Terms of Reference Nutrition Advisor (Individual Consultant)

Who We Are

Girl Effect is an international non-profit that builds media that girls want, trust and need. From chatbots to chat shows and TV dramas to tech, our content helps adolescent girls in Africa and Asia make choices and changes in their lives. We create safe spaces for girls, sharing facts and answering questions about health, nutrition, education, and relationships, empowering girls with the skills to negotiate and redefine what they are told is possible “for a girl”.

Our reach is 50 million and counting, and we use technology to reach girls at scale so every girl can choose to be in control of her body, health, learning and livelihood.

Because when a girl unlocks her power to make different choices that change her life, it inspires others to do so too. She starts a ripple effect that impacts her family, community, and country.

That’s the Girl Effect.

Our Approach

Girl Effect uses a branded media approach towards delivering behavioral change programmes.

We reach girls across the world, where they are - online and offline, to support them at the critical moments in life when choices around their health, education and economic future need to be made. 

We use our expertise in behaviour change science to motivate and equip girls with information and support to help them see a different future for themselves, act on those choices, and drive greater demand for the opportunities and services available to them. 

Chhaa Jaa in India, Tujibebe in Tanzania, Yegna in Ethiopia - are some of our youth brands. They exist across multiple channels - digital (Meta, Google and other SM platforms), TV, radio, print, and on-ground. 

Girl Effect in India

In 2019, Girl Effect launched Chhaa Jaa, a programme that helps girls in India build the confidence to make choices and changes in their lives - from accessing information about her body and services around her, to negotiating about education choices or whether to use contraception. Chhaa Jaa was designed keeping in mind adolescent girls between 17-19 years, currently in higher education, and accessible online via mobile – whether girls own or borrow a mobile phone. 

Over the last five years, we have invested in setting up key online assets and infrastructure that can be leveraged to deliver programmes under a range of thematic areas for older adolescent girls. We have built a multi-product digital ecosystem of products - across ‘broadcast’ and ‘interactive’ features - that are social media-based and available to girls whenever they need it. 

This includes:

• Inspiring and enabling social and behaviour change content on Chhaa Jaa’s Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube pages.
• Bol Behen chatbot on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp that allows girls to explore taboo topics in a safe 1:1 space and nudges them to connect her with health services.
• Chhaa Jaa website which aggregates youth-friendly services and is updated regularly with blog content.
• Bak Bak Gang, a girls-only Facebook group to experience social support and a sense of community.

Background

India has 254 million adolescents (120 mn adolescent girls) who require nutrition, education, and guidance to develop into healthy adults. Ensuring adolescents are healthy, safe, educated, and empowered, fuels multi-generational impact and can propel poverty alleviation and growth for the nation. This, in turn, will directly impact SDGs 3, 4, 5, 8, and 17. Investments in adolescent health will help India realize its demographic dividends, as healthy adolescents are an important resource for the economy. Although adolescents have the potential to transform India, they lack the basic resources and agency to do so. They are restricted by poor access to facilities such as sanitation, education and healthcare, as well as deep-rooted socio-cultural norms. They are susceptible to several preventable and treatable health problems - early & unintended pregnancy, unsafe sex leading to STI/HIV/AIDS, nutritional disorders (malnutrition, anaemia & overweight), substance abuse, mental health concerns, injuries & violence. Multiple indicators repeatedly show that adolescents (particularly girls) in India remain vulnerable and marginalized.

An integrated health approach for adolescent girls and young women is essential to address their comprehensive well-being. This approach encompasses sexual and reproductive health, ensuring access to education and services that empower them to make informed decisions. Proper nutrition is critical to support their growth and development, while effective menstrual hygiene management is vital for maintaining dignity and preventing infections. Preventive healthcare measures, such as HPV vaccination, are crucial to protect against cervical cancer and other related diseases. Addressing anaemia and other health factors is necessary to reduce the risk of long-term health complications, promoting a healthier transition into adulthood. This holistic strategy is key to fostering overall health, education, and future opportunities for young women.

Girl Effect is embarking on an integrated adolescent health programme to build awareness amongst girls aged 9-14 years-old towards menstrual health and hygiene management (MHM), nutrition, and HPV Vaccine for cervical cancer prevention. The programme will be delivered both online and offline and will target both girls and their parents to generate awareness, social support, and positive attitudes towards the above health issues.

Objective

Girl Effect would like to identify potential strategic areas to programme around in support of improving nutritional outcomes in India. Specifically, we are considering Nutrition interventions for two groups - adolescent girls 9-14 years old and adolescent girls and young women  15 years-24 years in the context of their sexual reproductive health.

The Context 

In this consultancy, you will provide technical support to the Girl Effect India country team on the design and delivery of Nutrition programming with a focus on Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW).  One of your key objectives will be to provide strategic support to the Nutrition X MHM (menstrual health management) work, to execute a successful and visible programme.  

The Scope

We are inviting applications for a subject matter expert on Nutrition to join our advisory panel. If you are interested, the following will be the scope of the work:

• Conducting a landscape analysis of Nutrition among AGYW in India (9-24 years). 
• Contributing research insights to arrive at specific recommendations on programme focus areas, geographies, and gaps.
• Supporting work with the  Country teams to write proposals and concept notes, to build our work on Nutrition. 
• Provide advisory support on developing an integrated health programme that includes nutrition for AGYW along with SRH. 
• Advising on funding opportunities on Nutrition in India for 9-24  AGYW. 
• Providing technical training on key Nutrition concepts/guidelines to the country team.
• Keeping abreast with the changes in the global Nutrition community of practise and ensuring we are cultivating and embedding the lessons in our respective country work.
• Support in review of programme documents, key messaging, and other technical and programme documents.
• Support  Nutrition research and insight generation work in-country working with different teams including third-party suppliers/partners.

This list should not be considered exhaustive; you will be expected to deliver other duties relevant and appropriate to this position.

Outputs 

• A comprehensive landscape analysis of the current nutritional needs, nutritional programming, gaps,  funding,  and other relevant topics in India.
• Summary review of existing policies, strategies, and interventions related to nutrition programming and policies in India.
• Recommendations for an evidence-based nutrition programme and interventions tailored to the needs of different population groups and aligned with national and international standards.
• Recommendations on programme focus areas and insights into specific nutrition implementation opportunities.
• Recommendations on possible health area integrations with Nutrition for different audiences.

Considering the above-mentioned scope of work and expected outputs, some of the questions you would address include:

Landscape analysis in the context of AGYW nutrition: 

• What is happening in the AGYW space in India with a specific lens on health-programmes, resources, funding, partners? 
• Who are the key players in AGYW (digital and on-the-ground) and what are they focusing on? 
• What are the needs and gaps in the sector? What are the major barriers and where can GE add value?
• What are the resources in India for AGYW – the type of resources, both from the Government and private funders?
• Who are the key funders, who do they fund and what are their funding priorities in terms of programmes?
• What are the existing partnerships in the space and the possibilities of building partnerships with others?
• What are some of the opportunities for GE based on the identified gaps, the available resources in India and potential partnerships? 

This will also include an analysis of GE’s existing value proposition and offering In India as well as globally. Findings from the external landscape analysis will be used to arrive at the preliminary hypotheses of GE’s strategic approach towards nutrition in the context of an integrated health programme for AGYW. 

Strategy development - GE’s strategic priorities, its potential funders, and possible partners:

• Where should GE be operating in India's AGYW and nutrition space, and where is it likely to make the most impact?  
• What should GE’s strategic approach be - the short-term and medium-term viable approach to building its nutritional programmes in India? 
• How can GE tap into the resources available in India - what are the priorities in resource mobilisation and partnership engagement? 
• What should be GE’s fund-raising strategy for nutritional programming? Are there any regulatory barriers to fund-raising?
• What is the potential nature of partnerships in the space of nutrition and AGYW? Who are some of the potential partners for GE and for what? How can it work with the Government – are there any points of intersection with Government schemes and digital infrastructure?

Organisation Accountabilities

• Lead by example as a role model for GE’s values and professional standards.
• Drive the delivery of organisational and team goals. 
• Seek continuous improvement within your areas of responsibility.
• Maintain full awareness of and active compliance with GE’s policies and procedures relevant to your responsibilities and broader policies including (but not limited to) equality, health and safety, confidentiality, and data protection. 

Who You Are  

• Extensive technical experience in Strategy consulting for non-profits in India for 8+ years. 
• Advanced degree in business management, public health, or related degree.
• Experience in strategy consulting- marketing/ funding landscape, value proposition, business development, fundraising strategy 
• Experience conducting research at the national level on nutrition and public health issues. 
• Minimum 3 years of professional experience with adolescents and/or young girls & women, especially from vulnerable, marginalised, low-income communities.
• Additional certification or training in relevant fields, including public health, business development, epidemiology, gender, etc. is desirable. 
• Experience or, at the very least, familiarity with addressing nutritional and SRH concerns in the digital and offline worlds.
• Good understanding of gender-specific issues affecting adolescent girls and how nutritional programming can contribute to girls’ empowerment.

Expected Commitment

• The assignment will take approximately 3 months to complete.
• The estimated effort is eight weeks of work over three months and is variable depending on methodology, programme needs and should be agreed upon by Girl Effect and the consultant after discussion., depending on the programme's needs.
• The consultant's assignment period is from  October  2024 to December 2024.

Location

The consultant will be based in India (preferably Mumbai or Delhi). 

Management

The consultant will have a primary point of contact with the Programme Lead and with the Country Lead.  The language of the materials and reports shall be English. The contract supervisor shall approve all deliverables submitted by the agency before any payment is made.

Tentative Timelines

•       Terms of reference published: August 7 2024
•       Deadline for responses: August 19 2024
•       Project commencement: September 1  2024

Proposal Submission

Your proposal, should you be interested (maximum of  5 pages), should cover:

• Your understanding of the brief and why you feel you are well-placed to advise us on this
• Credentials/Profile/CV - Please showcase any previous work that you consider relevant to what we are trying to achieve, how we approach our work, and the audience we cater to. Describe the qualifications, experience, and capabilities of the firm or consultant in providing the requested services.
• Reference - Provide at least three references for similar contracts with a description of the service provided, the value of the contract, and the contract periods of performance.
• Breakdown of Costs with applicable taxes and other charges clearly identified in INR. Consultants should provide their daily or hourly billing rate or their proposed fixed fee for the requested deliverables. All applicable taxes should be quoted separately.

In their proposal, the bidder must demonstrate an understanding of the requirements described in the RFP and demonstrate how the bidder will meet the requirements of the evaluation criteria.

GE is not liable for any cost incurred during the award/contract preparation, submission, or negotiation of the award/contract. All submitted documentation and/or materials shall become and remain the property of GE.

VALIDITY of the proposal shall be for 90 days from the date of bid closure.

Evaluation Criteria

The criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are listed below.

Technical Evaluation

• Experience and qualification as outlined in your CV/Credentials/Profile - 20%
• Showcases relevant experience in having done previous similar work with relevant agencies or organisations - 20 %
• Demonstrate geographic experience in India - 10%
• Interpretation and understanding of this TOR - 10%
• Evidence of a minimum of three contactable references - 10%

Financial Evaluation

• Value for money/proposed budget breakdown - 30%

How to Apply

Please submit proposals, as described above, to Girl Effect’s procurement team (suppliers@girleffect.org) by August 19 2024. Please mark your email with the subject line, ‘‘Nutrition Advisor- India.’

Tax

Girl Effect is obliged by the relevant tax authorities to ensure all taxes are charged where applicable. Applicants are advised to ensure that they have a clear understanding of their tax position regarding provisions to local tax legislation when developing their proposals.

Copyright

All materials/documents arising from this consultancy work shall remain the property of Girl Effect.

Disclaimer

GE reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, number of short-listed participants, the right to withdraw from the proposal process, the right to change this timetable at any time without notice and reserves the right to withdraw this tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party. GE shall inform ONLY successful applicant(s). The process of negotiation and signing of the contract with the successful applicant(s) will follow. 

Please note: We will evaluate only proposals submitted following the application process outlined in the TOR and using our specified email address (suppliers@girleffect.org).

Safeguarding

Girl Effect  has zero tolerance for all forms of violence and abuse against children, beneficiaries, and staff. You may be required to undertake safeguarding checks. Shortlisted consultants will be assessed on our organisational values at the interview stage. The consultant will be expected to adhere to our safeguarding policy. Please read and understand our safeguarding Code of Conduct which outlines expected behaviour from our staff, consultants and visitors. 

Equal Opportunities 

Girl Effect Services is committed to equal opportunity regardless of race, colour, caste, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity, or expression. We are proud to be an equal-opportunity workplace. 

We are committed to building an increasingly representative organisation that works extensively with the communities we serve. To this end, due regard will be paid to procuring consultancy service organisations and individuals with diverse professional, academic, and cultural backgrounds. 

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Last updated on Aug 7, 2024