Position: Communication Consultant
Project: Engaging Men in the Private Sector for Gender Equality
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Contract Type: Short-term Consultancy
Duration: 6 weeks
ABOUT RWAMREC
The Rwanda Men’s Resource Centre (RWAMREC) is a non-government organization striving to achieve gender equality by promoting positive masculinities and male engagement approaches to prevent gender-based violence (GBV) in Rwanda. The RWAMREC’s vision is a peaceful Rwandan society where women and men share roles and responsibilities of raising families and governing society with equality and respect for human rights. Hence, it has a distinctive and innovative mission to promote gender equality by transforming masculinities through awareness creation, advocacy, capacity development, movement building, and service delivery.
BACKGROUND
The project “Engaging Men for Gender Equality in the Private Sector” is implemented by RWAMREC in partnership with GIZ Rwanda and aims to engage men as allies, both as managers, colleagues, husbands, and business partners in improving the working conditions of women’s employees in the private sector. The intended project will tackle harmful gender norms that prevent women from actively participating in the economy, including: :
Norms that prevent women from having safe and equitable working conditions as employees.
Norms that prevent women from owning and managing successful businesses.
THE RATIONALE
Rwanda has made significant progress in closing gender equality gaps in the public sector, with policies enabling women to hold 61.3% of parliamentary seats—the highest globally. However, gender equality in the private sector remains limited, negatively affecting women, their families, and the economy. One of the project activities is to leverage social media to challenge gender norms and promote women’s economic empowerment in Rwanda
According to Datareportal, Rwanda’s internet penetration rate was 30.5% of the total population at the start of 2023, with social media users accounting for only 5.7% of the population. Among these users, 63.5% were male, while 36.5% were female. Facebook has the highest female representation at 35.4% compared to 64.3% male, followed by Instagram (36.9% female vs. 63.1% male). Twitter has the lowest proportion of female users, with only 19.9% female compared to 80.1% male. Given men’s dominant presence on social media, this project will focus on media campaigns to effectively reach men and the broader public through educational and informational communication materials. These campaigns will address harmful gender norms that hinder women’s economic empowerment, including:
Limited facilitation in private workplaces, such as the absence of lactation rooms.
Heavy domestic workloads that disproportionately burden women.
Lower earnings compared to male counterparts in similar roles.
Limited access to professional networks and business opportunities.
By tackling these underlying barriers, the campaigns will work to challenge deeply ingrained biases and create a more equitable environment where both men and women can thrive economically and socially. Leveraging media influencers, the initiative will drive conversations that reshape perceptions of gender roles in the workplace. In this context, RWAMREC is seeking a qualified communication consultant to design and implement communication strategies and materials that promote positive femininities and masculinities in the world of work through both online and offline awareness campaigns.
OBJECTIVE
The Communication Consultant will develop a comprehensive communication strategy and create impactful materials to promote positive masculinities and femininities to improve the working conditions of women’s employees in the private sector, with a strong emphasis on social media engagement. These materials will support integrated online and offline awareness campaigns designed to challenge harmful gender norms and advance gender-transformative practices in the workplace.
The strategy will highlight key elements of gender diversity management within corporate structures and processes, including:
Implementing work-life balance policies such as childcare facilities, daycare reimbursements, and lactation rooms;
Increasing the proportion of women in decision-making roles;
Eliminating sexual harassment in the workplace;
Promoting gender diversity in traditionally male- or female-dominated professions, both horizontally and vertically;
Closing gender-specific wage gaps;
Ensuring inclusive and non-sexist communication;
Enhancing safety in public spaces.
Specifically, the consultant will craft a tailored communication strategy, and a brand concept and produce engaging content for an online campaign launching on May 1st, in celebration of Labor Day. Led by RWAMREC, this six-month campaign will leverage the expertise of six social media influencers trained in the Gender Transformative Approach (GTA), ensuring extensive reach and meaningful impact.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The consultant will undertake the following tasks:
Meeting with RWAMREC staff to discuss the approach, campaign objective, and other requirements/expectations.
Produce a brief inception report summarizing key policies, reports, and research on Rwanda's private sector, along with international conventions on sexual harassment and related frameworks. Identify gender gaps in the sector regarding improved working conditions for both men and women.
Conduct a Co-Creation Meeting to Inform Strategy: The consultant will facilitate a structured co-creation meeting with RWAMREC’s team to ensure the strategy is informed by collective insights and expertise. This session will involve an in-depth discussion of findings from the desk review, including key gaps, challenges, and opportunities related to the working conditions of employees in the Rwandan private sector. The meeting will also serve as a platform to align the project’s objectives with best practices and stakeholder expectations. As part of this process, the consultant must conduct structured interviews with key stakeholders, including representatives from the Private Sector Federation (PSF), the Gender Monitoring Office (GMO), and other private sector actors, to integrate their insights and ensure a well-rounded approach.
Design a Communication Strategy: As a result of the co-creation inputs, the consultant will develop a comprehensive community strategy that includes the below:
Develop a 6-month communication strategy that aligns with RWAMREC’s overall communication strategy, ensuring consistency while adapting key elements to effectively engage the private sector.
The strategy should outline objectives, barriers, target audience (persona building), campaign name, strapline, hashtags, and messaging.
Identify the most effective social media platforms to engage private sector employees, workplace leaders, and other relevant stakeholders.
Integration of Metrics for Success: Define how the success will be measured.
Innovative Digital Engagement Approaches: Propose innovative strategies to leverage digital platforms creatively, ensuring the campaign reaches private sector employees and engages the broader public.
Barriers and Risks:
Identify potential barriers and risks related to the campaign, including possible backlashes or negative reactions, and develop strategies to mitigate these challenges.
Outline how to manage criticism or resistance from conservative segments of the audience while maintaining the campaign’s integrity.
Present the final strategy to the RWAMREC, GIZ, GMO, and PSF teams in a validation meeting to ensure alignment with stakeholder expectations.
Content Development both in English and Kinyarwanda.
Design and produce educational and engaging materials that promote the concepts of positive masculinity and femininity in the workplace, ensuring the content is both impactful and aligned with campaign objectives, RWAMREC’s training materials, and communication guidelines from RWAMREC and GIZ and addresses possible barriers identified.
Ensure all materials are designed to resonate with the target audience, inspire action, and reflect the campaign's commitment to inclusivity and gender equity.
Brand concept:
Visual Identity: Create a cohesive visual direction for the campaign (colors, imagery, patterns, and design elements) that reflects themes of inclusion, empowerment, and professionalism. Ensure visuals align with RWAMREC and GIZ organization’s branding guidelines.
Platform-Specific Strategy: Tailor the brand concept for optimal resonance on key social media platforms, including LinkedIn, X, Instagram, TikTik, YouTube, Facebook, and Threads.
Cultural Sensitivity and Localization: Adapt the concept to reflect cultural nuances, especially considering the audience’s workplace norms, gender roles, and societal attitudes toward masculinity and femininity in Rwanda.
Work closely with the project and communication team to ensure the messaging reflects the themes of positive masculinity and femininity in the workplace while maintaining cultural relevance and sensitivity.
Supporting RWAMREC in briefing the influencers on the communication strategy and content: Provide guidance and support to the influencers on how to amplify the campaign's visibility effectively, including offering advice on posting strategies, storytelling techniques, and responding to audience feedback.
DELIVERABLES
A comprehensive Communication Strategy Document and presentation in digital format.
Social media content package, including 30 posts, videos, infographics, factsheet, etc (designed and not designed) both in English and Kinyarwanda.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
Bachelor’s degree in Communication, Journalism, Marketing, or related field (Master’s degree preferred).
At least 5 years of experience in communication for development, gender advocacy, or social marketing.
Proven experience creating impactful social media campaigns and multimedia materials.
Strong understanding of gender equality and transformative approaches.
Proficiency in digital tools for content creation and social media management.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage diverse stakeholders.
Familiarity with the Rwandan context and fluency in English and Kinyarwanda.
EVALUATION
Criteria | Score |
Qualification | 20 |
Methodology and Work Plan | 30 |
Financial proposal | 30 |
Total | 100 |
TIMEFRAME
The consultant will have six weeks to complete the consultancy, ensuring the campaign is ready to launch on May 1st, International Workers' Day.
REPORTING
The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Project Coordinator, in close collaboration with the Communications team, to ensure smooth execution and alignment with project objectives.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Interested candidates should submit:
Cover Letter: A concise and compelling outline of your suitability for the role, tailored to the specific requirements.
Detailed CV: A comprehensive résumé showcasing relevant experience and achievements.
Portfolio: A curated collection of previous work, including social media campaigns and multimedia materials, to demonstrate expertise and creativity.
Technical proposal: Clearly outline the proposed methodology approach and timeline to deliver the expected outcomes.
Financial Proposal: A detailed breakdown of consultancy fees and any additional costs.
Applications should be sent to info@rwamrec.org by the 27th of February 2025. Please include “Communication Consultant Application - Engaging Men in gender equality in the Private Sector Project” in the subject line.
Kigali, 12/02/2025
Fidele Rutaysire,
RWAMREC Executive Director
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