New Jobs at Africa Agency, Social and Gender Norms (EALC) Tanzania – Jobs in Tanzania

Research Consultants [Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania]
Job Overview
EALC Job Vacancies – Research Consultants

New Jobs at Africa Agency, Social and Gender Norms (EALC) April 2025

Job Title: Research Consultants [Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania]
Reports
to: Executive Director, Impact and Innovations Development Center
[IIDC] Technical working relations: University of California San Diego
GEH technical team, IIDC Head of Programs and IIDC Technical Advisor
Social Norms.
Type of Consult: Individual research expert for each
country of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania Work Location: No Fixed Duty
Station [remote]
Language Required: English
Expected Duration: The total engagement will be up to 50 working days, spread over 13 months, from May 2025

BACKGROUND
About Eastern Africa Agency, Social and Gender Norms (EALC)
The
Eastern Africa Agency, Social and Gender Norms (EALC) is a network of
practitioners, researchers, advocates, and evaluators that supports
social and gender norms programming, informs policy, and influences
development outcomes. The EALC mission is to strengthen the capacity of
researchers and practitioners in Eastern Africa region and disciplines
by building knowledge, generating evidence, and developing tools to
apply effective, ethics-informed social norm theory, measurement, and
practice at scale.

In implementing its mission, the EALC
envisions collaborative learning, partnership, and thought leadership on
social norms to promote equity, social justice, health and well-being
for communities around the world. EALC is a network of members
comprising individuals and organizations with interest and work in areas
of Agency, social and gender norms from the Eastern Africa countries.

EALC
is ran by a secretariat of 3 organizations comprising of CARE
international in Uganda, Makerere School of Women and Gender Studies and
coordinated by Impact and Innovations Development Centre (IIDC). The
three distinct organizations together implement all EALC project
activities, bringing with them a myriad of experiences and audiences who
collectively form the collaborative. The EALC projects focus on
bridging the gap between research and practice by building a learning
community on social norms and gender and recently the EALC also shifted
to include a specific focus on the concept of agency and its
intersections with social and gender norms.

About the Project
East
Africa Social Norms and Agency Learning Collaborative (EALC) in
collaboration with University of California San Diego (UCSD) has
received funding from Wellspring Philanthropic Fund to conduct
systematic evidence reviews to advance work related to children and
girls, with a specific focus on identifying locally vetted evidence gaps
and priority investment areas related to social norms, violence
prevention, and education in Eastern Africa.

The key activities under this project are:
Activity
1: Evidence review of social norms-shifting policy and program
initiatives focused on violence prevention and girls education in
Eastern Africa, specifically Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania Activity 2:
Engaging local stakeholders to interpret and synthesize the evidence
review results Activity 3: Create audience-tailored resources and
disseminate

Against this backdrop, Impact and Innovations
Development Centre (IIDC) on behalf of the Eastern Africa Agency, Social
and Gender Norms Learning Collaborative (EALC) Secretariat seeks to
recruit 3 locally based competent research consultants in Uganda, Kenya
and Tanzania to conduct the systematic evidence reviews in each of the
countries.

Three research consultants, will carry out the
process of identifying, appraise, and synthesise all the evidences that
meet pre-specified criteria to answer specific research questions. The
sources of evidences shall be identified from peer-reviewed and grey
literatures on social norm-shifting policies and program initiatives in
respective countries. They will conduct a rigorous and participatory
assessment of the identified studies to evaluate program effectiveness,
research quality, and priority gaps in both programming and research.
The insights gained will inform strategic investments in violence
prevention and girls’ education across East Africa.

SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES
The
primary role of the research consultant will be systematic execution of
an evidence review processes and production of evidence review
findings, present and facilitate the validation of the evidence during
sense making with relevant stakeholders, and production of audience
tailored resources for dissemination- (in particular, policy brief and
publication manuscript) The Consultants will be working closely under
the technical support/guidance of researchers at UCSD. A research
protocol and research questions shall be approved by the Advisory Board
that shall be appointed by EALC.

The key role of research consultant shall include:

• Activity
  1: Conducting an evidence review of norm-shifting policies and programs
  focused on violence prevention and girls’ education in Eastern Africa,
  with a particular focus on Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. This includes
  reviewing selected data for title and abstract screening, full text
  screening and then extraction.
• Activity 2: Alongside UCSD
  research team, summarize, analyse and translate results into thematic
  insights to inform programmatic, research, and policy decisions, and
  present the findings in a write up and presentation.
• Activity
  3: Technically identify and engage relevant local stakeholders to
  interpret and synthesize evidence, ensuring contextual relevance and
  applicability, via an in-person one day sensemaking workshop, and refine
  results based on stakeholder input.
• Activity 4: Conribute to the development of audience-tailored resources (optional) for dissemination through relevant platform.

Specific tasks:
Setting Priorities and Developing the Protocol

• Contribute to refining the scope of the review and prioritizing research questions.
• Review and provide feedback on the draft protocol.
• Support
  the finalization of the protocol, including possible use of AI to
  assist in portions of conducting the literature review (e.g., screening,
  selection, extraction).

Literature Review

• Conduct a systematic search of peer-reviewed publications and grey literature based on search terms and protocol,
• Using
  relevant evidence review tools, screen and select relevant
  peer-reviewed and grey literature studies based on inclusion/exclusion
  criteria.
• Extract data from all literature sources into data extraction template.

Analysis

• Analyse
  and visualize results through charts, graphs, and narrative thematic
  summaries to inform policy, programs, funding and future research.
• Produce the write up of the evidence review results
• Present
  findings at a virtual analysis workshop with the research team/EALC
  secretariat, refine findings incorporating study team feedback.

Engaging Local Stakeholders In Interpreting And Synthesizing Evidence To Ensure Contextual Relevance And Applicability

• Support
  technical preparations, including developing of slides, concept, agenda
  and facilitation for an in-person sensemaking workshop based on
  evidence review findings.
• Present the findings at the in-person sensemaking workshop.
• Use the feedback/input from the sense making workshop to produce the final report

Development of Publication (optional)
Participation
in manuscript development is entirely optional. If the consultant
decides to proceed with this option, activities may include:

• Provide input into defining the purpose, audience, and selection of a target journal for publication.
• Contribute to developing outlines for both a policy brief and a manuscript.
• Assist in drafting the manuscript.
• Review and provide feedback on results.

Operational tasks

• Participate in bi-weekly check-in meetings for the project.

CONSULTANT PROFILE
QUALIFICATIONS

Education 

• Advanced
  university degree (master’s or PhD) in Social Work, Social Sciences,
  Public Policy, International Development, Education, Gender Studies,
  Sociology, Anthropology, or a related field.

Language 

• Excellent working oral and written English proficiency.
• Preferred
  qualification: Proficiency in both written and spoken Swahili is
  relevant for Kenya and Tanzania consultant applicants

COMPETENCIES
Functional Competencies
Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise
Essential

• Demonstrates
  in-depth theoretical, conceptual and practical knowledge of violence
  against girls, social and gender norms, and girls’ education,
  particularly their intersection with violence prevention and educational
  outcomes.
• Possesses a strong understanding of social
  norm-shifting interventions, evidence-based approaches, and programmatic
  best practices in violence prevention and education.
• Strong
  prior background leading, conducting, or participating in systematic
  reviews, scoping reviews, rapid evidence assessments, or meta-analyses
  i.
• Experience with quantitative and qualitative research
  synthesis methods, qualitative and quantitative research methodologies,
  and data analysis techniques.
• Demonstrated ability to identify
  potential weaknesses and biases within programmatic evaluation designs.
  Familiarity with risk of bias assessment tools (e.g., Cochrane Risk of
  Bias Tool, GRADE, etc.) is preferred.
• Prior experience using
  analytical skills to synthesize complex evidence into actionable
  insights to inform policy, programming, and funding decisions and
  insights into areas for future research.
• Demonstrated ability
  to create clear, informative, summative tables, charts and
  visualizations using tools like Excel, PowerPoint, Tableau, or
  statistical programs.

Preferred

• Proficiency
  in screening, data extraction, and evidence appraisal using tools such
  as Covidence, EPPI-Reviewer, or NVivo is preferred
• Prior experience conducting participatory research with diverse stakeholders.
• Applies
  innovative and critical thinking in education programming, with a
  commitment to identifying and testing new approaches for improving
  outcomes for girls.
• Understands policy frameworks, advocacy
  strategies, and investment priorities related to social and gender
  norms, violence prevention, and education in East Africa.

Stakeholder Engagement and Facilitation
Essential

• Engages
  effectively with local stakeholders to interpret and contextualize
  research findings, ensuring alignment with community needs.
• Facilitates
  sense-making workshops and/or collaborative discussions to refine
  understanding of research results and drive evidence-based
  decision-making.
• Communicates research insights in a clear and
  accessible manner, tailoring messages for diverse audiences, including
  policymakers, practitioners, and funders

Project Management and Coordination
Essential

• Demonstrates
  strong organizational and time-management skills, ensuring the timely
  completion of research tasks, reviews, and publications.
• Ability
  to work outside of standard hours and on flexible timeframes to ensure
  work is completed in collaboration with global team.

Communication and Knowledge Dissemination
Essential

• Experience developing high-quality, tailored materials including policy briefs, manuscripts, workshop presentations, etc.
• Demonstrated experience communicating complex research findings to both technical and non technical audiences.

Preferred

• Experience
  working collaboratively to co-author manuscripts and publications,
  including working through the process of defining the purpose, target
  audience and selecting appropriate journals.

Corporate Competencies
Essential

• Demonstrates a strong commitment to EALC’s mission, vision, and values.

Preferred

• Adheres
  strictly to corporate rules, regulations, and procedures, with a
  thorough understanding of the internal control framework and
  results-based management tools.
• Builds trust and confidence by
  ensuring consistency, transparency, and equity in interactions,
  fostering a culture of integrity and reliability.
• Takes
  ownership of decisions, demonstrating responsibility for their quality
  and impact while upholding professional and ethical standards.
• Demonstrates
  adaptability and respect for cultural, gender, religious, racial,
  national, and generational diversity, fostering inclusive collaboration.

EXPECTED OUTPUTS

• Protocol for evidence review
• Completed evidence review data extraction spreadsheet
• Findings presentation and refinement
• Data analysis and visualization report
• Technical preparation package for sense-making workshop
• Final project report
• Joint product such as peer-reviewed publication or policy document.

TIMEFRAME
The
consultancy is expected to take up to 50 working days distributed over
13 months, from April, 2025, to June 30, 2026. This work will be
front-loaded, requiring an intensive commitment of 2–3 days per week for
the first 3–4 months to establish foundational elements. Following this
initial phase, the time commitment is expected to decrease to
approximately 1–2 days per month for the remainder of the contract
period.

PAYMENT AND WORK FACILITATION TERMS
Payments
will be made based on the number of days pre-agreement and contracted
for carrying out the activities and delivering the approved
results/outputs. The gross daily rate shall be negotiated based on
experience and expertise.

Consultants are responsible for
providing their computer, workspace, communication expenses, and any
other foreseeable costs, which should be accounted for within their
daily rate and contractual agreement. As part of your proposal, please
provide an indication of your daily rate, outlining relevant experience,
expertise, and other cost considerations.

HOW TO APPLY
Application Requirements
Interested applicants should submit the following:

• Cover
  Letter – A statement explaining why you are the most suitable candidate
  for the position, along with a financial proposal outlining your
  consultancy fees.
• A brief proposed methodology (but more than 3
  pages) of the evidence review • Availability – An indication of your
  availability for the assignment during the period of the project
  indicated.
• Updated CV – A detailed resume highlighting your
  qualifications, competencies, and relevant experience in similar
  projects. The CV should also include the names and contact details of
  two professional referees who can validate your expertise,
  professionalism, and suitability for this assignment.
• Samples of Related Work – Provide examples of previous work relevant to the consultancy (via email link or electronic copy).

How to Apply
If you meet the above requirements and are interested in this role, apply through the linked Google form
Deadline: 30th April 2025 at 5:00 PM EAT