Consultant in Uganda: Strengthening grantee partner approaches for impactful economic transformation

Request for Proposal
Strengthening grantee approaches for impactful economic transformation, integrating feminist empowerment strategies

Capital for Good and the Girls First Fund are seeking a Uganda-based consultant to provide training to Girls First Fund’s grantee partner community-based organizations in Uganda who are implementing projects to prevent and respond to child marriage and gender inequality. This engagement is expected to take place from 1st December 2023– 30th June 2024.

A. OVERVIEW OF THE GIRLS FIRST FUND
The Girls First Fund is a donor collaborative supported by leading philanthropic organizations and individual philanthropists who have come together to champion community-led efforts so that all girls can live free from child marriage and create their own future. The fund was born out of a foundational belief – shared by the founding donors – that community-based organizations (CBOs) hold a unique position to develop locally relevant solutions, identify and engage girls most vulnerable to child marriage, understand the local cultural norms that enable child marriage to persist, and engage local stakeholders. 170 organizations across six countries2 are currently implementing strategies to prevent and respond to child marriage and gender inequality with funds from Girls First Fund.

B. GIRLS FIRST FUND IN UGANDA
The Girls First Fund provides grants to 34 community-based and -led organizations in Uganda. These grantees are located across 26 districts throughout Uganda and work to prevent and respond to child marriage and gender inequality primarily through social and behavior communication change, girls’ leadership, and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

C. BACKGROUND TO THE ASSIGNMENT
In Uganda, poverty is known to be a major driver of child marriage, teenage pregnancy, and exposure to risky sexual behavior. Children from low-income households are more at risk of getting pregnant and marrying early, compared to those in households with access to more resources (UDHS, 2016). Lack of basic needs can push girls to exchange sex for gifts or money, exposing them to unprotected sex. Additionally, on one hand, bride wealth payments expose girls to child marriage, as parents see their daughters as a source of wealth and encourage or force them to get married early – sometimes to older men who can pay the bride price. On the other hand, especially in low-income households, girls may be seen as an economic burden due to the inability of their parents to meet their basic and other needs (UNFPA 2019). Many young girls participating in GFF’s grantee partners’ programs are trapped in a cycle of poverty because of limited opportunities for employment and income, making them at-risk of early unions and child marriages.

To address this push factor, many Girls First Fund grantee partners in Uganda are using a variety of economic-strengthening approaches with the aim of sustained poverty reduction and socio-economic transformation. The grantee partners hope to build avenues for economic empowerment and improvements in livelihoods for the girls and their households to be self-sustaining, keep girls in school, and for those who are out of school to be able to build resilience for independent living.

A scoping study commissioned by the GFF highlighted a widespread absence of essential knowledge and skills regarding the effective development and management of economic enterprises to ensure their viability and contribution toward gender equality.

D. PURPOSE OF THE CONSULTANCY
The overall aim of this consultancy is to strengthen the capacity of a cohort of 6 grantee partners for impactful economic transformation while integrating feminist empowerment strategies. This consultancy’s aim is to support 6 selected grantee partners with business development services aimed at building their capacity to grow, create more opportunities for girls, expand their access to the markets, and potential investors for expansion. We expect this work to help individual grantee partners and groups of girls improve their economic empowerment strategies. This will involve working with:

1. 6 selected grantee partners
2. 6 organized collective of girls (both informal and formal), 1 working with each of the selected grantee partners.

The consultant will work with each of the girls’ collectives to improve skills and capacity in enterprise development that align with the girls’ specific contexts and situations. Grantee partner staff will accompany this work to increase their learning and proficiency in program design and directly supporting girls’ groups with enterprise management skills.

E. OBJECTIVES OF THE TRAINING

• To provide training, coaching, and mentorship to 6 grantee partners with their selected cohort of adolescent girl participants on economic empowerment that is impactful and integrates feminist empowerment approaches.
• To provide capacity development and mentorship aimed at making the grantee partner-supported groups of girls commercially viable and able to access markets, increase their profitability, and attract additional resources to invest in their business.
• To advise on alternative enterprises based on context.
• To facilitate grantee partners’ increased proficiency in designing and delivering programs that support girls in enterprise development and management grounded in feminist empowerment approaches.

By the end of the consultancy participating grantee partners will have:

• Examined their own programming and identified ways that it might be strengthened to sustainably support girl participants and prepare girls for the dynamics of having access to increased financial assets.
• Been supported to design tools and guides for effective enterprise management.
• Been supported to design relevant and gender responsive economic enterprises that take into account social and gender norms, barriers, and local economic structures and opportunities for women and girls and associated risks and challenges.

A select collective of girls AND grantee partners will have:

• Gained an understanding of the process involved in selecting viable enterprises, enabling both grantee partners and girls to make informed decisions about girls’ business ventures.
• Successfully identified different strategies for enhancing market accessibility, as well as learned the essential techniques for ensuring the profitability of their enterprises.

F. APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY
To deliver on the above objectives, we recommend the following key activities. We also welcome the addition of alternative activities to meet the objectives in submitted proposals, so long as these activities fit within the budget allocated in Section G.

• Phase 1
  • Undertake an initial visit to each grantee partner and the selected group of girl participants to understand context.
  • Accompany and support the partners and a select collective of girls as per the objectives of the consultancy above.
  • Submit an interim report midway through the consultancy summarizing the progress and support being provided.
• Phase 2
  • Prepare and submit a final report to Girls First Fund, including progress made, any action plans identified by participating partners, recommendations for the future, and budget expenditure.

G. DELIVERABLES

• Interim report on the accompaniment being provided that includes details of the groups, and progress being made.
• Basic tools, guides and checklists for grantee partners to use.
• End of consultancy report that details the support provided, progress, made, action plan and recommendations.

H. BUDGET
A maximum budget of $27,000 (USD) is available for this work. This budget should include all consultancy costs, VAT, travel, and meals.

I. TIMELINE
The consultancy is expected to last for 7 months from 1st December 2023- 30th June 2024.

J. MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING OF THE PROJECT
An in-country Girls First Fund Program Advisor will monitor and coordinate the work by:

• Facilitating the entry meeting with the consultant.
• Coordinating initial contact with Girls First Fund grantee partners.
• Monitoring progress of the assignment by phone or in person.
• Providing and facilitating inputs from the Girls First Fund team on the drafts of the deliverables.

K. KEY COMPETENCIES AND ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

• Legally compliant and able to implement the requested work in Uganda.
• Demonstrated prior experience in conducting capacity building in impactful economic transformation that integrates feminist empowerment approaches with community-based organisations.
• At least 5 of experience in community/ economic development
• At least 5 years of demonstrated experience in delivery trainings and capacity building in enterprise development to community-based organizations.
• Excellent communication skills including presentations and report writing.
• Experience in facilitating adult and adolescent learning.