Campaigns and Advocacy Consultant at Sanergy

Terms of Reference for Consultancy to Develop a Communications, Campaigns & Advocacy  Strategy Aimed at Influencing a Partnership With the Government of Kenya for Delivery of Safe Sanitation Services  

Background

Fresh Life Initiative is an award-winning social venture that builds healthy, prosperous communities by making safe sanitation accessible and affordable in fast growing cities, starting with Nairobi and Kisumu in Kenya. Using a full value-chain, systems-based approach, Fresh Life has designed a repertoire of sanitation products and services that are delivered in urban non-sewered informal settlements. We also provide critical support services such as regular waste collection that keep toilet facilities clean, safe and open for 24-hour access by urban residents. 

Operational since 2011, Fresh Life serves over 150,000 underserved urban residents of Nairobi and Kisumu with safe sanitation services every single day. We safely remove over 14,000 T of waste per year leaving cities clean and free from pollution by sanitation waste. For our work, we have been recognized by Fast Company as one of the 10 Most Innovative Companies in the World Doing Social Good and one of the 10 Best Companies in Africa.

While Fresh Life has contributed significantly to accelerate access to safe sanitation for all Kenyan citizens, an estimated five million people still practice open defecation in the country and only 25% have hand-washing facilities with soap and water. In Nairobi alone, 66% of all sanitation waste generated ends up back into the environment untreated. As a result, the ecosystem including Nairobi River is highly polluted and public health is at risk of sanitation-related illnesses. At the current pace of building sanitation infrastructure, it will take 150 years to reach all underserved citizens. In order to reach everyone with inclusive sanitation services and further help achieve SDG 6 on safe sanitation for all by 2030, Fresh Life Initiative aims to build citizen awareness of their right to safe sanitation and the existence of alternative solutions that deliver quality sanitation services such as Fresh Life. Further to this, we will mobilize citizens and relevant stakeholders to advocate for a public-private partnership with the government of Kenya, which is a key solution to ensuring that no one is left behind without adequate sanitation.  

Purpose of Consultancy 

The consultant will be responsible for leading in the development of a communications, campaigns and advocacy strategy to target key government stakeholders and other sector influencers. Working collaboratively with Fresh Life’s Government Affairs and External Relations Teams, the consultant will lead in the review and development of key tools and tactics that will be used to influence key policy decisions, and attract target government stakeholders for a partnership towards scaling safe sanitation for all underserved. The duration of the consultancy is for an initial one month. 

Scope of Work

Develop a comprehensive Communications, Campaigns and Advocacy Strategy that will lead to the Government of Kenya to invest more and to adapt policies that will enable the scale of safe sanitation services across all underserved citizens by Fresh Life. 

The development of this strategy should ideally entail: 

• A thorough assessment and review of the state of sanitation advocacy in Kenya to identify the opportunities that exist to leverage our strategy on. In addition, a review of sanitation policies to identify other tools that Fresh Life can leverage our influencing strategy on. 

• Development of a comprehensive advocacy/influencing toolkit. The consultant will lead in the development of an effective toolkit, tactics and key messages to be used by the External Relations and Government Affairs Teams during implementation of the strategy. The toolkit should also include time of implementation and a clear rationale for the time selected. 

• Identify and connect Fresh Life to important partnerships and collaborations that will increase the impact of campaigns and advocacy. The consultant will assess and develop a list of key influencers including journalists, social media influencers, and government officials that Fresh Life should synergize efforts with in the advancement of our advocacy work. 

• Organize a training workshop for Fresh Life’s External Relations and Government Affairs Teams on best practices in the implementation of the communications, campaigns and advocacy strategy. The consultant will ensure that selected Fresh Life employees are adequately equipped to implement the strategy. This includes campaign monitoring and evaluation to measure progress/impact of campaigns and other tactics.  

Key Deliverables

By the end of the consultancy period, the consultant will: 

• Furnish Fresh Life Initiative with a comprehensive five-year communications, campaigns and advocacy strategy document. This document should clearly outline objectives, targets, activities, key campaign messages as well as a comprehensive implementation plan to be used by Fresh Life for maximum impact.

• Develop a list of valuable collaboration stakeholders and influencers that Fresh Life will work with to implement strategy. Further to this, the consultant will make an introduction of Fresh Life to these allies to kick-start a relationship for campaign implementation. 

• Develop a strategy and implementation plan for use by the key stakeholders and influencers selected during the period of campaign.

• Conduct a workshop to train the Fresh Life team on the communications, campaigns and advocacy strategy and implementation plan. By the end of the training, the Fresh Life team should be fully equipped with suitable skills and knowledge to successfully conduct advocacy and government stakeholder engagements. In addition, the team should be equipped with the necessary skills for monitoring and documenting the impact of all advocacy/campaigns undertaken. A report for this workshop should be developed and submitted to the Fresh Life team.  

Roles and Responsibilities

The Consultant

During engagement, the consultant will be expected to adhere to an agreed upon work plan of deliverables during assignment. He/she will lead in planning and executing the strategic workshop for the Fresh Life Team and will present all reports and other relevant documents as per the key deliverables of this consultancy.

Fresh Life Initiative 

Fresh Life staff will support the consultant by conducting onboarding sessions that help the consultant understand Sanergy’s work. In addition, the team will help in organizing relevant internal meetings with other colleagues that aid in building understanding of the company by the consultant.

The consultant profile

The ideal consultant will have the following qualifications: 

• Excellent experience and knowledge of strategic communications and advocacy. He/she must demonstrate experience and an excellent track record of successful campaigns, advocacy and/or lobbying projects undertaken in the past.
• Relevant academic background in communications, policy and advocacy, international relations and/or any other relevant social sciences degree. A minimum of 10 years’ experience in communications and advocacy is an added advantage. 
• Strong communication, presentation and analytical skills.
• A deep understanding of the media, advocacy and policy making environment in Kenya as well as a good general understanding of how various government departments work.
• A network of qualitative social media influencers, journalists, and other relevant stakeholders for campaigns and lobbying exercises  
• The ability to work efficiently and independently to meet key deliverables within agreed timelines. Ideal candidates should be able to demonstrate their project management skills from previous assignments undertaken.