Consultant: MenCare Campaign in Africa Strategy Development, 2025–2028

Overview

Sonke Gender Justice (Sonke) seeks a consultant to develop a MenCare in Africa Regional Strategy for 2025-2028. This consultancy will use a collaborative and co-creative approach to define a strategy that aligns with Sonke’s goals within the African context and leverages the MEA Strategic Plan (2024-2027). The MenCare in Africa Strategy will provide a structured approach for program activities, advocacy, policy initiatives, and communications, guiding the campaign across the African region.

Purpose

The Strategy aims to create a clear framework that supports effective MenCare campaigns, enabling implementing partners to contribute meaningfully to national and regional initiatives around caregiving, fatherhood, and parenting. It will enhance practices, financing, and partnerships across Africa, aligning with Sonke’s mission and goals.

Background

Sonke Gender Justice, established in 2006, is an organisation that strives to reduce the spread and impact of HIV and AIDS, promote gender equality and human rights. Sonke works in South Africa and in 24 countries across Southern, Eastern, Central and Western Africa through the MenEngage Africa Alliance to which it is secretariat.  MenEngage works collectively and individually towards advancing gender justice, human rights, and social justice to achieve a world in which all can enjoy healthy, fulfilling, and equitable relationships and their full potential. The global Alliance consists of representatives from each continent who in turn coordinate the country networks in their respective continents. Sonke is also the secretariat of the MenEngage Africa (MEA) Alliance, which consists of 24 countries. Sonke provides capacity building and technical support to partners within the MEA Alliance. 

Sonke is Africa’s lead on the MenCare campaign that is active through organisations in 18 countries across Africa.  MenCare is a global fatherhood campaign active in more than 65 countries across five continents. Our mission is to promote men’s involvement as equitable, nonviolent fathers and caregivers to achieve family well-being, gender equality, and better health for mothers, fathers, and children. We aim for men to be allies in supporting women’s social and economic equality, in part by taking on more responsibility for childcare and domestic work. We believe that true equality will only be reached when men are taking on 50 percent of the world’s childcare and domestic work.

Sonke is Africa’s lead partner on the MenCare global campaign. Sonke’s MenCare campaign advocates for men’s involvement in unpaid care work and promotes gender-equitable and non-violent fatherhood. Parental leave for fathers creates a valuable opportunity for fathers to do unpaid care work and to bond with their children. Child development research is clear on the fact that a child bonds with the adults who provide for their basic survival needs, in other words, the adults that care for them.

The MenCare in Africa Campaign Strategic Plan should provide a comprehensive profile of key thematic areas of focus based on prevailing conversations on caregiving, fatherhood, and parenting. The strategy should build from other MenCare global fatherhood campaign principles and include further information on unpaid/unequal care work. For Sonke, the campaign will have a deliberate inclusion on the Child rights portfolio which is integrated within our interventions on MenCare in Africa.  The strategy will be reflective of program P, which is a parenting program and program H, which is the MenCare+ that focuses on Sexual Reproductive and Health, MenCare Media tool kit, and MenCare 50:50 commitments. The Strategy will include initiatives around climate change and climate justice, men and mental health, and work with Social Structural Drivers (faith and traditional leaders). The strategy will be guided by ILO 5R’s and the World Bank context on promoting men’s engagement in caregiving and domestic responsibilities, challenging harmful masculine norms and stereotypes. support gender equality and reduce violence against women and girls. Some of the impacts of consideration will include; Increased policy support for paid parental leave, Improved recognition of unpaid care work, enhanced engagement of men in caregiving and domestic responsibilities and reduced violence against women and girls.

Objectives of the assignment

The consultant will develop a MenCare in Africa campaign strategy focused on:

• Engaging men as fathers and caregivers to advance gender equality in Africa.
• Promoting men’s commitment to childcare and caregiving.
• Mobilising structural drivers, governments, and regional economic communities to support gender equality.
• Building partnerships, enhancing media and policy advocacy, and capturing change stories through practice-based research.

Scope of the work

The selected consultant will ensure that the MenCare in Africa Campaign Strategy (2025-2028) aligns with global best practices for advancing fatherhood, caregiving, and parenting initiatives. Specific tasks include:

1. Gaining an understanding of Sonke’s approach to MenCare work in Africa.
2. Structuring a responsive framework for programmatic, advocacy, and policy elements.
3. Conducting consultations with Sonke staff, the MenCare Global team, and African country partners.
4. Reviewing existing reports, evaluations, and media content relevant to MenCare in Africa.
5. Identifying key advocacy and policy issues within the African context and pinpointing intervention gaps.
6. Outlining targets, influencers, and stakeholders to expand the campaign within Africa and globally.
7. Profiling significant commemorative events to align communication efforts.
8. Ensuring strategy alignment with MEA networks at national and regional levels.

Key Deliverables

Working closely with the Regional Programme Manager and MenCare Team, the consultant will deliver:

1. An inception report detailing methodology, timeline, strategy structure, and key milestones.
2. A draft of the MenCare in Africa Campaign Strategy for feedback.
3. A finalised, clean copy of the MenCare in Africa Campaign Strategy (2025-2028).

Timelines

The project should be completed within 15 days. 

Required Expertise 

1. Bachelor’s degree or higher in social sciences, law, communications, or relevant fields.
2. Demonstrable experience with similar work, supported by references and sample work.
3. Expert knowledge in unpaid care work, campaign development, and gender equality advocacy.
4. Excellent written and spoken English skills.
5. Strong advocacy, research, analytical, and presentation skills.
6. Familiarity with feminist principles and gender-transformative approaches.

Consultancy fee and payment

The consultancy will span 15 days. Applicants should specify their daily rate. Fee negotiations will be conducted within Sonke’s budget. Cost of consultancy will be 100,000 ZAR, payment made in South African Rand (ZAR) to a south African bank account as follows:

• 20% upon submission of the inception report.
• 80% upon submission of the final strategy document. Applicants must have an active South African bank account.

Procedure for submission of an expression of interest (EOI)

To express interest, please send a proposal, remuneration rate, and CV by 12th November 2024 to [email protected] with copy to Dr Deliwe Menyuko; [email protected] and Jean-Marie Nkurunziza; [email protected]