Advocacy and Communications Needs in the Caribbean:

The Caribbean region faces challenges such as high adolescent fertility rates, limited access to safe abortion, HIV prevalence, and gender-based violence (GBV). Addressing these issues requires effective advocacy and communications efforts to drive policy changes and improve access to services.

The Caribbean Observatory on SRHR and IPPF ACRO

UNFPA, through the Spotlight Initiative, seeks to establish a Caribbean Observatory on SRHR under Pillar 3 of the Spotlight Initiative Regional Programme contributing to “strengthening regional cooperation to prevent and respond to family violence in the Caribbean”. The Observatory as an output of the broader Spotlight Initiative will contribute to the achievement of Outcome 3.2: Advocacy platforms are established/strengthened to develop strategies and programmes,1 including community dialogues, public information and advocacy campaigns, to promote gender-equitable norms, attitudes and behaviours, including in relation to women and girls’ sexuality and reproduction, self-confidence and self-esteem and transforming harmful masculinities.

Both IPPF-ACRO and the SRHR Observatory are integral to help advance SRHR in the region. As part of the secretariat, the regional office’s core role is to facilitate learning, experience sharing and south-south/cross regional exchanges between MAs and partners – providing access to good practices, new approaches and tools that can be used to support MAs and leveraging wider impact by disseminating our learnings. This SRHR Observatoryis aimed at strengthening the region’s positioning to deliver on key advocacy to eliminate GBV, and to promote SRHR through galvanising movements to advance legislative and policy changes, and to make programmatic linkages between GBV and SRHR, ensuring that no one is left behind. The SRHR Observatory is an impetus for social monitoring and advocacy to improve access to, and uptake of both SRHR and GBV services for vulnerable populations and promote comprehensive and integrated SRHR/GBV in the region. The Observatory should also provide timely and independent analysis and serve as an advocacy platform to address the high tolerance for GBV and to change harmful social norms across the Caribbean, through promotion of south-south cooperation, strategic partnership, innovation and sharing knowledge and good practices.

Duration and Working Schedule:

The consultancy will take place from October - December 30 2023. Specific activities are as follows:

Finalise and implement the existing Communications and Advocacy Plan (CAP) to guide the dissemination of the communications and advocacy work of the Observatory with the support of the project team.

Host/attend virtual events and meetings as required: eg represent at stakeholder meetings, convene steering committee, and find avenues for advocacy opportunities.
Support development advocacy materials by content writing.

The consultant is expected to work remotely, utilizing their own office space, computer, internet, telephone and other equipment, as needed, to undertake this assignment.

Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadline:

The consultant will report directly to the Project Manager, SRH Observatory – IPPF ACRO) with the guidance of their ACC counterpart. Deliverables will be assessed for quality and to the extent they fulfill the requirements of the TOR. IPPF-ACRO reserves the right to discontinue the contract if it feels that the consultant/team does not live up to the expectations or if the consultant/team acts in a way that is detrimental to IPPF-ACRO’s reputation and image.

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies , including language requirements:

• Good understanding of human rights, sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender-based violence
• Experience working with vulnerable populations.
• Experience in networking and working in coalitions and alliances.
• Excellent planning, coordination, and management skills
• Possesses good knowledge of the media landscape in different Caribbean territories.
• Excellent writing and communication skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to advocating for social justice.
• Good IT skills – Word, Power Point, social media platforms
• Ability to prioritise tasks, possesses good time management skills and ability to meet deadlines.
• Demonstrates ability and willingness to work in a diverse, multicultural, multilingual, and intergenerational environment that is anti-racist and respectful of others.
• An intersectional (pro) feminist passionate about sexual reproductive health care rights + justice, including safe abortion.
• Supportive of people’s rights regardless of sexuality or gender identity/expression and supportive of worker’s rights and access to health care in sex work.

 To apply, please submit CV with three professional references to [email protected] and be sure to label the email “Advocacy Coordination Consultant”.