Job Description

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Consultant to Conduct Research on Women’s Rights, Review Evidence-Based Advocacy Modules, and Facilitate a Learning Conference

1. Project Title

The Renewed Women’s Voice and Leadership (RWVL) Project.

2. Background and Context

The Renewed Women’s Voice and Leadership (RWVL) Project is a 5.5-year initiative funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and implemented by Plan International Canada and Plan International Somalia in partnership with Save Somali Women & Children (SSWC) and NAFIS Network. The project seeks to advance gender equality and increase the enjoyment of human rights by women and girls in all their diversity across Somalia and Somaliland.

RWVL supports Women’s Rights Organizations (WROs), Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs), youth-led organizations, organizations of persons with disabilities, and grassroots movements to strengthen institutional capacities, advocacy and influence over policy and decision-making. Women and girls continue to face barriers including gender-based violence, discriminatory social norms, unequal participation in governance and leadership, limited access to justice, economic marginalization and inadequate legal protection. Reliable, context-specific evidence is needed to inform advocacy, policy engagement and programming.

At the same time, the project aims to strengthen evidence-based advocacy (EBA) by reviewing and adapting modules developed under the WVL Ethiopia and Ghana projects. The revised modules must reflect the advocacy priorities, protection concerns, and operational realities of influencing sub-grantees in Somalia. The consultancy will therefore combine research and evidence generation, evidence-based advocacy (EBA) module adaptation, and a conference to share findings and good practices with relevant women’s rights and youth-led organizations.

3. Purpose of the Consultancy

Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC) seeks to engage one qualified consultant to generate credible evidence on priority women’s rights issues in Somalia, review and adapt existing evidence-based advocacy modules for the Somali context and organize and facilitate a post-research conference to share findings, good practices and lessons learned. The work will be sequenced so that the consultant first undertakes research inception and planning, proceeds with the research, reviews the evidence-based advocacy (EBA) modules while research activities are ongoing, and then facilitates the conference after the research findings have been validated.

4. Objectives

1. Conduct a focused, small-scale research exercise to gather initial evidence on priority women’s rights issues affecting women and girls in the Somali states, to inform advocacy priorities and identify issues that may require further investigation.
2. Identify key barriers, legal and policy gaps, institutional challenges, promising practices and opportunities for advocacy, policy engagement and programming.
3. Review and adapt the existing evidence-based advocacy module to reflect Somali advocacy priorities, protection concerns and the needs of influencing sub-grantees.
4. Create a platform for Women Right Organizations (WROs), Women Right Defenders (WHRDs), women’s rights networks, women-led and youth-led organizations and other relevant stakeholders to discuss research findings, exchange good practices and strengthen peer learning.
5. Provide practical recommendations and accessible products that enable partners and women’s rights actors to use research evidence in advocacy and policy engagement.

5. Scope of Work and Sequence

The assignment will be implemented in the following sequence. The consultant will work closely with Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC), and the detailed timeline will be agreed during inception.

Phase 1: Inception and research planning

• Hold an inception meeting with SSWC to confirm the priority women’s rights issues, key research questions, locations, stakeholder groups, deliverables and reporting arrangements for a small-scale study designed to gather initial evidence. The consultant will be responsible for planning and managing the full research process, including organizing and supervising the data-collection team. Confirm the geographic division of work.
• Review relevant laws, policies, strategies, studies, assessments and other literature relating to women’s rights and gender equality in Somalia.
• Develop and submit an inception report containing the research questions, methodology, sampling strategy and proposed sample sizes, geographic coverage, data collection tools, analysis plan, work plan, ethics and safeguarding arrangements, risks and mitigation measures, and the proposed composition and roles of the data-collection team.
• Agree on a feasible and safe plan for engagement with Women Right Organizations (WROs), women’s rights networks, young women activists and other stakeholders to confirm priority issues for research.
• Recruit or engage a suitably qualified data-collection team, subject to Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC) approval of the proposed team and budget; define team roles and responsibilities; and provide training and guidance on the methodology, tools, informed consent, confidentiality, safeguarding, do-no-harm principles and secure data handling. Design, translate where required, and pre-test data collection tools. Obtain SSWC approval and any required ethical or administrative clearance before primary data collection.

Phase 2: Research and evidence generation.

• Lead and manage the research and data-collection process to gather evidence on women’s rights issues, extending the research coverage to Somaliland. Deploy and supervise the approved data-collection team to conduct the agreed research using appropriate qualitative and quantitative methods, which may include key informant interviews (KIIs), focus group discussions (FGDs) and stakeholder consultations. The consultant remains accountable for the quality, completeness, ethical conduct and timely submission of all data collected by the team.
• Engage relevant government institutions, women’s rights organizations (WROs), women human rights defenders (WHRDs), youth-led organizations, organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), community and religious leaders, academia, media, development partners, and women and girls from diverse backgrounds, where safe and contextually appropriate.
• Ensure meaningful inclusion of young women, women and girls with disabilities, displaced and marginalized women and girls, minority groups and other groups facing intersecting barriers, where safe and appropriate.
• Examine the status of women’s rights and gender equality; challenges and barriers affecting women and girls; relevant legal, policy, institutional, social and cultural factors; the effectiveness of existing laws and protection mechanisms; advocacy opportunities; and promising practices.
• Apply gender-responsive, disability-inclusive, participatory, rights-based and conflict-sensitive approaches. Use informed consent, confidentiality, secure data handling, do-no-harm principles and appropriate safeguarding and referral procedures.
• Supervise the data-collection team and maintain quality control through tool testing, field monitoring, daily data checks, transcription and translation checks, data cleaning, triangulation and documentation of limitations. The consultant shall ensure that team members follow the approved methodology, ethical protocols and safeguarding procedures.
• Analyze and synthesize findings, clearly distinguishing primary research findings, secondary evidence, interpretation and recommendations.

Phase 3: Review and adaptation of evidence-based advocacy modules.

This component will begin once the research has been planned and will proceed alongside research activities, without compromising the quality or timeline of either workstream.

• Review the existing Evidence-Based Advocacy (EBA) module developed under the Women’s Voice and Leadership (WVL) Ethiopia and Ghana project, together with relevant project materials and feedback from Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC) and stakeholders.
• Assess the module’s relevance, accessibility and contextual suitability for organizations working on advocacy and influencing initiatives in Somalia.
• Review and recommend adaptations related to feminist advocacy, policy engagement, movement strengthening, safeguarding, collective care and conflict-sensitive advocacy.
• Facilitate or contribute to review sessions with influencing sub-grantees, Women Right Organizations, advocacy practitioners and relevant women’s rights actors to gather practical feedback and identify gaps.
• Revise the module and associated materials based on agreed feedback, ensuring the content reflects Somali context, advocacy priorities, protection concerns and operational realities.
• Submit the revised module with a brief change log explaining major revisions and the rationale for them.

Phase 4: Validation, conference and sharing of findings.

• Prepare a conference concept note and agenda in consultation with Save Somali Women and Children, identifying objectives, participants, session formats and expected outputs.
• Present and discuss the research findings, emerging issues, recommendations and lessons learned after the research has been completed and findings have been validated.
• Facilitate knowledge exchange and peer learning among Women Right Organizations, Women Human Right Defenders, women’s rights networks, women-led and youth-led organizations, and other relevant stakeholders. The conference should support sharing of best practices across participating organizations and contexts.
• Support participatory validation of research findings with relevant stakeholders before finalizing the research report.
• Document conference proceedings, key discussion points, good practices, participant feedback, commitments and follow-up recommendations.
• Ensure all presentations and materials comply with SSWC, Renewed Women’s Voice and Leadership (RWVL), Plan International and Global Affair Canada (GAC )visibility requirements, while protecting participant safety and confidentiality.

6. Methodological and Ethical Requirements

The consultant shall propose a feasible mixed-methods approach, refined and approved by SSWC during inception. The approach must be appropriate to the Somali context and include:

• A clear sampling frame and rationale for participant selection, sample size and research locations.
• Accessible, relevant and pre-tested tools tailored to participant groups; translation where required.
• Disaggregation of findings by sex, age, disability and location where feasible and safe.
• Voluntary informed consent, confidentiality, anonymization, secure data storage and transfer, restricted access and a clear data-retention and disposal approach.
• Compliance with applicable ethical research standards and SSWC and Plan International safeguarding requirements. Any required clearance must be obtained before primary data collection.
• Age-appropriate safeguarding and assent/parental or guardian consent procedures where research involves girls under 18, as appropriate.
• Do-no-harm procedures for sensitive disclosures and protection concerns, including appropriate referral pathways. Participants must not be pressured to disclose personal experiences of violence.
• Triangulation of evidence, transparent treatment of contradictory findings and limitations, and validation with relevant stakeholders

7. Expected Deliverables

No.	Deliverable	Indicative timing
1	Inception report detailing the methodology, sampling strategy and locations, data-collection tools, analysis plan, ethical and safeguarding measures, risks, and detailed work plan.	15th 20th October, 2026
2	Data collection to generate evidence on women’s rights issues	25th October-7th November,2026
3	Fieldwork completion report submission	8th -15th November,2026
4	Revised Evidence-Based Advocacy (EBA) module and associated materials, including a brief change log and summary of stakeholder feedback.	16th November-2nd December,2026
5	Larger research (Draft research report presenting findings, analysis, policy and advocacy gaps, good practices and actionable recommendations for Somalia and Somaliland)	16th November-23th December,2026
6	Conference package comprising a concept note, agenda, presentation materials, and facilitation plan.	27th December,2026
7	Conference/validation report documenting participants, discussions, validated findings, good practices, feedback and follow-up actions.	3rd January,2027
8	Approved final research report and executive summary, incorporating SSWC and Nafis Network feedback and validation outcomes.	7th January, 2027
9	Final supporting files: cleaned/anonymized datasets, final tools, transcripts/notes as agreed, evidence tables, reference list, comment-response matrix, conference materials and any agreed advocacy/communication products.	10th January,2027

All reports and products must be submitted in editable formats and, where appropriate, print-ready PDFs. Any advocacy or communication products agreed with Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC) must also be provided in social-media-friendly formats. Save Somali Women and Children and Plan International request reasonable revisions, and the consultant must submit a comment-response matrix showing how substantive feedback was addressed.

8. Indicative Payment Schedule

The following schedule consolidates the existing research ToR payment structure. SSWC should confirm the final allocation and link payments to acceptance of the corresponding deliverables in the contract.

Milestone	Indicative payment
Approved inception report and research tools	20%
Completion of data collection and submission of fieldwork report	20%
Submission of draft research report and revised EBA module	20%
Completion of validation/conference and submission of conference report	10%
Approval of final research report and all agreed supporting documents/products	30%
TOTAL	100%

9. Duration and Duty Station

The source research ToR proposes a Four-month assignment from the date of contract signing. The consultant will be based in Mogadishu, Somalia, with travel to selected RWVL implementation locations as agreed with SSWC. The work plan must reflect the distinct geographic coverage:

Some of the work will be done in the Somali states, and some extending to Somaliland. Research planning starts first, the Evidence-Based Advocacy (EBA) module review is undertaken in parallel with the research, and the conference takes place after research findings are ready for validation and sharing.

10. Management and Reporting

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the RWVL Project Officer and the Head of Programs at Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC). SSWC will review and approve the inception report, tools, revised Evidence-Based Advocacy module, research outputs, conference materials and final deliverables. The consultant shall provide regular progress updates and promptly flag risks that may affect quality, safeguarding, access or timelines.

11. Quality Assurance, Accessibility and Donor Visibility

• All findings, statistics, quotations and case examples must be credible, verifiable and appropriately sourced. Public-facing outputs must not disclose identifying or sensitive information without explicit, documented permission and clear safeguarding justification.
• Reports and module materials must be clear, accessible and suitable for policymakers, civil society actors and community-level audiences, using readable formatting, clear headings and accessible tables/figures.
• Outputs must be gender-responsive, disability-inclusive and conflict-sensitive and must avoid stigmatizing or discriminatory language and framing.
• All external-facing outputs must comply with Save Somali Women and Girls (SSWC), Renewed Women’s Voice and Leadership (RWVL), Plan International and Global Affairs Canada branding, acknowledgement and disclaimer requirements. SSWC approval is required before public dissemination or printing.
• Branding and visibility must never compromise participant safety, confidentiality, informed consent or safeguarding.

11A. Research Governance, Data Protection and Donor Compliance

The consultant shall comply with the applicable requirements of SSWC, the RWVL project, Plan International and Global Affairs Canada (GAC), including approved safeguarding, ethical research, data protection, procurement, financial accountability, communications and visibility procedures made available by SSWC. Where requirements differ, the consultant shall seek written guidance from SSWC before proceeding.

Research approvals and change control

No primary data collection, recruitment of research participants, public release of findings, printing, or event commitments may begin until the relevant methodology, tools, budget, locations and materials have been reviewed and approved in writing by SSWC. Any proposed change to research questions, sample, locations, team composition, workplan, budget or deliverables must be submitted to SSWC for written approval before implementation.

Team management and accountability

The consultant shall submit the proposed data-collection team structure, CVs or profiles, roles, level of effort and cost implications for SSWC approval. The consultant is responsible for briefing and training team members, assigning responsibilities, supervising fieldwork, verifying attendance and work completed, ensuring appropriate conduct, and addressing performance or safeguarding concerns promptly. Team members must sign confidentiality and conduct commitments where required. The consultant shall not subcontract or incur unapproved costs on behalf of SSWC.

Data protection and ownership

All data, tools, transcripts, notes, datasets, analyses, reports, presentations and other products generated under this assignment shall be submitted to SSWC and handled in accordance with SSWC’s instructions and applicable requirements. The consultant shall collect only data necessary for the approved purpose, use participant codes where feasible, remove direct identifiers from analytical datasets, store files securely with access restricted to authorized personnel, transfer files through an approved secure method, and promptly report any suspected loss, disclosure or unauthorized access. The consultant shall not share, publish, retain for unrelated use, or transfer project data to third parties without prior written authorization. At close-out, the consultant shall hand over all agreed materials and securely delete copies where instructed, confirming completion in writing.

Safeguarding, consent and do-no-harm

The consultant and all team members shall follow SSWC and
communicated for the assignment. Participation must be voluntary and based on informed consent in a language and format the participant understands. Participants must be informed of the purpose, foreseeable risks, confidentiality limits, use of information and right to decline or withdraw without penalty. Research involving girls under 18 may proceed only where approved and where age-appropriate assent, parent/guardian consent and safeguarding procedures are in place, as applicable. The team must not solicit unnecessary sensitive disclosures, promise services it cannot provide, or photograph, record or quote participants without the required consent. Any safeguarding concern must be reported promptly through the designated SSWC channel; the consultant must not investigate allegations independently.

Quality assurance and evidence integrity

The consultant shall maintain an audit trail of research decisions, tool versions, fieldwork progress, data cleaning, analytical decisions and revisions. Findings must be traceable to credible primary or secondary sources; limitations and any discrepancies must be stated transparently. Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, undisclosed conflicts of interest and misrepresentation of data are prohibited. SSWC may conduct spot checks, request supporting evidence or require reasonable corrective action before accepting a deliverable.

Financial accountability and value for money

The financial proposal shall itemize professional fees, team costs, travel, accommodation, data collection, translation/transcription, communications, conference costs, printing and any other anticipated expenses, clearly identifying assumptions and exclusions. The consultant must not exceed the approved budget or commit SSWC to expenditure without prior written authorization. Supporting documentation for approved reimbursable costs shall be submitted in the format and timeframe specified by Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC). Payments shall be tied to deliverable acceptance and the signed contract; payment percentages and eligible costs must be finalized by SSWC before publication.

Visibility, consent and communications

All external materials, including reports, presentations, conference materials, photographs, case studies and advocacy products, must follow the approved RWVL, Plan International, SSWC and Global Affair Canada (GAC) acknowledgement, disclaimer, logo and branding guidance supplied by SSWC. Draft materials must be submitted for written approval before public dissemination or printing. Donor visibility must never override participant consent, confidentiality, safety or safeguarding. No media engagement, press release or public statement about the assignment may be made without prior written authorization from SSWC.

Conflict of interest and confidentiality

The consultant shall disclose any actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest before contracting and throughout the assignment. Confidential project information may be used only for the purpose of this consultancy and must not be disclosed except as authorized by SSWC or required by applicable law. The consultant shall ensure that any approved team members observe the same obligations.

Deliverable acceptance and records

Deliverables are subject to review and written acceptance by SSWC. Submission alone does not constitute acceptance. Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC)may provide consolidated comments and request reasonable revisions within the agreed scope. The consultant shall maintain a comment-response matrix and provide final editable files, source materials and agreed supporting evidence. The final payment will be processed only after acceptance of the final deliverables and handover of the agreed records, subject to the signed contract.

12. Consultant Qualifications and Experience

• Master’s degree in Gender Studies, Human Rights, Development Studies, Social Sciences, Law or a related field.
• At least five years of demonstrated experience in gender and human rights research.
• Proven experience in qualitative and quantitative research design, data collection, analysis and report writing.
• Experience conducting research or similar assignments in Somalia and demonstrated understanding of the Somali context.
• Experience in feminist advocacy, policy engagement, capacity strengthening or adapting advocacy/training materials is an advantage.
• Experience facilitating stakeholder consultations, validation workshops, conferences or peer-learning events.
• Strong analytical, writing, facilitation, communication and stakeholder-engagement skills.
• Knowledge of women’s rights frameworks, gender equality programming, safeguarding and conflict-sensitive research.

13. Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated using the following indicative weighting:

Criterion	Weight
Technical evaluation – total	20%
Relevant academic qualifications	15%
Experience in women’s rights and gender research	15%
Proposed methodology and approach, including ethics, inclusion and quality assurance	10%
Experience working in Somalia	10%
Financial evaluation	30%
TOTAL	100%

14. Submission Requirements

Interested consultants should submit the following documents:

• Technical proposal describing understanding of the assignment, proposed methodology, sampling and geographic approach, inclusion and safeguarding measures, quality assurance and a realistic work plan covering all four components.
• Financial proposal with a clear breakdown of professional fees and other anticipated costs, including fieldwork and conference-related costs, stating assumptions about which logistics will be provided by SSWC.
• Updated CV.
• Cover letter.
• Three recent professional references.
• Samples of similar assignments undertaken.
• Copies of relevant academic and professional certificates.

Submission deadline: 25^th September2026, 1600hrs.

Submission email: hr@sswc-som.org, copying ahmednasir@sswc-som.org. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Kindly note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.