Call for Proposals: Listening Post Trainer, Sawt Activity in Jordan

Deadline: 23-Apr-24

Internews is seeking a qualified trainer for its Listening Post (LP) approach, tailored for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) aiming to effectively engage with communities, amplify local voices, and drive positive social change.

The LP trainer will equip CSOs with the tools necessary to conduct community listening activities to identify underserved information needs and initiate efforts to bridge information gaps.

The Listening Post (LP) approach started off as an Internews project initiated to serve community information needs in areas suffering from natural disasters and disrupted information flows, where civic media initiatives are needed to bridge information supply and demand through relevant easy to reach and digest content. The LP is dedicated to identifying, creating, and supporting community spaces (digital and offline) for vital information and news sharing. The LP approach can be deployed to encourage the emergence of civic media where they are missing or support their output where they are already working. Sawt has produced resources localizing the LP approach to the Jordanian context. Implementation of trainings will be mostly based on these resources.

LP training sessions will be delivered in Arabic utilizing Sawt’s localized LP resources which include a translated handbook based on Internews’ LP Collective online playbook. Trained CSOs will be grouped regionally in North, Center, and South Jordan. The training seeks to equip participating CSO members with essential community listening skills to bolster their ability to address information needs, engage civic media, and advance advocacy efforts that serve citizens and public policy initiatives.

The Strengthening Civil Society and Media Systems (Sawt) Activity is implemented by Internews in partnership with Mercy Corps and the International Center for Non-Profit Law (ICNL). Sawt aims to foster sustained civic engagement in Jordan through civil society and digital media innovations through two objectives: 1) Good, Trusted Knowledge-Building Resources: Citizens and civil society build knowledge through accessing and engaging critically with accurate and fact-based information and 2) Participation & Advocacy: Citizens and civil society organizations (CSOs) in Jordan effectively participate in civic spaces and advocate for policies through knowledge-based collective action.

Objectives

• The LP Trainer for CSOs should achieve the following objectives:
  • Foundational Knowledge: Provide CSOs with a sufficient understanding of the fundamental concepts of LP emphasizing its relevance and importance in today’s complex information environment.
  • Community Listening and Engagement: Foster open and genuine conversations to actively involve community members in discussing their priorities, information needs, and content consumption preferences.
  • Capacity Building: Enhance the skills and capacity of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to conduct effective community listening to address information needs, focusing on:
    • Information Gathering: Where possible, provide a platform for community members to share vital information, ensuring their voices are heard, and valuable insights are captured.
    • Stakeholder Collaboration: Encourage collaboration between local media, community stakeholders, and partner organizations to address community information needs and priorities collaboratively.
    • Awareness and Advocacy: Raise awareness on pressing community issues, enabling informed advocacy efforts to drive positive change.
    • Feedback Mechanism: Establish a continuous feedback loop between community members and stakeholders, ensuring responsiveness to evolving needs.

Scope of Work

• The LP training will target up to 90 representatives from 45 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) across Jordan, reflecting a diverse group of trainees with varying levels of knowledge and expertise. The training on LP is part of a wider program designed to cater to the unique needs of these CSOs, with a primary focus on fostering advocacy skills. From grassroots organizations to more established entities, the beneficiaries represent various local communities, each contributing to the vibrancy of Jordan’s civil society. By empowering their capacity to actively engage with communities, and influence positive change, particularly in connection with advocacy, these CSOs will be empowered to navigate the evolving media and information landscape with better understanding of civic media role in amplifying citizens voices and their contribution to informed, impactful advocacy initiatives.
• The scope of work encompasses the following:
  • Preparation:
    • Reviewing and utilize Sawt’s resources to develop training materials and activities suitable for the targeted trainees representing wide ranging groups of Jordanian CSOs.
    • Expected needed duration 4 working days.
  • Training Delivery:
    • Conducting up to 4 days training sessions across North (1 day), Center (2 days), and South (1 day) Jordan.
    • Each session will cover key topics outlined in the Sawt LP resource.
    • Conducting a brief Listing Post (LP) activity during the training, which involves a listening session in collaboration with stakeholders, including local civic media where possible. During the activity participants will be introduced to essential community listening skills and encouraged to engage in community conversations to identify actual priorities and information needs. The goal is to ensure transferring skills through a practical experience, fostering effective community listening skill and involvement in information production with civic media, where possible.
  • Reporting:
    • Providing comprehensive reports for each training session, summarizing topics covered, participant feedback, and recommendations for future training initiatives.
    • Submitting a consolidated final report, integrating insights from all training sessions, and analyzing overall outcomes and impact.

Duration

• The duration of this program is 10 days, during the period May 1 – June 30, 2024, subject to extension if needed.

Deliverables

• Training Preparation: Training material based on the localized Internews LP handbook
• Training Sessions: Successful delivery of LP sessions includes a 3-hour brief listening activity with stakeholders and communities in North, Center, and South Jordan, in collaboration with local civic media where possible. Sessions allocation: one day for the North, one day for the South, and two days for the Central region, resulting in a total of four sessions, offering similar training experiences.
• Sessions Reporting: Detailed reports for each training session.
• Final Reporting: Comprehensive final report encompassing insights and outcomes.

Eligibility Criteria

• Required Qualifications
  • The trainer should demonstrate a combination of theoretical knowledge, practical experience, and skills that align with the goals of encouraging community listening and collaboration:
    • Educational Background: The trainer must hold a relevant degree or equivalent qualification in Journalism, Media, Communications, Community Development, Social Sciences or a relevant field.
    • Experience in Community Engagement: Possesses strong understanding and knowledge of facilitating open and inclusive community engagement activities. Demonstrates the ability to foster dialogue, ensuring diverse voices are heard and valued.
    • Training Experience: Demonstrated 3-5 years of experience in delivering training sessions or workshops, particularly in the field of community engagement, community listening and civic media. In addition to experience in effectively delivering localized training curriculum in Arabic.
    • Professional Experience: Possesses professional experience in working with community and civic media initiatives and CSOs.
    • Local Media Landscape: Understanding of media dynamics, especially in the context of community development and information dissemination.
    • Facilitation Skills: Proficiency in facilitating interactive learning activities, group discussions, and practical exercises to promote active participation and learning.
    • Evaluation and Feedback: Ability to design and contribute to evaluation mechanisms to assess the effectiveness of training sessions and gather feedback for continuous improvement.
    • Professionalism and Integrity: Demonstrated professionalism, reliability, and integrity in all aspects of training delivery, including adherence to ethical standards and respect for participant confidentiality.
• Preferred Qualifications
  • Networking Abilities: Capacity to build relationships with CSOs, local partners, and stakeholders – including local civic media – to encourage collaboration and support ongoing capacity-building efforts.
  • Cultural Sensitivity: Sensitivity to cultural nuances and an understanding of the social and political context in Jordan, enabling the trainer to effectively relate to participants and address local concerns.
  • Communication Skills: Strong communication and presentation skills to effectively convey complex concepts and engage participants from diverse backgrounds.

For more information, visit Internews.