Position Overview

We are in search of a Climate Change Consultant who can assist us in developing our Climate Change Action Plan to ensure that our product lineup remains responsive to an ever-changing climate. Educate! prepares youth in Africa with the skills to succeed in today’s economy. We tackle youth unemployment by partnering with youth, schools, and governments to design and deliver solutions that equip young people in Africa with the skills to attain further education, overcome gender inequities, start businesses, get jobs, and drive development in their communities. Our goal is to design skills-based, post-primary education and employment solutions that impact youth life outcomes sustainably and at scale.

We've created a 100-hour experience that delivers the most essential skills youth need to transition to work, combining training, mentorship, and practical experience starting a business. We deliver this experience to youth in 3 ways (our three solution lines):

School Solutions - We deliver workforce readiness, entrepreneurship, and 21st-century skills training directly in schools.
Education System Solutions (ESS) - We partner with governments to support the integration of evidence-based skills education into national education systems and invest in the continued assessment of this approach.
Out-of-School Youth - We’re creating industry-specific (agriculture, tourism) and group-specific (girls, literacy catch-up) bootcamps to equip out-of-school youth with the skills to successfully transition to quality employment.

Through our Schools Solution we facilitate practical, hands-on learning directly in secondary schools. Through our Education System Solution, we partner with governments to integrate skills-based learning into national education systems. Through our Out-of-School Youth Solution, we empower youth unable to access formal education through livelihood bootcamps, with a focus on young women and girls in rural communities.

Background

Over the years, Educate!’s core experience has helped youth build skills that enable them to take climate change action through environmental conservation and sustainability initiatives. For example, an Educate! participant, Keneth, created a greener community through recycling: Keneth's Story. In Kenya, we’re collaborating with government partners to incorporate a cross-cutting climate resiliency focus into the design of Kenya’s new Community Service Learning (CSL) subject, which will be rolled out nationally to reach all secondary school students with an aim of empowering youth to mitigate the effects of climate change on the environment and increase agricultural outputs through drought-tolerant crops.

Educate! recognizes that climate change is the greatest challenge facing humanity today. Climate change and environmental risks are the lived reality of today’s young people, especially those in disadvantaged communities, who disproportionately suffer the impacts of emissions, extraction, and environmental degradation. No longer a distant threat, climate change is already harming people's health and livelihoods and exacerbating long-standing inequities around the world, with effects expected to worsen over time. (Teach for All).

Within this context, Educate! is committed to placing climate change at the forefront of its programming, fully reflecting the need for the youth to:

Adapt, develop, and take action towards climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience in their communities
Contribute to climate-positive development pathways.

Objectives and Scope of the Consultancy

To Develope Educate!s Climate Change Action Plan

In the process of ensuring that Educate!’s product offering is cognizant of an ever-changing climate, we are committed to developing a comprehensive climate change strategy. Educate! is seeking the services of a consultant to support this process. This Terms of Reference (TOR) sets out the first formal step in the process, which is mainly an analysis of:

1. Where are we now?: a) An assessment of Educate!’s current approach to climate change in relation to its i. Strategic plan ii. 3 solution lines (School Solution, Education Systems Solution, and Out-of-School Youth Solution) iii. Theory of change (how youth climate action/resilience etc. fits into our theory of change)

Output: A SWOT analysis of where E! is regarding climate change opportunities, threats, weaknesses, and strengths. What is the broader research link between education and climate and the tangible/direct claims that can be made related to E!'s climate impact within our messaging? Analysis of how Climate action fits into our Theory Of Change and articulate pathways for youth to use the key skills developed through the Educate! Programs to achieve climate change and gender-related outcomes.

2. Where is the market?:

a) A global and regional benchmark analysis of up to 10 (to be agreed upon) youth-/education-focused institutions and their approach to climate change.

Output i: A matrix table that answers the following questions:

Which 10 youth-/education-implementing organizations are recognized as leaders in this space, and what are their approaches to climate change programming?
Who are their funders?
What are their impact numbers, strategy, and incentives to climate action or youth programming?

Output ii: 2-3 Case studies of innovative organizations and their approach to integrating climate change education into their programming.

b) An analysis of global, regional and national climate change education-related policies, including national and/or regional climate change strategies, plans and priorities (to be agreed upon).

c) A mapping of climate change funding and funding trends that are youth-/education-focused, leading to a proposal of up to 5 top funders. A benchmark analysis of up to 5 (to be agreed upon) funding organizations focused on funding climate change education initiatives.

Output: A matrix table that answers the following questions:

What are the opportunities and entry points for programming on climate change education and/or youth climate action (i.e gender)?
What are the priorities for policymakers, funding/strategic partners, and influencers in the education, livelihoods, and entrepreneurship space?
What are the climate change funding and funding trends, specifically for bi-lateral/multi-lateral funders and who are these funders?
Which climate initiatives carry the most value for funders (for instance, is it getting youth into green jobs, building advocacy and problem-solving skills, climate change education, climate change/green economy-focused projects, or a combination)?
What do funders and practitioners consider "climate change" focused businesses to be? How broad is the range and how much does it vary by funder (or org/practitioner)?
What are the messages, trends, and priority areas in climate change education for youth climate action for key funders and influencers of interest to Educate! (such as girls and climate change)?
How do climate change education and youth climate action priorities influence funding opportunities (e.g. are there youth climate change-specific funding opportunities or are they mostly mainstreamed)?
In which ways are youth engaged and incentivised to strengthen their adaptation and resilience to identified risks?
What are past, ongoing, and planned climate change education and youth climate action initiatives and programmes from public, private and social sectors?

3. What can we do next?:

a) A proposed climate change action plan/strategy with 5-10 concrete/practical steps to further integrate climate change as a fundamental pillar for the organization. What are our low-hanging fruits? What would it take for us to have a product/boot camp that is climate change focused?

We envision these objectives to be achieved through:

An internal document analysis including but not limited to Educate!’s Strategic Plan, Impact Reports, E! Curriculum-LEC, Club Guides, etc.
A discussion with 3-5 relevant internal key stakeholders, including directors, Monitoring and Evaluation team and relevant staff designers, field staff and youth.
Mapping and analysis of key climate change and youth climate action organizations/stakeholders (number to be agreed upon), with a focus on potential partners (youth-/education-focused) whose priorities and strategies directly address climate change education and youth climate action.
A global and national analysis focusing on current education sector strategic documents, economic development plans for Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya, as well as climate change pieces (policy briefs, technical papers, and social media posts - to be agreed and prioritised by both) by funding partners, strategic partners, and lead climate change influencers (number to be agreed upon) in the education for development space.
A scan of programmes and funding opportunities of an agreed list of target funders.

The final report should be around 7-10 pages and should include:

1. A SWOT analysis of where Educate! is in regards to climate change opportunities, threats, weaknesses, and strengths and how youth climate action/resilience etc. fits into our theory of change - TOC) with clear articulation for how E! core experience leads to climate-related action and as a pathway for gender-related outcomes (TOC)

2. A tabular overview of similar leading climate change education organizations, funding organizations, regional and national policies and 2-3 case studies (following guidance in 2a, 2b and 2c above)

3. Concrete, actionable recommendations to support Educate! in taking steps to further integrate climate change as a fundamental pillar for the organization, such as:

a) What actions can youth take through our programs that make a difference in their communities, particularly those that mitigate, adapt or build resilience to the effects of climate change?

b) How much of our product/bootcamps already fit into that category for funders or do changes need to be made?

c) What would it take for us to have a product/bootcamp that is focused on climate change?

The consultancy will be desk-based with a few orientation and dissemination conversations and can be conducted remotely. We expect this consultancy to take around 5-7 consultancy days. However, we invite consultants to submit an estimate/quotation indicating their proposed technical methodology, days, and budget.

Location and Time Zones

Timelines

Expected output of the first draft on the week of October 23rd to October 30th.
Expected final output by the 3rd or 4th week of November.

What Is Educate! About?

We’re ambitious. Are you? Educate! is growing fast, so new opportunities are opening up and expanding all the time. We’re inspired by people with drive, and we love to help them reach their full potential. We expect everyone at Educate! to contribute above and beyond their job description, grow their skills, and advance their careers, and we are committed to supporting our staff members on that journey.

We put Youth First, Impact-Obsessed - We never forget that Educate! exists to impact youth. We are purpose-driven. We obsess over impact daily and if it doesn’t lead to impact, we want nothing to do with it. We prioritize interacting with and listening to youth. We design and manage the organization to ensure every dollar creates transformative experiences that youth value.
We Exceed Expectations - We take pride in going above and beyond to achieve the best results. When we know what needs to be done, we do it. We don’t wait to be asked and we don’t stop at what is asked of us. We look for solutions as much as we identify problems.
We Are Always Learning -
We are One Team, Many Views - We say what we think while treating each other well. We believe that all people have the same inherent value and that diverse ideas and open dialogue fuel excellence. We constantly strive to create an environment where everyone can and does express themselves freely. We support and respect each other as people and colleagues.
We have the Startup Mindset - We will always keep innovating to grow our impact. We aspire to be game-changing. We never think “we have arrived” or “we’re done.” We question the status quo in our industry. We move fast and embrace change to move towards our long-term vision. We’re not afraid of failure. We interrogate anything that slows us down.

Every person at Educate! — from interns to the executive director — is evaluated by how they live up to these five cultural tenets. They are at the core of how we achieve our mission and why we work as well as we do.

Educate is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all who interact in our community. In creating this environment, we encourage people from a variety of cultures, backgrounds and life experiences to join our diverse team.

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