Description

Background:

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.

The Gender and Youth Activity (GAYA) is an Associate Award (AA) under the Implementer Led Design, Evidence, Analysis, and Learning (IDEAL) program. This AA is an $8.8 million dollar program over 5 years designed to provide strategic capacity strengthening and learning in gender and youth integration to Implementing Partners (IPs) of USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) programs and other food security stakeholders. The GAYA award is currently in its fourth year of implementation. In support of the Cultivating Inclusion for Food Security Fellowship, the award seeks a Curriculum Revision Consultant to review and revise existing session materials to develop an overall curriculum with comprehensive facilitation guidance.

Purpose / Project Description:

The Cultivating Inclusion for Food Security (Cultivate) Fellowship is one of GAYA’s mechanisms to support Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance-funded implementing partners (IPs) to better integrate gender, youth, and inclusive resilience into their activities. The Cultivate Fellowship supports fellows to use qualitative inquiry to deepen their understanding of inclusive resilience dynamics and apply them through program designs and adaptations. Through the fellowship, fellows use qualitative methods to unpack program-specific questions focused on inclusive resilience dynamics, to:

• Explore how context analysis, systems thinking and qualitative inquiry tools can deepen their understanding of inclusive resilience dynamics
• Conduct a qualitative inquiry within their own program, including:
  • Collecting data;
  • Analyzing results;
  • Convening a team for sensemaking, reflection, and decision-making regarding how to apply learning within the program; and
  • Revising the learning questions, process, and tools based on reflections for broader use in investigating inclusive resilience dynamics within the program.
• Engage with and learn from peer fellows – through this cohort and ultimately the Cultivate Alumni Network.

Over six months, a cohort of 16-20 fellows participate in virtual preparatory meetings and an in-person workshop, followed by biweekly online meetings and independent work to develop innovative solutions to increase gender and youth inclusion in their programs.

While the Fellowship has been effective and there is consistently high engagement from fellows and alumni, it has been resource-intensive to develop and adapt. As GAYA balances the planning and delivery of several additional cohorts with exit planning and sustainability, the award seeks to revise existing materials, tools, and guidance for a final curriculum that will also be used to inform related efforts, such as GAYA’s self-guided/virtual fellowship.

Consultant Objectives:

The Curriculum Revision Consultant will support GAYA to revise, standardize, and package existing materials for an overall curriculum that reflects the Fellowship vision, integrates priority adaptations, and is contextualized, ready for translation, and easy to use for new facilitators in workshop delivery.

Consultant Activities:

The Consultant will:

1. Revise Existing Materials

• • Review existing materials including presentation, session guidance, consultant and team feedback and recommendations for adaptation
  • Review and update curriculum framework including learning objectives
  • Review and revise session materials (session plan, slides, facilitation guidance, complementary materials including handouts, activities, and tools) to incorporate priority adaptations and reflect revised curriculum framework
  • Review and update fellowship case study to align with curriculum framework and Cohort IV context (West and Central Africa and Haiti)
  • Incorporate GAYA’s feedback on all consultant deliverables

1. Compile, Standardize, and Package Curriculum

• • Review existing templates and provide suggested updates based on inclusive adult learning best practices, revised materials, and/or curriculum framework (session plan, session slides, etc.)
  • Develop an overall curriculum package that includes standardized session materials and facilitation guidance, and is both ready for French translation and easy for new facilitators to use
  • Incorporate GAYA’s feedback on all consultant deliverables.

Consultant Deliverables:

The Consultant will:

• Develop a presentation capturing key take-aways from the document review including the consultant’s feedback, recommendations, and clear next steps
• Updated curriculum framework with revised vision, goals, and learning objectives
• Updated session materials (session plan, slides, facilitation guidance, complementary materials including handouts, activities, and tools)
• Updated case study
• Final curriculum package

In support of the above, GAYA support will include:

• Access and orientation to the fellowship curriculum, compiled feedback and prioritized adaptations, GAYA’s fellowship, behavior change and sustainability goals, and other award information as relevant to curriculum adaptation
• Technical input and examples related to priority revisions
• Thorough and timely review of consultant deliverables
• Regular meetings to ensure a collaborative process and alignment with GAYA’s goals and timeline
• Sharing deliverables with BHA for input and arrange calls with them, as relevant
• Other support, as needed

Timeframe / Schedule:

Estimated level of effort is 25 working days. Number of days and dates listed below are approximations and subject to change and may be revised based on the process proposed by the consultant:

• February:
  • Week 1&2 (Feb 3-14): Consultant onboarding, review of materials, and process finalization
  • Week 3 (Feb 17-21): Submit revised framework for GAYA input and review
  • Weeks 4-5 (Feb 21-28): Revise session materials and submit revised materials for GAYA input and review on a rolling basis (e.g. by module)
  • Week 6 (Mar 3-7): Review existing templates and provide suggested updates/share any additional materials for Communications review (e.g. template for manual)
  • Week 7 (March 9-14): Finalize materials based on GAYA input and feedback
  • Week 8 (March 17-21): Submit overall curriculum package that includes standardized session materials and facilitation guidance

The Consultant will report to: Gender Advisor

The Consultant will work closely with: Gender Advisor, Youth Advisor, Technical Advisor – Research & Learning, and Knowledge Management and Communications Advisor

Required Experience & Skills:

• Master’s degree in education, international development, gender studies or a related field preferred.
• At least 7 years work experience in adult learning methods in curriculum development required.
• Experience developing learning processes, tools and facilitation guidance required.
• 5+ years’ experience working in programs that have a focus on gender equality and social inclusion and/or youth.
• Experience adapting gender and youth tools from development to humanitarian context preferred.
• Exceptional written and interpersonal communication skills required.

To Apply:

Please submit your resume detailing curriculum development and revision experience and a proposal, including time estimates, to meet the deliverables outlined above.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity
We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.