WUSC – World University Service of Canada – is a leading Canadian non-profit organization in international development, committed to providing education, employment and empowerment opportunities that improve the lives of millions of disadvantaged youth around the world. WUSC is working in partnership with Windle Trust Kenya (WTK) to implement the Kenya Equity in Education Project (KEEP), which operates from April 2017 to March 2022.
KEEP II will create conditions for learning that will allow approximately 29,000 marginalized girls from Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps and the surrounding host communities (Turkana and Garissa counties) to stay in school as long as possible, attain at least functional literacy and numeracy, be safe and supported at school and at home, and make successful transitions at critical life stages. KEEP II will deliver significant results in terms of improved learning outcomes (literacy and numeracy); increased numbers of girls remaining in school and transitioning to the next grade (attendance and transition rates); and a positive supportive environment that values and promotes girls’ learning (sustainable changes in community behaviour). KEEP will promote these outcomes through a wide range of complementary activities including teacher training; provision of remedial education classes; secondary school infrastructure improvement; conditional cash transfers to highly marginalized families; life skills camps for girls; multi-media community engagement strategies; and training for school governance bodies.
KEEP is seeking the support of a Consultant with a strong background in gender issues, including engagement of female-headed households. The Consultant will be responsible for supporting the Nairobi and field based KEEP team to develop a culturally-appropriate communications approach that will incorporate the recommendations of KEEP’s Gender Strategy.
General Duties
In consultation with the KEEP team, the WUSC Gender Equality and Empowerment Advisor, and White Ribbon (as needed), the Consultant will support the development and implementation of a comprehensive communications plan for KEEP team, stakeholders and working with beneficiaries.

Specifically the Consultant is responsible for the following:
1. Development of Communications Plan
This Communications Plan should be developed in consultation with the KEEP team, including thorough consultations at the KEEP Biannual Planning session in December 2017. This plan should:
• Provide guidance on how to communicate clearly about the purpose of the KEEP, its activities, and its intended results (using gender, culturally and regionally sensitive messaging) to project beneficiaries as well as external audiences such as the Ministry of Education;
• Outline strategies to show the impact of this project on girls, their families, and community (through: media, film aid, radio (tip sheets) -myths and misconceptions-messaging at different levels);
• Promote awareness on gender equity and education, gender-based violence, mediation, and gender equality in home and in the community to unpack barriers to education, understandings of power imbalances etc. (using gender, culturally and regionally sensitive messaging);
• Provide advice on KEEP’s overall multi-media approach, including gender, economic, cultural and education issues; and
• Outline how to proactively address reputational risks within the project, particularly managing community responses to KEEP’s conditional cash transfer program.
2. Facilitation of Workshops and Trainings
The Consultant will facilitate two workshops (one with Kakuma-based KEEP team and another with Dadaab-based KEEP team) to pilot messaging strategies and subsequently train staff members on gender-sensitive and culturally appropriate messaging around girls’ education, cash transfers, equity, and gender equality, among others.
This workshop will also result in a report with recommended messaging tailored to the different contexts, including tools to ensure the use of standard messages across all project levels (HQ, Nairobi, field management, front line staff, project partners, community stakeholders).
• This report will include two separate easy-to-reference 1 page factsheets for project staff, partners and community stakeholders in Kakuma and in Dadaab, addressing gender equity goals for the project; common myths and misconceptions; how gender inequality disproportionately impacts women and girls; how girls benefit from the project; how boys benefit; how adults (women and men) benefit; rationale for the new resource distribution model; etc.
3. Development of Guidance for Multi-media Partners
In addition to providing a report with recommended messaging for use by KEEP staff, the Consultant will also:
• develop gender and culturally sensitive messaging and guidance for radio partners, including resources on how to deal with challenging call-ins
• Develop a one-page fact sheet for media partners with project-specific gender equity messages to include in KEEP programs and broadcasts

Qualifications of the Consultants
The Consultants are expected to have:
• at least 5 years of experience in the development of communications strategies and plans
• at least 2 years of experience in gender-related programming
• strong background in gender and education
• knowledge of the regional contexts in which KEEP operates (Turkana and Garissa counties; Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps).

HOW TO APPLY:
Interested candidates should send a CV and cover letter to jobs@wusc.ca on or before September 13, 2017, with the subject line “Gender and Communications Consultant- WUSC Kenya.” WUSC is an equal opportunity employer. Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.