Terms of Reference: Technical Writer (Individual Consultant)

Terms of Reference: Technical Writer (Individual Consultant)

Global (Remote)

March 2023

Who We Are

Girl Effect is an international non-profit that builds media that girls want, trust and need.

From chatbots to chat shows and TV dramas to tech, our content helps adolescent girls in Africa and Asia make choices and changes in their lives, igniting their confidence to act differently at a time that can define their future.

We create safe spaces for girls, sharing facts, and answering questions about health, nutrition, education, relationships, and so much more. To arm girls with the skills to negotiate and redefine what they are told is possible “for a girl”.

Our reach is 50 million and counting. And we’re using technology to reach girls at scale so every girl can choose to be in control of her body, health, learning and livelihood.

Because when a girl unlocks her power to make different choices that change her life, it inspires others to do so too. She starts a ripple effect that impacts her family, community, and country.

That’s the Girl Effect.

Background

For over a decade, we have been building technology that aims to create a safer, more accessible world for women and girls, using the insights and experiences girls share with us. Innovation for us is about using the right tech in the best way to reach girls and meet their challenges. As technology evolves and girls’ habits change, we adapt and improve the platforms, processes, and infrastructure that underpin everything we do.

Context of Assignment

We are currently at an exciting stage of our tech development: our internal tech team is growing. We are further developing our relationships with our tech vendors and delivering impactful and dynamic projects for girls at the forefront of the tech-for-good space.

One of our most recent tech innovations, created in response to the number of girls using messaging apps, is our award-winning chatbots: Big Sis and Bol Behen, on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Big Sis is an AI-powered chatbot providing girls in South Africa with safe, private, and non-judgemental information on topics they do not feel comfortable discussing elsewhere, like sex and STIs. And Bol Behen (“Speak! Sister”) is a menu-based chatbot that answers girls’ questions on sensitive topics like relationships and reproductive health, who are living in the Hindi belt.

We are now looking for a technical writer to help us capture the development of Big Sis, our first chatbot, and our current digital ecosystem more broadly, by:

1. Telling the story of how we created Big Sis, for members of the external ICT4D community
2. Creating documentation that captures the software and systems that our digital ecosystem is built upon, for our internal teams and tech partners

Requirements

The technical writer will produce a case study that details the processes undertaken by Girl Effect to develop Big Sis, supported by internal stakeholders at Girl Effect, who will be the primary sources of information. They will also further develop the documentation of Girl Effect’s current technological infrastructure on Notion, by structuring and detailing the various technological processes that take place at Girl Effect and designing a process for how our teams and partners can continue doing this in future. The Technical Writer will be supported by our technical partners, who will provide details on the types, content, and frequency of various tasks taken on to maintain our technological infrastructure.

Expected commitment:

• The assignment will take approximately 3 months to complete.
• The consultant will be expected to spend up to 16 hours each week on this assignment, depending on the programme’s needs.
• The consultant’s assignment period is from April 2023 to June 2023

Location

The consultant will be remote and must be conducive to working with teams in the UK, USA, Sub-Saharan Africa & India.

Tentative Timelines:

● Terms of reference published: 15th March 2023

● Deadline for responses:28th March 2023

● Project commencement: April 2023

Deliverables

• Final report or case study that details the development of Big Sis
• Documentation of Girl Effect’s internal technological processes on Notion
• Process for updating documentation in the future

Reporting

The consultant will report to Girl Effect’s Director of Technology. They will work closely with the Digital Data Analyst.

Who You Are

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

• Experience developing technical documentation for complicated technology stacks that may include website development, chatbot development, app development or other technology platforms
• The ability to create accurate, clear, concise and well-organised content that transfers knowledge to users to meet their needs
• Strong proofreading and editing skills
• familiarity with a variety of technology stacks and are able to get to grips with new stacks for the delivery of this work
• The ability to understand users’ goals and their context
• Experience building strong working relationships with subject matter experts, technical leads and other stakeholders
• The ability to understand and interpret engineering drawings, schematics and diagrams, and other technical data

Proposal submission

Your proposal should be 5 pages max and cover the following:

• Your understanding of the brief and why you feel you are well-placed to advise us on this
• Credentials/Profile/CV – Please showcase any previous work that you consider relevant to what we are trying to achieve, how we approach our work, and the audience we cater to. Describe the qualifications, experience, and capabilities of the firm or consultant in providing the requested services.
  • Sample of comparable work outputs (technical documentation piece if available)
• **Reference-**Provide at least three references for similar contracts with a description of the service provided, the value of the contract, and the contract periods of performance.
• Breakdown of Costs with applicable taxes and other charges clearly identified in USD. Consultants should provide their daily or hourly billing rate or their proposed fixed fee for the requested deliverables.
  • All applicable taxes should be quoted separately;

In their proposal, the bidder must demonstrate an understanding of the requirements described in the RFP and demonstrate how the bidder will meet the requirements of the evaluation criteria.

GE is not liable for any cost incurred during the award/contract preparation, submission, or negotiation of the award/contract. All submitted documentation and/or materials shall become and remain the property of GE.

VALIDITY of the proposal shall be for 90 days from the date of bid closure

Evaluation Criteria

The criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are listed below.

Technical Evaluation

• Interpretation and understanding of this TOR – 10%
• Share samples of comparable work outputs- 15%
• Showcases relevant experience in having done previous similar work with relevant agencies or organizations – 10 %
• Demonstrates an understanding of the multiple geographies that we operate in – 10%
• Evidence of a minimum of three contactable references – 10%
• Experience and Qualification, share your CV/Profile – 15%

Financial Evaluation

• Value for money/proposed budget breakdown – 30%

How to Apply

Please submit proposals, as described above, to [email protected] by 28th March 2023, 5:00 pm EAT latest. Please clearly mark your email with the subject ‘Technical Writer”.

Equal Opportunities

Girl Effect is committed to equal opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity, or expression. We are proud to be an equal-opportunity workplace.

We are committed to building an organization that is truly representative of the communities that we serve. To this end, due regard will be paid to procuring consultancy services of organizations and individuals with a deep understanding and experience of our programming markets and diverse professional, academic and cultural backgrounds.

Safeguarding

You may be required to undertake safeguarding checks. Shortlisted consultants will be assessed on our organizational values at the interview stage. The successful consultant will be expected to adhere to our safeguarding policy. We encourage you to read and understand our safeguarding policy, the executive summary of which can be found here. We have zero tolerance for all forms of violence against children, beneficiaries and staff.

Tax

Applicants are advised to ensure that they have a clear understanding of their tax position with regard to provisions of their local jurisdiction tax legislation when developing their proposals.

Disclaimer

GE reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, number of short-listed participants, the right to withdraw from the proposal process, the right to change this timetable at any time without notice and reserves the right to withdraw this tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party. GE shall inform the ONLY successful applicant(s). The process of negotiation and signing of the contract with the successful applicant(s) will follow.