Consulting Psychologist (Individual Consultant)

Who We Are

Girl Effect is an international non-profit that builds media that girls want, trust and need.From chatbots to chat shows, TV dramas to tech, our content helps adolescent girls in Africa and Asia make choices and changes in their lives. We create safe spaces for girls, sharing facts and answering questions about health, nutrition, education, and relationships, empowering girls with the skills to negotiate and redefine what they are told is possible “for a girl”.

Our reach is 50 million and counting, and we use technology to reach girls at scale so every girl can choose to be in control of her body, health, learning and livelihood.

Because when a girl unlocks her power to make different choices that change her life, it inspires others to do so too. She starts a ripple effect that impacts her family, community, and country.

That’s the Girl Effect.

About Jik’izinto (Girl Effect South Africa Program):

Jik’izinto is a youth-focused program designed to inspire and equip young South Africans to make positive life choices in sexual and reproductive health (SRH), mental well-being (MWB), and economic empowerment (EE). The program’s objective is to increase access to health services and create long-term positive impacts on young people’s lives. It utilises online and offline platforms, including the Big Sis chatbot, to promote SRH practices, normalise mental health conversations, and provide information about employment opportunities. We aim to further expand on the integration of mental health literacy and well-being—an emphasis introduced in 2022—alongside SRH.

Therefore, we are looking for an experienced psychologist to help develop, vet and streamline our content on the subject to ensure that our information is accurate and grounded in medical reality.

What You’ll Do

• To enhance knowledge of young women and girls on mental health and how it is closely linked with sexual and reproductive health, including HIV, physical health and overall well-being.
• To help curate practical daily coping mechanisms that girls can use in their daily lives to overcome common stressors, which are easily accessible for young girls in the English/Zulu/Setswana/Afrikaans-speaking belt in South Africa.
• To support Girl Effect in developing appropriate and sensitive content around but not limited to:
  • validating concerns/worries about accessing mental health and well-being support along with building resilience to navigate these challenges
  • Benefits of equipping oneself with mental health information, support and treatment as well as expectations around seeking support and how it adds value to their life
• Review, vet and guide Girl Effect’s content creation process on mental health literacy and wellbeing concerns to ensure these are appropriate, sensitive to user needs and aligned with guidance on mental health and its linkage with SRH of adolescents and young girls.

Expected Commitment

This will be a part-time consultancy contract for an initial period of three months, subject to renewal based on future needs. The consultant is expected to commit a minimum of 9 hours a month (i.e. 3 hours per week), which can vary depending on our budget and your fee requirement.

Location

The consultant will be based in South Africa and must be conducive to working with teams in the UK, Sub-Saharan Africa and India.

Procurement Timeframe

• Terms of reference published: 04 March 2025
• Deadline for responses:15 March 2025
• Supplier selection, contracting and briefing: End of March
• Project commencement: April

Who You Are

Skills Experience and Expertise:

• Advanced degree in clinical psychology or psychiatry with a clinical license to provide psychological counselling and/or psychotherapy.
• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in group and individual therapy with children, adolescents and/or young people, especially from vulnerable, marginalised, low-income communities.
• Additional certification or training in relevant fields, including child psychology, stress management, cognitive behaviour therapy, etc., will be desirable.
• Experience in developing, adapting and designing content for different audiences, especially those not well-versed in medical/technical literature.
• Experience or, at the very least, familiarity with addressing mental health concerns in the digital world (including use of the internet, social media and cyberbullying).
• Good understanding of gender-specific issues affecting adolescent girls and how mental health/wellbeing-based interventions can contribute to girls’ empowerment.
• Effective communicator and writer in English and at least two additional South African languages (Zulu, Setswana, Afrikaans) with the ability to synthesize, communicate and simplify language complex concepts as per the needs of girls and young women.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills and experience working in a multicultural team across multiple countries. Sensitivity to cultural differences is essential.
• Ability to be flexible within a fast-paced, changing environment.
• Commitment to realising the potential of girls and to the vision and values of Girl Effect.

Management

This engagement will be managed by GE’s Gender & SBC team, who will work with the successful consultant to ensure its timely and thorough execution.

Proposal Submission

Interested consultants are asked to submit the following to support their candidature (Max 5-10 pages):

• Your understanding of the brief and why you feel you are well-placed to advise us on this
• CV with a cover letter
• Copies of your publications or reports to support your proposal
• Reference – Provide at least three references for similar contracts with a description of the service provided, the value of the contract, and the contract periods of performance
• Breakdown of Costs– Consultant should provide their daily or hourly billing rate or their proposed fixed fee in ZAR for the requested deliverables.
• All applicable taxes should be quoted separately;

In their proposal, the bidder must demonstrate an understanding of the requirements described in the TOR and demonstrate how the bidder will meet the requirements of the evaluation criteria.

Please note that Girl Effect is not liable for any cost incurred during the award/contract preparation, submission, or negotiation of the award/contract. All submitted documentation and/or materials shall become and remain the property of Girl Effect.

VALIDITY of the proposal shall be for 90 days from the date of bid closure.

Evaluation Criteria

The criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are listed below:

Technical Evaluation

• Interpretation and understanding of this TOR-10%
• Staff with relevant experience as demonstrated by their CV – 25%
• Geographical experience in South Africa – 5%
• Demonstrated technical knowledge in the field of clinical psychology or counselling – 20%
• Evidence of a minimum of three contactable references – 10%

Financial Evaluation

• Value for money/proposed budget breakdown – 30%

Tax

Girl Effect South Africa is obliged by the South African tax authorities to ensure all taxes are charged where applicable. Applicants are advised to ensure that they have a clear understanding of their tax position regarding provisions to South African tax legislation when developing their proposals.

Disclaimer

GE reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, number of short-listed participants, the right to withdraw from the proposal process, the right to change this timetable at any time without notice and reserves the right to withdraw this tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party. GE shall inform ONLY successful applicant(s). The process of negotiation and signing of the contract with the successful applicant(s) will follow.

Please note: We will evaluate only proposals submitted following the application process outlined in the TOR and using our specified email addresses ([email protected]).

Safeguarding

You may be required to undertake safeguarding checks. Shortlisted consultants will be assessed on our organizational values at the interview stage. The successful consultant will be expected to adhere to our safeguarding policy. We encourage you to read and understand our safeguarding policy, the executive summary of which can be found here. We have zero tolerance for all forms of violence against children, beneficiaries and staff.

Equal Opportunities

Girl Effect is committed to equal opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.

We are committed to building an organization that is increasingly representative of, and works extensively with, the communities that we serve. To this end, due regard will be paid to procuring consultancy service organizations and individuals with diverse professional, academic and cultural backgrounds.