Call for Consultant - Developing Outreach Strategy and Public Communication tools

About ABAAD: ABAAD Resource Center for Gender Equality is a non-profit, non-politically affiliated, non-confessional organization, is a UN ECOSOC accredited organization that aims to achieve gender equality as an essential condition to sustainable peace, democracy and social and economic development in the MENA region. ABAAD believes that eliminating gender-based barriers, discrimination and violence while building women and girls’ agency and critical consciousness can allow them to participate effectively in all life spheres, lead change on their own, realize their rights and freely determine their life outcomes.

ABAAD seeks to promote women’s equality and participation through policy development, legal reform, gender mainstreaming, engaging men, eliminating discrimination, and advancing and empowering women to participate effectively and fully in their communities. ABAAD also seeks to support and collaborate with civil society organizations that are involved in gender equality programs and advocacy campaigns.

Purpose of consultancy:

Many women survivors are discouraged from seeking help due to the increase in the barriers, where more individuals are contending with heightened security issues, fear of stigmatization, lack of privacy, or a lack of awareness about the available services. Many women are also deterred from seeking help due to the overwhelming burdens they face in their daily lives, often needing to prioritize immediate survival needs and familial responsibilities over personal well-being, which further inhibits their access to critical GBV services. Furthermore, the deteriorating mental health situation among men has also contributed to the problem, with increasing rates of suicide and harmful coping mechanisms.

Given the urgent need to address these issues, and with an objective to enhance help-seeking behavior among women survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) within the unique humanitarian and socio-political crises of Lebanon, ABAAD aims to design a comprehensive, tailor-made outreach strategy, and is looking for recruiting an expert to undertake a study centered on a comprehensive review and revitalization of outreach strategies and development of woman-centric tools.

This innovative strategy should embed woman-focused approaches to awareness, striving to be adaptive and responsive to the shifting needs and realities of women survivors of GBV.

The outcome of this assignment should result in a) undertaking an in-depth review of relevant literature and of previously implemented outreach strategies, studying both the successes and challenges and analyzing past and current practices in the field; b) engaging dialogues with frontline service providers, enabling ABAAD to gather first-hand accounts of their experiences and perceptions of different outreach techniques, thereby discerning the methods that have demonstrated the most impact; c) conducting focus group discussions with women hailing from diverse backgrounds across Lebanon. These discussions aim to delve into their experiences with past outreach and awareness efforts and to understand the type of communication and information dissemination that best encourages help-seeking behavior.

In parallel, ABAAD is seeking to develop a new set of tools, grounded in the principles of being women-inspired, women-informed, and women-approved, through a series of co-designing workshops with women from the target communities, ensuring that the communication materials resonate deeply with their lived experiences and preferences.

The goal is to effectively bridge the communication gap and empower more women in their journey towards seeking help and healing from GBV.

Scope of work: (Description of services, activities, or outputs)

The expert will work under the direct supervision of ABAAD to carry out the following tasks:

1. Prepare action plan with timeline of activities to be carried out under this assignment.
2. Prepare the guidelines for relevant stakeholders and women beneficiaries.
3. Gather all relevant literature and of previously implemented outreach strategies developed/adapted in Lebanon (Arabic, French, English) previously and/or currently being used.
4. Conduct dialogues and meetings with frontline service providers and focus group discussions with selected women beneficiaries.
5. Based on the outcome of tasks (3) and (4) above, draft an analytical report and propose a set of recommendations for future interventions based on the context, needs, objectives, preference of tools/guides, etc.
6. Prepare a draft strategy report to be reviewed by ABAAD and finalize report based on input and comments.
7. Prepare guidelines for the co-designing workshops with women
8. Develop the communication tools and materials to be implemented across ABAAD’s Model Holistic Centers
9. Participate in one/more meetings to present/discuss findings/recommendations of the assignment with ABAAD.

The following deliverables are expected to be provided by the consultant by the end of the assignment in English and Arabic

1. Inception Report: An inception report that outlines the consultant's understanding of the project, detailed methodology, preliminary insights, as well as an action plan and initial outline of the outreach strategy.
2. Tools developed for data collection: The tools are to be revised and finalized by ABAAD’s team.
3. Literature and Analysis: A comprehensive report that includes relevant literature, prior outreach strategies in Lebanon, and summaries from dialogues and focus group discussions.
4. Report on women consultations for the communication tools
5. Recommendations and Tools: An analytical report that blends the findings and tailored recommendations for future interventions, along with finalized communication tools and materials for ABAAD’s Model Holistic Centres.
6. Presentation Materials: Materials designed for presenting and discussing the assignment's findings and recommendations with ABAAD.

Duration and working schedule:

2 months

Delivery dates and how work will be delivered:

Delivery Date: Dec 15, 2023 - All deliverables will be submitted electronically

Required Qualifications:

• Experience in gender-focused projects and addressing GBV in different contexts.
• Experience in conducting and designing, respectively, similar communication need assessment and strategies in terms of technicality and scope of work;
• Advocacy and policy development experience for gender equality and GBV prevention.
• Culturally sensitive and adaptable to work effectively in diverse contexts.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Fluency in Arabic and English languages. French is a plus.