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The UK Government (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office - FCDO) has a vision of a world free from Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) by 2030, in line with the SDGs. A programme has been established entitled ‘Support to the Africa-led movement (ALM) to end FGM/C’ to contribute to global efforts to achieve that vision. The programme co-creation period started in 2020, and programme implementation is beginning from September 2021.
This programme will support and build the capacity of the ALM to end FGM/C at multiple levels and at scale, working in partnership with the rest of the FGM/C movement, complementing UN agencies (such as the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on FGM/C), Saleema initiative, other alliances (such as Girls not Brides etc.) and grassroots Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), women’s and girls’ movements, etc.
The programme includes two consortia working in close collaboration. Options leads a consortium including Amref Health Africa, ActionAid UK, Orchid Project, ACCAF and University of Portsmouth to implement the ‘Support to the ALM to End FGM/C’ programme. Population Council and Greenmash are implementing ‘The FGM/C Data Hub: Data and Measurement Support to the ALM to end FGM/C’.
Community-based activities within the programme are focused in Isiolo and Narok counties in Kenya, with communications and advocacy activities taking place at county, national and international levels. One important output of the programme is the provision of small grants to build the capacity of grassroots women-led, girl-led, women’s rights and youth-led organisations and activists to end FGM/C, given these types of organisations are often unable to access large formal funding mechanisms.
Options has previously led a small grants programme for grassroots end FGM/C projects in multiple countries in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as managing other grants programmes and providing technical assistance, networking and learning opportunities and capacity building to grantees. A number of tools, processes and systems therefore already exist, and a draft strategy and grants manual have already been written for this programme.
However, the grants mechanism design needs to be further tailored and updated to reflect: the needs and local context of potential grantees; the specific objectives of the programme; and to take on board the most recent best practices, learning and evidence from comparable small grants initiatives. We are therefore entering a period (January – March 2022) of refining and finalising the design of the small grants mechanism, in consultation with consortium partners, FCDO, our potential grantees, and other key stakeholders.
The Small Grants Scoping and Design Consultant will support the Support to the Africa-led Movement (ALM) to end Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting programme to refine and finalise the design of its small grants mechanism to reflect the needs and local context of potential grantees; the specific objectives of the programme; and to take on board the most recent best practices, learning and evidence from comparable small grants initiatives
The objective of this assignment is to support the programme to refine and finalise the design of the small grants mechanism in a way that supports partners to deliver effectively, does not create unnecessary additional burdens on them, and manages key risks. The consultant will also advise the programme on how to support interim granting activities. This will be achieved by:
To succeed in this role, you will have: