We Are Hiring - Strategic Planning Workshop Consultant

About SDJF

Sri Lanka Development Journalist Forum (SDJF) has about 14 years of extensive experience in working with youth, civil society organizations, women’s organizations, academia and policy reformists, through a unique approach and theory of change. SDJF has reached the pinnacle of advocating for diverse, just, equal and gender-sensitive media through its educational initiatives. Using innovative and state of the art communication strategies and communication plans, SDJF has proven itself to be in the lead in promoting development, peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. It has proven time and time again that the media has the power for positive social transformation if steered with steady and trustworthy hands. Registered as Lanka Development Journalist Forum, SDJF is a non-governmental and national level organization that has been in operation since 2009. SDJF employs a variety of media tools and has institutionalized development communication principles to address voice poverty in the communities in Sri Lanka. A well-established media-based organization, SDJF operates with extensive experience in steering media towards democratization and social transformation process. SDJF works closely with local media organizations, International media development agencies, civil society organizations, institutes of higher education, youth and women development movements and other organizations that promote democracy and pluralism towards building inclusive societies.

For more information please visit : www.ldjf.org

About the Project EMPOWER

Empowering Youth led Initiatives in Prevention of Violent Extremism (PVE) in Sri Lanka (EMPOWER) Project implemented by Helvetas with the funding assistance from Global Community Engagement for Resilience Fund (GCERF). Under this project, SDJF has been selected as one of the sub grantees to implement a project in Ampara, Colombo and Kandy districts.

The overall objective of the project is to enhance the awareness of school students from different ethnicities in Ampara, Kandy and Colombo on Prevention of Violent Extremism (PVE) via the youth-led movement, One Voice Association (OVA), through capacity building programs, awareness campaigns and the use of new media and artistic expressions, such as art and digital drama.

The specific objectives of the project are:

1. Strengthen the institutional capacity of the youth led movement - One Voice Association (OVA) as an institution and civil society movement that promotes ethnic harmony.

2. Enhance school youth awareness on Prevention of Violent Extremism (PVE) through capacity building programs, digital drama screenings and social media campaigns.

Result 1 - As an outcome of the strengthening activities of One Voice Association (OVA), the movement shall receive registration as a civil society movement with the development of a constitution.

Additionally, the members of Ova will produce 15 impactful digital drama stories on PVE and ethnic harmony.

Result 2 - As an outcome of enhancing youth awareness on PVE, 600 school students will be capacitated on the concepts of pluralism and co-existence, countering hate speech and disinformation, resilience and conflict resolution skills. As a result of the capacity building programs, 100 artistic expressions on PVE and ethnic harmony will be produced by the school students.

The proposed action falls under the purview of the prevention of violent extremism (PVE), hate speech and serves as a tool to counter miss-information related to religion and ethnicity by way of new media.

Purpose

The purpose of this consultancy is to facilitate a two-day strategic planning workshop for members of the One Voice Association (OVA). The workshop aims to empower OVA members in actively preventing violence extremism among youth and school students. The sessions will focus on the development of a comprehensive action plan for the next two years.

Objectives:

The objectives of the Strategic Planning Workshop are:

• To facilitate a participatory process for OVA members to identify key strategic priorities and goals for the prevention of violent extremism among youth and school students.

• To develop a detailed action plan that outlines specific activities, timelines, and responsibilities for the next two years.

• To foster teamwork, communication, and a shared understanding of the organization's mission and vision among OVA members.

Pre-Planning Stage:

An individual consultants or team of consultants or an organization formulate the strategic planning workshop that clearly defines the process approach, methodology and tools to fulfill the objectives.

Scope of Work:

An individual consultant or a team of consultants or an organization will be responsible for:

• Conduct a preliminary assessment of OVA's current initiatives and challenges related to preventing violence extremism.

• Design and facilitate a two-day residential workshop in Colombo.

• Engage participants in interactive sessions to identify goals, objectives, and key strategies for the next two years.

• Foster teamwork and collaboration among OVA members to ensure a cohesive action plan.

• Provide guidance on monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for the action plan.

Deliverables:

• One proposal outlining the experience, methodology, approach and costing.

• Comprehensive agenda and workshop materials list.

• Action plan document outlining key activities with time bound.

• Recommendations for monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.

Timeline:

Proposed: January 2024

• Preliminary Assessment

• Workshop Preparation

• Two-Day Workshop

• Deliverable Submission

Monitoring and Evaluation:

Establish a monitoring and evaluation framework to track progress against objectives.

Reporting:

The consultant will report to the Director – at SDJF and will work directly with the Program Manager. Further, the consultant may be required to attend meetings with SDJF staff or other stakeholders during the assignment.

Consultancy Competencies, Experience and Skills Requirements:

Individual consultants or team of consultants or an organization should have:

• More than 5 years of experience either as head or occupying senior position in the area of strategic planning, strategy executive, corporate governance, change management, business process review, organizational development, operations management planning, and productivity improvement.

• More than 5 years of experience in facilitating and conducting training/workshops for the board/key management in sectors.

• An individual consultant or a team of consultants with advanced degree in the field of human rights, international relations/ affairs, or related field.

• Demonstrated track record of successfully facilitating participatory strategy development

• Demonstrated experience in facilitating organizational development of non-profit organizations, including in relation to the development/revision of organizational structures

• Demonstrated experience of designing and implementing participatory research methodologies.

• Sound knowledge and understanding of using Results Based Management principles in monitoring, evaluation and learning.

• Ability to consolidate and converse in local languages and derive meaningful information from multiple sources.

• Flexible, organized, and ability to perform in high stress environments.

• Excellent writing and editing skills (Written and oral fluency in English is a requirement)

• Experience with donor relations will be considered an asset.

How to Apply:

Eligible applicants should submit their applications by 15th of December 2023 to the following address:

recruitment@ldjf.org with copies of the following attached:

1. Technical Proposal (maximum one (1) page): brief explanation about the consultant/consultancy firm with a particular emphasis on previous experience; a profile of the consultant/consultancy firm to be involved in undertaking this consultation and a detailed approach and methodology;

2. Financial Proposal: The financial proposal should provide cost estimates for services rendered, including daily consultancy fees

Download - Terms of Reference - Strategic Planning Workshop Consultant