TOR Accompanying Inter-Religious Leaders

Job Description

TERMS OF REFERENCE 

Support and accompany religious leaders and faith networks, like the Inter Religious Council of Sierra Leone, to integrate peace messaging into their  religious gatherings, sermons, and events- production of audio and video  peace messages from Inter-Religious leaders and faith-based networks. 

Program Title: Strengthened Peace Infrastructure and Accountability through Community led Peacebuilding and Empowerment of Women and Youth as Leaders in Sierra Leone. 

1. 1. Brief Overview 

Trócaire is an Irish development agency that was established in 1973 by the Catholic Bishops  of Ireland and whose work is inspired by Catholic Social teachings, with an overarching  commitment to social justice. Trócaire works in 20 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America,  and the Middle East. Trócaire works in partnership with local organizations in developing  countries and with the people in Ireland to tackle the root causes of poverty and injustice. 

In Sierra Leone Trócaire was established in 1995 implementing programmes on governance,  human rights, women’s empowerment, prevention, response to gender-based violence,  sustainable livelihoods, climate change, peacebuilding, and humanitarian response. We work  in partnership with several local Civil Society Organizations that directly implement projects  in communities in Port Loko, Kambia, Karene, Bombali, Kono, Bo, Kenema, Western Area  Rural and Urban districts.  

About the project 

In July 2023, Trócaire secured funding from the United States Agency for International  Development (USAID titled Strengthened Peace Infrastructure and Accountability through  Community-led Peacebuilding and Empowerment of Women and Youth as Leaders in Sierra  Leone. The 36-month project will be implemented by a consortium of CSOs – Social Enterprise  for Development Sierra Leone (SEND-SL) – Local Entity, Campaign for Good Governance (CGG)  – Local Entity, Women’s Forum for Human Rights, and Development (WOFHRAD) – Local  Entity, Association for the Wellbeing of Communities & Development (ABC-D) – Local Entity.  

The overarching purpose of the project is to support a people-to-people peacebuilding  approach in addressing issues of social cohesion and politically motivated violence. The  project also sets out to support the empowerment of marginalized groups, such as women,  youth, and Commercial Motor riders, through taking up positions of leadership within their  communities as Peacebuilding Ambassadors. 

The overall goal of the project is to contribute to the prevention and mitigation of politically  motivated violence through the people-to-people peacebuilding approaches in Western Area 

Rural, Kambia, Bombali, Karene and Kono Districts. The specific objective of the project is to  empower women and youth to have increased voice and leadership as peacebuilders and  actively contribute to the strengthening of “peace infrastructure” at local and national levels. 

To achieve its objectives, the project will use the following approaches/methodologies:

● People-to-People Methodology (“Connector” Events, Dialogue & Building Trust)

● Youth-centred “Planting the Seeds of Peace” approach. 

• Capacity strengthening of local CSO partners. 
• Women and youth socio-economic empowerment 

Outbreaks of violence are indicative of the weakened social contract between the state  and its citizens, especially youth and women. There is a general lack of trust in  governmental institutions, limited efficiency of decentralization and weak accountability  mechanisms for the delivery and fair distribution of public goods and services. Poor  coordination and communication between the government, local authorities, civil society, and media outletsfurther contributes to limited or poor-quality information and  weak social accountability mechanisms. It is within this context that misinformation,  hate speech and inflammatory content has been allowed to flourish and thrive. 

As demonstrated by the ‘explosion of violence’ which took place during citizen-led  protests across the country on August 10, 2022, the situation in Sierra Leone has the  potential to rapid destabilize. Fueled by growing frustration with the cost of living and  rising inflation, the protests quickly became violent. Social media platforms proved  instrumental in organizing the protest, and sharing information and updates related to protest, police, and government activities. Alleged government disruption of internet  and phone services amid the protests further underlines the integral role that  information will have in our democracy.  

The project’s theory believes that if women and youth have access to accurate, trusted information and increased peacebuilding, economic, and political capacity to act as  powerholdersin Sierra Leone; then they will have greater access to opportunities and be  able to control and contribute to social, economic, and political decision making. The  benefits accruing for women and youth will also benefit their families and communities,  ultimately strengthening local civil society. A strengthened civil society and empowered  women and youth will help create an enhanced enabling environment for peace,  improving overall resilience to withstand external shocks, such as politically motivated  violence. 

Underpinning the theory is the assumption that if women and youth have increased  capacity to work towards their social, economic, and political capacity safely, they will  be able to effectivelywork individually and collectively to influence relevant stakeholders  at all levels to tackle instability and violence. Strategies to engage powerholders and call  them to account, through training of service providers and other stakeholders and  support to citizen-led advocacy initiatives further underpin this logic. Together with  stronger networks and strengthened civil society, empowered women and youth will 

1 

enhance communities’ peace infrastructure and ultimately contribute to positive peace in Sierra Leone. 

2. Objectives of assignment: Support and accompany religious leaders and faith networks,  production of audio and video peace messages from Inter-Religious leaders and faith-based  networks. 

Outcome two of this project seeks to ensure that citizens have improved access to  accurate information and are better equipped to exercise their civic rights and  responsibilities. 

In doing so, it is expected that the project intervention will create and build mutual  understanding, trust, and empathy by breaking down stereotypes and disseminating  accurate information through “connector” events, peace education, interactive social  media/TV series, and media campaigns. 

One of the activities under this outcome therefore is to support and accompany religious  leaders and faith networks, like the Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone, to integrate  peace messaging into their religious gatherings, sermons, and events. To achieve this,  Trócaire will support religious leaders and faith networks, such as the Inter-Religious  Council of Sierra Leone, to design and disseminate religious sermons and social media  content which incorporates peace and conflict sensitivity messaging. The project will  target networks, rather than individual religious leaders to ensure that messaging  reaches the largest audience possible. 

Trocaire is therefore seeking a reputable media organization to harvest conflict  sensitivity peace messages from these inter-religious and faith-based networks to  through capturing audio and video messages on the following themes: 

1. National Cohesion-peace and reconciliation messages putting Sierra Leone first  above everything else. 
2. The role of the Youth in building peace – what does the two religions (Christian  and Muslim) say about the YOUTH as leaders and peace builders. How can we  make them SEEDS OF PEACE. What role should they do to enhance sustainable  peace in Sierra Leone. 
3. Women Inclusion and Empowerment– What does the two religions (Christian  and Muslim) say about WOMEN? How can they be supported to become agents  of peace and leaders in Sierra Leone?

3. Methodology  

• Initial meeting with Trocaire team to discuss TOR and Contract before signing.
•  The consultant is responsible for the collection of raw audio and video materials from the  participants (Christian, Muslim and women leaders’ leaders) on the above themes.
• The consultant will further edit the audio and video clips bearing conflict sensitivity peace  messages done by Muslims and Christian clerics and should also include audio and video  messages from renown women in the target districts. 
• Consultant will engage Trocaire staff and screen the draft audio and video clips for  feedback purposes before developing final copies. 
• Consultant should ensure proper branding and marking rules of the donor are well  adhered to in all the clips. 
• Final constancy report submitted with high quality infomercials.  

4. Activities Envisaged  

5. Key Deliverables:  

The consultant will produce the following deliverables:  

• Inception report  
• Final consultancy report with high quality audio and video peace messages done by  Muslim and Christian clerics and renown women

6. Profile of the Consultant  

The consultant should have the following profile:  

• A strong background in communication studies/Development Communication/Social  Sciences or any relevant field of study. 
• At least 5 years’ experience working in the media sector, producing documentary and or  infomercials  
• Solid understanding and knowledge of the political and social context of the youth and  women and or development work in Sierra Leone  
• Commitment to safeguarding of programme participants, as demonstrated by signing  Trócaire’s Safeguarding Programme Participants Policy.  

7. Working Modalities  

The entire consultancy is expected to last for 21 days from the date of signing of the contract  to the agreed completion date. The consultant is responsible for her/his own internal travels  and medical insurance while performing this function.  

8. Consultancy Management  

The USAID Trocaire Chief of Party (CoP) in collaboration with the Project Officer (PO) will have  oversight responsibility for the consultancy management. They will be supported by the Country Director who will ensure quality production and validation of audio and video  materials is adhered at all levels. 

9. Safeguarding  

All consultants who work for Trócaire will be required to sign and abide by Trócaire’s  Safeguarding and Data Protection principles. Any instances of breach of Trócaire’s  safeguarding and data protection policy by the consultant and his or her team members will  result into the immediate cancellation of the contract between Trócaire and the consultant.  In addition, any pictures taken of the participants by the consultant should be only after the  consent of the project participant and signing of the Consent Form.  

10. Submission Guidelines  

Requirements: 

• Technical Proposal – outlining your understanding of the TOR, the methodology that  will be used in undertaking the assignment, work plan, and team composition,  including CVs and 3 references for similar assignments.  
• Financial proposal (maximum 1 page) outlining all relevant costs, including consultant  fees. 
• At least 2-3 samples of previous audio and video peace messaging produced in Sierra  Leone.

APPLICATION 

For expression of interest to undertake the consultancy should be submitted to; Please submit all application and expression of interest to: tenders@trocaire.org  

Deadline for Submitting the Expressions of Interest is by Friday 29th November 2024.  (Only shortlisted consultants will be contacted for an interview).