Consultancy for Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Capacity Strengthening through an Interactive Cross-Departmental Bootcamp

Saint Andrew’s Refugee Services, Cairo

Call for Applications: Terms of Reference (ToR) Consultancy for Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Capacity Strengthening through an Interactive Cross-Departmental Bootcamp

Founded in 1979, StARS is a refugee service provider in central Cairo that works to enhance the quality of life for refugees and vulnerable migrants through five broad program areas: education, psychosocial, legal, community outreach and unaccompanied youth and children support services. We provide high-quality services meeting the unaddressed needs of refugees, and we provide a safe and inclusive space for displaced people to come together as a community. We work for refugees, with refugees, to make rights recognition a reality.

StARS’ Mission: Driven by a commitment to solidarity and human dignity, StARS works both as displaced people and for displaced people to support the resilience and leadership of individuals and communities in their pursuit of an enhanced quality of life.

StARS’ Vision: StARS envisions a future where displaced people and the societies they join stand in solidarity, recognizing the strength and leadership of refugees. In this world, the displaced thrive with dignity, claiming their rights and enriching our shared human experience.

Standard of Professional Conduct: StARS and all its staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in StARS’ Code of Conduct, Child Safeguarding Policy, and PSEAH policy.

Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: StARS is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. StARS expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying in any work setting. We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.

We serve people from many places, including Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

To learn more please visit our website: www.stars-egypt.org or our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/standrewsrefugeeservices?fref=ts

Background

Saint Andrew's Refugee Services provides legal, psychosocial, education, livelihoods, child protection, community outreach, and other support services to refugees and vulnerable migrants, including Gender-Based Violence survivors in Egypt. Given the complex protection risks experienced by refugees and asylum seekers, all service departments must have the knowledge, skills, and coordinated approaches required to safely identify, respond to, refer, and prevent Gender-Based Violence.

While Gender-Based Violence case management remains a specialized function, every department plays an important role in survivor-centered engagement, safe referrals, confidentiality, and prevention. To strengthen institutional capacity, StARS seeks to engage an experienced Gender-Based Violence Consultant to design and facilitate an interactive learning bootcamp that brings together staff from different departments to strengthen practical Gender-Based Violence competencies and interdepartmental collaboration.

Purpose of the Consultancy

The purpose of this Consultancy is to design and facilitate a highly interactive learning experience that moves beyond traditional classroom training to develop practical competencies required for effective Gender-Based Violence prevention and response. The Consultant will design an experiential curriculum culminating in a three-day retreat where participants learn through realistic practice, reflection, coaching, and collaborative problem-solving. Rather than focusing primarily on theoretical knowledge, the Consultancy should strengthen participants' ability to confidently apply survivor-centered principles in complex, real-life situations.

Objectives of the Consultancy

The Consultancy will:

• Design an immersive 3-day Gender-Based Violence skills development retreat using experiential learning methodologies.
• Strengthen participants' practical skills in survivor centered communication, assessment, decision-making, and ethical practice.
• Build confidence in responding to complex protection concerns involving highly vulnerable and marginalized survivors, including survivors with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals, older persons, adolescent girls, male survivors, and survivors facing multiple intersecting vulnerabilities.
• Develop participants' skills in navigating difficult disclosures, managing challenging case scenarios, and making appropriate referral decisions.
• Strengthen trauma-informed communication and psychological safety during survivor engagement.
• Produce high-quality simulation materials and facilitator resources that StARS can continue using for future training and staff orientation.

Scope of Work

1. Phase 1:

Learning Needs Assessment

The Consultant will:

• Review existing Gender-Based Violence policies, SOPs, referral pathways, safeguarding frameworks, and training materials.
• Conduct consultations with Gender-Based Violence staff, caseworkers, managers, and relevant departments.
• Identify common challenges staff experience when working with survivors.
• Identify priority skills requiring practical strengthening.

1. Phase 2: Curriculum Design

The Consultant will develop a complete experiential learning package for a 3-day retreat. Rather than presentation-heavy sessions, the curriculum should prioritize active learning through:

• Progressive case simulations
• Realistic roleplay exercises
• Survivor interviews
• Ethical dilemma discussions
• Decision-making simulations
• Small group coaching
• Reflection circles
• Practical communication exercises
• Team based problem solving
• Community engagement simulations
• Facilitation practice

The curriculum should include increasing levels of complexity throughout the retreat.

The training material should be tailored to staff working in different service areas, including legal aid, psychosocial support, education, livelihoods, community outreach, reception, and protection services.

• Scenario Development

The Consultant will design a comprehensive bank of realistic refugee-focused scenarios covering situations such as:

• High-risk domestic violence
• Forced marriage
• Child marriage
• Sexual violence
• Intimate partner violence
• Survivors with disabilities
• Male survivors
• LGBTQ+ survivors
• Survivors with severe mental health concerns
• Survivors reluctant to disclose abuse
• Complex confidentiality dilemmas
• Partner referrals
• Ethical decision-making
• Safety planning in resource-constrained environments

Each scenario should include facilitator guidance, participant instructions, learning objectives, expected competencies, and debrief questions.

• Practical Skills Development

The retreat should prioritize opportunities for participants to practice:

• Survivor-centered interviewing
• Active listening
• Trauma-informed communication
• Managing difficult disclosures
• Safety planning Risk assessment
• Referral decision-making
• Case prioritization
• Boundary setting
• De-escalation techniques
• Working with interpreters
• Self-care and professional resilience

1. Phase 3: Retreat Facilitation

The Consultant will facilitate the 3-day experiential retreat using coaching and facilitation techniques that encourage continuous participation, reflection, and peer learning.

The Consultant will:

• Facilitate simulations and role plays
• Observe participant performance
• Provide structured coaching and feedback
• Lead debriefs discussions
• Adapt exercises to participant learning needs
• Foster a psychologically safe learning environment

1. Phase 4: Documentation

Following the retreat, the Consultant will provide:

• Retreat summary report
• Learning observations
• Recommendations for strengthening Gender-Based Violence practice
• Recommendations for future capacity building
• Final versions of all learning materials

Deliverables

The Consultant will produce:

1. Inception report
2. Learning needs assessment summary
3. Complete 3-day retreat curriculum
4. Detailed facilitator guide
5. Participant handbook
6. Comprehensive scenario library
7. Role-play scripts
8. Facilitator observation tools
9. Skills assessment tools
10. Pre- and post- retreat competency assessments
11. Facilitation of the 3-day retreat
12. Final Consultancy report
13. Electronic copies of all materials suitable for future Training of Trainers and staff induction.

Methodology

The Consultancy should be grounded in experiential learning principles, with at least 70% of participant time devoted to practical application rather than lecture-based instruction.

The Methodology should include

• Experiential learning.
• Scenario-based simulations.
• Team-based problem-solving.
• Case conferencing
• Community dialogue simulations
• Continuous assessment of learning.
• Action planning.

Consultant Qualifications

The Consultant should demonstrate:

• Advanced degree in Gender Studies, Social Work, International Development, Protection, Human Rights, or a related field.
• At least 7 years of experience in Gender-Based Violence programming in humanitarian or refugee settings.
• Demonstrated expertise in survivor-centered programming.
• Experience designing and facilitating participatory adult learning workshops.
• Experience working with multidisciplinary teams.
• Familiarity with refugee protection systems and humanitarian standards.
• Strong facilitation, communication, and report-writing skills.
• Experience in the Middle East or North Africa is desirable.

Reporting

The Consultant will report to the designated Gender-Based Violence Coordinator and the Director of Psychosocial Department at StARS and will work closely with relevant department leads throughout the Consultancy.

Expected Outcomes

Upon completion of the Consultancy, StARS will have:

1. A comprehensive experiential Gender-Based Violence training curriculum tailored to refugee programming
2. A library of realistic scenarios and role plays for ongoing organizational learning
3. staff with increased confidence and competence in responding to complex survivor situations
4. Improved practical skills in survivor-centered communication and ethical decision-making.
5. Reusable facilitation materials that can support future induction, refresher training, and Training of Trainers.

Compensation: Compensation is available in the amount of up to $5,000. Compensation includes all travel and in-country expenses if the Consultant is not based in Cairo

Schedule: The Consultancy is expected to be completed over approximately 30 - 40 working days, including consultation, curriculum development, retreat facilitation, and final reporting. The retreat itself will be delivered over three consecutive days.

Timeline: The Consultancy is starting from 20 October 2026 to 15 January 2027. A detailed work plan will be shared by the Consultant outlining dates and plans

Closing date for applications: 5 October 2026

Anticipated Starting date: 20 October 2026

Initial Contract term: 3 months, short‑term temporary contract aligned with project needs.

To apply: Please send your Cover Letter, CV, Consultancy rate (initial budget), and suggested work plan (including timeline) to applications@stars-egypt.org using the subject line “Consultancy for Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Capacity Strengthening through an Interactive Cross-Departmental Bootcamp”. All applications should provide contact information for two professional/academic reference (referees will only be contacted after interviews).

Note: Only short-listed applicants will be contacted for an interview.

Compensation: Compensation is available in the amount of up to $5,000. Compensation includes all travel and in-country expenses if the Consultant is not based in Cairo

Methodology

The Consultancy should be grounded in experiential learning principles, with at least 70% of participant time devoted to practical application rather than lecture-based instruction.

The Methodology should include

• Experiential learning.
• Scenario-based simulations.
• Team-based problem-solving.
• Case conferencing
• Community dialogue simulations
• Continuous assessment of learning.
• Action planning.

Consultant Qualifications

The Consultant should demonstrate:

• Advanced degree in Gender Studies, Social Work, International Development, Protection, Human Rights, or a related field.
• At least 7 years of experience in Gender-Based Violence programming in humanitarian or refugee settings.
• Demonstrated expertise in survivor-centered programming.
• Experience designing and facilitating participatory adult learning workshops.
• Experience working with multidisciplinary teams.
• Familiarity with refugee protection systems and humanitarian standards.
• Strong facilitation, communication, and report-writing skills.
• Experience in the Middle East or North Africa is desirable.