Company Profile

Job Description

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR A CONSULTANT TO CONDUCT THE CENTRAL OPERATIONAL RESEARCH FOR THE POWER TO YOUTH PROGRAM - GHANA

Programme Background
The Power to You(th) (PtY)program is a five-year Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) programme funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is implemented by seven countries: Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, Ethiopia, and Uganda. The global consortium is led by Amref Netherlands, in collaboration with Sonke Gender Justice and Rutgers and supported by Choice and KIT as technical partners. The program seeks to empower young people especially adolescent girls and young women from underserved communities to be meaningfully included in decision-making on three key issues: Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, Harmful Practices (HPs) and unintended pregnancies. In Ghana, the program is run by a consortium of four partners: Norsaac as the lead partner, Ghana SRHR Alliance for young people, Songtaba, and the Youth Empowerment Team.

The partnership strengthens civil society organizations (CSOs) to empower and increase the voice of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) to assert their rights.

Power to Youth works with supportive actors to create change for:

• Young people from underserved communities – particularly AGYW – who are most at risk of HPs, SGBV, and unintended pregnancies are our primary stakeholders and beneficiaries.
• CSOs – our strategic partners are operating at local, national, and global levels, they are embedded in local communities, and have legitimacy in working on SRHR with local groups and organizations.
• Societal actors/reformists including men/boys, women/girls, parents and caregivers, and religious, traditional, and opinion leaders. Influential progressive societal actors can advocate for, challenge, and counter restrictive social norms and mobilize a critical mass of people that become influential enough for a community to change its practices.
• State actors/reformists including local authorities, national governments, and regional and global governmental bodies, and service providers at public institutions.

2. The Central Operational Research:
As part of the program’s efforts to learn and gather insights that will improve the implementation of the program, the PtY consortium will carry out operational research entitled “The dynamics of online sexual and gender-based violence among young people: Insights from Ghana”. This research aims to gather insights that will improve the implementation of the program in addressing online SGBV among young people. However, little has been done to explore online SGBV and how that impacts on young people.

Existing literature shows that little research has been done on online SGBV and how it affects young people in Ghana. For this reason, the Ghana consortium has decided to explore the dynamics of online SGBV among young people in Ghana.

The specific research questions the study seeks to answer are the following;

1. How do the dynamics of online SGBV intersect with other forms of offline violence?
2. What are the characteristics of the perpetrators of online SGBV and what motivates them?
3. Do socio-economic factors, geographic, or political power, influence individuals' susceptibility to online SGBV?
4. What are the experiences of victims/survivors who have been subjected to online SGBV, did they report this and why/why not?
5. What are the ways youth can harness the power of online media in SGBV matters?

This TOR, therefore, details the specific tasks of the consultant who will carry out the coordination of the research as outlined below.

3. Approach of consultancy
This Central Operational Research will use a hybrid approach involving both internal and external personnel. The consultancy will span for 4 months maximum. The research team will be composed of 3 selected PtY team members who will be led by the PMERL Lead for the Ghana consortium in addition to 4 young researchers, who will serve as the coordinating body of the entire research. The Executive Director of Norsaac shall remain the lead researcher of the study and bears primary responsibility for it. The consultant will be responsible for undertaking the study, including developing a detailed proposal for it, outlining the objectives, methodology, and timeline. He/she will also in collaboration with the country coordinating team identify, recruit and data collectors who will work with the programme’s young researchers in the research.

4. Deliverables and timelines
To ensure that the research specifically addresses the program’s values and needs, the consultant needs to maintain frequent interaction and involvement with the coordinating team (PMERL lead, the National Programme Coordinator and the youth researchers and other relevant team members if need be). The progress reports will be regularly reviewed by all the participants during the course of the assignment. The final report will then be shared with Rutgers and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

Deliverables:

• Proposal for the operational research on the dynamics of online SGBV among young people in Ghana, including submission of the proposal for ethical review and approval.
• Recruitment plan for young researchers and research assistants.
• Organize and facilitate a kick-off meeting plus a training for the research team including the young researchers and research assistants (ideally these two activities are combined in one meeting)
• Regular progress reports on the implementation of the research.
• Validation workshop with relevant stakeholders and program staff
• Incorporation of inputs from validation workshop and reviews
• Comprehensive research report with recommendations for the PtY program including:

             * Literature review and background to the study;
             * Description of the research process and how participants were included.
             * Detailed methodology used, including the training for the researchers and data collectors.
             * Ethical considerations.
             * Overall analysis of the findings.
             * Overall actionable recommendations from validation and recommendation workshops

• Lead on the preparation and writing of a peer-reviewed scientific article – together with the rest of the research team

5. Duration of consultancy:
The consultancy is expected to start in June 1st and end on September 30 2024 with an estimated 4-month total duration.

Required Skills or Experience

Qualifications and Experience
The consultant is expected to meet the following requirements:

• At least a master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g. social sciences, public health, gender studies).
• Thematic expertise (SRHR, women and youth participation, meaningful youth engagement, gender, social accountability) Note: Experience in Online SGBV is an asset.
• At least 5 years of relevant professional research experience
• Excellent facilitation and coordination skills
• Demonstrated experience in qualitative and mixed methods research methodologies.
• Interest in mentoring and coaching young researchers. Previous experience in a similar role is an asset.
• Experience with conducting research on sensitive topics, such as SGBV
• Strong analytical skills and proficiency in writing in English
• Available for the entire research duration

Reporting
The consultant will report to the Ghana consortium’s PMERL Lead and the National program coordinator.

Budget
The consultant shall submit a financial proposal in line with the deliverables of assignment. The budget should be in line with the project’s financial guidelines and subject to approval by the Power to Youth program.