Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) Strategy Consultancy Opportunity in Kenya

Development of a Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) Strategy for the Uzazi Salama Project, Homabay County

Background

About Pathfinder International

Pathfinder International is driven by the conviction that all people, regardless of where they live, have the right to decide whether and when to have children, to exist free from fear and stigma, and to lead the lives they choose.

As a global health organization with locally led, community-driven programs, we support women to make their own reproductive health decisions.

Since 1957, we have partnered with local governments, communities, and health systems to advance  contraceptive services, choice, and young people’s sexual and reproductive rights in communities around the world—including those affected by poverty, conflict, climate change, and natural disasters.

Taken together, our programs enable millions of people to choose their own paths forward.

About Uzazi Salama

Uzazi Salama is a two-year program that aims to increase access to, and utilization of quality high impact interventions at all levels of service delivery in Homabay County.

The project- a partnership between M-PESA Foundation, PharmAccess Africa, AMREF Health Africa, Action Aid, Pathfinder international and Homabay County Government, anticipates strengthening the county’s health systems, to support the delivery of quality reproductive, maternal, new-born, child and adolescent healthcare.

The Uzazi Salama project identifies Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) as one of the core strategies contributing to acceptance of sexual reproductive health information and services by adolescents, young women, and men.

The project intends to develop an SBCC strategy that will provide a comprehensive approach that responds to the SRHR information needs of the target population in the project implementation areas.

The strategy will develop themes for all messages and specific activities for delivering the messages and outline plans for monitoring and evaluating the strategy.

Consultancy Service Description:

The Uzazi Salama project is in its first year of implementation, and a Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) expert is needed to work closely with project team and consortium partners in Homabay.

SBCC principles will be incorporated throughout the project to encourage community members to apply this information to improve RMNCAH indicators in the County.

Communication products will be developed through an iterative process that will include several rounds of development, field testing, and revision. The consultant(s) will contribute to each of these phases.

The strategy will be evidence-based and guided by the Pathfinder Integrated SBC Framework will use the Uzazi Salama project theory of change as its conceptual foundation, i.e., it acknowledges the influence of interpersonal relationships, community norms, and the broader environment on women’s and young people’s SRHR and their health behaviour.

The strategy development will follow a standard process beginning with situation analysis and literature review, progressing through the design, development and pretesting of messages and materials.

Objective of the Consultancy

The main objectives of the SBCC strategy are:

  • To promote and improve knowledge about communities’ RMNCAH Services in all social groups
  • To support acceptability and community awareness to create enabling environment for RMNCAH information and education to Men, Women of reproductive age and young people
  • To enhance demand for and access to SRH services among community members
  • To strengthen the mobilization of provincial/district and community resources to increase the RMNCAH information and services.

Scope of Work

  • Lead formative research in the county, including desk review and stakeholder consultations, to gather context-specific information about barriers and enablers to SRHR behavior change and apply the Pathfinder Integrated SBC Framework to identify appropriate channels and implementation modalities for achieving theory-driven SBC outcomes.
  • Consultation with local key stakeholder organizations concerning current strategies and programs, priorities, constraints, and opportunities
  • Develop an SBCC strategy with well-defined objectives in consultation with internal and external stakeholders and sectors involved in RMNCAH programming. The strategy design process is participatory, outcome-oriented and gender-transformative resulting in a comprehensive SBCC strategy, including a set of core communication objectives disaggregated by the audience, program delivery strategies and project communication branding.
  • Drafting, revision and presentation of the SBCC strategy document in consultation with Pathfinder International and active collaboration with consortium partners
  • Draft SBCC messages for various target audiences in line with the results of the formative research
  • Pre-test and validate SBCC messages among the target audience
  • Orient Pathfinder International and the consortium members on the implementation of the SBCC strategy
  • Set up simple and effective M&E systems, processes in accordance with the uzazi salama M&E framework to monitor the quantity, quality and effectiveness of messages, tools, materials, and activities.
  • Submission of the final report and all deliverables.

Methodology – is to be developed and specified by the consultants and will cover among other areas;

  • Inception meeting and report; select and detail the approach and tools for collecting the information, designing messages and tools. Indicate the rationale and expected results
  • Desk/literature review: of Homabay County RMNCAH trends and project reports
  • Field work: to gather information, pre-test messages and tools etc in 5 counties.
  • Development of SBCC strategy
  • Customization and finalization of SBCC implementation guideline.

Deliverables

The consultant(s) will deliver the following:

  1. An inception report
  2. Formative assessment report
  3. Final edited SBC strategy
  4. SBCC training package
  5. Final consultancy report

Time Frame

This assignment is expected to be completed by 30th September 2022.

Qualifications, skills and experience required:

  • Advanced degree in health promotion, health communication or public health
  • Experience in developing at least 3 SBCC strategies and serving as lead consultant in at least 2
  • Expertise in RMNCAH, Health Promotion and demonstrated experience in integrating these practices and principles into SBCC
  • Extensive experience in qualitative research methodologies
  • Knowledge and experience working with community outreach and educational programs
  • Excellent cross-cultural communication skills
  • Excellent writing and reporting skills.

How to Apply

Interested consultants are requested to submit their technical and financial proposals demonstrating their ability to deliver on this assignment based on their qualifications and experience.

Detailed proposals should be emailed to nairobiprocurement@pathfinder.org.

Deadline for submission of proposals is 5:00 PM on Wednesday 24th August 2022.

Requirements

  1. A CV and cover letter
  2. A technical proposal that clearly articulates your interpretation and understanding of the terms of reference; Capability statement (Profiles of the team members demonstrating their academic and professional qualifications and experiences in similar work); Methodology and approaches; References from previous clients; Gantt chart with a fixed delivery time and a financial proposal that includes the daily rate, the total number of anticipated days, and all taxes liable to be paid.
    (Please note that, in line with Pathfinder International policy, all activity costs (e.g., workshops, meetings) will be paid directly by Pathfinder International)