights organizations. 2. Enhanced performance of women’s rights organizations programming and advocacy to advance gender equality and empower women and girls. 3. Increased effectiveness of national and sub-national women’s rights platforms, networks, and alliances to affect policy, legal and social change.

Purpose of the assignment

The Women’s Voices and Leadership project works closely with partners towards dismantling and challenging patriarchal structures that inhibit the realization of the rights of women and girls in their diversity. The work undertaken by the partners in this project and related organizational mandates requires tremendous amounts of will power, courage of conviction, strength, energy, and time and skills. It further elicities a wide range of emotions which over time can take a toll on the partners and groups engaged. Navigation through the power structures that sometimes are the course of the systemic inequalities is paramount. The need to reflect, recharge and galvanizing to all involved is essential for the well being and leading by clear example to the rest of the women rights organizations/ movements we serve with.

It is with this background that self and collective care within the project is critical for the social movements engaged. Well-being is a critical component of collective strategy for preserving the movement whereby well-being of one person becomes the responsibility of all. Some of the critical discussions around this would include:

1. Recognizing one’s needs.
2. Recognizing one’s potential and limits.
3. Connecting to a community.
4. Realizing that as a community, we are all responsible for the well-being of each other.
5. Practical solutions / opportunities to support this journey.

Scope of Consultancy

The consultant will be engaged to facilitate a session on self and collective care with the goal of achieving the following objectives:

1. To encourage the participants to view self-care as an important aspect of feminist programming and inspire a need among the partners for staff to create space and time for it.
2. To share with the participants creative and innovative methodologies / solutions of self -care.
3. To encourage deliberate fundraising / resourcing for care including the technical skills and negotiating for political good will and investments
4. To encourage the participants to improve collective care by enhancing spaces for sharing doubts, shame, fear, and achievements openly and challenging and underlying systemic and structural barriers to achieving better and bold feminist wellness.
5. Inspirations on how to create physical / social spaces that could be used to promote and advance selfcare and collective care.

Duration.

The session will be undertaken between the 13th to the 17th of June 2022 as part of the Annual Partners meeting/ convening. .Qualifications of the Consultant Candidates, individuals, or firms, should possess the following minimum qualifications:

1. A university master’s degree in gender and development studies, Feminist / African studies psychology, or social studies.
2. At least 5 years of relevant experience in programming and development work and expertise self-care and collective care with a feminist approach and use of both innovative feminist social and physical spaces in delivering the sessions.
3. Good inter-personal skills, ability to work in a consultative and collaborative manner with diverse partners from the women’s movement that will allow diversity, inclusion and dignity.
4. Experience working with National NGO’s and International NGO.

Qualified candidates are to submit their Bids as one document with 4 pages containing:

1. An expression of interest/cover letter.
2. Curriculum vitae providing full description of the applicant’s profile and expertise.
3. A financial bid containing time and cost estimate for delivery of the above-described services.
4. Contact information of at least two independent referees with in-depth and proven knowledge of the experts’ / consultant’s expertise and relevant work experience.

Please email your application to [email protected] by 10-JUNE 2022 by 1700hrs EAT. Please use “SELF AND COLLECTIVE CARE TRAINING FOR THE WOMEN VOICES LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME.” as the subject title of your email. Incomplete applications will not be considered, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.